I'm not saying that the gay commmunity was ONLY facing accusations of attention-seeking. That really would be laughable. But I am saying that accusations of attention-seeking was one way (among many) in which homophobes attempted to deny the existence of a core gay identity. And even if those accusations pale in comparison to the violence and hate crimes, it's still relevant to the conversation. It was still something that gay people had to fight against in order to protect their rights and dignity in mainstream society.
Honestly, I wasn't even thinking of violence and hate crimes when I brought up the connection to the gay community; not because I wasn't aware of it but because it simply wasn't relevant to the point I was making. For me, this debate has always been purely about personal dignity.
There are many hobbyist furs who refuse to believe furry lifestylers when they say that furry is a part of their core identity. I know because I've seen it. Yes, even in the short time I've been a member of the fandom. The hobbyist furs may not understand or even like therians, but they're more willing to believe that therian exists as a core identity. Because "therian" describes a psychology in clear terms whereas "lifestyle" describes a behaviour. Behaviours are simply easier to dismiss. But if that lack of distinction doesn't bother you right now, or the lifestyler community in general, then fair enough, I guess. I've always said that language is memetic; if you don't need new language, you're not going to adopt new language.
But it bothers me. The last two weeks I've spent on Flayrah have been very tiring on occasion, not only because of the troubles I've had trying to articulate an identity that does not have a name in furry fandom, but then to get people to believe that my identity exists at all, even when I state it in the clearest possible terms. For example, because there's no distinction between core identity and lifestyle, I now have to deal with people like Brian constantly telling me I'm a furry lifestyler when I'm not a furry lifestyler.
It's demeaning, it's undignified and it's completely unnecessary. If we accept that furry lifestylers hold furry to be a core identity, then there's no good reason not to give that a separate label. It would give furry lifestylers a firmer ground to stand on when expressing themselves, and it would give people like me, who do not engage with furry as a lifestyle, an easier way to communicate our identities with other people.
In any case, I'm going to continue to use the term "core furry" because it's an important and useful term for me to use. If you don't need to use it yourself, then that's fine. The point is that it's here if you need to use it at some point in the future. And I think you will do.
Again, you're misreading my argument.
I'm not saying that the gay commmunity was ONLY facing accusations of attention-seeking. That really would be laughable. But I am saying that accusations of attention-seeking was one way (among many) in which homophobes attempted to deny the existence of a core gay identity. And even if those accusations pale in comparison to the violence and hate crimes, it's still relevant to the conversation. It was still something that gay people had to fight against in order to protect their rights and dignity in mainstream society.
Honestly, I wasn't even thinking of violence and hate crimes when I brought up the connection to the gay community; not because I wasn't aware of it but because it simply wasn't relevant to the point I was making. For me, this debate has always been purely about personal dignity.
There are many hobbyist furs who refuse to believe furry lifestylers when they say that furry is a part of their core identity. I know because I've seen it. Yes, even in the short time I've been a member of the fandom. The hobbyist furs may not understand or even like therians, but they're more willing to believe that therian exists as a core identity. Because "therian" describes a psychology in clear terms whereas "lifestyle" describes a behaviour. Behaviours are simply easier to dismiss. But if that lack of distinction doesn't bother you right now, or the lifestyler community in general, then fair enough, I guess. I've always said that language is memetic; if you don't need new language, you're not going to adopt new language.
But it bothers me. The last two weeks I've spent on Flayrah have been very tiring on occasion, not only because of the troubles I've had trying to articulate an identity that does not have a name in furry fandom, but then to get people to believe that my identity exists at all, even when I state it in the clearest possible terms. For example, because there's no distinction between core identity and lifestyle, I now have to deal with people like Brian constantly telling me I'm a furry lifestyler when I'm not a furry lifestyler.
It's demeaning, it's undignified and it's completely unnecessary. If we accept that furry lifestylers hold furry to be a core identity, then there's no good reason not to give that a separate label. It would give furry lifestylers a firmer ground to stand on when expressing themselves, and it would give people like me, who do not engage with furry as a lifestyle, an easier way to communicate our identities with other people.
In any case, I'm going to continue to use the term "core furry" because it's an important and useful term for me to use. If you don't need to use it yourself, then that's fine. The point is that it's here if you need to use it at some point in the future. And I think you will do.