YAFA- (Yet Another Furry Article)

Poor Nikon. This story makes me wince.

*sigh* I hope Nikon is okay, this seems another article that hurts the poor 'coon. Nikon is such a sweety too. Why are the negatives focused on so heavily in the media?

Pitch Weekly attended last month's 'Howl, Growl and Purr' - A Missouri furry minicon, and thoughtfully wrote an Article On it! I've read it. It's honest, and unflattering.

I actually thought that the article was pretty even-handed, though admittedly it didn't go out of its way to heap praise on the fandom. The whole thing read like a character contrast story, exploring how two people (Halex and Nikkon) attempted to reach out socially through the Furry fandom, and contrasting their (apparent) success and lack thereof. The Furry material was just an interesting backdrop for the character study.

Two things that make me respect this article are:

• While the article mentions some of the naughtier facets of the fandom, it doesn't dwell on them, and takes pains to point out that the things that would *really* squick people (e.g. plushophilia) or are illegal (e.g. zoophilia) aren't the norm.
• The description of Nikkon is actually meant to provoke sympathy. It's the hook for the article; the reader, presumably a bit socially insecure themselves, is supposed to empathize with Nikkon as he struggles to reach out to others at the gathering.

I'll take articles like this over the usual media circus any day.