Furries In The Media

It's not about sex, it's about identity: why furries are unique among fan cultures

Fri 5 Feb 2016 - 09:48

Dated February 4, here is an article in The Guardian:
http://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2016/feb/04/furry-fandom-subculture-animal-costumes

It describes the furry fandom, and includes words from fursuit maker Sarah Dee (of Menagerie Workshop), social psychologist Kathleen Gerbasi, and Anthrocon chairman Samuel Conway.

Furry fandom, an obscure subculture united in their passion for all things anthropomorphic, can be lucrative business – because artisanal fursuits are haute-couture.

A single design can require up to 200 hours of work and sell for thousands of dollars. The business follows seasonal trends as well: one year it’s neon colours, the next grumpy-looking characters. One season, everyone wanted to be a sled dog. It’s all, of course, about the fur – even sharks, reptiles and birds are adorably fuzzy – and Los Angeles’s fashion district has stores devoted exclusively to hundreds of varieties.

Sarah Dee, a master fursuit maker, flies out twice a year for sourcing, carefully handpicking $5,000 worth of furs (a single suit requires about 5.5 yards), dragging it across town in giant bin bags to the FedEx office and then stuffing 30-inch cardboard boxes addressed to Colorado, where she tailors suits to fulfill the fantasies of fur aficionados worldwide.

Menagerie Workshop, Dee’s one-woman fursuit empire, caters to the full furry spectra, from hobbyists content with a pair of ears or a tail to lifestylers who go all out with role play like “scritching” (scratching and grooming).

Ranging from SpaceX employees to artists, her average customer is in their late 20s – in the “sweet spot” where they have enough money to spend but are not too tied down by family and work – though she’s made costumes for people as young as 12 (with parents’ consent).

To this day, Dee has brought more than 300 “fursonas” (furry personas) to life – including Baltoro the Fox, realistic with taxidermy eyes, hand-molded silicon paws and muzzle and digitigrade hind legs; Zeke the Hyena, cartoonish with hand-stitched stripes and airbrushed abs; and Blaze, a vixen with flirty eyelashes and curvaceously padded chest.

“What draws people in is that they can create this character which is a better version of themselves,” she explains. “It’s fun to just be silly, to use your imagination. To not have to conform to what people think being an adult is like.”

A spirit animal of sorts, the fursona can be just about any real or mythological creature the individual feels connected to. Dogs and big cats never go out of style, though hybrids like “folves” (fox + wolf) and “drynx” (dragon + lynx) are catching on.

New costume makers enter the market every week and fursuits gets ever more advanced: at an additional cost, jaws can move, tails wag and eyes light up with LED-lights. No two creations are alike, though most can be machine-washed and kept shiny with a few strokes with a pet brush.

With more than 40 creations lined up, 2016 is already fully booked.

•••

Stereotyped as less innocent than they look by mainstream media, furries tend to get a bad rap. A 2001 Vanity Fair article brought up both bestiality and plushophilia (sexual attraction to stuffed animals), and defined furry fandom as “sex, religion and a whole new way of life”. The show Entourage presented a pink bunny fursuit as a sexual prop, and in CSI-episode Fur and Loathing in Las Vegas, furries are portrayed as fetishists mainly in it for the “yiff” – furry porn or sex.

“We researchers are horrified by that stuff,” says Kathleen Gerbasi, a social psychologist who has researched the furry community extensively. “Because it really doesn’t represent the reality we see in the fandom.”

In her experience, people have either never heard of furries or they have a wildly distorted idea of it. As a result, fur fandom have become far more stigmatized than other similar nerd niches, such as anime and cosplay.

When Dee made her first costume – a bear, out of couch cushions – eight years ago, she was reluctant to be associated with the community, even as an artist. “Even I had some preconceived notions of like, ‘Gosh, furries are a bunch of deviants; kind of weird,’” Dee remembers, laughing. “And I still have questions.”

Even today, Dee, who quit her advertising job in Denver in 2012 for full-time fursuit making, doesn’t use her real name for business.

“I do think ‘fursectution’ is real,” says Gerbasi (who does not identify as a furry), using a portmanteau term referring to perceived persecution of the fandom from outside elements. “And I think it’s because people are afraid of things they don’t understand.”

She recalls last year’s suspected hate crime at Midwest Furfest in Chicago, which was evacuated after chlorine gas was leaked into the conference venue. Last year, she came across Facebook posts of people claiming they would bring guns to Anthrocon, the world’s largest furry convention, and personally alerted FBI.

For Samuel Conway, a professional research scientist and chairman of Anthrocon, the skewed image of the furry world is explained by its defiantly personal/introvert nature: whereas all other fandoms are consumers of properties put out by studios, authors and networks, furries invent their own idols.

“Furry fandom is unique among fan cultures in that we are not consumers, but rather creators,” Kage explains. “Star Trek fans are chasing someone else’s dream. Furries create our own fandom.“

Unfortunately, Conway explains, the public tend to be very suspicious of things they don’t understand, with an inclination to presume it’s in some way perverted.

“Furry fandom is not now – nor has it ever been – born of a sexual fetish,” Conway insists. “There are no more or fewer persons of alternative sexuality in our fandom than anywhere else.”

If anything, that cliche may be rooted in the community’s inherent tolerance and proud reputation as a safe space: furry fans may simply not feel the need to hide who they are when they’re among friends who won’t judge. He cites comic book historian Mark Evanier: “Furries are fans of each other.”

“People don’t realize it, but the whole anthropomorphism is very mainstream,” says Gerbasi, who spearheaded the multidisciplinary Anthropomorphic Research Project, which has studied about 7,000 furry fans from all continents, except Antarctica (which actually had a small furry gathering, too). While there are certain demographic trends – almost 80% are male, many work in science or tech, with a disproportionate share not identifying as heterosexual – the data, by and large, shows no indication that furries would be psychologically unhealthy.

“Cartoon animals have a universal appeal,” says Conway, who fursuits as ‘Uncle Kage’: a samurai cockroach. “A love of animals and a fascination with the idea of them acting as we do transcends most national, geographic and religious boundaries.”

While the fursuits are the most visible, they only make up only about 20% convention-goers, Conway adds: the rest are performers, writers, puppeteers, dancers, artists and “just plain old fans”.

For a minority, however, it is more than that: 46% of furry fans surveyed by Gerbasi reported identifying as less than 100% human – with 41% admitting that if they could be not human at all, they would. Twenty-nine percent of them reported experiencing being a “non-human species trapped in a human body”.

The parallels with gender identity disorder, upon which the hypothesis was modeled, were striking: much like some transgender individuals report being born the wrong sex, some furries feel a disconnect with their bodies, as if they were stuck in the wrong species. The condition, which Gerbasi et al labeled “species identity disorder”, had a physiological component too, with many reporting experiencing phantom body parts, like tails or wings.

Gerbasi still has no answers to why these individuals feel they’re not human, but stresses the importance for health providers to take them seriously, and without the ridicule that sometimes afflicts even her own research.

As the furry scene continues to grow – last year’s Anthrocon attracted 6,348 visitors – the fans hope for greater acceptance.

“I want folks to realize that we are not any special breed apart, if you’ll pardon the pun,” says Conway. “We have scientists, lawyers, physicians, firefighters, soldiers, police officers, schoolteachers, construction workers, custodians, musicians, journalists – just about anyone that is likely to pass you on a city street may well be a furry fan.”

Dee too, who remains at sidelines of the subculture but frequents conventions to advertise her business, agrees that the tendency to make furry fandom shorthand for sexual paraphilia is utterly misguided.

Throughout Menagerie’s history, only one client ever asked for a suspicious alternation – a zipper between the legs – which Dee agreed to at $1,000 extra, adding that if he ever down the road needed repairs (otherwise offered at $40/hour), she wouldn’t work on it, “because that’s gross”.

For most, Dee believes, furry fandom is more about escapism than anything else.

Slipping into a fursuit can be catharsis – allowing an otherwise shy and reserved person to transform into someone, or something, else – if only momentarily.

“People seem to find a family and a friend group there – people who like them for who they are, and for who they wanna be,” she explains. “Maybe the character is this really buff tiger guy but it doesn’t seem to matter the person is a shorter, overweight, typical nerdy-looking guy.

“They put on that costume and they just become someone completely outside themselves. It gives them anonymity to just, you know, be who they are and act how they want.”

Categories: News

A Documentary About "Furries" Competes In The Slamdance Film Festival

Thu 14 Jan 2016 - 22:59

Furries in the documentary "Fursona" come to Utah to compete in the Slamdance Film Festival
Furries in the documentary "Fursona" come to Utah to compete in the Slamdance Film Festival
"FURSONA" DOCUMENTARY
“Fursona” is a documentary premiering at the Slamdance Film Festival in Park City on Jan. 22. It’s a first time effort for director Dominic Rodriguez that focuses on the world of furries, people who like to dress up like animals. “I think that part of what the journey of the movie was the struggle and making a good solid definition because there are so many people in it," said Rodriguez.

“I had called myself a furry but I never really understood it until I was about 17 years old. I went to work as a mascot for a Single A baseball team, surprisingly as a raccoon. And the first time I got in that suit and that mascot was just completely surreal. I mean, I could be as energetic, as happy, as crazy as I could be and people loved it." - Diezel
"Since it’s different to everyone that is in that community," Rodriguez said., "it’s hard to say something that is all inclusive.”

Rodriguez who is a furry himself, said he wanted to shed some light on the furry community. However, because of the negative media coverage in past years, it’s difficult to do.

“There’s a lot of fear in the furry community about it being misrepresented," he said.

You can see furries all around at amusement parks, mascots at football games, and sometimes even on Main Street promoting a company or event. For some furries, it’s a profession, while for others, it’s a lifestyle.

“So many of us are into creating art and street performance basically with our fur suits.”said Cameron Liddiard, a furry who lives in Utah.

“A lot of furry conventions have dance competitions because there is a big dance art community in the fandom. It’s different than any other fandom because like here, no one cares who wins, everyone supports everyone, and like it’s just a big family.” – Skye
Throughout the documentary the audience is exposed to conflicts within the community. Everything from how to be a furry, to politics within their society.

Uncle Kage is a researcher by profession and is also a chairman of Anthrocon, a furry convention. He wears a lab coat at his speaking engagements opposed to his furry costume.

“I’ve got a professional reputation that I have to maintain.” - Uncle Kage

Another fursona is Boomer. He’s the antithesis of Uncle Kage who made his own costume out of clothes and shredded paper. He sweeps parts of his hair on top of his head making puppy ears.

“I love furries so much I want to see all kinds of people have it and enjoy it if they’d like to. And I’d like them to see all sides of furry, you know good and bad, whatever it is. I don’t think there’s much bad to it. People try to discover themselves in different ways.” - Boomer
“I didn’t want to just turn it into, like this tight, neat, little story. I wanted to get to know the people so we spent years,” Rodriguez said. “Like when I first met Boomer, I was shocked by his lifestyle but then the more I got to know him the more insight he shared with me and I sort of realized what a good handle on all of this he has.”

Rodriguez realized throughout the making of the documentary that something complex can still be positive.

“It doesn’t necessarily need to be like a PR piece to still have an overall positive effect,” he said. “I think if furries are portrayed as humans, you know as like flawed human ... that isn't necessarily a negative thing.”

And when all is said and done, as Rodriguez said, he hopes people walk away with a better understanding of who they are.

“It seems so strange at first,” Rodriguez said. “I hope at the end of it it’s not about furry anymore for the audience and they've just gotten to know these people. But see them as people and I think that is so important to me.”

Categories: News

Midwest Furfest 2015: More than 5,000 gather in Chicago for Furry Fandom convention

Tue 8 Dec 2015 - 16:12

Dated December 8, here is an article in the International Business Times, about Midwest FurFest 2015:

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/midwest-furfest-2015-more-5000-gather-chicago-furry-fandom-convention-1532293

Concentrating more on photographs, the article's text reads:

More than 5,000 people gathered in Chicago for Midwest FurFest 2015, a convention for "furries" – lovers of anthropomorphic cartoon animals, many of whom dress up in life-sized fantasy animal costumes. Members of the furry fandom often create their own "fursona" – an animal character. This avatar allows them to express characteristics quite different from their own personalities. About one in five adopt a fursona of a different gender – around 80% of furries are male.

Conventions like these offer furries and fans of anthropomorphic culture the opportunity to socialise. According to FurFest's website, the convention allowed delegates to "come together to celebrate... art, literature and performance based around anthropomorphic animals". There were lectures and art shows, as well as adults-only private parties for subgroups of the fandom. Attendees raised more than $60,000 for animal charity Save a Vet.

Categories: News

Anthropomorphic Art Society focuses on more than just fursuits

Fri 13 Nov 2015 - 15:17

Here is an article in The Ball State Daily News, the student newspaper of Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana:
http://www.ballstatedaily.com/article/2015/11/news-anthropomorphic-art-society

The article looks at the university's Anthropomorphic Art Society, with comments from society president Stephen Vogel, and Allyssa Burdine.

The community and bonding that Ball State's Anthropomorphic Art Society provides is more important than the costumes they may wear, said the organization's president.

Ball State’s Anthropomorphic Art Society (AAS) focuses on the appreciation of art styles concerning anthropomorphized animals—animals with human characteristics such as being able to talk and having human emotions. However, Stephen Vogel, the president and a senior Japanese major, said what is more important is the bonding the organization experiences.

“The main purpose of the group is to bring together individuals with a common interest, give a safe and comfortable environment where these individuals can meet others with similar interest and have discussions,” Vogel said in an email.

Ball State AAS meets Thursdays at 9 p.m. in the Forum Room in the L.A. Pittenger Student Center.

Ball State AAS was officially started in Spring 2010. Members, who may also be referred to as “furries,” get together to discuss various aspects of anthropomorphic art, including crafting and how to act as a “fursuiter.” Fursuits are animal-based costumes ranging from “simple tails and ears to full costumes with mechanical/electronic components,” according to WikiFur, an offset of Wikipedia dedicated to the furry community.

Dressing in suits is just one segment of the furry community, and not something everyone involved in the group chooses to do. Ball State AAS meetings include discussions based on topics related to the community such as conventions and anthropomorphism in media. The group hosts activities such as drawing tutorials, game nights and movie viewings.

"The meetings aim to be an open-floor discussion with a topic just to get conversation going. We try to avoid it becoming a lecture," Vogel said. "This coming meeting, we are showing short animation clips with anthropomorphic art followed by any discussion of the clips."

Ball State is one of only two college anthropomorphic societies in the state, Vogel said. Appreciation groups aren't limited to college campuses such as Ball State and Purdue University, where the other group is located. Similar groups are formed in local areas where individuals can meet up and discuss their common interest.

Vogel stressed that while the furry community may be misunderstood, people should recognize that it is just one part of a person’s personality.

“A lot of people tend to feel uncomfortable around people that they know are ‘furries,’” Vogel said. “But really...they are just normal humans who have a different interest than other people.”

Allyssa Burdine, a freshman biology major, had always had an interest in anthropomorphic art and joined the group after meeting them at the activities fair this fall. She said she enjoys having a group of friends who share her passion.

“When I found a group of people here on campus that shared a common interest with me I knew I wanted to find out more about the club and everything they stood for,” Burdine said. “To anyone who doesn't understand the club, what I think they should take away is the idea that we are much like a family and it is a way for people with a common interest to come together and have a good time playing games and learning more about each other and anthropomorphic art.”

Categories: News

Fangcon

Thu 12 Nov 2015 - 05:21

gets a mention in this article on downtown Knoxville

http://www.knoxnews.com/knoxville/pop-culture/downtown-randall-brown-we-have-that-spice-of-life_14847061

Categories: News

Furry on iZombie (Negative)

Thu 15 Oct 2015 - 07:44

...and I like the show!

Did a quick cam and upload for the 2 min bit on THE CW Network.

http://vid87.photobucket.com/albums/k160/Pounced/20151015_045747.mp4

Categories: News

Being a Furry Can Change Your Life

Wed 7 Oct 2015 - 07:26

Dated October 7, here is an article by Matt Baume in The Stranger, an alternative weekly newspaper in Seattle, Washington:
http://www.thestranger.com/features/feature/2015/10/07/22972145/being-a-furry-can-change-your-life

The article relates the author's experiences at the recent RainFurrest convention, and includes interviews with MetalFox, Kyell Gold, Phin, Kappy, Kilo, and Buni.

Two weekends ago, I drove to the SeaTac Hilton and parked in a distant overflow lot. I was wondering if I was in the right place until I spotted a giant fuzzy bat standing on the sidewalk. When traffic cleared, the bat lifted its wings and scampered across the road, flapping as furiously as an actual winged creature would. There was no one else present. This was not a performance for anyone's benefit. This was a person in a head space so complete, they were no longer a person at all.

Inside, the lobby of the hotel looked like Noah's ark. Most people had at least some furry ears or a tail. They chatted in small groups, with a few on all fours, barking. Others gathered around a table, stitching costumes. There was a large room set up for game consoles, and a dealer's den where you could buy animal-shaped pillows, or furry romance novels, or snacks, or porn.

I started talking with a furry who told me his name was MetalFox. As we were waiting for the elevator, he said, "The first photo I ever had with a furry was a reindeer who visited the hospital. I had a few weeks left to live. It was Christmas."

Next to us stood a rat holding a slice of pizza, and a six-foot-tall blue jay. Neither one batted an eye at his story, and indeed they couldn't have even if they wanted to—their eyes were plastic mesh embedded in masks of synthetic fur.

Furries are people who think of themselves as animals, or at least nonhuman avatars. They might dress up in costume, or they might not; they might express themselves through role-play, they might be kinky, they might keep their furriness a secret; or they might do none of those things. Some have known they're furry since childhood, others only realized their affinity later in life. You could be a furry right now without even knowing it.

Personally, I've wondered if I harbored my own secret fur for years. As a kid, I wished my friends could be more like the frolicsome rabbit family in Disney's Robin Hood. In college, I went through a phase where I taped a drawing of a kitten over my student ID photo and said "meow" when shaking hands, until a financial-aid officer frowned and ordered me to remove the picture while he watched. Then last August, I dressed up as the Nintendo character Fox McCloud for a video-game party. I have no qualms about stripping down for underwear parties—I'm hopeless at putting together an outfit, and usually it's less embarrassing to simply wear none at all. But the thought of dressing up in furry ears and a fox tail stressed me out. I was definitely going to be made fun of, right? Well, no—as soon as I slipped into the costume, my ever-present social stress simply vanished. I felt cute. People like Fox, and when I was wearing his fur at the party, people liked me. I walked home that night with the tail still swaying at my hip, not caring who saw me, and wondering: What had I just unlocked?

Which is partly how I ended up at Rainfurrest, which drew 2,500 to the SeaTac Hilton this year. Though attendees might be human in their mundane lives, by the time they walked through the revolving door of the lobby, their ears had become pointed and their tails extended from their butts. Furry sleeves adorned their arms, and their noses had been blackened until they were foxes and Charmanders and pterodactyls and elk.

A few folks clustered by the entrance, gawking at an alpaca—a real alpaca, not a person in a costume. The convention raises thousands of dollars each year for the Cougar Mountain Zoo.

MetalFox leads Rainfurrest's charitable wing. A few years back, he told me, he realized that he'd reached all of the goals in his human life. He had a dream job (IT administrator) and a home, and he'd survived leukemia against the odds. What was left? His fursona provided an answer: giving back. "He's a character I wish I could be," MetalFox told me. "My fursona helps other people."

"So why the wings?" I asked, looking at a drawing he held of a fox hovering majestically in the clouds.

"I just love flying," he said. "After Challenge Air." That's a charity started by a pilot that takes special-needs children on flights. MetalFox had been treated to a flight while hospitalized with leukemia, and the idea of benefactors descending from the sky left such an impression that he had re-created it in his very identity.

Recently, MetalFox helped a friend overcome suicidal depression by introducing her to an informal furry social circle. Now on the mend, the friend helps other furries facing similar hardships, forming a chain of support that moves from furry to furry. As MetalFox described the community's emotional continuity, a wisp of synthetic white fur drifted between us, blown from a distant creature by the air conditioning. MetalFox plucked the tuft from the air, rubbed it between his fingers, and then released it into a breeze that carried it through a pack of lounging wolves. I felt like I was in the presence of a guru.

"Was helping her stressful for you?" I asked. He nodded, and for just a moment I saw the hesitation of the man behind the fursona.

"I was not able to take on that responsibility," the human said, then smiled, "but MetalFox was able to." He cast his gaze across the room, where a person in a dingo costume was locked in loving embrace with an inflatable dragon.

"The theme of being comfortable with who you are is something I learned about through furry fandom," Kyell Gold said. He's the author of several romance novels, including Out of Position, about a gay tiger that plays college football. Kyell's novels focus on personal exploration and coming to terms with one's true nature, a process he himself underwent: Earlier in life, he studied chemical engineering, then multinational management, and then got an MA in zoology. During that time, he started writing furry romance, and when he was laid off from a tech job in 2010, his partner—also a furry—helped him launch a writing career.

"There are a lot of people who come to this place because they don't feel welcome where they are," Kyell told me. A man in a partial raccoon suit strolled past waving giant orange feather-boa fans, eliciting friendly waves from a group of college-age boys who were busy helping each other into dog costumes. "And they can learn who they are here," Kyell finished.

What was I learning about myself? Were these my people? I certainly felt a geeky kinship. Furries are a diverse crowd, but certain interests seemed so common, they were near-universal.

Seattle might just have the rest of the world beat when it comes to those interests. In addition to Rainfurrest, we also host Emerald City Comicon, FIRST Robotics, GeekGirlCon, BrickCon (for Lego enthusiasts), Sakura-Con (anime), ZomBcon (the undead), PAX Prime (games), and the Monsters of Accordion tour. Seattle isn't home to the largest furry convention in the country—that would be Anthrocon in Pittsburgh, which draws crowds of more than 6,000. But we have the best homegrown crop of nerds, and you can bet that attendees of Rainfurrest see each other at other local geek gatherings throughout the year.

"I'm also a Brony," said Phin, as he plunged an air hose into a blue vinyl orca balloon and let it slowly inflate. He was wearing a Dr. Who shirt. "I'm also in the 501st." He just assumed that I would know that the 501st is a group of Star Wars cosplayers. He was correct.

"When you're a geek, you find yourself restraining yourself," Phin went on. "If I told my coworkers I was here, inflating animals, what do you think they'd say?" Around us, a half dozen pool toys, twice as large as a regular person, wobbled back and forth. They'd been custom-made for thousands of dollars, and there were stern admonishments to leave all sharp objects outside the room.

As he spoke, I idly stroked a bundle of fur in my jacket pocket. I'd just been to a workshop where we were supplied with patterns and materials to build our own tails. I chose a bunny pattern, and as I stitched the fabric, I flirted with a boy in a sharply tailored vest. Like me, he was thin, fair, and soft-spoken. By day, he directed maritime traffic for the coast guard. But when he's off the clock, he told me, he's a rabbit.

"I can see that," I said, and somehow I really could. Rabbits have a way of finding each other, I guess.

"I'm super shy, so friends don't always come easy," Kappy told me. She was a blue raccoon, in full costume except that she had placed her furry head on the table in front of her so she could sip coffee. Role-playing as an animal wiped away the stress of socializing, which is why she was so comfortable spending time with friends like Kilo, who sat next to her.

"This is the only time I'm able to throw on the suit and have fun," Kilo said. "I would love to be silly all the time. But I catch myself. When I'm in a suit, I have freedom." When he's not in the suit, he studies diesel technology and welding in a small conservative Idaho town, and he goes to great lengths to ensure that no one will ever find out who he really is.

I could sympathize with their relief at finding a way to interact without anxiety. I'd had to walk past their table three times before I worked up the nerve to introduce myself.

"I discovered werewolves in the Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual when I was 9," Buni told me as we sat in the hotel courtyard. At a bench nearby, a bearded man gently stroked the rainbow mane of a unicorn with bulging chest muscles.

"The notion of not-quite-human struck a note in the same way as not-quite-male did when I was 17," Buni said. "When you look at a mirror and you see something that is not-quite-you looking back."

For most of her life, in conflicts between the head and the heart, she'd always gone with her head, resigning herself to reality as it was. For years, she had presented as male and lingered at the periphery of the furry community, quietly empathizing more with the werewolves than the heroes in horror films. Then one night, a furry friend asked her: "Are you serious about this? Or are you a hanger-on?"

"It was a shock to the system," Buni said. "Like when a kid gets caught wearing his mom's clothes for the first time." She was 19 and closeted, not even out to herself about being trans. "I had got as far as figuring out that I wasn't straight and not wholly male."

But as she began exploring online communities and flying across the country to attend meet-ups, she realized, "There are elements of self that I can control... I could transition. I got to decide what life meant."

As Buni spoke, a little girl ran around a corner, tripped on the sidewalk, and started to cry. The rainbow unicorn saw what had happened and clopped over to hug and comfort her.

Meeting a snow leopard named Keet at a furry gathering hastened Buni's transformation. At the time, Keet also presented as male, and as soon as they found each other, Buni said, they were "old friends who just met." Keet moved across the country to start a home with Buni, and they transitioned together.

"Everyone has that potential to find the furry," Buni said. "The pony. The crystal gem. It's finding the right key... finding that way of expressing that self, because we don't know we're allowed to look for it." At this point, I momentarily considered firing my therapist and asking Buni if we could set up weekly sessions.

When I got home, my partner James asked, "Did you find your people?"

"I don't know!" I said. "Maybe?" I showed him the tail I'd made, and then I noticed the mound of dishes that had accumulated in the sink during just the few hours I was away. "Are you fucking kidding me?" I exclaimed, and started to berate him about making a mess. This is my typical response to anything that triggers my cleanliness anxiety—lashing out with blame.

"What the fuck is this?" I demanded, pointing at an unwashed cheese grater.

"Uh. Hold on," he said, grabbing a clip from a bag of chips and using it to affix the bunny tail to the back of my pants.

"Oh," I said, considering. I wiggled my butt and felt the weight of it.

Suddenly, I was thinking about a peaceful woodland bunny nibbling grass, and a comforting stuffed rabbit named Buttons that I loved as a child, and that one rabbit that became internet-famous for balancing pancakes on his head. Relaxing, peaceful, tranquil thoughts. Staring at the tail, I could remember all of those images in an instant. But I couldn't remember why the dishes were worth getting in a fight over.

"Are you still stressed out?" James asked.

"No," I said. It takes a lot more than that to stress out a bunny.

Categories: News

UT club encourages students to find ‘fursonas’

Wed 30 Sep 2015 - 17:05

Here is an article in The Daily Texas, the student newspaper of the University of Texas at Austin:

https://www.dailytexanonline.com/2015/09/30/ut-club-encourages-students-to-find-%E2%80%98fursonas%E2%80%99

The article describes the Longhorn Furs club, with input from Joe "EJ the Otter" Seifert, Grayson Northcutt, and Will Borah.

Physics senior Joe Seifert walks into the bathroom. One minute later, he emerges as EJ the otter, clad in a hoodie, pink scarf, brown fur tail and otter head.

Seifert is the founder of Longhorn Furs, a club for students interested in fictional animals with human characteristics, similar to the characters in Disney’s “Robin Hood.” Members of the club and the larger international furry community call themselves “furries” and express their interest through drawing, writing stories or dressing up in costumes.

“Expressing your furry side is not a very common thing in colleges in general because people are so nervous about how they are viewed by others,” Seifert said. “In high school, it’s really hard to go out and be who you really are, but we want people to know that, in college, it’s totally okay.”

Longhorn Furs is an extension of the Austin furry community. Seifert said he estimates Austin has 200 to 300 active participants, not including the larger online furry community that communicates via chat rooms and forums.

The club began with a group of students from the Austin furry community who ate pizza together every Monday afternoon. These gatherings, referred to as “furmeets,” date back to 2011, but it wasn’t until April 2015 that the meetups became a part of an official campus organization. Since its creation, Longhorn Furs has hosted two dances and continues to meet weekly for pizza.

Grayson Northcutt, human biology senior and club member, said he was drawn to the community because members are always willing to sit down and talk without judgment.

“People think we are weird just because we like animals, but that is only scratching the surface,” Northcutt said. “It’s way more than just that. We like the community and each other, and [the furry aspect] is just kind of the central point where we met.”

Seifert attended his first furmeet one year ago after stumbling across a furry subreddit. He said he had not yet come out, but the community’s openness and accepting nature allowed him to truly express himself and embrace his sexuality.

The national furry community is predominantly LGBT. According to a 2014 study by the International Anthropomorphic Research Project, only about 20 percent of the fandom identifies as heterosexual.

Seifert said transgender people, especially those who have not yet begun the process of transitioning, benefit greatly from the furry community. They can act as whatever gender they identify with through their “fursona,” an animal character furries create to express themselves in the community. Seifert said his fursona, EJ the otter, is an American river otter who, like Seifert, is gay and studies physics.

Mechanical engineering sophomore Will Borah, an officer of Longhorn Furs, said some people create fursonas that drastically stray from their personalities, while others create fursonas that are extensions of themselves. His fursona, on orange tabby cat, is the latter.

“Usually, people [with cat fursonas] are like cat people in real life,” Borah said. “[They’re] kind of quiet, grumpy in the morning and do their own thing. But I like doing the cat thing. It works out well.”

One of the misconceptions Seifert said he wants to disprove is the idea that furries believe they are truly animals.

“A lot of people think that furries are weirdos that don’t fit into regular society,” Seifert said. “People use furries as the butt of their jokes. People judge it right off the bat and don’t take any time to look at the people. We are just people who have this interest and want to be able to express it with others.”

Categories: News

Furries at Bubonicon

Fri 4 Sep 2015 - 11:53

Here is an article from the recent addition of the Weekly Alibi, the local alternative paper in Albuquerque. Bubonicon is the local sci-fi con where furries are having a bigger presence.
http://alibi.com/feature/49675/The-Furries-of-the-Day.html

Categories: News

Meet the furries of Furry Migration where being weird is a good thing

Thu 3 Sep 2015 - 10:51

Dated September 1, here is an article on the website of City Pages, an alternative newspaper serving the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area:

http://www.citypages.com/arts/meet-the-furries-of-furry-migration-where-being-weird-is-a-good-thing-video-7621725

The article concerns last weekend's Furry Migration convention, and includes quotes from attendees Alexander Zalewski, Banana, and Miaka.

"Don't be afraid to have fun even if it's a little weird, because being a little weird is really a good thing." That's good advice in general, but embracing the weird was essential for the Twin Cities furry community over the weekend.

At the second-annual Furry Migration convention, more than 100 furries from across the metro took over the Hyatt Regency. Clad in their signature fur suits and letting their "fursonas" (fur-personas) fly high, they gathered to celebrate their love of the furry fandom.

Furries are part of a subculture that champions the, well, furrier beings on the planet by role playing as anthropomorphic animal characters. The furry community channels these animals as an expression of their creativity, and they often role play as an original character or "fursona" they feel is an extension of themselves.

"I'd always been interested in werewolves in general," says convention-goer Alexander Zalewski. As a kid, he was drawn to films like The Lion King, Balto, and All Dogs Go to Heaven, so naturally he went with those lupine vibes when coming up with his original character Stopthat.

"I have a lot of the same traits as canines," another fursuiter named Banana explains, citing loyalty and high energy. "I have a small group of friends — rather than a large group of acquaintances — that I trust equivalent to a pack." Banana's name is apt, since the character's bright-red fursuit is covered with "strategically placed" bananas and yellow accents.

But there are more than just canines at Furry Migration. You'll see just about every kind of fuzzy animal at a convention like this, including bats (with huge gauged ears!), cats, and deer.

"I found an animal that I could relate to in both size and personality," says Miaka, whose fursona is a Shetland pony, an animal that isn't very common in the furry community. "I always loved horses growing up, so it seemed natural to pick that."

Despite the vast variety in fauna at the convention, it was clear that they were all in pursuit of one thing: fun.

Miaka explains the appeal of uniting with a bevy of like-minded fursuiters. "I get to break out of the norm and be more extroverted than I would in the normal, mundane world," she says.

Banana is of the same mindset. "That's his [character's] big thing: Everybody has to have fun."

Categories: News

6 Modern Subcultures That Might Shock The Mainstream.

Mon 24 Aug 2015 - 12:33

Here's an article on the website of the Houston Press, an alternative weekly newspaper published in Houston, Texas:

http://www.houstonpress.com/arts/6-modern-subcultures-that-might-shock-the-mainstream-7695992

It lists "6 Modern Subcultures That Might Shock The Mainstream". Specifically:
6: Juggalos
5: Real Vampires
4: Otherkin
3: Fan Fic Communities
2: Furries
1: Bronies

Our world is an interesting place, and for many people there is a drive to form social groups outside of the mainstream. Over the last several decades, many subcultures have formed which initially weren't very noticeable to the average person, but, in an era where the Internet provides a way for people to communicate in ways never before possible, many of those subcultures have grown and become huge. Here are a few of the more notable examples.

6. Juggalos

Juggalos get a lot of exposure these days, and have roots going back to at least the early '90s. They are the extreme fans of the Insane Clown Posse, a hip hop group from Detroit which got its start in 1989. The music of I.C.P. has never been about subtlety, and the group consists of two guys wearing clown makeup who pen songs about drugs, murder, and...magnets, among other subjects. As the years went on, some of their fans began to wear clown makeup too, and eventually created a huge subculture of Juggalos. Many of these clown-faced fans make a lifestyle from their affiliation with their Juggalo family, with its biggest celebration being the yearly "Gathering of the Juggalos," an enormous celebratory, and infamously lawless music festival that I.C.P puts on in Ohio. The (very NSFW) infomercials advertising this event give outsiders a view into Juggalo life, and are well worth a look. The FBI currently considers Juggalos to be an outlaw gang, which doesn't seem particularly fair since it's rare to hear of any significant violence or criminal activity attributed to them. Yes, drug use is celebrated, but the FBI doesn't consider other groups of music fans, such as Deadheads, to be criminal gangs. Juggalos often look scary in their makeup, but they seem mostly harmless. As mentioned, the following video is not safe for work or sensitive viewers.

5. Real Vampires

Real Vampires are people who believe they must feed on the blood or psychic energy of other humans in order to preserve their mental, emotional, or physical well being. They're another group that's gotten a lot of exposure in the media recently, and their numbers have been steadily growing over the last three decades or so. Like many younger subcultures, these real life vampires network with each other online, using social networking sites and specialty forums to exchange ideas and socialize. They also host and attend vampire-centric events and meet in private to perform vampiric acts out of the public eye. Vampires have a very developed social order and usually follow a strict moral code that holds safety and consent as paramount concerns. The following video contains material that might offend sensitive viewers.

4. Otherkin

Otherkin are a subculture of people that developed almost entirely online, and is made up of folks who identify as either partially or entirely non-human. They explain the mechanisms behind this state of being in a variety of metaphysical ways, and Otherkin are relatively "rules free" in nature. Some claim to be Fairies or Elves, dragons, cartoon characters, or other mythical creatures, and may claim to possess abilities or vulnerabilities attributed to their mythological kindred.

As difficult as it may be for outsiders to understand or accept, many Otherkin take their beliefs quite seriously, and some develop elaborate spiritual belief systems around their identities. Although Otherkin are generally less socially structured, they have certain similarities to Real Vampires, and the subcultures sometimes interact with one another. Since their beliefs are very unconventional, Otherkin are often harassed online by people who think they are delusional. I'm not sure it's advisable to screw with a person who is part dragon, and maybe it's best to just live and let live anyway.

3. Fan Fic Communities

Fan fiction has been around in one form or another for decades, but has become enormous with the widespread adoption of online communities. Fan fiction at its most basic is a kind of tribute. It's when people who are fans of a particular TV show, movie, or group of characters decide to write their own stories, using their favorite characters or the fictional worlds they exist in. It's a creative hobby for many people, and there are probably thousands of individuals who take part in it. Where a hobby becomes a subculture is when it grows in scale and dedication. There are people who group closely together and form tight bonds through their mutual obsession with fan fiction.

Some fan fiction communities also have a sizable number of contributors who focus on interpersonal and romantic or sexual relationships between fictional characters from the fandom so they enjoy. In fact, "50 Shades of Grey" had its origins as a series of terrible, sexually explicit fan fiction stories using characters from Twilight. Let that sink in for a moment. Despite that "live and let live" thing I mentioned earlier, if a person enjoys writing sexually explicit fan fic using underage characters, please knock it off. The Internet is already gross and scary enough.

2. Furries

The Furry Fandom is another subculture that goes back decades, with it being recognized in science fiction and fantasy circles by the early '80s. However, many people will trace its origins further back to anthropomorphic depictions of animals in cartoons decades earlier. Furries are individuals who are interested in fictional anthropomorphic animal characters with human personalities and characteristics.

One thing is for sure - the Furry subculture is huge now, helped along by the Internet by the early '90s and having only gained steam since then. Individual Furries are attracted to the subculture for many different reasons, and their interests are varied. Some Furries are interested only in enjoying media using characters who fit the Furry profile and others like to build elaborate costumes to wear and socialize in with other Furries. A sizable segment of the Furry Fandom subculture also promote a sexual element to their activities, but while that sexual content is often criticized, it's not representative of every Furry. A few people in the subculture also cross over into Otherkin territory, believing that their anthropomorphic alter ego better reflects their true nature than the physical human body they inhabit.

1. Bronies

I remember the first time I heard about Bronies - male fans of "My Little Pony" who tend to range in age from teens to middle aged men. My first impression was "Thank you Internet, for unleashing another horrifying sexual fetish upon our world." Then I met a couple of Bronies in their 20s, and while they were a little odd, neither seemed like really creepy people. A couple of documentaries later, and I've come to understand the Brony subculture a little better. It seems to attract men who like the central theme of friendship and loyalty that the cartoon show "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" spreads. Bronies seem to mostly interact online, but also attend local social gatherings and meet ups, and travel great distances to go to large conventions celebrating the show. Rather than being a creepy group of sexual predators or perverts, Bronies seem to be a community of teens and men who rally around positive messages from My Little Pony. Like most of the groups on this list, they may appear weird or even frightening to outsiders, but are just forming communities around shared interests that are outside of what many people would consider the mainstream.

Categories: News

Why do we like to dress up as animals?

Sat 22 Aug 2015 - 18:16

Here in an article on mnn.com (the "Mother Nature Network"), about the furry fandom:
http://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/blogs/why-do-we-like-dress-animals

I have a confession: I have wanted a tail for as long as I can remember. Maybe it was growing up with so many dogs and cats, riding ponies and then horses, or maybe it's something else, something deeper. It always seemed to me that humans looked somehow incomplete without tails. (And that thought still crosses my mind at least once a month.)

So while I've never been compelled to dress up in an animal costume, I've imagined what my own tail would look like (adorable!), and I think I get part of the reason why people dress up as foxes, bears and cats — usually called furries or fursuiters. You could call me a furry sympathizer.

A tiger furry at the European Furry ConventionWhich is why I'm glad the practice of dressing up as an animal has moved from the freakish sidelines — remember how the person dressed in a bear suit in "The Shining" upped the creepiness factor of the sex scene? — to the mainstream. That's due to a combination of more open-minded attitudes, the wonderful furry community that can be found on the Internet, and bold individuals who have spoken out about what furry culture really is. Not to mention that "furry lite" fashion — wearing animal-face hats, hoods and gloves — has become so commonplace, even among adults.

But there are still plenty of myths about what it is to be a furry.

First of all, furry culture is about way more than just sex. If that's your association, that's because the media has tended to focus on that angle. Like other parts of costume-play that came out of Comic-Con and other fantasy and gamer gatherings, dressing as an animal a chance to express another part of yourself or to explore a side of your personality that you might not feel comfortable with in your everyday life. Masks of all kinds — from those worn on stage, to makeup, to costume balls and Halloween — have a long and fascinating role in human history.

Fursuiters are just wearing another kind of mask, but the people who like to dress as wolves, penguins, bunnies or other creatures are generally those who strongly identify with animals — rather than a witch or a Disney character or a famous actor. They run the gamut from fairly faithful animal imitations to more or less anthropomorphized creatures — a half wolf/half man for example — to fanciful combinations of animals, like a bunny-dog. Others hew more closely to completely made-up animals from anime or art.

A sense of play

The furry community is primarily about creativity, playfulness, freedom and exploration. If it seems like those things are in short supply in conventional Western life, you're onto part of the reason this movement resonates with so many people. The Internet is an important connecting place, but IRL (in real life) gatherings of more than 3,000 have occurred, and it's especially popular in the United Kingdom.

Fursonas or fur-personas can also be about transcending divisive social issues like race, gender, class, weight or religion — or basically any label that makes people uncomfortable or unsure about where they fit.

Relating to animals in this way isn't new: In many native cultures, totem or spirit animals help people understand their place in the world, and beloved stories from almost every culture include animals that could speak, humans who are reincarnated as animals, or rituals that involve dressing as animals.

"Humans tend to anthropomorphise as a way of understanding and interpreting the world around us. Furries just take this interest a bit further than most people," anthrozoologist Kathy Gerbasi told the BBC.

Some of the popularity of fursuiters may be found in our culture's disconnect with the natural world, or in a longing for the simpler life of an animal. In truth, different furry fans probably have varying reasons for why they love to dress up as. And whether this idea resonates with you or not, it's definitely growing in popularity. In Japan, "kigurumi" are mainstream. These cute animal onesie outfits are worn for fun, and you can now buy those plushy ensembles in the U.S. too, via the wonders of the Internet.

I'm waiting for really cool, pre-made tails to become available. It might confuse my cat, but it would definitely be fun to try on!

Categories: News

Spam

Wed 19 Aug 2015 - 05:20

Why was there no option to report kindduda's posts as spam?

Categories: News

<a href="https://www.youtube.com

Wed 19 Aug 2015 - 02:25

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<a href="https://www.youtube.com

Wed 19 Aug 2015 - 02:25

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Categories: News

Anthrocon Convention steps out in full fursuits

Mon 17 Aug 2015 - 16:56

Dated August 15, here is a (strangely late) article about Anthrocon in the New Pittsburgh Courier:
http://newpittsburghcourieronline.com/2015/08/15/anthrocon-convention-steps-out-in-full-fursuits/

Pittsburgh’s furry friends from Anthrocon have a Fursuit Walk every year when they hold their convention, but this year they were venturing outdoors—and the city of Pittsburgh was invited to watch!

The Anthrocon Fursuit started at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center with approximately 1,300 “Fursuiters” taking part in the procession. This was the first time that the public was invited to watch the outdoor portion of the walk.

“We love Pittsburgh and the decision to invite the public has been in the back of our minds for quite some time,” Samuel Conway, chairman of Anthrocon Inc., said before the walk. “It gives the people of Pittsburgh the opportunity to share a little bit of what we do. So we are looking forward to sharing some of our Anthrocon joy and the convention experience with the people of Pittsburgh.”

It’s not every day that fursuits are worn outdoors. Described as “wearable, original works of art,” the costumes are mostly original creations. The fully costumed group only represents about 20 percent of the convention. The Anthrocon convention, which took place last month, attracts artists, animators, costumers, puppeteers and just everyday fans who enjoy cartoon animals. The program includes workshops and seminars in acting, costume-building, animation, art and design.

Categories: News

Meet the furries: People who identify with an animal so much they dress up as one

Sun 9 Aug 2015 - 14:02

Dated August 8, here is an article in The Florida Times-Union:
http://jacksonville.com/entertainment/2015-08-08/story/meet-furries-people-who-identify-animal-so-much-they-dress-one

It looks at Florida's furry community, and the recent Megaplex convention.

The guys hit it off with 22-year-old Lonnie Weets, a communications and advertising major at the University of North Florida.

They invited him to hang out at their Monday night game nights, but they sent him a text to make sure he knew what he was getting into.

Of course, there would be fun, drinks and games.

But there would also be furries.

“I didn’t know what it was,” said Weets, who lives on the Southside.

He did some research and was fascinated.

Furries? People dressed as animals, but a lot more.

Weets wanted to see for himself.

And he’s glad he did.

Though Weets doesn’t identify himself as a furry, he enjoys their company.

“They are open-minded out-of-the-box thinkers and unique,” Weets said.

GAME NIGHTS

David Kanaszka, who lives on Jacksonville’s Southside, hosts the game nights. He recently returned from the Megaplex, Florida’s furry convention in Orlando held from July 31-Aug. 2. It’s been happening since 2002; this year, Megaplex attracted 1,472 attendees.

Yes, there are enough furries to have a convention. In fact, conventions are held across the United States and the world. More than 6,000 people from 34 countries attended the 2015 Anthrocon, the largest furry convention in the world. The name for Anthrocon, held in Pittsburgh since 2006, is derived from anthropomorphism, or giving human characteristics to nonhumans.

This year’s Anthrocon will have a $5.7 million economic impact on Pittsburgh, Tom Loftus of the city’s convention and visitors bureau told NPR Pittsburgh.

Kanaszka said the furry community is centered on the idea of walking and talking animals. Megaplex’s mission, according to its website, is to “provide for our membership a celebration of interactive arts and performance, with a primary focus on anthropomorphics and fantasy.”

In other words, furries identify with animals that have human qualities. Many furries have created their own animal characters, complete with a name and a backstory.

Kanaszka created Vitai Slade (in Latin, Vita means life, so his character’s name is inspired by that). Vitai Slade is a white tiger.

Kanaszka had a costume made to fit his image of Vitai. And costumes can be expensive, usually ranging from $1,000 to $3,000, but sometimes reaching $5,000.

And they can be stifling.

“It is very hot in the costumes. It’s kind of like wrapping yourself up in a giant carpet,” Kanaszka said. “It’s hot, not very comfortable, you have limited ‘tunnel vision’ and it’s harder to hear, talk and even move around.”

He doesn’t necessarily suit up, the term used to describe putting on an animal costume, during the game nights, but he will wear his fur suit whenever he feels like it. With the help of a handler to guide him, the 6-foot-6, 25-year-old wore it in St. Augustine while hanging out on St. George Street.

“If I’m in the mood to jump around and be a giant tiger, then I’ll do it,” Kanaszka said.

MEETING PEOPLE

Bonomec (real name Jimmie Pixler) is the name another character, an Australian shepherd, wanted to use for this article. The self-described introvert, who is in the Navy, said, “Furry for me … it’s kind of a way to meet people.”

Bonomec lives on Jacksonville’s Westside and has connected with furries through game nights, conventions and online.

He said they’re all accepting and free of judgment.

Weets agrees. Though his furry friends call him by his middle name, Dakota, and gave him an animal personality of a jackal, he has no desire to get a costume. He just enjoys hanging out with the furry community.

“I enjoy meeting interesting people with interesting stories and unique perspectives on life,” Weets said.

Bonomec said he knows some people think his involvement in furry fandom is weird.

“When I first got my suit, I posted it online. All of my co-workers saw it. They said, ‘what the heck is this?’ ”

Bonomec explained that he had made a character and wanted to act it out.

His boss would jokingly bark at him from time to time.

“I’ve had significantly more good reaction than bad reaction,” he said.

Bonomec said that when he suits up, he does it with the general public in mind. He knows he’s going to cheer someone up. And seeing the smiles and the laughter makes him feel good.

Kanaszka feels the same way.

He’s a performer, he said, and this gives him a chance to do what he loves.

He said his character, Vitai, is playful and proud, giving hugs and making people smile.

When he’s in costume he said, “one of my favorite things to do is find the grumpiest people and start jumping up and down in front of them.”

He said he always knew he was different and didn’t see the world the same way as everyone else. As a teenager, he went online to figure out if there was a community that interested him.

That’s how he learned about furries.

What some people also learn when they research furries is the idea that furry fandom is a sexual fetish. Furries are a diverse group, mostly men but with an increasing female participation, from all professions, cultures, religions, races, political affiliations, etc. Some might be from a subculture, just as in the average general population, but mostly furries are just people who like to have good clean fun and make people smile.

“I could probably go on all day,” Anthrocon chairman Samuel Conway told NPR Pittsburgh. “ ‘I heard the furries this, I heard the furries that!’ The only real statement is, ‘I heard that furries are some of the most creative people on the face of the planet’ ”

Added Kanaszka: “Here’s the thing: You’re talking about a group of individuals who are mostly between the ages of 18 and 28. I’m not going to say that sex doesn’t happen, but that is not what the community is about.”

Kanaszka said doing the furry thing is no different than “Star Trek’s” Trekkies.

In his case, and for many of his friends, he loves cartoon animals.

“[I’m] basically a kid who never grew up,” Kanaszka said.

AN ESCAPE

Kanaszka attends several conventions throughout the year. Programming focuses on a variety of arts and performances, from fursuiting, costuming and puppetry, to improvisational art and music. Furries also learn how to care for their costumes and dance in costume. There aren’t only “fursuit” games; at this year’s convention, Kanaszka gave a panel discussion on finances.

And his furry life has also inspired him to start a business, Tiger Brand Clothing Co., which makes T-shirts.

Each year, Megaplex raises money to benefit The CARE Foundation of Apopka. This year’s convention raised more than $7,000 to benefit the nonprofit animal sanctuary. The foundation sends speakers to Megaplex to talk about the local wildlife and abused pets it helps rescue, and staff members usually bring along a few of their animal friends — the real ones.

Kanaszka said that being a furry is a big part of his life.

“It’s really fun,” he said. “I’ve made a lot of friends that I wouldn’t have otherwise.”

As for Weets, he’s still getting into the fur scene. He said he’s had to learn some of the jargon when he’s hanging out with his furry friends on game nights, which usually attracts between 20 to 30 people.

“Everyone has their escape from reality,” he said. “For them, [being a furry] is it. I respect that.”

Categories: News

Ann Arbor man jailed in sex assault case lured teen into 'furry' fetish subculture

Sun 26 Jul 2015 - 17:07

An article on the Michigan news site mlive.com:
http://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2015/07/15-year-old_girl_was_lured_int.html

A married Ann Arbor couple first brought a 15-year-old Saline girl into the world of "furry fandom" before the 31-year-old husband coaxed her into having sex with him, a police report shows.

Christopher Burke, who was recently sentenced to four months in jail and five years of probation in the case, denied any sexual involvement with the girl, though did admit she was a fellow "furry" and joined in the cuddle piles at his Ann Arbor apartment, according to the report, obtained by The News via a Freedom of Information Act request.

As Burke explained to Ann Arbor police detectives, "furry fandom" is an activity in which people dress up in mascot costumes, sometimes for sexual purposes.

While he said when questioned by police that he didn't have sex with the 15-year-old, Burke eventually pleaded no contest to one count of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct in June.

Burke also declined to take a polygraph test in the case.

The report chronicles how a 15-year-old girl got caught up in the esoteric furry fandom fetish via her 20-year-old sister, who was in a polyamorous relationship with Burke and his wife, Crystal, and how their strict Catholic parents tried to put a stop to it.

The 20-year-old sister also told police there was never any sexual contact between Burke and the girl, though she broke down in tears during the police interview.

The 15-year-old later confessed more than one sexual encounter with Burke.

By law, a 15-year-old is not old enough to consent to any sexual behavior in the state of Michigan.

'The couple seemed nice'

On Jan. 13, a 45-year-old Saline woman called Ann Arbor police and said her 15-year-old daughter had been sexually assaulted by a 30-year-old man between Dec. 18 and Dec. 23, according to the report.

The woman said her 20-year-old daughter was living with Christopher "Wolfe" and his 28-year-old wife, Crystal. All three of them worked at the Wal-Mart in Pittsfield Township.

The 20-year-old, whose name was redacted from the report though she is not a victim in any criminal case, eventually moved in with the couple, sharing their king-sized bed.

Her mother said she just thought they were roommates. She and her family would visit the 20-year-old at the Burke's Mill Creek apartment in Ann Arbor.

"The couple seemed nice," the mother told police, but she seemed afraid the 20-year-old was being manipulated even then. "(My daughter) is easily drawn into things. She doesn't know right from wrong."

Eventually, the mother said she couldn't go visit her daughter at the apartment without the approval of either Chris or Crystal Burke.

"(The 20-year-old) is a follower and is gullible," the mother told detectives. "They promised to look after her, she's closed her bank account through us and opened a new account at their bank. (The 20-year-old) says she's in love with Chris and Crystal and they are all having sex together."

The mother found out the couple took the 15-year-old to the Oasis Hot Tub Gardens in Ann Arbor on a couple of occasions. She also discovered a text message on the 15-year-old's cell phone indicating Burke said, "I have your dog collar in my pocket right now."

There were also alleged texts from Burke asking the 15-year-old to send him pictures.

When the mother confronted her, the 15-year-old told her that one time while staying the night, she had sex with Burke while the wife was at work and her sister was asleep in the basement, where she slept in a laundry area, according to the report.

The mother told police that the 20-year-old "asked Christopher to teach her younger sister about sex," the report says.

Ann Arbor detectives began their investigation.

Aliases and fantasy

At this time, investigators only had the name "Christopher Wolfe."

After reviewing the 15-year-old's phone, it turned out Burke went by several aliases, including Christopher Wolfe, Draco and Senpi. Police only later discovered his surname was Burke.

The texts detailed in the police report are messages the 15-year-old received from Burke under his alias "Senpi."

On Jan. 7, Senpi wrote this to the 15-year-old girl:

"-lick- you has a good flavor"
"Well you could call me nee-San or master :P and as for pictures. Cute and sassy, fun and sexy.
"That and would love more pictures of you :P"
"My mind is always full of questions, thoughts .... fantasies ... #^_^#"
"Can't wait till things chill and you can come over again."
"I really want to take you to Oasis when it's snowing..Is super awesome"
" ~snuggles~"
"~tickles~"

Some of the texts received from "Senpi" on Jan. 8:

"-nibbles-"
"Tickles-"
"you are under cinna Wolfe in mine :D"

Burke also reportedly sent the 15-year-old pictures of himself, including one in a Batman costume.

When questioned, Burke admitted there was inappropriate communication with the 15-year-old but no inappropriate physical contact.

Furry fandom

Ann Arbor police Detective Amy Ellinger interviewed Burke for the first time on Feb. 26.

From the outside, it seemed Burke and his wife were just another American family trying to scrape by. He told Ellinger that he had two jobs, one at the Wal-Mart and one at Gamestop. He and Crystal had been together since 2004 and legally married in March 2014. They didn't have any children and lived at an apartment in Ann Arbor.

But further questioning by the detective revealed Burke and his wife participated in a variety of sub-cultural activities such as polyamory, furry fandom and paganism.

Burke said he met the 20-year-old at Wal-Mart, where she was an associate in the toy department, and brought her into the furry community, which he had to explain to the detective.

"It's anthropomorphic, people who dress in mascot uniforms," he said, according to the report. "Within it ... and also the way I was raised, it was common practice for us all to kind of lounge around on the floor watching TV in kind of a cuddle pile and you know occasionally (the 15-year-old) would be in that cuddle pile. You know, nothing sexual. It was just a platonic, hey we're all just lounging about watching TV."

Burke said he and his wife recently attended a furry convention in Novi. Burke said his parents are T-shirt vendors and he grew up going to all kinds of conventions. He said he introduced his wife and the 20-year-old to conventions "both literary, science fiction, fantasy and furry ..."

"I've got to meet a lot of real cool people," he said.

Burke admitted there were some inappropriate comments made to the 15-year-old, but nothing he ever acted on.

"You know, love, hugs and kisses," he said when asked to describe the comments.

Then, he said, the girl's parents found a text message saying Burke had the 15-year-old's dog collar.

"We all have collars because of the furry fandom," he said. "Anthropomorphic is being like half animal, half human. Collars are common practice. Unfortunately, I feel that because such things weren't explained to (the 15-year-old's) parents, they saw a comment about 'Hey I've got your collar.' You know just telling her I've got it and I knew where it was and it was safe 'cause (she) expressed to me that her parents wouldn't understand it. So I kept (the 15-year-old's and 20-year-old's) collar along with mine and Crystal's."

The detective tells Burke she is not familiar with the furry community and asks him to describe the collars.

"They would be traditional dog collars usually with some sort of flair, you know a bell or a little symbol, usually a tag," he said, according to the report. "In the furry community it's partially a self-ownership as well as identifying marks or if you run in a group of people sometimes they'll all wear the same symbol."

He described the relationship between his wife, himself and the 20-year-old to detectives like this:

"We have a, it would almost be considered polyamorous, but it's a closed between the triad," he said. "Both my wife and myself are dating (the 20-year-old). As you can imagine that in her household that kind of caused an uproar. They have a strong Catholic background as I've always tried to respect as I follow eclectic paganism."

The three share a bed, and he admitted there was sexual activity.

Burke continued to deny any sexual activity with the 15-year-old, however.

"Other than the massages and the foot massages, there wasn't anything physical," he said. "Unless you count a hug. 'Cause people hug and greet."

When asked about the sexual encounter described by the 15-year-old girl, Burke continued to deny it.

"I'm sorry. That's absurd," Burke said during questioning. "Because that never happened."

Burke ultimately declined to take a polygraph "on advice of an attorney," according to the report.

'He did not rape her'

On March 23, detectives interviewed the 20-year-old sister at Wal-Mart.

"He did not rape her," she said. "He didn't touch her. He was never alone in a room with her. She was always by my side."

She told police that her parents were Catholic and very controlling. The 20-year-old said her parents never allowed her to spend time with friends growing up.

"I don't blame my parents for how I turned out. I'm my own person. I'm in a wonderful relationship. I'm open and kind. My dad took away my truck because I didn't believe in Catholicism. I'm the oldest. I've been in charge. I was a second Mommy."

The 20-year-old broke down in tears as police questioned her about the alleged sexual intercourse between Burke and her 15-year-old sister.

She was adamant Burke did not have sexual contact with the 15-year-old, however.

"No. He's not that kind of guy," she said. "He helped me to become an individual person."

The prosecutor's office initially declined to authorize charges against Burke, but by April, the 15-year-old made additional disclosures to her mother and police about sexual contact with Burke, according to the report.

The 15-year-old's questioning by police was redacted from the report due to privacy issues.

On April 7, Assistant Washtenaw County Prosecutor Joanne Pray authorized a warrant for counts of third- and fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct with a victim between 13-15 years old.

He was arrested and arraigned on April 17.

Four months in jail

When Burke was sentenced last week in the Washtenaw County Trial Court, both his father and the 15-year-old's parents were in attendance.

The 45-year-old mother of the 20-year-old and the 15-year-old claimed Burke took the virginity of both daughters.

"He's a manipulator and a sexual predator," the girl's mother told Judge Darlene O'Brien during a victim impact statement prior to sentencing.

Burke's father, Scott Burke, told The Ann Arbor News his son and his son's wife merely chose to live an "alternative lifestyle."

"He's not a sexual deviant," he said.

The News left a message with Scott Burke for this story. He did not return the message.
Burke is serving 4½ months in jail. He will be on probation for five years and have to register as a sex offender when released.

Categories: News

The Furry Force is back...

Sat 18 Jul 2015 - 10:27

...for Part 3, "Furry Superheroes Are the Grossest":

Categories: News