How to explain furry to people?

[Tocs]

I would agree entirely with contrast, I mean... It shouldn't really change anything between two people anyways, and well if they are interested I just simply say "eh.. I like the art" or something like that and move on.

[Randall]

Sev's 4 questions to determine whether or not you belong on his list:

1) Do write thing like "murzie purzie" over every thread? WTF?
2) Do you pretend to be your 'sona on this forum? *Swishes his tail* Hardly ever, except that day I had a bit of a rp with another forum member for a bit of fun
3) Do you say things like "being a furry is my entire life"? No because its not my entire life
4) Do you try way too hard to "be" a furry? No I don't like I said, just really excited about being here is all, give it a few more days okay?

[Leeward]

I'm pretty sure that wasn't aimed at you, Sonic.

[Randall]

No it wasn't but its good to answer, make sure we all on the same page

[Neon]

Sev's 4 questions to determine whether or not you belong on his list:

1) Do write thing like "murzie purzie" over every thread?
2) Do you pretend to be your 'sona on this forum? *Swishes his tail*
3) Do you say things like "being a furry is my entire life"?
4) Do you try way too hard to "be" a furry?

But..but..but..Neonzie is my lifezie, I know nothing of this humanzie person, Im just meee :3 *licks paw*
Do I irritatezie you Sev? *hops around trying to be all cute-like, gives everyone big hugzies!*
I'm such a big furryzie! And I can rp to prove it! *hops on keyboard*
*hugs fuzz*

Good lord, to think I'd ever become like that.

[Leeward]

Good lord, to think I'd ever become like that.

And yet those types of people exist. It's kind of sad.

[Helios_phi]

*Huggles Neonzie*

[Sev]

And quite a few of them have been / are on this forum.

[Helios_phi]

Well you opened the door and let the irony escape.

[Sev]

What do you mean?

[Rakuen Growlithe]

Well Greenreaper likes the "it's about imagining if animals were people aspect." I still think the "people who are interested in anthropomorphic animals" is a good enough approximation for a quick explanation.

Cartoon animals is not a good explanation since it's limited to visuals and a particular style at that.

Edit: Also if people are thinking you're a freak or a paedo at the end, you're probably doing it wrong. Perhaps you should share how you attempted to explain it.

[Raven Song]

i usually go with Rakuens one... people who like and are interested in anthropomorphic animals...

its a decent enough umbrella for it and if people want to expand let them.

[Animew]

I still think the "people who are interested in anthropomorphic animals" is a good enough approximation for a quick explanation.
Cartoon animals is not a good explanation since it's limited to visuals and a particular style at that.

LOL, now don't start that again, there are plenty of furs that take the anthropomorphic out of the equation and go for full on feral.

going by the "people with a liking to specific animal characteristics" still better encompasses the broad spectrum of people calling themselves furry... <_< and yes... kemonomimi is a gateway drug that leads to being furry! i has a proof from science!

Edit: Also if people are thinking you're a freak or a paedo at the end, you're probably doing it wrong. Perhaps you should share how you attempted to explain it.

NO! if they think that, you are doing it perfectly! the more people think it’s something weird the more disturbed youths will look into it and the more our legions will grow! Also it feels great having people back away from you slowly because they think you are sick and fundamentally dangerous. try it sometime, it’s great for a laugh.

[Franky]

Cartoon animals is not a good explanation since it's limited to visuals and a particular style at that.

I still think the "people who are interested in anthropomorphic animals" is a good enough approximation for a quick explanation.

In the same light I can say that many of the anthropomorphic animals drawn are not so anthropomorphic. Not to mention then people go and define anthropomorphic cause your audience won't normally understand that definition. Where furries like the words "animals with human characteristics."

What does that even mean? Animals with human feet? ears? ahhhh I know. Animals with human faces. O.o

That's totally the furry fandom right there.

I think it's better to give people an idea that they can relate too which already has a positive vibe. You can go on and explain from there IMO.

[Randall]

Just my 2c

We all know whom I love and relate to, but the question is why?

Well, let's put it this way, I have always liked anthro animals. Sonic is just waaaay too cool not to love, and then on top of that, his character in Sonic X, and pretty much that period of the games produced between 1998 and 2004, the personality type matches that of mine.

A lot of people are very understanding about that, they think "OK he is a fan of Sonic, a biig one..." but when you tell them you identify with the character, and its your fursona for roleplaying games and suchlike then people tend to not understand.

I was introduced to the furry fandom in 1999 by some American folks I used to IRC with back in the day. That's where it really began. I used to have the narrow mindset that, this was only exclusively American, then I learnt that the Japanese people also have their communities, but to my great surprise, when Inpw started that thread on MyBB and I saw it, then I found out we have a local community.

I like Sonic a great deal yes, but, its not a case of that it is everything I am, its more a case of, uhm, how shall I put it, when I let my hair down and play, that's who I am. When I play with my kid, we play as characters from the game, when I am behind the controls of the game, I am Sonic, and I am pretty much in the moment. There is nothing wrong with that, its a often lost aspect of childhood, that people tend to lose because the real world is such a cold and unaccomodating and serious place. It is no wonder so many people crack up, or go off the deep end, the inner child is lost.

One of the big things I have learnt in psychotherapy is that the inner child exists, and it needs to be allowed to live at least, and you should connect with him or her on a regular basis.

If anyone ever asks, and doesn't understand, show them a picture on Google of John Lasseter sitting in his office, and say, this is what I am

[Rakuen Growlithe]

In the same light I can say that many of the anthropomorphic animals drawn are not so anthropomorphic. Not to mention then people go and define anthropomorphic cause your audience won't normally understand that definition. Where furries like the words "animals with human characteristics."

What does that even mean? Animals with human feet? ears? ahhhh I know. Animals with human faces. O.o

That's totally the furry fandom right there.

It's unlikely that offering such a quick summary will not lead to further questions where you can expand upon what you mean. As I said, it's an approximation. Many people would know that I don't like defining furry as fans of anthropomorphic animals because it misses too much and includes too much. But it's a simple and easy approximation of a concept.

[Rocket_Dog]

I try to make it sound as mundane and familiar as possible.

If you reference characters or media which they are familiar with, and compare it to fandoms which they are familiar with - such as trekkies, Star Wars fans, anime fans etc. - then it will seem less foreign and strange to them, and they will be more accepting of it. Take it slow, and hide your excitement when explaining it to them.

That's pretty much my take on it. I'm a fan but I don't go around advertising it. Even a Star Wars fan has to hang up his lightsaber once in a while to be taken seriously in public.

I reserve my furryness mostly for you guys.

Sev's 4 questions to determine whether or not you belong on his list:

1) Do write thing like "murzie purzie" over every thread?
2) Do you pretend to be your 'sona on this forum? *Swishes his tail*
3) Do you say things like "being a furry is my entire life"?
4) Do you try way too hard to "be" a furry?

Alright so I can see why these can be annoying and especially if you have to deal with it on a daily basis. But this is a forum where we each have 1 thing in common - being a furry.

That together with the fact that I can gloss over such posts means that I give people more leeway to RP or be silly if they want. If the discussion becomes one gigantic group hug/nuzzle fest I can just move on to a different topic.

[Sev]

Yeah, but being a furry doesn't mean acting like a 3 year old.

Plushie's brief stay drove me utterly mad.

[Randall]

Yeah, but being a furry doesn't mean acting like a 3 year old.

Plushie's brief stay drove me utterly mad.

And that is it exactly. Behaving like that ruins it for everyone.

Who is/what/was Plushie?

[Sev]

A 27 year old who thought that he was 7.

[Leeward]

I like Sonic a great deal yes, but, its not a case of that it is everything I am, its more a case of, uhm, how shall I put it, when I let my hair down and play, that's who I am. When I play with my kid, we play as characters from the game, when I am behind the controls of the game, I am Sonic, and I am pretty much in the moment. There is nothing wrong with that, its a often lost aspect of childhood, that people tend to lose because the real world is such a cold and unaccomodating and serious place. It is no wonder so many people crack up, or go off the deep end, the inner child is lost.

One of the big things I have learnt in psychotherapy is that the inner child exists, and it needs to be allowed to live at least, and you should connect with him or her on a regular basis.

That's exactly why I'm here, and why I built my fursuit. I can honestly say that the time I went fursuiting in public was one of the highlights of my life, right up there alongside the time I went to Disneyland Paris when I was 6. I was so in the zone that I frequently had to take breaks to have some oxygen, wipe the sweat off my face, and clear the mist from my fursuit eyes (major design flaw, working on fixing it).

[Ryall]

But..but..but..Neonzie is my lifezie, I know nothing of this humanzie person, Im just meee :3 *licks paw*
Do I irritatezie you Sev? *hops around trying to be all cute-like, gives everyone big hugzies!*
I'm such a big furryzie! And I can rp to prove it! *hops on keyboard*
*hugs fuzz*

Good lord, to think I'd ever become like that.

Meowzie Peowzies! *tRuts in and flufs up fur* hi neonzie my name is Riley! *purss exsitudly*this is is the real me as I am in real life..

i anm pink hyena with pink fur paturns and i am the sun of an angel hyena and demon hyena whos love was to furbiden so i was abandonned and raised by wolves who adtoped me and raised me as their own but because of my demon father i need to have drink soles to survive even thouh i dont want to.. *curls into ball of fluf* sorry for grammar i dont like spellcheck
*ears perk up* we just met neonzie but i think we can be frendzies and playsywasy all day we are like family brothers *rolls over and starts furiously masturbating*

We should make a thread like this in the games and silliness section where everyone has to post like this and the first fur to throw up loses.

[Sev]

And the sad part is that many of the above lines are references to other furs that are / were on this forum.

[Leeward]

I can recognise two of them specifically.

I agree though that we should have such a satirical thread, that would be hilarious. Except the first fur to take it seriously loses.

[Ryall]

No Sev and Leeward, Riley is 100% OC: any resemblances of the above lines to previous furs are purely coincidental.

[Sev]

There exist two extremes on this forum: those who don't really consider themselves furries but stick around because they enjoy the community, and those that might as well be cartoon animals.

The first would include people like Fluke. I get where they're coming from, but it almost feels as though they are missing out on some of the fun.

There are too many examples of the latter. They tend to be fairly low functioning individuals, and could probably use a few therapy sessions.

I am more towards the former, but I still do like to do furry stuff in appropriate contexts.

[Tocs]

I felt like I lost brain cells when I read Ryalls post... uh... wait what? What was the topic again? Oh.. yeah... I would completely agree with Rocket here, I mean is that is hardly any different to being a fan of star wars or the walking dead... haha I had my friends brother (quite literally an idiot) actually argued with me the other day that "no but those things are real and cool" I just... I dunno how to respond to that... I just asked him if he is as retarded as everyone else makes him out to be or if he's joking..

[Leeward]

I mean is that is hardly any different to being a fan of star wars or the walking dead... haha I had my friends brother (quite literally an idiot) actually argued with me the other day that "no but those things are real and cool" I just... I dunno how to respond to that... I just asked him if he is as retarded as everyone else makes him out to be or if he's joking..

"Those things" being what? Jedi or zombies?

[Helios_phi]

The first would include people like Fluke. I get where they're coming from, but it almost feels as though they are missing out on some of the fun.

There are too many examples of the latter. They tend to be fairly low functioning individuals, and could probably use a few therapy sessions.

I am more towards the former, but I still do like to do furry stuff in appropriate contexts.

Nope. This is a furry forum. If you do not 'identify' as a furry, then you should probably not be here.
This forum doesn't have a 'I'm not a furry, but I don't have any real friends either' section.
Nor are furries so starved for attention that they need 'friends of furries but not furries themselves' section.
Hanging around where you have no interest so you can get in 2cents with some people because you are cripplingly socially defunct is pathetic.
Those people should fuck off to reddit and facebook where they belong.
I have no interest in pickle farming. So I don't go and join up on pickle farming forums. Simple right?
No. Apparently not.
Cause it happens here.

But that's just my opinion.

*rolls over and starts furiously masturbating*[/color]

[Randall]

I don't have BookFace or Twitface. I do have a Youtube channel though, but that's for all the tech stuff I do, people like to see things being taken apart, nothing furry there.

The aim of my post was to figure out how best to handle the tough questions people sometimes ask me, but yes, its been an interesting debate here.