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My Masquerade With Furries

What the Furry Fandom Is Really Like to Participate In

By Prince TaburykPublished 6 years ago 3 min read
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Art pictured above is my own, of a character that I play, Amorius, the Uragi half-breed.

Firstly, let me point out that quite a sizable amount of people have NO idea what the community of furries is actually like, and as such only attach the oversexualized and crazy (like the alt-furs, don't even get me started on that BS) subset of furries with everyone else. While there are people like that in the fandom, there are people like that in EVERY fandom, regardless of its content. I'm sure people have seen the WAY oversexualized cosplay at Comic-Con or any other type of convention. Let's just get that right out of the way! You all know the old saying, "assuming makes an ass out of you."

Now that that is dealt with, let's begin.

From what I have experienced, the world of furries is one of imagination and an overwhelming desire to make friends. The traditional definition of a "furry" is "an enthusiast for animal characters with human characteristics, in particular a person who dresses up in costume as such a character or uses one as an avatar online." While a large portion of furries do have a fursuit that they dress up in, most just have artwork of the character that they designed, usually in the form of drawings, badges, or as I've seen with some, other types of merchandise like shirts, stickers, and much more.

The community is so much more than that, however. They're open-minded and accepting of damn near everyone, and vilify the same types of people that "normal" people do (like in the case with pedophiles and zoophiles, who most people think that's what a furry is, and it's not). Furries support a lot of charitable causes, and conventions like AnthroCon, raise money to donate to those charities. So, while they are fun parties to go to and hang out with friends, it's also for a good cause.

While there are people that cause drama and give furries a bad name (god, the list is entirely too long, even ONE person is too much), the community is welcoming and very protecting of people. Overall, my experience as part of the community has been a rewarding one, both in making friends and financially, as I am an artist that gets commissioned from time to time for artwork of other peoples' characters.

It can be pretty scary for new people to jump right into something like the fandom, as there are a lot of well-established names in the community, but it's easy to make friends in the fandom. One of my personal ways to communicate with people is over the platform of Telegram, where you can join chatrooms with other furries who have the same interests as you, be it gaming, drawing, or even going out to meet people.

And as far as the more "adult" portion of the fandom. Yes, there is a bunch of NSFW content that is out there, but it can be easily hidden if there's no desire to see it, as in the case with FurAffinity, where there is a SFW filter that keeps the risque content out of the visual lineup. There's no NEED to participate in it, either, there's so much more to the furry world than just flat out porn. Explore and see what you come up with!

My advice is this: Don't listen to the bad parts of the community, they only represent like...the smallest subsection of douches possible. Just be you, and you'll make friends. Hell, they may even help you figure out your fursona (character that you have as your avatar) if you don't know what you want to be already. There's no limit to the amount of creativity that is at your disposal. Have fun, and most importantly, be respectful. The golden rule is most relevant here, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

Prince Taburyk, PlayerOneArt of FurAffinity

Prince Taburyk

My PRIMARY fursona, Prince Taburyk, displaying his folding fanblades. Art by me.

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About the Creator

Prince Taburyk

My name is "Tabby," or at least that's the nickname everyone gives me. Prince Taburyk is a character that I play, lol. I am an artist and writer by trade, and build worlds for fun. Pleasure to meet you all. :D

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