Touchy subject- (undesired) Association with "Furry" fetish

Forgive me, Kiyono, for saying this, but this is an example of someone who is slightly ignorant (do not take this word negatively, please) of the Furry Fandom/Lifestyle. I can understand only ever hearing it described any other way, but that's most likely because you're not around it. To be honest I personally only dip in and out of it periodically because of my interest and aesthetics. Just because someone describes themselves as a 'Furry' it doesn't necessarily mean that they believe that any part/essence of them is animalistic. Heck, in some circles I would be considered a Furry. -shrugs- It's fine by me, but what one must understand is that I, as well as others (not all others, but others), have no personal belief that they themselves contain any nature of what is considered 'an animal' within them.

As for what Gennii has said, I agree, the BJD 'fandom' or 'hobby' or 'lifestyle' or whatever one wants to call it is very similar in many ways. People escape into their own worlds with their dolls. You see it in nearly every thread. Whether it's a full-fledged belief or roleplay or storytelling or just plain 'playing' there are all sorts and you can't believe that one statement will apply to everyone. It's really unfortunate that both fandoms/lifestyles/communities/whathaveyou have such negative connotations to them, and when you fall into both it makes it just that much harder to be heard clearly.

 

No, it wasn't.

The term "Furry Lifestyle" comes from the term Gay lifestyle. That word choice was not accidental. Being gay is not a hobby or a choice. Someone who says chooses the term furry lifestyle believes it's not a hobby or a choice, but a part of who they are that should be accepted. I've never heard someone say they have a BJD/Anime lifestyle and it wouldn't make sense to say so. You choose to like Anime or BJDs.

The modern definition of a "fetish" is "any nonsexual object, such as a foot or a glove, that abnormally excites erotic feelings." Words can't be chosen and used with definitions that are different than the common definitions or interpretations if you want anyone else to understand it. Word choice is very important in communicating ideas to others.

There is nothing wrong with liking anthros or with being a furry. But why should someone label themselves something that isn't an accurate description of what they are? This goes back to word choice being important.

 

Has anyone ever accused you of liking or participating in Furry fetishism for having Anthro type dolls?
...not really. I'm sure a few might have thot it, given that I am very focused on critter dolls and the Tigerbaby character in particular, but it's not really where I am coming from.

How do you respond to that kind of assumption if it comes up?
Assumptions are silly and usually erroneous...I would mock it with impunity, of course! Unless it came from someone within the furry community - then I would be open and curious, because I find furry fandom and fetish quite interesting, conceptually. But, like I said above, it's never really come up.

Do you think that kind of assumption is more likely if anthro dolls were sculpted or dressed more maturely?
Maybe from people who don't really understand what they are making assumptions about? However, my critters don't really fall into this category, so I could not say for sure.

 

Just throwing it out there, for those who know what I'm talking about: is there any - approximate - statistics on what percentage of self-identified furries are actual Otherkin?

 

Um... I hate to butt in here, but I know of people who call themselves furries who say that being a "furry lifestyler" is out-and-out ridiculous. 2Gryphon immediately comes to mind - I've personally heard him rant on the subject. You can also draw any corrollation you wish with the gay community, but most self-described furries that I have personally met consider themselves part of a fandom, not a lifestyle. Calling yourself a Furry doesn't have to be any different than calling yourself a Trekkie.

I've known people who use the term "furry lifestyle" and are totally ignorant of its connotations with the term "Gay Lifestyle". They have made their fandom or hobby into part of their life. Those who believe they have some animal connection are generally referred to as 'otherkin', in my experience. You can be a Furry and an Otherkin, and your lifestyle encompasses both. Or you can be an Otherkin and not make any changes to your life to show off that you have this spiritual belief. Or you can be a member of the fandom that goes out in public wearing wolf ears and a tail, carrying a Pawpet, and get funny looks for carrying your hobby too far - JUST like I've seen anime fans do.

There are too many reasons to be a part of the furry community, too many people who will do one thing or another and call themselves something and be unaware of its connotations outside the community, and simply too many examples of the same behavior occurring in other communities.

Trying to make sweeping generalizations about a community that is so very widely varied, and that people join in for any number of reasons, is something that can only make you come across as either ignorant, rude, or worse - both.


@Katyok: I remember seeing a poll on the matter at one point. I can't remember what its actual results were, though. From what I recall, the actual percentage was fairly small. Many more people are part of the furry community for artwork than for a spiritual belief, and some Otherkin don't even know about or want to be part of the furry community, possibly because of its reputation.

 

How interesting! I thought I understood what the furry community was, but apparently I don't know as much as I thought I did. I assumed that most furrys were into the sexual aspect, and I feel that I've done quite a bit of wikipedia research on the subject. (Not that wiki's reliable, but you get my point) I would be willing to bet that there are a lot of people like me who just don't know any better.

Personally, as long as you aren't trying to force a sexual fetish down my throat I don't care what you do, dolls or furry or whatever. (And by "force it down my throat" I mean expect me to like what you like because you like it) I must say that I toyed with the idea of getting a Pipos Bao as my first doll for a while because they're cute and I like the idea of little animal-people but I didn't want the furry stigma. No offense, but I figured a doll itself was weird enough, it didn't need to be an animal doll as well. But then I also wanted an SD and may eventually get a Pipos at some point because I loooooooooove them.

 

Actually, being a "furry" means you are a fan of anthro characters. There is no lifestyle element automatically included in that label. There are people who make it into a lifestyle, but there are also people who are only interested as a hobby. For a lot of folks there isn't anything sexual about it, nor does it suggest that they feel like they have animalistic qualitites. You're using a small subset of people to describe the entire fandom.

While this is what is implied in the first post, I would not say that is the only currently recognized definition for the word fetish. A fetish can be an object that has supernatural/religious/magical powers attached to it, be a fixation, or suggest the sexualization of an object. The other definitions still hold true today, even if you weren't personally aware of them.

This comes up a lot in various threads where people are put off because someone might think they're a goth, or emo, or an anime fan, or whatever because of their dolls. Ultimately, it would be nice if people did not automatically assume things, but that's not really what people do. They try to classify things by what they know. You did it yourself by automatically assuming that the term "furry" equaled a particular lifestyle. You just politely correct them and move on, or spend a lot of time being aggravated over nothing.

As to the original questions, I don't currently have any anthro dolls. If bjds had been around back when I was a teen, I probably would have foregone human dolls completely and went straight for the anthros. Now, however, the human dolls fit my needs better. That is not to say that I will never own an anthro doll -- there's always the chance that someone will put one out that I just have to have (companies have a way of doing things like that, lol). I personally prefer more mature bodied anthros, though the chubby little ones are cute too. My preference for mature bodies has nothing to do with a sexual interest, but because I prefer them to look more like adults (who I relate to better) and have a little more of a mix of human and animal instead of just an animal that's walking upright.

I actually do like some anthro art, and have drawn some myself. Being able to mix human and animal characteristics gives a lot of opportunity for some really fun character designs. I expect people to assume incorrect things, and it's nothing to get upset over, really.

 

I think you're mixing up "furry" and "otherkin". Furry is the general collective of anthro animal fandom for whatever reason, and otherkin is the group that fits the definition you gave.

ETA: I think that just as there are furries who aren't otherkin, there are probably otherkin who aren't furries.

 

My first reaction to this thread was, "Huh?"
Call me ignorant or naive, but I was clueless until now about any connection between Anthros and "being a furry". I always have thought of them as just ANIMAL BJDs. Who knew?

 

Otherkin is generally used to describe elves, vampires, demons, angels, werewolves, or other well established beings from mythology. Furry is used to describe animals. Otakukin is generally used for people who believe they are characters/races/etc associated with anime and video games.

Furry was originally used to describe anthropomorphic CHARACTERS (not real people) in the 80s. People were a part of the "Furry Fandom" but Furry wasn't used to describe real people. In the 90's, people started self describing as "I AM a furry" it meant they were an animal on the inside, had a spirituallity relating to an animal totem, etc. This is the group that has been mostly widely reported on by the media in the '00s. They may not have created the name, but they "took it over" in the eyes of public. There have been groups who try to "reclaim" the name, but the fact remains that the general public thinks furry means "sexual kink" (even though that isn't the definition those who self identify as "being a furry" or "having the furry lifestyle" would describe themselves.). Again, I think it's important that any one who is interested in anthropomorphic characters as a hobby should be aware of the connotations of the name "furry" and how other people will interpret it. That is the only argument I am making here. If you do not want to have people make those connotations, just call yourself a fan of anthropomorphic characters and people won't be confused.

 

While I understand that this is perhaps slightly off topic- I saw this post and felt the need to respond: it's NOT the same thing- a lifestyle is a choice, a race is not. I'm not being mean or trying to nitpick here, and I understand and wholeheartedly agree with you that hating someone's lifestyle is pointless and stupid- but it is so because it's their CHOICE to make, and not yours. Fine, no problems there- hating someone's race however is an entirely different thing- race is not something that someone can choose or design to their specific specifications- so being hated for that is really quite different- but I understand your point and agree. I just wanted to clarify in case this was somehow misconstrued by someone, somewhere, someday- (you never know XD)

Now- on the point of Anthros and furries: I actually have no idea what 'Furry' actually means- I've only heard the term associated with all kinds of awkward sexual kinkiness etc. - I mean no offense in that, that's just what I've heard, so really, I've never associated anthro bjds with Furry-ness or whatever it is, and I don't generally speaking link bjds with any sort of sexuality really if I can help it. I know they're anatomically correct, but that never really comes into play with mine at all. And I honestly don't like anthros, but that's just because I really don't find them cute or anything. I think it'd be ridiculous to call someone a Furry (in the negative sense) for collecting Anthros- to me, they're two completely separate things.

 

You're still misusing the word. The general public maybe inclined to make assumptions about what being furry means, but the definition is still fans of anthro characters. The media and public will latch on to fringe elements, because it's attention getting -- all the average joes out there that happen to like anthro characters and art just aren't interesting enough. But that's the media for you. I am aware that there are certain connotations, yet that doesn't mean that those connotations are correct, or that just because the media equates furry with lifestyle that that's what "furry" really means.

Animal characters with human characteristics are anthros, fans of anthros are furries. Those would be the definitions that are in use even if other people do get confused at times. The general public does not define what different groups are or what they call themselves -- that is up to members of that group. The general public may mess said definitions up, but it doesn't change them.

 

Could we please keep this debate on-topic.

A gentle reminder: the debate is about whether people are uncomfortable or comfortable with perceptions that their owning anthro dolls may link them to furry fandom/lifestyle. Opinions and value judgements on furries/furry fandom, and by extension, otherkin, are off-topic.

 

I'd also never really thought about anthros being seen as furry-related for some reason, probably because it's not a connection made much in the BJD world. I can see how an non-doll person would make that assumption, though.

I'm not a furry but it's hard not to be exposed to furries in most fandoms and fetishes online. I understand there is a large non-sexual side to furries but not everyone does, I think because a lot of them will only encounter furry stuff on porn and fetish sites and not go looking deeper into the furry community.
So regardless of what I think about furries, I'd be uncomfortable with people assuming I was a furry because I'm aware it has very negative connotations.

 

There are several things that other, non-doll people, might think are linked to dolls when they first meet a doll-person. However, if I owned an anthro doll, I highly doubt anyone in my part of the world would think I'm into some sort of weird fetish. Of the people who even know what a furry is (and as far as I'm concerned, a furry is an anthro, a animal mixed with human parts) most would not think of it as a sexuality interest. Heck, when I was a teen I used to play the online Furcadia game, I don't recall anything sexual about that. (Not that I'm completely ignorant, just about anything you could search for on deviant art will bring up some erotic anthro or another.)

I would be very offended if I was accused of having a "furry fetish" if I owned an anthro doll, and if that's what they meant when they called me a 'furry'. However, in the usage that is common in my area for the term 'furry' (regardless of its 'official meaning') this is a non-offensive term.

 

With my username, I can easily see someone mistaking me for being a furry, and while I know some great artists who are furries or anthro artists (which are not the same thing, in art classification at least), it's not something I personally identify with.

Almost any hobby (or style, or interest, or trait) is going to have some kind of association to people. The BJD hobby is relatively small, crosses over with several other interests with negative connotations (such as the one at hand), and, as any hobby, does have its share of weirdos. It is ignorant and rude for people to make sweeping judgments based on a small piece of information, but with all the information thrown at us in our lives, it's something most of us do. Anthro dolls look quite similar to furries, and some people's only exposure to the furry culture has been erotic furry art. Adding the association of BJDs to anime, and the fact that many are anatomically correct, only furthers this.

An anthro doll with a mature body and revealing or otherwise sexy clothes and suggestive postures would easily be associated with erotic furry art, the same way a mature human doll in sexy clothes and suggestive postures would be associated human eroticism. Since the majority of anthro dolls have more childlike bodies, an accusation of any kind of fetishism would of course carry even deeper implications (though unless they were being dressed or used sexually, it would also be much odder a comment.)

I do plan on getting at least one anthro doll eventually, and if someone did make this assumption, I would probably give them an odd look and set them straight. No use getting upset when you can give someone a little education. If they just called me a "furry", I would laugh it off, but understand where they were coming from.

 

Interesting questions. I don't have any anthropomorphic dolls (although I do love ones like Dollfactory's Pet Ari (particularly Conie the unicorn...so cute!). The dolls I do have with shapeshifter features would be more accurately summed up as being "zoomorphic." If I did have anthropomorphic dolls, I wouldn't be bothered by people labeling me any which way. This is my hobby and I'm going to enjoy it as a hobby--as soon as it starts not being as fun, then it's not really a hobby for me anymore. To tell you the truth, I had never actually connected the furry culture to owning anthropomorphic dolls, so it's been interesting to read through all these posts.

 

A friend of mine (once a geek and former member of various fandoms, so should kind of known better), upon learning that I was getting into BJDs, promptly said, "Love your dolls but don't looooove your dolls." As all of the dolls I owned at that point were children, I was particularly offended.

Coming from the anime/manga world, I've found that it's always the sexual part people associate with any kind of non-mainstream hobby or fandom. I can't remember the last hentai or breast-wobbling anime I watched, but people pretty much assume you're into the tentacles if you're into anime if they only know a little about the subject. So while I'll can't speak from experience, it wouldn't surprise me at all if people who had only really heard the word "furry" made assumptions about anybody who owned anthro dolls.

 

Teruchan some “life styles” are NOT a choice. You’re born with them like race or eye color and you can’t change no matter how hard you try.

 

When I was first introduced to furries, I had no idea that there was a fetish behind them. xD
I thought they were adorable and some were sooo cool!
I still think that and I'm not bothered when I'm accused of something(unless it means trouble,police,etc).

It reminds me of one of my friends. Everyone asks her if she's a virgin or not(don't ask, I don't know how that started xD). She is, but no one believes her so she just lets them believe whatever.