Repost: Furry Fandom
Brian Henderson
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To be completely honest, I want to stir up some discussion on furrydom
because it has been so dead on a.f.f lately. I'm not trying to offend
furries, but there are some major problems with fandom in general, and
furry fandom in particular that need to be addressed, and I hope to get
some kind of lively discussion going on and maybe get some ideas on the
table to correct these.
Please note that I am not trying to flame anyone. It is not my purpose,
and therefore I won't even mention names unless it is so obvious who or
what I am talking about that it doesn't matter (ie. saying 'a major
furry convention' means only one thing: ConFurEnce. I'll just say
the word, as no one could possibly miss the reference.)
A little about me. I've been a furry for a long time, even though I have
stayed in the background most of the time. Honestly, after I was involved
in anime fandom as one of the leaders of the genre, I had no interest in
getting stuck in a fandom that sucked all my free time and energy again.
Therefore, even though I am an artist and do write from time to time, I
have stayed away from publishing in most of the furzines, etc. particularly
in the past few years, although my material did appear in "Furversion" and
"Q" many years ago. In fact, I have a huge pile of finished artwork that
I have been intending to put into the ConFurEnce art show for years now
and simply have never done for one reason or another. Speaking of CF,
I've been involved since the beginning of it, and ran the Anime rooms at
both CF0 and CF1, as well as being involved as a staff-member for almost
every year since.
I have brought just about every friend I have into the fandom, including my
wife. My walls are covered with furry artwork. I have dozens of 3" binders
filled to overflowing with Ken Sample, Monika Livingston, Terri Smith, and
a whole host of other artists. Honestly, however, I have to say that what
I see today is not the furry fandom that I fell in love with.
Comics: I used to buy every furry comic that came out but my collecting
has slowed to almost a standstill in this area for a few reasons. First,
the overall quality of the art and stories in most furry comics is below
acceptable standards. Again, I'm not going to mention any names, as I'm
sure that this is true of most comic companies, but I'd have to guess that
most furry comics don't make a lot of money. Why? Because they are not
geared toward a large enough audience. We know from science fiction and
fantasy books that furries do have lots of selling power if they are
properly written, but the writing of most furry comics is so poor as to
appeal only to over-sexed adolescent boys. Beyond this, there is a
sort of reverse-speciesism in most furry comics: no humans. A lot of
fans are appalled if you even suggest that their furry characters can exist
alongside one of us 'hairless apes', but the fact of the matter is that
by adding a few human characters, you can probably double or tripple your
audience. Secondly, if the stories stopped being little more than window
dressing for all-out orgies, you'd likely multiply your audience by a
factor of 10 or more. The fact of the matter is that furry comics today
are little more than all out furry fuck-fests, and while I am not opposed
to that happening now and then, it is pathetic when that is *ALL* people
can find to write about. As a general rule, I refuse to buy *ANYTHING*
from some of the 'furry' comic companies, and this attitude is shared by
a lot of other people. One company asked on the net recently how to
increase their sales, and when I suggested that they set some minimum
standards for artwork and stop every story from devolving into plain
sex, they told me, in no uncertain terms, to get stuffed. Whatever...
but I don't see them lasting more than a year or two at best. It's too
bad too, because they *CAN* do better and have better sales, they are just
too complacent to do anything about it.
ConFurEnce: Hopestly, I love ConFurEnce. I really do. I've loved it since
the first one and I've loved every one since. Of all the cons in the world,
this is the only one that I *NEVER* miss, but I am very concerned for it's
continued well-being, and I'll tell you why. As I said before, I've been
involved with ConFurence since the beginning, and have worked each and
every one since the first. Until this year. I will attend the con, but
I have sworn that I will not lift a single, solitary finger to help, even
if the convention is burning down. Why? Because the people involved don't
want help. They want slaves and yes-men. They want to run it like a
1,000-person furry party, and it has grown too large to run that way. It
can be personal. It can be intimate. It just has to be professionally run
and intelligently planned, and this is where CF falls apart every year.
They don't learn from mistakes. I see the same mistakes made last year
as were made at CF0. They simply do not want to learn. I wanted to be
part of it this year. I spent six months trying to help, but they made it
quite clear that they didn't want help, suggestions, innovations or for
anyone to question their divine wisdom. Staffers were all asked to bring a
list of problems to a meeting after the end of CF5. Lists were brought,
but never asked for. They simply didn't want to know what had gone wrong.
People volunteered, yet no one was allowed to do anything. CF has turned into
little more than a personality cult, with a lot of people being included
because of where they live, not because of what they are capable of. Last
year there was an all-out rebellion in one of the areas of CF5 and a lot
of people demanded the removal of a certain person from the position this
person occupied. Has this person been removed? Nope... but that's not
because they do a good job (they almost destroyed the con last year), but
because of who they know. Sorry guys, but I'd rather see no ConFurEnce than
a CF run like this.
Artists: I am *NOT* laying this on the artists. Furry fandom, however, is
very art top-heavy and as such we do have to have some responsibility for
the condition of fur fandom placed at the source of much of fur fandom. As
I have said before, sex is fine and dandy with me, and I know that artists
only make money by pleasing the fans who buy their work, but let's have a
little perspective! There are artists out there who have made a living by
producing strictly (insert throbbing organ here) artwork, but the vast
majority of art, and that art that goes for the highest bid at every
auction is not directly sexually related. Artists who, by default, remove
themselves from this area have simply shot themselves in the foot. It
also doesn't help that *SOME* un-named artists insist on displaying the
most sexually-explicit pieces they can come up with in the most inappropriate
places possible. Like San Diego Comicon. After being told not to.
Personally. Twice.
Fans: This is going to sound harsh, but for most fans: grow up. So
many fur fans that I come into contact with act like fur fandom is their
life, and if that's true, you should check into a rubber room. Too many
potential fur fans are scared off by what I can only consider degenerates
living in a fantasy world in furdom today. These people probably wear
fake tails to job interviews for crying out loud! Just repeat to yourself
it's just a show, guys! If I hadn't been a part of furdom since before these
people showed up, I'd never be a part today. Honestly, I go to ConFurEnce
every year, get all worked up over furdom, and within a month after, am
so sick and tired of the petty bickering, the 'my sexual perversion is
worse than yours' and... just the fandom itself, that I usually ignore if
completely until the *NEXT* ConFurEnce when the cycle begins again.
Bestiality: Way back when, at Baycon I believe it was, the 'skunk-fucker'
idea was kind of cute even though it did cause some problems. Today, however,
everything has changed. While I'm sure there have always been bestialists
in fur fandom, it has never been as prevalent as it is today. I'm not
trying to flame them, but let's face it, it is illegal, and as such I do
not feel that they have the right, nor should they be allowed to turn fur
fandom into a bestiality advocacy group. I really don't care what they
do in the privacy of their homes with their 'wives' and pets, but when you
are influencing how the public at large views fur fandom, that's where the
line has to be drawn. Fur fandom has to start making policy that they are
*NOT* 'skunk-fuckers' nor do they wish to be identified with them as a
general group.
Overall: When you imagine yourself in your job five years down the road,
do you see yourself doing the same thing, or worse, do you imagine yourself
in a lower-paying or worse job? Of course not, but this is exactly what I
see for furdom. Fur fandom has never been overly popular, but I haven't
seen any effort to make it more main-stream or acceptable. In fact, I have
seen a lot of people going the other way. I suggested a few years back
that I run a discussion group at CF concerning Furries and the Mainstream,
and was met with complete apathy. I want furries to be as big as, say,
Star Trek fandom, not a one-shot wonder that fizzles out and dies, but
that's what I foresee for furdom. Too bad really...
What Fur Fandom SHOULD Be: Do you want to know my fantasy for fur fandom?
What would I like to see in furdom if I had my way? I'd like to see fur
fandom accepted into the mainstream. I'd like to see CF grow to the point
that we'd need to rent some of the *BIG* hotels, with the 10,000 person
capacity ballrooms. I'd like to see furry comics carried by the big comic
companies. I'd like to see furry events welcomed and planned by major cons,
instead of having to do with tiny furry parties in hotel rooms under cover
of night. I'd like to see furrydom be as popular as Star Trek, as wide-
reaching as comicdom, as recognized as SF, and as well-respected as
Elfquest. It is possible... all of these things are possible if *WE*, as
furries, make the effort to make it come true. But if we are not willing,
then furrydom will always be a backroom fandom, losing members as they
get sick of putting up with it all, and continually catering to the dark
side of fandom. I don't think this is what anyone wants, is it?
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++==========================================
+ Brian Henderson == Internet: Brian.H...@ectech.com ==
+ == RIME: #687 FIDO: Changing ==
+ Don't take life too ==========================================
+ seriously, it's not == Standard Disclaimers Apply ==
+ permanent! == As if anyone cares. ==
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* * * Human by birth, cheetah by choice.
* RM 1.3 * Eval Day -6 *