Does anyone mind answering some questions?

[FurryAnthropologist]

Hi everybody - I'm sorry if this is the wrong place for this, but it seemed the most suited. I'm very, very new to the furry fandom, and only have recently started to get involved; I had heard about the furry fandom a few years ago and it sort of piqued my interest but I was never really drawn into it. Recently, however, I've started to get more interested in the fandom and some of its art sites.

I'm also in college, working on a degree in anthropology, and since this is of interest to me anyways, and there's been almost no scholarly work done on furries in the social sciences, I was hoping I might be able to conduct a research project on furries. If you have a few minutes to spare, I'd really appreciate if you took my survey, linked here:

https://plymouthstate.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bBJvrod5wL6Pp77

I'd also love to be able to talk with any of you about the fandom or community, if you'd like to.

Thanks!

 

[PyrestoneAtelier]

Ooh! A fellow anthropologist!!
I'll take the survey when I can, and heck yes I'd love to talk anthropological thought about furries.

 

[Akelza]

That survey made me think more or so about if I'm even what you would call a furry or not. Existential furry crisis...

 

[Casey Fluffbat]

Good luck with your studies of hell itself



(jk)

 

[Eleven-lyc]

Survey completed! Very interesting… it looks like a lot of thought has gone into it. Might be an idea to add “roleplay” as an option in a few places. I'd love to see the results of the research when it's complete; will they be published anywhere?
Very tempted to make a spam/game thread out of that “What words would you associate with furry culture?” question… “Arf!” gets my vote for top-of-the-list : P

 

[Tezzy Fur]

Hello there

Just took your survey. I'd be happy to talk if you like though I am quite new so not loads of experience but I'm here if you like.

 

[FurryAnthropologist]

Thanks for all of your responses! I'll try to stay on top of this thread and reply to everybody.

Ooh! A fellow anthropologist!!
I'll take the survey when I can, and heck yes I'd love to talk anthropological thought about furries.

That would be amazing! I'm very excited about this project, even if it means having to repeatedly explain to my professors what a furry is.

That survey made me think more or so about if I'm even what you would call a furry or not. Existential furry crisis...

I didn't mean for that, I promise. Keep in mind that the definition I used is just for the purposes of the study...that's why I ask participants to define it for themselves.

Good luck with your studies of hell itself



(jk)

Thank you! I'm fully looking forward to it. XD

Survey completed! Very interesting… it looks like a lot of thought has gone into it. Might be an idea to add “roleplay” as an option in a few places. I'd love to see the results of the research when it's complete; will they be published anywhere?
Very tempted to make a spam/game thread out of that “What words would you associate with furry culture?” question… “Arf!” gets my vote for top-of-the-list : P

I'm hoping to publish it in the Open Journal of Social Sciences, and present it at a few conferences local to my school. If you'd like to read it once I'm done, I'd be more than happy to start a list so I can distribute it once I'm done with the report. And yeah, I was really curious as to what people would out for the words...there's been huge variety so far.

Hello there

Just took your survey. I'd be happy to talk if you like though I am quite new so not loads of experience but I'm here if you like.

Thank you for taking it! Once I'm done with the preliminary survey I hope to get some one-on-one interviews as well, so I may take you up on that.

 

[Akelza]

Thanks for all of your responses! I'll try to stay on top of this thread and reply to everybody.


That would be amazing! I'm very excited about this project, even if it means having to repeatedly explain to my professors what a furry is.


I didn't mean for that, I promise. Keep in mind that the definition I used is just for the purposes of the study...that's why I ask participants to define it for themselves.



Thank you! I'm fully looking forward to it. XD



I'm hoping to publish it in the Open Journal of Social Sciences, and present it at a few conferences local to my school. If you'd like to read it once I'm done, I'd be more than happy to start a list so I can distribute it once I'm done with the report. And yeah, I was really curious as to what people would out for the words...there's been huge variety so far.


Thank you for taking it! Once I'm done with the preliminary survey I hope to get some one-on-one interviews as well, so I may take you up on that.

One on one interviews sounds interesting!

 

[Jarren]

Never thought I'd see the name of my old university on here. I feel obligated to take this test...
*edit* Took the survey, generally good questions and an unbiased presentation thereof. Good luck with the study, and do avoid the dining hall made-to-order food, I worked there for a while and the components to that stuff will sit for days before being swapped.

 

[Andromedahl]

Aaaand answered; If you need any direct responses feel free to hit me up

 

[FoxInTheCloset]

I did it for shits and giggles too.

 

[Yvvki]

I took the survey. Some of the questions were a bit weird though because it could relate to any fandom. -shrugs-

 

[Yakamaru]

Did the survey.

A bit of nitpicking though: The Furry fandom is not a community. You can have communities inside the fandom, but the fandom itself is not a community.

 

[Wither]

The Furry fandom is not a community.

yes it is

 

[Yakamaru]

yes it is

No, it is not. A fandom is not a community, unless we all gathered under some sort of banner for a cause, reason or rules/laws. It works the same way the Star Trek or other fandoms does: No rules. Like shit inside the Star Trek universe? You are per definition, a Trekkie. You are however free to disassociate yourself with the fandom(s).

Literally the only thing we have in common is our liking of anthro shit. Until you start looking at personal traits/views. You can for instance only like for instance fursuiting but not be interested in other aspects, such as art, music, etc.

 

[Wither]

No, it is not. A fandom is not a community, unless we all gathered under some sort of banner for a cause, reason or rules/laws. It works the same way the Star Trek or other fandoms does: No rules. Like shit inside the Star Trek universe? You are per definition, a Trekkie. You are however free to disassociate yourself with the fandom(s).

Literally the only thing we have in common is our liking of anthro shit. Until you start looking at personal traits/views. You can for instance only like for instance fursuiting but not be interested in other aspects, such as art, music, etc.

it's a social group of shared interests.
the definition of community.
I understand your point, but semantically you are wrong.

 

[Yakamaru]

it's a social group of shared interests.
the definition of community.
I understand your point, but semantically you are wrong.

The only thing people in the Furry fandom have in common are liking things inside the fandom itself. Other than that, we have nothing in common, UNLESS you go onto a personal level.

For there to be a community, we need, not all of these, but enough of them:
Leadership
Some sort of structure and representatives of the different subgroups
Representatives of the fandom itself
Rules/laws
Values
Common goals
Future goals
More named parameters
^ We currently have none of these, nor do we need them. Again, we are a fandom. Not a community.

We may have communities inside the fandom, but the fandom itself is not a community. The same way any other fandoms operate: You are fans of something. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

[Fallowfox]

The word 'Neutral' is spelled incorrectly in the responses to the question 'What was your initial reaction to furries?'.
The wrong version of 'affect' is used in the question "Does being a furry effect how you interact with non furries?"
Your questions are broadly good; few other furries' studies began by asking nationality for instance, so I was glad that yours did.

 

[BittiBones]

@Yakamaru
I've ought to agree with you on this point. It's not a community, however so hosts within it many communities abound. It's quite easy to find a niche for any kind of specific thing here, really.

 

[FurryAnthropologist]

The only thing people in the Furry fandom have in common are liking things inside the fandom itself. Other than that, we have nothing in common, UNLESS you go onto a personal level.

For there to be a community, we need, not all of these, but enough of them:
Leadership
Some sort of structure and representatives of the different subgroups
Representatives of the fandom itself
Rules/laws
Values
Common goals
Future goals
More named parameters
^ We currently have none of these, nor do we need them. Again, we are a fandom. Not a community.

We may have communities inside the fandom, but the fandom itself is not a community. The same way any other fandoms operate: You are fans of something. Nothing more, nothing less.

If you are referring to traditional communities, this is correct. However, digital and cyber anthropology have a different perspective on the definition of community due to how the internet shapes human interaction. In the traditional sense, yes, the furry fandom is a subculture with multiple communities inside it. From a digital anthropology perspective, however, it can be viewed as both; the key here is interaction, and most furries (at least on sites I've visited) have that element of interaction which is more vital than within a simple fandom.

That being said, if you still disagree, that's fine! As I'm not fully ingrained in the fandom, these perspectives are important for me to gain an insider perspective.

 

[Yakamaru]

If you are referring to traditional communities, this is correct. However, digital and cyber anthropology have a different perspective on the definition of community due to how the internet shapes human interaction. In the traditional sense, yes, the furry fandom is a subculture with multiple communities inside it. From a digital anthropology perspective, however, it can be viewed as both; the key here is interaction, and most furries (at least on sites I've visited) have that element of interaction which is more vital than within a simple fandom.

That being said, if you still disagree, that's fine! As I'm not fully ingrained in the fandom, these perspectives are important for me to gain an insider perspective.

From a digital perspective, we have communities such as for instance, these forums. They are only a tiny fraction of the total amount of people in the fandom. The authority on FAF can tell me what is and isn't allowed. But in general, there are no higher authority/ties for the fandom itself. No one is in charge, nor do we have any common values specific to the fandom. No one represents the fandom as a whole. Someone from a community can't tell someone else in a different community how to act, behave, etc.

For the fandom itself to become a community, we'd need things that I listed above, and more, if not a mix of them. The fandom's not had any of that, currently don't have any of that, nor probably never will.

 

[Sergei Sóhomo]

I would never want to be anything other than human

 

[PyrestoneAtelier]

^They're right, anthropologically speaking "community" is a rather broad term and can be applied to several different areas.
You may not see fandom as a community in the traditional sense of the word, but on a much larger scale (especially in online context) fandoms do in fact count as communities.

 

[Tezzy Fur]

H

The only thing people in the Furry fandom have in common are liking things inside the fandom itself. Other than that, we have nothing in common, UNLESS you go onto a personal level.

For there to be a community, we need, not all of these, but enough of them:
Leadership
Some sort of structure and representatives of the different subgroups
Representatives of the fandom itself
Rules/laws
Values
Common goals
Future goals
More named parameters
^ We currently have none of these, nor do we need them. Again, we are a fandom. Not a community.

We may have communities inside the fandom, but the fandom itself is not a community. The same way any other fandoms operate: You are fans of something. Nothing more, nothing less.

Hey Yakamaru

I'm not sure I agree with what you said about the furry fandom not being a community. Obviously it depends how you define a community but there's lots of reasons you can call the fandom one.

Firstly, it doesn't matter if there's lots of diverse groups within the fandom, every community has different parts with different interest. Look at the LGBTQ community, there is a huge amount of difference and diversity within, but everyone agrees that there's a sense of togetherness and pride, a set of common goals and the a shared culture that brings everyone together. It's the same with the fandom, we have a sense of togetherness and pride, we share a culture (art, fursonas, conventions, yiffing etc) and come together even if we have different needs from others in the fandom.

I've also seen a lot of members coming together to offer support to furs who are struggling to handle their furry identity, feeling depressed, coping with their sexuality; what is a community if it's not a coming together of people to help others, Using their own shared experiences to empathise with and help others.

I'm sure there's lots of other things that make up a community, but i will say since I've been here I've felt welcomed, befriended, offered great advice and made to feel comfortable in my own furry skin, if that's not a community I don't know what is

 

[PyrestoneAtelier]

@Tezzy Fur you did an awesome job at explaining that, thank you.