DOCSLIB.ORG

Fur and Loathing

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Fur and Loathing Fur and Loathing: Dispelling SFgmazing MisConCepFons About Sexuality in the Furry Fandom Dr. Courtney “Nuka” Plante 2017 AltSex NYC ConferenCe Internaonal AnthropomorphiC ResearCh ProjeCt (IARP) Study Descripon Sample Size Other Notes 2011 Interna.onal Online Furry Survey I 4,338 furries 69 Countries 2011 Furry Fiesta Survey 219 furries 2011 Anthrocon & Interna.onal Online Furry Survey II 1,761 furries 41 countries 2012 Furry Fiesta & Interna.onal Online Furry Survey III 951 furries 2012 Anthrocon & General Popula.on Control Survey 1,065 furries Included 802 non-furries 2013 Furry Fiesta & Online Furry Survey IV 455 furries 2013 Anthrocon Survey 820 furries 2013 Online Fursona Survey 369 furries 2014 Furry Fiesta Survey 246 furries Included 3 focus groups Included 901 con-going anime fans, 2014 3-Fandom Survey 1,059 furries 2,283 online anime fans, 511 (Furries, Anime Fans, Fantasy Sport Fans) fantasy sport fans Included 25 ar.sts and 120 2015 Furry Fiesta Survey & Experiment 245 furries undergraduate students 2015 Anthrocon Survey 979 furries Included 69 ar.sts 2016 Furry Fiesta Survey 313 furries 2016 Anthrocon Survey 1,203 furries Online Fantasy Study 455 furries Furry Longitudinal Survey 680 furries Entering 5th year Common Beliefs about Furries • It’s a fursuit sex thing • It’s a besFality / zoophilia thing • It’s a porn / feFsh thing • It’s delusion / dysfunCFon The Plan: • What furries are • What furries aren’t • ImpliCaons Our Working Definion: 1. Fans of media featuring anthropomorphiC animal Characters 2. Interest suffiCient that the person self-idenFfies with it. 3. This interest informs others about their behavior / personality. Furry Media? Furry: A ParFCipatory Fandom • DeCentralized fandom • Many Content Creators! • GraphiCal art • 60%+ of furries • WriFng • 50%+ of furries Fandom ACFviFes Group % of Furries Gamer 66.4% SCi-Fi Fan 47.8% Anime Fan 41.8% Brony 20.1% MusiCian 13.4% Fandom ACFviFes • In-person meet-ups: • Half aend a Con / year • 1 in 3 aend loCal meets • Predominantly online: • 80% frequent forums • 80% use IM programs Why join the fandom? Fandom Mo.va.on: Belongingness 5.5 5 4.5 4 3.5 3 2.5 Belongingness (1-7) 2 1.5 1 Furry Con Anime Online Anime Con Sport Fans Sample How Furry Manifests: Fursonas • AnthropomorphiC animal avatar • How you interact with other furries • Name, speCies, personality, history • Not idenFfying AS an animal (Therian) How Furry Manifests: Fursonas How Furry Manifests: Fursuits • 13% own a full fursuit • 18.5% own a parFal • Does not indiCate fanship! • Most popular items owned: • Tails – 48% • Collars – 37% • Furry Clothing – 34% • Ears – 27% • Paws – 26% • Wings – 2% DemographiCs: Age Propor.on of Par.cipants by Age (Years) in Sample W11 20.00% 18.00% 18-21 = 53.7% 22-25 = 24.1% 16.00% 26-30 = 13% 31+ = 9.2% 14.00% 12.00% 10.00% 8.00% Percent of Sample 6.00% 4.00% 2.00% 0.00% 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41+ Par.cipant Age (Years) “Greymuzzles”: 42.8 Years old DemographiCs: EthniCity Percent of Fandom Iden.fying as "White" 90.0% 80.0% 70.0% 60.0% 50.0% 40.0% 30.0% Percent of Sample 20.0% 10.0% 0.0% Furry Con Anime Online Anime Con Sport Fans Sample DemographiCs: PoliFCal Orientaon Poli.cal Orienta.on of Furries 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% Percent of Sample 10% 5% 0% Orientaon (1-7) DemographiCs: Sex / Gender Category (Choose all that apply) % of Furries Sex: Male 72.4 Sex: Female 27.4 Sex: Intersex 0.2 Gender Iden.ty: Masculine 67.1 Gender Identy: Feminine 23.3 Genderqueer/Non-Binary 10.0 DemographiCs: Sex / Gender Transgender Par.cipants by Sample 3% 2% 1% Percent of Sample 0% Furry Con Anime Online Anime Con Sport Fans Sample What we’ve learned so far… • Furries are a predominantly young, white, male fan group • Fans of media featuring anthropomorphiC animals • Interest manifests in a variety of ways: • Viewing / Creang Content • Buying merChandise • Costuming • ConvenFons / online interacFon The Plan: • What furries are • What furries aren’t • ImpliCaons MisConCepFon: Fursuit FeFsh MisConCepFon: Fursuit FeFsh • Fewer than 20% own one! • Rarely sexual: • Cost • PhysiCally demanding • Not the funCFon • Fursuits are typiCally for publiC self-expression MisConCepFon: Zoophilia • 13.9% of furries • General publiC? 10-15% • Not the same as besFality • AfracFon, not acFon • Heavily sFgmazed among furries (e.g., ethiCs) • Furry = “Anthro” animals Alvarez & Freinhar, 1991 MisConCepFon: Furries as a FeFsh • Not kink-shaming! • Fan group; InCluding sex in the definiFon makes lifle sense • Gamer = “Video game feFsh”? • ExistenCe of porn =/= feFsh Not a FeFsh: MoFvaon What played the biggest role in you becoming involved in furry? 80 70 60 50 40 30 # of Responses 20 10 0 Not a FeFsh: Pornography • ArFsts: Only 17.6% draw primarily eroFC art Not a FeFsh: Pornography Porn as a Reason for Being Furry 35.00% 30.00% 25.00% 20.00% 15.00% 10.00% 5.00% 0.00% Percent of Sample Strongly 2 3 4 5 6 Strongly Disagree Agree 7 1 Agreement Not a FeFsh: ACCeptanCe • “Furry” is not a feFsh • But that doesn’t mean the fandom is Closed-minded! • VERY sex-posive, inclusive • Hundreds of subgroups within the fandom • Openness makes sense: Liberal ideology MisConCepFon: DysfunCFon • No more likely to be diagnosed with depression, anxiety, ADHD, etC… • Not delusion / dissoCiaon 6 5.5 • Vivid / immersive fantasy 5 4.5 4 Furries • No reality blurring 3.5 Non-Furries 3 2.5 2 Healthy Pathological MisConCepFons: So What? MisConCepFons: Bullying • Furries report being bullied more than non-furries: • EspeCially age 11-18 • 62% (vs. 40%, p <.001) • PhysiCally and verbally MisConCepFons: Bullying Expected Disapproval from Society (1-7 Scale) 4 3.5 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 Furries Online Anime A-Kon Sport Fans MisConCepFons: Bullying Tell Others about your Fan Iden.ty (1-7 Scale) 5 4.5 4 3.5 3 Furries Online Anime A-Kon Sport Fans The Point? • Not harmless misConCepFons • Be acCurate when talking about furries • Not just academiCally honest • ReduCes sFgma and bullying • Afacking an already- vulnerable group The Plan: • What furries are • What furries aren’t • ImpliCaons Furries and ACCeptanCe Sexual Orientaon - Heterosexual 100.00% 90.00% 80.00% 70.00% 60.00% 50.00% 40.00% 30.00% Percent of Sample 20.00% 10.00% 0.00% Furry Con Anime Online Anime Con Sport Fans Sample Furries and ACCeptanCe Sexual Orientaon - Bisexual 12.00% 10.00% 8.00% 6.00% 4.00% Percent of Sample 2.00% 0.00% Furry Con Anime Online Anime Con Sport Fans Sample Furries and ACCeptanCe Sexual Orientaon - Homosexual 12.00% 10.00% 8.00% 6.00% 4.00% Percent of Sample 2.00% 0.00% Furry Con Anime Online Anime Con Sport Fans Sample Furries and ACCeptanCe Sexual Orienta.on - Asexual 6.00% 5.00% 4.00% 3.00% 2.00% Percent of Sample 1.00% 0.00% Furry Con Anime Online Anime Con Sport Fans Sample Furries and ACCeptanCe • Nearly 80% of gay furries find their partner in the fandom • Transgender persons tend to feel safe and like themselves here • In short: Furry is a safe haven for LGBTQIA and other minority groups • Lifle interest in ostracizing or othering Future ResearCh • SoCial support in LGBTQIA communies • SpeCifiCally, reCreaon- focused • PercepFons of feshes / kinks within and outside fandom • FunCFon of fantasy and play in sexual idenFty formaon More Informaon • FurryResearCh.org • FurScience.com • Contact Nuka: [email protected] Shameless Self-PromoFon www.FursCienCe.Com Interest Origins Origins of Furry Interest 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Contributed to Furry Interests (1-7) Influence DemographiCs: Religion Religious Affilia.on of Furries Chrisan Other 23.5% 26.2% Satanist 0.9% Deist 1.1% Atheist 16.8% Jewish Pagan / 1.2% Wiccan Agnos.c Buddhist 11.0% 16.8% 2.4% Not a FeFsh: Pornography • Pornography exists in the fandom: • 96% of males view it (17% exClusively furry) • 78% of females view it (2.2% exClusively furry) • ArFsts: Only 17.6% draw primarily eroFC art MisConCepFon: Furry as a FeFsh • Summarizing the point: • Sexual Content is prevalent in the furry media • Not a defining feature of most furries’ interest • What you’d expeCt from a fandom, not a feFsh Furries and ACCeptanCe Sexual Orienta.on of Furry by Sample 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% Percent of Sample 20% 10% 0% Non-Furries Sexual Orientaon Furries and ACCeptanCe Sexual Orienta.on of Furry by Sample 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% Percent of Sample 20% 10% 0% Non-Furries Sexual Orientaon Furries “Other”: 15.0%; 20% also idenFfy as polyamorous Fandom Issues: Gender Genderqueer Item Men Women Non-Binary I can be myself 5.97a 5.83a 5.71a Gender never comes up with furries 5.22a 5.07a 4.81a Feel I don’t belong 2.43a 2.47a 2.68a I feel safe with furries 5.56a 5.38a 5.46a • Place of inClusion, acCeptanCe • SoCial support network .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Fan Cultures Pdf, Epub, Ebook
    FAN CULTURES PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Matthew Hills | 256 pages | 01 Mar 2002 | Taylor & Francis Ltd | 9780415240253 | English | London, United Kingdom Fan Cultures PDF Book In America, the fandom also began as an offshoot of science fiction fandom, with fans bringing imported copies of Japanese manga to conventions. Rather than submitting a work of fan fiction to a zine where, if accepted, it would be photocopied along with other works and sent out to a mailing list, modern fans can post their works online. Those who fall victim to the irrational appeals are manipulated by mass media to essentially display irrational loyalties to an aspect of pop culture. Harris, Cheryl, and Alison Alexander. She addresses her interests in American cultural and social thought through her works. In doing so, they create spaces where they can critique prescriptive ideas of gender, sexuality, and other norms promoted in part by the media industry. Stanfill, Mel. Cresskill, N. In his first book Fan Cultures , Hills outlines a number of contradictions inherent in fan communities such as the necessity for and resistance towards consumerism, the complicated factors associated with hierarchy, and the search for authenticity among several different types of fandom. Therefore, fans must perpetually occupy a space in which they carve out their own unique identity, separate from conventional consumerism but also bolster their credibility with particular collectors items. They rose to stardom separately on their own merits -- Pickford with her beauty, tumbling curls, and winning combination of feisty determination and girlish sweetness, and Fairbanks with his glowing optimism and athletic stunts. Gifs or gif sets can be used to create non-canon scenarios mixing actual content or adding in related content.
    [Show full text]
  • Fan Cultures Free
    FREE FAN CULTURES PDF Matthew Hills | 256 pages | 01 Mar 2002 | Taylor & Francis Ltd | 9780415240253 | English | London, United Kingdom Fandom and Participatory Culture – Subcultures and Sociology A fandom is a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of empathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest. Fans typically are interested in even minor details of the objects of their fandom and spend a significant portion of their time and energy involved with their interest, often as a part of a social network with Fan Cultures practices a fandom Fan Cultures this is what differentiates "fannish" fandom- affiliated fans from those with only a casual interest. A fandom can grow around any area of human interest or activity. The subject of fan interest can be narrowly defined, focused on something like an individual celebrityor more widely defined, encompassing Fan Cultures hobbiesgenres or fashions. While it is now used to apply to groups of people fascinated with any subject, the term has its roots in those with an enthusiastic appreciation for sports. Merriam-Webster's dictionary traces the usage of the term back as far as Fandom as a term can also be Fan Cultures in Fan Cultures broad sense to refer to the interconnected social networks of individual fandoms, [ vague ] many of which overlap. There are Fan Cultures number Fan Cultures large conventions that cater to fandom in this broad sense, catering to interests in film, comics, anime, television shows, cosplay, and the opportunity to buy and sell related merchandise. Annual conventions such as Comic Con InternationalWonderconDragon Con and New York Comic Con are some of the more well known and highly attended events that cater to overlapping fandoms.
    [Show full text]
  • Posthum/An/Ous: Identity, Imagination, and the Internet
    POSTHUM/AN/OUS: IDENTITY, IMAGINATION, AND THE INTERNET A Thesis By ERIC STEPHEN ALTMAN Submitted to the Graduate School Appalachian State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS May 2010 Department of English POSTHUM/AN/OUS: IDENTITY, IMAGINATION, AND THE INTERNET A Thesis By ERIC STEPHEN ALTMAN May 2010 APPROVED BY: ___________________________________________ Dr. James Ivory Chairperson, Thesis Committee ___________________________________________ Dr. Jill Ehnenn Member, Thesis Committee ___________________________________________ Dr. Thomas McLaughlin Member, Thesis Committee ___________________________________________ Dr. James Ivory Chairperson, Department of English ___________________________________________ Dr. Edelma Huntley Dean, Research and Graduate Studies Copyright by Eric Altman 2010 All Rights Reserved ABSTRACT POSTHUM/AN/OUS: IDENTITY, IMAGINATION, AND THE INTERNET (May 2010) Eric Stephen Altman, B.A., Appalachian State University M.A., Appalachian State University Thesis Chairperson: Dr. James Ivory The Furry, Otherkin, and Otakukin are Internet fan subcultures whose members personally identify with non-human beings, such as animals, creatures of fantasy, or cartoon characters. I analyze several different forms of expression that the fandoms utilize to define themselves against the human world. These are generally narrative in execution, and the conglomeration of these texts provides the communities with a concrete ontology. Through the implementation of fiction and narrative, the fandoms are able to create and sustain complex fictional personas in complex fictional worlds, and thereby create a “real” subculture in physical reality, based entirely off of fiction. Through the use of the mutability of Internet performance and presentation of self-hood, the groups are able to present themselves as possessing the traits of previous, non-human lives; on the Internet, the members are post-human.
    [Show full text]
  • Dichotomous Key Maker Template
    Dichotomous Key Maker Template Caboched Rutger usually infixes some procession or caroused durably. Pampering and Hercynian Derron assorts, but Cletus snatchily cribble her crownets. Predicant and rugose Christorpher bathe her dualities weigh underhandedly or yeast doctrinally, is Bernardo unpasteurised? Explain the adaptations that allow reptiles to live on land. Key Generator will help you generate random CD keys for use in your shareware products. These keys work best when used to identify species that are closely related but that have distinctive features or behaviors that distinguish them from the other species in the group, such as finches of the Galapagos Islands. Find it as wall art, curtains, backdrops One of her projects that sticks out in my head is a fluffy tree she created using browns, oranges Macrame Necklace Tutorial by Lia Griffith. Could use our collection has undergone many years, dichotomous key maker template. Texaco gas stations provide fuel with Techron as well as diesel fuel. Some of these sites are within a few miles of the Deepwater Horizon well. It is bordered on one side by a dense conifer forest that offers good hunting and a great amount of natural resources which the townsfolk use to make their skilled crafts and raw trade goods. Dark Day In The Deep Sea. Decide what project you want to make. Truus undertook two major tasks. Definition of dichotomous key. Digraphs Worksheets for teaching and learning in the classroom or at home. Differences in these segments are detected through DNA fingerprinting. The underground maps include broken walls, which make them unsuitable for dungeon crawls but good for big battles.
    [Show full text]
  • The Search for the Holy Curl... Grail Our Con Chair Welcomes You to Denfur 2021!
    DenFur 2021 The Search for the Holy Curl... Grail Our Con Chair Welcomes You to DenFur 2021! I wanted to introduce myself to you all now that I am the new con chair for DenFur 2021! My name is Boiler (or Boilerroo), but you can call me Mike if you want to! I've been in the furry fandom since 1997 (24 years in total!) – time flies when you're having fun! I am a non-binary transmasc person and I use he/hIm pronouns. If you don't know what that means, you are free to ask me and I will explain – but in sum: I am trans! I am also an artist, part time media arts instructor and a full-time librarian in my outside-of-furry life. I am very excited to usher in the next years of DenFur – I know the pandemic has really been an unprecedented time in our lives and affected us all deeply, but I am hoping with the start of DenFur we can reunite as a community once more, safely and with a whole lot of furry fun! Of course, we will have a lot of rules, safeguards and requirements in place to make sure that our event is held as safely as possible. Thank you everyone for your patience as we have worked diligently to host this event! I hope you all have an amazing convention, and be sure to say hello! TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 2 Page 9 Con Chair Welcome Staff Page 4 Page 10 Theme Dealers Den List Table of contents and artist credit for pages Page 5 Page 11-13 Convention Operating Hours Schedule Grid Page 6 Page 14-21 Convention Map Panel Information and Events Page 7 Page 22 Guests of Honor Altitude Safety Page 8 Page 23-24 Charity Convention Code of Conduct ARTIST CREDIT Page 1 Page 11 Foxene Foxene Page 2 Page 20 RedCoatCat Ruef n’ Beeb Page 4 Page 22 Boiler Ruef n’ Beeb Page 5 Page 23 Basil Boiler Page 6 Page 26 Basil Ritz Page 9 Basil On Our Journey In AD 136:001:20:50,135 years after the first contact between the Protogen and the furry survivors, the ACC-1001 Denfur launched a crew of 2500 furries into space.
    [Show full text]
  • Lost Toys 1 Address [email protected] KB&A 276
    Done by Taral Wayne, around end of Feb 2014, for Arnie’s “our” digital apa. I can be reached by e-mail at a new Lost Toys 1 address [email protected] KB&A 276 You don’t know about me without you have read a fanzine by the name of Broken Toys; but that ain’t no matter. That fanzine was made by Mr. Taral Wayne, and he told the truth, mainly. There was things which he stretched, but mainly he told the truth. That is nothing. I never seen anybody but lied one time or another, without it was maybe Mike Glyer, the gafiate Eric Mayer and maybe Aunt Arnie. They is all told about in that fanzine, which is mostly a true zine, with some stretchers, as I said before. – 4 Feb Those of you who may expect an effort from me in any way proportionate to Broken Toys will be sorely disappointed. I have no plans for tricky logos at the top of the first page, illustrations or any layout that I can’t do on the spot, using only Word Doc. It is my view that it’s enough that I write and produce one reasonably elaborate and generally under-appreciated fanzine every month. Am I superhuman? Maybe I am – but I’m not crazy. There is an additional reason for my stated policy of underachieving. It is that I am highly suspicious about this apa. In every way it smacks of another of Arnie’s high-minded but poorly conceived good ideas. Let’s start with the very name of this apa: “TePe,” the “Trufannish Electronic Press Exchange.” Alright, electronic it is, though “digital” might have been more precise.
    [Show full text]
  • Free Furbook!
    FurScience! A Summary of Five Years of Research from the International Anthropomorphic Research Project FurScience! A Summary of Five Years of Research from the International Anthropomorphic Research Project Courtney N. Plante Iowa State University Stephen Reysen Texas A&M University-Commerce Sharon E. Roberts Renison University College, University of Waterloo Kathleen C. Gerbasi Niagara County Community College Waterloo, Ontario, Canada ISBN: 978-0-9976288-0-7 Copyright © 2016 FurScience (Plante, Reysen, Roberts, & Gerbasi). Waterloo, Ontario, Canada All rights reserved. Cover art by Echo of Justice and designed by Kayla Rohan. FurScience.com Acknowledgements Over the past five years the IARP has received tremendous support for its work, both from within and from outside the furry fandom. To this end, we would like to extend our sincerest gratitude to the organizers and staff of Anthrocon, Texas Furry Fiesta, Oklacon, Furnal Equinox, and A-Kon for their support over the years, and to [adjective][species], Furry News Network, Flayrah, WikiFur, Fur What it’s Worth, FurCast, and FurAffinity. Their continued ideas, assistance, and enthusiasm have been instrumental in our ongoing project to learn more about the furry fandom and to helping disperse our findings to the fandom. In a similar vein, we would like to thank Karlin “Troj” Bruegel, Laurence “GreenReaper” Parry, and Jason Bausili, for being an invaluable reservoir of ideas and guidance. We are indebted to the Office of Research Ethics at the University of Waterloo. It would be impossible to overstate the value of their sagacious advice and its role in ensuring that our participants are kept safe. We also owe a great deal of gratitude to the many research assistants, advisors, and colleagues who have made light work for us with their many hands over the years: Kimberly Watt, Simona Ghai, Rebekah Churchyard, Kendra Randi Nicole Doyle, Jacklyn Furlong, Jason Lloyd, Jamie Snider, Catherine Schroy, Jessica Gamboa, Amanda Gamboa, Jennifer Shaw, Tanner McCarter, Charlie Aquilina, Janelle Barnes, Michael Benner Dr.
    [Show full text]
  • Drink Tank #153
    The Drink Tank Issue 153 the DVD player entered into kids could climb and hang. A lot of the house (for my TV). There kids would jump from the 3rd set onto was a video store down the the grass and collect a lot of applause. way, a Wherehouse, where I would jump from the top, the 5th we could rent either VHS set. I never broke anything doing that or Beta tapes (and could do stupid move, but I twisted my ankle so until 1992) and we often among other minor discomforts. I was rented ten or more videos in also the king of taking kickballs off of a week. We rented one a lot: the face. A kid would throw one at me Viva Knievel! I loved it. I have and I’d just take it. That made me very watched it since and have much feared when fights would break discovered that it is perhaps out. the worst film ever made. The addition of bikes to my life It’s got a terrible story, Evel, made me want to jump over things. My who plays himself, is one of great aunt Bethel lived in Lake Isabella those actors who makes me in South-Central California. It was a think I’ve got a chance. Lau- dry place, I never saw the lake at all, Again, another hero of my youth ren Hutton is in it, and even I thought but there was a hill that ran at about has kicked it. This one is the one who that Leslie Nielsen was a terrible choice an 8% grade and it must have run a brought me out of my shell and made to play a drug lord.
    [Show full text]
  • The Furry Fandom: Constructing a Costumed Society for Identity Exploration
    International Textile and Apparel Association 2015: Celebrating the Unique (ITAA) Annual Conference Proceedings Nov 13th, 12:00 AM The urF ry Fandom: constructing a costumed society for identity exploration Emily Satinsky Cornell University, [email protected] Denise Green Cornell University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/itaa_proceedings Part of the Fashion Design Commons Satinsky, Emily and Green, Denise, "The urF ry Fandom: constructing a costumed society for identity exploration" (2015). International Textile and Apparel Association (ITAA) Annual Conference Proceedings. 27. https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/itaa_proceedings/2015/presentations/27 This Event is brought to you for free and open access by the Conferences and Symposia at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in International Textile and Apparel Association (ITAA) Annual Conference Proceedings by an authorized administrator of Iowa State University Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Santa Fe, New Mexico 2015 Proceedings The Furry Fandom: constructing a costumed society for identity exploration Emily Satinsky, Cornell University, USA Keywords: subculture; identity; furries; costuming Abstract: This paper examines the social-psychological influences of dress within the furry fandom. Using observations, surveys, and interviews at two fur conventions, I explore how individuals’ various identities are developed through costuming. The results reveal a spectrum of identities within the fandom; costuming and “dressing-up” enable individuals to safely explore, express, and negotiate these identities through as-animal performance. Introduction: Fur conventions attract individuals who identify with animal personalities. Ascribing human attributes to nonhuman creatures, furries create and assume anthropomorphic identities.
    [Show full text]
  • SF/SF #136! 1!February 2013 Editorial
    Science Fiction/San Francisco Issue 137 Editor-in-Chief: Jean Martin January 30, 2013 Managing Editor: Christopher Erickson email: [email protected] Editor: España Sheriff Compositor: Tom Becker Contents Editorial ......................................................................................Jean Martin............................. ........................................................................................ 2 Upcoming Year of Geekitude ....................................................Christopher Erickson.............. ........................................................................................ 6 The Fur From Outer Space....................................................... Christopher Erickson.............. Photos by Christopher Erickson................................... 10 HMS Pinafore: The Next Generation ......................................Tom Becker ............................Photos by Tom Becker .................................................16 The Books of the Raksura by Martha Wells ...........................Tom Becker .................................................................................................................. 22 Letters of Comment ...................................................................Jean Martin............................. ...................................................................................... 25 BASFA Meetings 1169-74 ..........................................................BASFA ........................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • LGBT+ Furry Identity Formation and Belonging Online Mary Heinz Goucher College, [email protected]
    “There’s A Little Bit of That Magic Where I’m Becoming Something Else”: LGBT+ Furry Identity Formation and Belonging Online Mary Heinz Goucher College, [email protected] ABSTRACT Active and open identification with animals and the creation of anthropomorphic (or zoomorphic) fursonas have become infamous on the internet, yet published research on the subculture is lacking. This ethnographic study explores this under-examined subculture by considering how individuals who identify as LGBT+ and as furry find and experience community online in ways that contribute to feelings of belonging, inclusion, and overall well-being. Through a series of semi-structured interviews, it was found that participating LGBT+ furries experienced an increase in self-reported emotional well-being when allowed to engage with online furry fandom. Given that furry identity is inherently non-normative, the fandom becomes an accepting space for other non-normative identities, like LGBT+ identities. By creating accepting online communities, those without access to supportive communities in their off-line lives can learn about and explore non-normative identity without judgement. These spaces may allow for the accumulation of multiple non-normative identities, all of which are in relative harmony within online furry fandom, which serves as a “catch-all” identity. Existing within this space had positive affects on the well-being of the participants. Keywords: anthropomorphism; dialogism; furry fandom; intersectionality; LGBT+ ISSN 2369-8721 | The JUE Volume 10 Issue 2, 2020 21 fandom by outsiders tend to frame furry experience as exclusively erotic in nature (Jeannsone 2012, 5). This leads to backlash from non-furries in the form of bullying or exclusion.
    [Show full text]
  • ANTHROPOMORPHISM, SEXUALITY and REVITALIZATION in the FURRY FANDOM. by Matthew Morgan a Thesis Submitted to T
    CREATURE COMFORT: ANTHROPOMORPHISM, SEXUALITY AND REVITALIZATION IN THE FURRY FANDOM. By Matthew Morgan A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Mississippi State University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Anthropology in the Department of Anthropology, Sociology, and Social Work Mississippi State, Mississippi May 2008 CREATURE COMFORT: ANTHROPOMORPHISM, SEXUALITY AND REVITALIZATION IN THE FURRY FANDOM. By Matthew Morgan Approved: _____________________________ ______________________________ Janet Rafferty Evan Peacock Professor of Anthropology Graduate Coordinator of Anthropology (Director of Thesis) Associate Professor of Anthropology (Committee Member) _____________________________ ______________________________ S. Homes Hogue Gary Myers Associate Professor of Anthropology Interim Dean of (Committee Member) College of Arts and Sciences _____________________________ Ron Loewe Associate Professor of Anthropology California State University, Long Beach (Committee Member) Name: Matthew Morgan Date of Degree: May 3, 2008 Institution: Mississippi State University Major Field: Applied Anthropology Major Professor: Dr. Janet Rafferty Title of Study: CREATURE COMFORT: ANTHROPOMORPHISM, SEXUALITY, AND REVITALIZATION IN THE FURRY FANDOM Pages in Study: 94 Candidate for Degree of Masters in Applied Anthropology This paper attempts to describe and analyze the culture of the furry fandom within the context of anthropologist Anthony Wallace’s model of cultural revitalization movements. This paper argues that
    [Show full text]