People in furry fandom have argued about The Mainstream for years, and I think part of the problem is that there's no clear definition what that means, or how we measure that something has changed. What does seem clear is that "the mainstream" (or parts of it) represents different things to different people.
I think it's important to note that "mainstream" doesn't necessarily imply "popularly liked by most people", nor "something that everyone knows about", nor "cleaned up / dumbed down / has sold out for mass approval". Taking a look at anime, for example, its fandom in North America started at the same time as furry (and with some of the same people). Anime is massively more popular than furry. It's got huge conventions, the better films get shown in North American movie theaters, English television and streaming networks are broadcasting series, there's a thriving fanbase, lots of indie artwork sales (regardless of being a franchise-based fandom), and of course porn. But huge numbers of people really don't know much about it. It's successful - and yet it's still niche. It... feels more mainstream (whatever that means)? Like it's as "mainstream" as it's been able to achieve, at least up to this point in time?
I think one thing that's been a huge help, is that after the year 2000-ish, thanks to both the Internet and marketing, that being a geek or a nerd about a niche interest is being seen as increasingly ok. High school teenagers can still be nasty, sure, but once you're out of that environment, it's become so much easier to connect with and celebrate your fandom.
Personal bias, I think that furry fandom has limited mainstream potential, because if more people were interested in it, we would have already gotten bigger, a lot earlier. We're still growing from year to year, but it's rarely felt like there was a sudden influx of growth. I remember people at ConFurence complaining about people from FurryMuck coming in. Otherwise our growth has felt pretty slow and steady.
Even the wave of MLP art turned out not to be a lot of new people, just a lot of people already in furry fandom figuring out that they also liked MLP.
There's also a distinct worry that furry fandom will lose control of its underground, indie feel if external interests were to establish enough of a foothold, or would try to create a short-lived trend for personal financial gain, to the detriment of the grassroots fan origins. Or that suddenly, huge numbers of "normal" people will show up in the fandom and try to marginalize people. The phrase "Keep Furry Weird" is a reflection if this, though depending who's saying it, can carry a number of additional undertones. (Personally I don't care if someone is "weird" or "non-weird", if someone likes anthropomorphic stuff and wants to hang out in the fandom, and they don't act like a selfish jerk, they're in.)
I think some of the things that Sonious points out in this article are a factor of growth - we're still a small fandom, but we're getting big enough for people to think it's worth customizing a newsfeed, or trying to sell a crappy knock-off fursuit, or to write an article about something weird and geeky because society has been getting acclimatized to niche-interest news. I think the "mainstream" will have finally "gotten" furry fandom once they stop assuming it's mostly fursuits, or keep harping about individual comfort (or discomfort) over content. Perhaps someday!
People in furry fandom have argued about The Mainstream for years, and I think part of the problem is that there's no clear definition what that means, or how we measure that something has changed. What does seem clear is that "the mainstream" (or parts of it) represents different things to different people.
I think it's important to note that "mainstream" doesn't necessarily imply "popularly liked by most people", nor "something that everyone knows about", nor "cleaned up / dumbed down / has sold out for mass approval". Taking a look at anime, for example, its fandom in North America started at the same time as furry (and with some of the same people). Anime is massively more popular than furry. It's got huge conventions, the better films get shown in North American movie theaters, English television and streaming networks are broadcasting series, there's a thriving fanbase, lots of indie artwork sales (regardless of being a franchise-based fandom), and of course porn. But huge numbers of people really don't know much about it. It's successful - and yet it's still niche. It... feels more mainstream (whatever that means)? Like it's as "mainstream" as it's been able to achieve, at least up to this point in time?
I think one thing that's been a huge help, is that after the year 2000-ish, thanks to both the Internet and marketing, that being a geek or a nerd about a niche interest is being seen as increasingly ok. High school teenagers can still be nasty, sure, but once you're out of that environment, it's become so much easier to connect with and celebrate your fandom.
Personal bias, I think that furry fandom has limited mainstream potential, because if more people were interested in it, we would have already gotten bigger, a lot earlier. We're still growing from year to year, but it's rarely felt like there was a sudden influx of growth. I remember people at ConFurence complaining about people from FurryMuck coming in. Otherwise our growth has felt pretty slow and steady.
Even the wave of MLP art turned out not to be a lot of new people, just a lot of people already in furry fandom figuring out that they also liked MLP.
There's also a distinct worry that furry fandom will lose control of its underground, indie feel if external interests were to establish enough of a foothold, or would try to create a short-lived trend for personal financial gain, to the detriment of the grassroots fan origins. Or that suddenly, huge numbers of "normal" people will show up in the fandom and try to marginalize people. The phrase "Keep Furry Weird" is a reflection if this, though depending who's saying it, can carry a number of additional undertones. (Personally I don't care if someone is "weird" or "non-weird", if someone likes anthropomorphic stuff and wants to hang out in the fandom, and they don't act like a selfish jerk, they're in.)
I think some of the things that Sonious points out in this article are a factor of growth - we're still a small fandom, but we're getting big enough for people to think it's worth customizing a newsfeed, or trying to sell a crappy knock-off fursuit, or to write an article about something weird and geeky because society has been getting acclimatized to niche-interest news. I think the "mainstream" will have finally "gotten" furry fandom once they stop assuming it's mostly fursuits, or keep harping about individual comfort (or discomfort) over content. Perhaps someday!