Fur and Loathing in Reality

A Wake-up Call to the Furry Subculture

By C. Elliot Ritter

Fans of my other Fur and Loathing essays can probably tell I am cynical about the Furry subculture. This is partly true. I am in fact simply cynical of everything. Politics. Big Business. Society in general. Obviously this would spill over into any societal group. It is why I am pursuing journalism — they are the career cynics. I have long wanted to approach the Furry subculture as a journalist and write a 5,000-10,000 word article on it explaining and uncovering every facet of it. It would, quite possibly, be the most detailed and maybe even balanced view of “Furries”. It would be both a hated and revered article. It would also require me to get off my fat ass and do it. Stick my neck out and risk it getting chopped off. Not to mention I have no publisher that would allow me to say, “I am Colin Ritter with — and I want to ask you about …” Since I don’t have a publisher and I’m too lazy to do it I’ll have to put it in my longer-term to-do list to be resurrected when I have more experience and perhaps an open-minded enough publisher.

With that introduction you’re probably asking what I mean by a “wake-up call to the Furry subculture”. Simple: that piece of journalism would force us to face the fact that the Furry subculture is, in its heart of darkness, silly. It is a group of people—most of them grown men—who have a disturbing fascination with animals. Note, I didn’t say “anthropomorphic animals” as was my previous qualifier for being a ‘Furry”. Not all people who would qualify for membership the Furry subculture are obsessed with anthropomorphics. Many feel a preternatural connection to animals, but could care less about a bipedal talking version of it. Some members of the Furry subculture have such a connection to the anthropomorphic animals that they produce a patina of a “fursuit” against not being one. Most, likely 95-99%, if not more, of those who have a connection to the anthropomorphics have a sexual attraction to them as well.

Most “Furries” by now are saying, “There’s more to us than spiritualists, fursuiters and sex” and I agree. There is a lot more, but face it manno, this is what people think of you. To them “Furries” are a people who think they are an animal and, while wearing a costume of said animal, fuck another such person like one. I used “fuck” for the fear and loathing such a word raises in the average reader. It is a taboo term and when used to refer to sex it makes the act seem equally taboo, no matter how beautiful it might be to them. People would see that act I previously mentioned as offensive as that word. This is the bold-faced truth about image mass media have given the Furry subculture.

If I have offended you—good. I meant to. You can’t make a change until you face painful truth. What more is there to the Furry subculture? Well … what more is there? A central organization? No. A clear dogma, if you will, that other science fiction and fantasy subcultures have? Not really. You can’t look at any one thing and say this is the truth about “Furries”. Trekkers, the politically correct term for fans of Star Trek, have a cannon of the television show and movies they can point to as “the truth about Star Trek”. “Furries” are as split an factionalized as Christianity. Ironically given my normal dislike of organize religion, I mean no offense here. There is an ongoing war of terror in Ireland over the split between Catholics and Protestants. (That is a reason there is a Northern Ireland, the British claimed to want to stop the fighting.) There is no ongoing war of terror within the Furry subculture—no matter what the writers of CSI would like to make the public believe—but the Furry subculture is not as a homogenous group as Trekkers or their ilk.

In fact the Furry subculture is probably as heterogeneous as they come. There is no clear definition of what a “Furry” is—even among “Furries”. My definition used to be two part: Furries are anthropomorphic animals and “Furries” are fans of said characters, but I’ve recently as of the night I write this changed my definition. To me the Furry subculture is about a preternatural connection to animals. As I have said previously some who would give themself that moniker have a spiritual connection to an animal—perhaps as a spiritual guide—but could care less about anthropomorphic animals to the point that they think those who are into them are silly or even disturbing. Others like the anthropomorphics, but find spiritualists, gonzo. There are lifestylers, whose dogma is similar to spiritualists in some ways but feel that they are in fact a human manifestation of an animal. There are fursuiters who vary in their reasons from, “it’s like how people dress up as Stormtroopers at sci-fi cons” to some believing it is getting closer to their true form. There are people who have a particular interest in stuffed animals which they have given a special name of “plushies”. Some to the point of sexual relations with them. Then there are people who merely like the anthropomorphics and don’t give a damn about anything else of the subculture, to the point that they don’t identify with the rest of them at all. They find them too bizarre for words.

How does this make them more heterogeneous than Trekkers. You’ll find I pick on them, but it’s for a reason. Trekkers are a well-known and accepted science fiction subculture. They vary wildly too, but not with as much variety. There are those who simply like the show and try not to miss an episode. That type extends up to those who can recite the show “book and verse” so to speak. There are costumers. And there are lifestylers even, as an alternate juror high-profile court case displayed.

But they’re also not as offended by anything against their subculture. “Furries” are notorious about it. CSI pissed off some “Furries” so much that they never watched their favorite show again. Some people reading this article have probably vowed, by this point, to never read my stuff again, even if they love my stories. And why? Because I have been critical about the Furry subculture. Accept criticism. It makes you stronger.

Trekkers have a video called Trekkies and it is very concise criticism and display of what they are like. I’m pretty sure I saw it on A&E or something and it’s where I got my phrase “World Famous Klingons at Denny’s”. Trekkers love this video. It’s a cult classic to them. If a similar video was made about the Furry subculture they would have a violent reaction to it. Rather than being sold at Furry conventions it would be lambasted at them. Why? Because “Furries” can’t accept criticism and find anything about them that have anything they perceive as inaccuracies as heresy.

Some would call me a “burned fur”. I would disagree. I consider that I have matured in my view of the Furry subculture and its place in my life. My reasons include that I am a writer and as a writer I want to be published. Stories like my Terrae stuff don’t publish on the mass market and the “Furry” market is tiny and the few publishers are not accepting novels. I feel that publishing and being accepted as a writer is more important than writing about anthropomorphic animals. So as much as I love Susanne—and have I found myself accidentally mentally calling a woman I am dating “Susanne”—I would rather see I have written on a shelf at Borders or Barnes and Noble. I guess Furries have also lost its appeal. There was a feeling of relief when I first discover it. Finally I found out I wasn’t a freak for liking this stuff. Now I feel that simply “liking this stuff” wasn’t as weird as I first thought and many of the people who identify with it are freakier than I ever dreamed of myself as being.

Will this be the climax of my “Fur and Loathing” series? Probably not. I have other “well organized rants” to be written. I have one on the hard drive called “The Curse of Susanne” that I will be finishing and posting at some point (and I possibly already have) that is about how I feel the Furry subculture would react to a real anthropomorphic. There seems to be an endless supply of ideas that pop up. I will always find something to fear and loath about the Furry subculture. This is simply my harshest criticism so far. I have meant to inflame and anger and piss off. See this an “internal memo” to the Furry subculture. Shape up and face the frightening truth.

As an ongoing offer. I want to know if what I have written hits home and how. This by far probably trumps my previous “Fur and Loathing in Terrae” as being offensive and open to angry letters. Think of me as the writer of an editorial in a newspaper right now. I have written my opinion on something and if you agree, disagree or otherwise have comments on this tell me. If you want I’ll add your response to the end of this and re-post it. I can guarantee I will reply to you. If you use angry, obscene language I won’t feel obligated to add it even if you want me to. My contact info follows this and know that if you instant message me, that you messages will be recorded and possibly added to the post at my discretion.

Email: panton41@insightbb.com

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