Furries are cool

Not a furry either but I really appreciate just the sheer amount of effort these people put into the costumes. must take a lot of time and money to do but these people love what they do and go to these conventions where they have tons of fun. props to them!! 👍

Its one of those niche communities that makes me smile - a lot of creativity there. They're my kind of critters (absolute geeks and nerds).

Same I’ve been to so many furcons and it’s a fandom full of geeks and nerds. The creativity of the community is awesome and it’s something you don’t see in any other fandoms. Them fursuits do be crazy expensive too and it’s really just a form of cosplay which is what people don’t understand.
Did meet disgusting furries too that painted my view in a not-so bright light. Oh well, I'm now just more cautious all-around.
- There are horrible people in every group. Unfortunately, it tends to be the worst offenders that stand out and define the rest.

I have lots of friends who are furries. I just tell them I'm too old and don't get it, but have fun.

I don't care for furries, but I actually dislike the common art style that Western furries use. They always have this aesthetic that make them look like knock-off DreamWorks characters. Not sure if they count as furries but I find animal-based characters in anime much cuter. Also, I'm not a huge fan of their R-18 stuff popping up on my feed.

To be clear: I harbor no resentment against furries. They have a right to do their thing, I just don't want to be involved.

If furry porn didn't exist, then I might have less of a prejudice against furries and furry content. But as it stands, I will actively avoid anything with the furry aesthetic, because the porn is too weird for me to stomach. You will never be able to remove that association; the damage is done. When I see video games that I might otherwise like, but the art is furry art, I think, "ah, that's a shame. Won't be playing that."

Idk, I can enjoy a good set of bunny ears or tail
Imagine refusing to play Tunic because of this.
- Tunic has a very different art style from furry art IMO.
...every furry i've known has been a cool person: i'm not saying it's universal but the fandom tends to attract geeky fun-loving personalities and those are my favorite kind of people to play with...
...as for furry sexuality (which of course isn't strictly synonymous with the fandom): well, it may not be my jam but neither are men, so i don't feel any differently about it than i do corset-rippers or gay erotica; as long folks keep their kinks tastefully discreet, go with the gods...
^(really ^the ^only ^kink ^which ^gets ^under ^my ^skin ^is ^{objectification} ^/ ^degredation ^/ ^humiliation ^/ ^{exploitation,} ^and ^that's ^{sexuality-agnostic)}
I still have an old comment on my computer from Kongregate where I disliked a game just for having a wolf character.
I now hang out with furries more than other types of people.

I can respect that they deserve to be treated a humans and still find it gross. because it's gross.

Gross? What's gross about it?
- Mostly the related art. The amount of yiff communities I had to block to keep their porn out of my feed was surprising. I don't begrudge them their lifestyle. You want to put on something and have sex with somebody, go for it. I'm not into even 1%. The amount of erotic art that exists is beyond astounding to me. Meanwhile, I struggle to find active communities about Halloween, Lego, and various games I play. Granted, I haven't looked lately for new ones, but the ones I subscribed to previously aren't very active.
- Y’all smell under that suit.

i'm not a furry

i don't f/w spaces if i don't see furries around & welcomed

for one i want to know its a place people don't have to pass to feel safe

I am sorry if this comes off as offensive to anyone, I'm not trying to be.

I don't get furries.

I also don't have to completely understand their ins and outs and complexities to know they're people who are worthy of respect for being other living people. (or non-people if they identify as non-people? Again I don't understand them as much as I probably should).

Regardless, shout out to all the furries out there who struggle with things I can't even imagine.

If we want to talk theory, I think there's 3 major aspects of the human psyche represented in furries: our unconscious desire to apply human attributes to non-human things (anthropomorphization), human creativity and the creation of representations of the self, and, of course, the sexual aspect of being creatures that enjoy sex.
People unfortunately hone in almost exclusively on the last one (as evidenced by the other comments in this very post), but as the joke goes, the world's biggest collection of Disney porn is locked up in the Disney Vault. Artists get horny too, and if you could create porn with the power of your mind and a pen and piece of paper, wouldn't you? Years ago, there was a story about how the daughter of the man who created Astro Boy, one of the foundational pieces of anime and manga, had managed to open a locked drawer in her father's work desk long after his death. And what did she find inside? Porn he had drawn of sexy cat women.
We've been adding animal attributes to the human form (and vice versa) since the dawn of mankind. The vast majority of world religions are based on it in some fashion, from the gods of Egypt to the snake in the Garden of Eden to Zeus having sex with anyone and everyone as anything you can imagine, from a bull to a swan to a fucking beam of light if my memory is right.
And the one thing most people forget about furries is that the characters aren't some corporate mascots or media characters - they're often personal. A fursuit is often a representation of the suiter's self in some aspect, not a cosplay of their favorite character from a show or game. The fandom is a place that allows people to explore their own identities, whether that be exploring concepts of gender and sexuality, or styles of fashion and other things that they might be afraid to try in real life.
I also don't have to completely understand their ins and outs and complexities to know they're people who are worthy of respect for being other living people.
💜 Big true.
Same. Y'all do you, but I've blocked every mention of "yiffy" around here. Not my jam.
Funny story! Went to a Halloween charity ball where you either dressed formal or wore a costume. Went in the men's room and this dude is grunting like he's seriously jacking himself. It was alarming, like, bro, you OK?
Giant fat man stumbles out of the stall. He'd been wrestling with his spandex to take a piss.
Friends and neighbors, that's dedication!
- Never choose a costume where you have crap on your face or head. A great concept is ruined by irritation at 9:30pm.
  Them that commits to the bit gets the respect
I’m cool with roleplaying as an animal person, wearing a costume, the fetish aspect, whatever. Live your life.
I just don’t understand why they’ve all standardized to using the same terrible art style. It doesn’t look like a human, an animal, or even a sonic character (which I assume is the root), but a fourth thing. You can tell a furry by how they draw a normal human because of how deep set the habits are. Is there any other group as exclusively committed to an art style?
If I spent that kind of money on a wolf costume I’d at least want it to vaguely look like a wolf.
Edit: If you think these don’t heavily share a style (as compared to anthropomorphic characters from non-furry animated series, for example) then I don’t know what to tell you.
- That just isn't true. There are as many art styles in furry as there are outside of it. If you're talking about popular artists that's something different. But if you take one look around an artists alley you'll see more that's different than the same.
- Same terrible art style? If you are referring to actual stylings of how furry artists put lines and colours on canvas, then what you've done is seen a similar art style from two artists and then assumed the same for the rest.
  If you're talking about actual character proportions, oh boy! First of all, Sonic does not even come close to being a majority inspiration for furries; a way closer guess would be the Argonians and Khajiiti from Skyrim. Secondly, the whole point of furries is their fascination with this world of anthropomorphic animals; "anthropomorphic" means "human-like", so of course the majority of furry characters would be animal races with human-like body proportions.
  EDIT: bro's really included a Google image search of "furry pfp" to try to prove his point without realizing that drawn profile pictures naturally have certain exaggerated features and clearly-defined lines to appear well when shrunk down to the size profile pictures are normally displayed. Easy counterpoint: now do a Google image search of "furry art".
I don't get them either.
What I do know, however, is that most of the ones I've met seen like great people. The community seems extremely friendly and welcoming. They also seem to be intelligent and willing to step up to help.
Ultimately, if it makes them happy, and doesn't hurt anyone, have fun! I'm sure others look at me similarly, for my weird hobbies.
The one bit I’ve recognized is that character designs with tails end up leading the eyes to the ass.
I’m no furry, but I recognize I’m an ass man.
Simply put: It's a fetish.
It's pretty common to not understand why some people like the things they do in fetishes. Most people don't find feet attractive, but some people become just as aroused seeing feet as others do seeing breasts.
(Some furries will insist up and down that it's not a fetish, and those people are lying. They'll claim it's about a ton of different things, but it's pretty easy to tell. Because the ones who deny it are the ones who like to push their fetish onto others.)
- Because it is not just a fetish. We claim it's about a ton of different things because it is about a ton of different things to so many different people.
  Some people identify as their fursonas and are comfortable in that skin; some people think they're reincarnations of certain animals; some people like to write stories about furry characters; some people think furries are cool; some people have a favourite anthro character from games or TV shows; some people sexualize them; some people are in it for the community interactions and safe spaces; some people are in it for the lucrative furry art commissions.
  None of those are mutually exclusive. One can find Veezara from Skyrim cool and hot. One can do art and enjoy the communal support without having a fetish for it. Being a fetish is just one part of furry culture.
  To reduce an entire community to "it's just a fetish" is such a gross generalization. It's like saying "anime fans are perverts" just because a non-insignificant amount of anime feature sexualized depictions of girls.
  Look, I understand if your immediate reaction to "furries" is "it's just a fetish"; there is a lot of furry porn out there! However, there's a problem with that view: you're so focused on the "furries just have a fetish" part that you're ignoring the mountains of regular human porn floating all around you.
- That's too simple, you could subtract everything adult from the furry fandom and quite a lot would remain. If you did the same to an actual fetish-based community you'd have little left, if anything.
  Furries like anthropomorphic animals in multiple ways. People tend to focus on (and scandalize) the sexual part when sometimes it's just cute, funny or invokes all sorts of other feelings. It's a full-spectrum interest.
- So your definition of furry is exclusively someone who wears fur suits in public? Because that's not most people's definition of that term. But either way, is it just beyond you that someone could like doing something others see as weird for any reason other than sexual gratification?
  Also, why do you use breasts are your "sexual but not fetishized" example here lmao are you under the impression that the western sexual fixation on breasts is not fetishistic
- As a response to you
  Would you say that someone "thinking cats are cute and liking them" is just a fetish?
  There's more dimensions of liking something and wanting to engage with it than just sexual

furries tend to be gay men for some reason, I rarely see women in suits? they're like rare birds

Furries are an important indicator species for online spaces. They are a sign of a healthy platform.

Look, you want the guy I know to fix your computer? Maybe deal with the wolf costume?

"Cool" is taking it a bit far.

The furry community is one of the most accepting and open minded communities because they understand what it's like to be treated as outcasts and to be chastised for liking something that's completely harmless just because it's out of the norm. Most of the time it's not even a sexual thing for them, it's just something they like or something that makes them feel more comfortable out in public. It's a way to make their exterior to be exactly what they want it to be. So in that way I think they're pretty cool as a whole.
- In general that may be true, but not all furries are benevolent. Every community to have ever existed in history eventually gets some bad apples and gatekeepers when it gets to a certain size.
  https://www.avclub.com/the-insane-story-of-a-furry-convention-undone-by-its-de-1798264086
Honestly, it's the exact opposite. Furries are pretty hot.
Yanno, because of all the fur.
why? i think they're cool, is there smth i don't know?
- Nope
I'm perfectly comfortable with taking it as far as "so long as it's all consenting adults, it's none of my fucking business, and I wish them all well."
If it's not my thing, no big deal. Some people like feet, and it's not my thing, so no big deal.
Even if I find it personally gross, again, consenting adults, no big deal. Some people are into watersports, but hey, so long as they're not leaving a mess or hurting each other, no big deal.
We've got enough trouble in the world without also trying to police what adults are doing in their goddamn personal lives. I yearn for a day in which more people could accept the "it's none of my fucking business" ethos.
- Yeah, I agree with all that. Doesn't make anyone "cool" based on their sexual preference.
Huh?
- "I do not like a certain subset of humanity because they are different than me and I feel safe punching down at them"
Yeah those fursuits look really hot to wear
Yeah, I think it should be really warm in such costumes

I'm going to get a lot of hate for this, but for the majority of furries, their fandom is at least party sexual in nature with over 70% of furries reporting they they view furry porn. Personally, I find that disgusting and I feel that the furry community's constant need for validation detracts from the seriousness of LGBT issues at large. I may be wrong in my judgements, but the claim that furries are just people with a hobby is an attempt to sweep an inconvenient truth under the rug.

I may be wrong in my judgements
The issue is that you're conflating "furry sexuality" with beastiality when they come from very different places with very different outcomes and moral implications.
The short story is that humans at ~10yrs old start learning and coding for what features they find sexually attractive which happens to co-incide with the target audience for many anthropomorphic films/cartoons/etc. and so some small percentage start developing an aesthetic and/or sexual preference for animorphism which then creates a subculture that feeds back onto itself.
It's not "beastiality" it's "mickey mouse-iality". It's not a sexual attraction to animals, it does not result in harm to animals, it does not result in rape or consent violations from those unable to give consent. It's as close to beastiality as anime girls are.
- It’s as close to beastiality as anime girls are.
  that seems to bring up another issue, which is the overtly-cute, cartoon nature that seems to be very attractive to children. I also find anime girls problematic as so much of that porn blurs the line between adults and children, which gets into some strange differences - apparently in japan, they don't consider depiction of minors as problematic as we do. I think it's outrageously creepy.
  so interesting thing to bring up, because some will find ALL OF THIS very off putting, and for good reason.
- I understand the mechanics of it. I'm not conflating furry sexuality with bestiality. I am still repulsed by the attraction to anthropomorphic animals just as much as I am to the attraction to real animals - especially the furry art featuring non-human genitals. It's gross, it's weird, and it's a perversion of childhood themes that I would prefer not to be so public.
https://www.addictionhelp.com/porn/statistics/
Online use: Approximately 69% of American men and 40% of American women view online porn each year.
Other people view porn too. Do you now find everyone disgusting? Also, what's the source of you claim that over 70% of furries view furry porn? And how does it matter? They're individuals, and can make choices on their own.
- The only way it's only 69% of men is if 31% of them have no Internet access, lol.
  I remember a decade or so ago reading about an attempt to do a study on porn consumption for men, but they literally were unable to cobble together a control group because they all watch porn.
- Other people view porn too. Do you now find everyone disgusting?
  No. I don't find porn in general disgusting. I find furry porn disgusting because it borders on bestiality. You obviously know that's what I meant. Don't be obtuse.
  Also, what's the source of you claim that over 70% of furries view furry porn?
  https://furscience.com/research-findings/sex-relationships-pornography/5-4-frequency-of-porn-use/
  And how does it matter? They're individuals, and can make choices on their own.
  They are individuals and can make choices on their own. However, I have already expressed why I think it matters. I personally believe the furry community is harmful toward the LGBT movement. Regardless, it matters simply because it's the truth and there is a major misconception that being a furry isn't a kink because it isn't inherently sexual, despite the fact that it is a kink for the majority of furries.
I have literally never seen anyone claim being a furry is just a hobby lmao. Yes, it's sexual. Who gives a shit?
- Then we do not have the same experience. From my perspective, people have been claiming for years that the sexual aspect of the furry community is only popularized by a vocal minority and that most furries are just individuals interested in a hobby. If that isn't your stance, then you and I have no disagreement.
Personally, I find that disgusting and I feel that the furry community's constant need for validation detracts from the seriousness of LGBT issues at large.
And the overt sexual displays in public places at Pride events don't? That is objectively much more damaging to the attempts by the queer population to not be seen as deviant sex freaks by the general population.
The irony is that most people who wear fursuits don't perform sex acts with them, while you won't be able to find a single person at pride wearing bondage gear who will tell you that what they're wearing is never 'utilized' in their bedroom.
Singling out furries in this way makes no sense, you're just personally squicked by it and trying to rationalize that feeling.
P.S. Is a Star Trek fan not a 'legitimate' fan if they lust over Seven of Nine or any of the other characters?
- The irony is that most people who wear fursuits don't perform sex acts with them, while you won't be able to find a single person at pride wearing bondage gear who will tell you that what they're wearing is never 'utilized' in their bedroom.
  Yes. That is harmful too.
  Singling out furries in this way makes no sense, you're just personally squicked by it and trying to rationalize that feeling.
  I did say that I personally find it disgusting. My ability to reason is not somehow tainted by my opinions.
  P.S. Is a Star Trek fan not a 'legitimate' fan if they lust over Seven of Nine or any of the other characters?
  I never claimed that furries don't like anthropomorphic animals if they view furry porn.

A certified furry classic uwu

had a strange discussion a couple years ago with someone who insisted their fursona / fur suit outfit should be protected like LGBTQ rights have been enshrined. I took exception to that and still do because I do not want to see this as a lever to justify excluding / persecuting LGBTQ folk who have fought for a century for their rights. The way they put it was that 'stonewall' was for furry rights as much as LGBTQ rights and my mind said: yeah but they did the fighting, they've been in the struggle, you just showed up with a fox suit with crotch zippers.... my dawg...

I'm not advocating for their persecution, nor do I believe 'we have enough diversity and should close the door'.... but I still don't see it as an equivalent.

edit: and so instead of explaining, someone just downvotes. this isn't going to help your premise.

I do not want to see this as a lever to justify excluding / persecuting LGBTQ folk
You are the one pushing the lever of exclusion by arguing to remove 'just a bit' of the Q from LGBTQ.
Re-read this thread replacing 'furry' with any other form of queer and tell me that there's no struggle, fighting, persecution, etc. An equivalent of what you just said would be:
The way they put it was that 'stonewall' was for drag rights as much as LGBTQ rights and my mind said: yeah but they did the fighting, they've been in the struggle, you just showed up in clown makeup wearing a dress.... my dawg...
- Re-read this thread replacing ‘furry’ with any other form of queer
  do the LGBTQ folk consider furry a form of queer? or is that just more of the same assumption on furry folks part?
  honest query because that's a lot more important to me than furry folk considering themselves lgbtq.
So I agree with your result but not with the path you took to get there. If we find out tomorrow that there's some other part of gender or sexuality and people start identifying as that because now their life makes sense with this new label then they should be allowed in even though they didn't fight or struggle.
But furries aren't a sexuality or gender, they're a hobby. It's just a fun suit and roleplay. That can be enough to base a life around, but it's a learned hobby like video games or d&d. Not something they're born with that would cause persecution along with gay and trans rights
- Not something they're born with
  Sexuality and gender are a complex interaction of nature and nurture, the belief that homosexuality is exclusively a 'nature' thing is predicated on eugenics with the goal of eliminating it. The 'something they're born with' counterargument comes from Alfred Kinsey, et al's work which showed it's something everyone carries and so it can't be eliminated that way.
  Traumas, experiences, medications, etc. can all cause changes to an individuals sexuality and gender often in unpredictable ways.
  Would you be this exclusive of someone who self-identifies as lesbian after an abusive heterosexual marriage?
- Not something they’re born with that would cause persecution along with gay and trans rights
  yep.
Went to pride march recently. We obviously saw some absolutely wild costumes, lots of skin on show etc, but the furries took it to an extreme level. Like couldn't you just tone it down a little bit in public so you're not traumatising children.
- so we have pride parades that are all out full nudity here heh. PNW. But it's easier to explain for me. They might see some tiny shriveled dinkies. That's the majesty of human forms kids. It's not the skin that would bother me, it's the mixing of adult and kid stuff that you get with furries. A valid counter-argument is, we sexualize motherhood as well - hell the Venus of Willendorf is some people's ideal - and that's not seen as taboo.
  It'll be interesting to see how this all develops in the next few decades.

The community is so awesome. I have never felt like I truly belong in anything but the fandom.

I've blocked every furry community that hits my screen - not my cup of tea - but I also see quality posts from you all the time in the corners of Lemmy that I do frequent. You 100% belong here, to Lemmy at large and not just the furry subsets of it. 👊

Unless they are Nazi or pedo furries.

That goes for all people
Have you met one? Truly curious.
Also turned on by system administrators doing sequential straight leg lifts while walking, can’t help it
- I've seen a few in my time. Hell, in another post I mentioned that I used to like 2 the Gryphon's content. He was like a furry Maddox. Hadn't thought about him in years, looked up if he was still around and discovered he was arrested for possession of child porn and joined a neo-nazi group. :/
- On some discord servers over the years I have. Especially related to any games with historical warfare involved like WW2.

Dedication and creativity

Those outfits look really impressive upclose.

My beef with furries is entirely my own derangement and has everything to do with beserkers. No I don't want to turn into an anthropomorphic bear, I want to embody a bear driven mad which is to say go apeshit hit someone with a yard implement and sacrifice them to an ancient god. If you call me a bear because of my weight and general looks I am going to hit you with a shovel and steal one of your kidneys.

youre allowed to not like furries but do me a favor and shut up because you trying to justify it is just digging your own grave

I never said I didn't like furries...
- im not talking about you

You mean they're hot?