Why do people become furries?

I saw this on someone's blog and it made me laugh.



I won't speak for everyone, but I don't identify neko (which I am) as furry...for me the difference lies in nekos tending to have more human features/shapes. We may or may not have cat eyes and/or 'fur' in the form of a patterned skin, but our prim attachments are generally limited to ears and (maybe, if it doesn't cause outfit problems) a tail, whereas anthros tend to alter their heads and limbs as well. IMO nekos are, at most, a hybrid, leaning more to the human side, although in varying degrees.

I already have a few tiny avs (cat, bunny, cow) and a juvenile dragon av from Isle of Wyrms, all of which people seem OK with, but I've hesitated to get a cat av due to the attitudes a lot of people have demonstrated; I want to have fun when I change my av, not have to deal with that BS.

Thanks for the clarification, I think both look great though there is something inherently cute about nekos! hehe I read on another thread about some people who do their exlporing using tiny animal AVs but their socialising as "human", the idea of roaming around as a little purple kitten is too appealing not to chase up.

*Has the theme from The Littlest Hobo stuck in her head*

Why do people become furries?

Um... sweetie?

I GOT A TAIL! *YAY!*

I mean, how cool is that? I have a long, swishy tail that flicks around with a mind of its own. I can sit on it like a chair, I can make the tip spin and fly with it, like a helicopter (A la Bugs Bunny's ears), I can make it a sled, an airplane, a throne, a bicycle.

It's all about the tails, mon ami.

That and... well... I'm a bushbaby! You don't think that's awesome? I do.

Look, it's all about playing. It's about doing whatever you want to do (without hurting others {sad, isn't it, that I have to add that caveat?}) and having fun. For some, it's a "totem" thing, where they identify with the animal. For others, it's about creativity. Still others like the furry erotica. Others, like me, love cartoons and consider wearing a furry AV akin to wearing a Transformers AV, or a Simpsons AV.

But...

The TAILS, dude! Come ON! TAILS!

Why people become furries is about as broad a question as "Why do people come to Second Life?" In both cases everyone's answer is just as important as the next.

I have a couple dozen avatars, about 2/3 could be called "furry." I like cartoony avatars - furries, anime people, tinies, etc. They're fun, they cheer me up just looking at them.

The first peaceful and patrolled sandbox I found was in a furry area. I met a lot of people who were friendly, tolerant, creative, and willing to share what they learned.

At first, I thought the avatars were neat. Cartoony, and VERY different than the basic noob avatars or the "Barbie & Ken doll" avatars. I like the bright colors, the creativity, and the challenge of making non-human avatars. Wander over to Isle of Wyrms and check out some of their advanced dragon avatars - they're amazing. Or Kazuhiro Aridian! I'm also fascinated by the way people react to other avatars' appearances. They're a language of their own; even people who've known me for ages respond differently depending on what avatar I'm wearing.

I've been playing with the idea of creating an alt as a Tiny. Can anyone tell me if this is an option when creating an alt or if I can change an alt I already own? Where can I buy this avs?

I re read this thread today. Whether or not the original Poster was trolling, baiting or sincere, I don't know But the post quoted with "Some of my best friends are Trannies" rang a bell with me as to the mentality. I haven't met too many furries in world, but the one's I've interacted with have been just as pleasant as most other forms of resident here. Every litter is going to have a bad apple or two, but you don't have to throw the cat out with the spilled milk.*I don't think I can mix any more metaphors in one sentence*

PS: Note to Colette: "I thought we knew everything there was to know about each other......"

You mean the yiffing?



Or is it called yiffing when its furry to human ?

Im sure a furry can tell me.

Extrovirtual has a lot of great tiny avs. Tinies come with custom shapes to 'shrink' a more standard sized av, so you could certainly use them with pre-existing alts.

Yeay, thanks Ann.

*** Calveen quickly put his pants on and rushes out to shop. ***

Tinies start with a small basic avatar, then use an animation overrider to twist the avatar into a much smaller figure. If you want a free AO for tinies, there's one in the free Avatar Toolbox at my main store. You can also get the toolbox on SLExchange.

Avatar Toolbox

cause Furries dont have to pay taxes...

I don't post this paragraph to sound like i speak for all furries, this is just my points of view. If you don't agree with me that is fine, but it doesn't change how i feel. The broad picture is that Furry is a word with a huge meaning. Basically if you have a interest in anthropomorphic beings, your a furry. A lot of folks deny it, such as therians and catgirls. But they share that common interest. They like to play as beings who are animal like in appearance but are in human shape. They usually choose not to call themselves furry because they think furries are all about yiff, and don't want to fall into that category. What they don't realize is what the word actually means. Even dragons are considered furry, they hang out in furry places, and post on furry forums just like the rest of us. They don't have fur, but they are interested in what furry stands for. I for one am proud to call myself a furry, and I'll defend it to the death.

When I joined SL, I did actually assume furries were purely...or at least primarily...about the sex. I've gotten over that prejudice, but I still don't view my neko self as furry, for the reasons I've already mentioned...I mean, I prioritize prim skirts over my tail! lol Anyway, for me it's not a matter of not wanting to be identified with the so-called 'perverts,' so much as simply feeling that I don't meet the physical criteria to be furry. But other nekos may feel differently about themselves and that's perfectly valid too.

Yay! I went and got a cute ickle kitten AV! Love it! Got some funny comments from my friends though when I popped in to see them hehe

Though, like most, I am newish to SL, I have heard that furries outnumbered human avatars at some earlier point (which would make some sense as SL avatars were not what they are today in terms of skin, flexi-hair etc)

I think the reason furries did (or perhaps still do?) outnumber humans is because furries realized that they COULD be furries if they wanted, rather than humans. To people who don't roleplay another race (like just coming to SL to be on SL, rather than being an elf, fairy, etc.) SL was just a graphical chat area like IMVU, There, or what have you that required you to hand over your credit card number. That obstacle alone probably kept a lot of "humans" out in favour of those previously mentioned. Now that anyone and their cousin Billy with an adequate computer and net connection can sign up to SL, that's changed. I've no doubt it'll mean more furries will come onto SL as well, the credit card (or monthly payment) requirement probably kept more than a few away too.


As to the opening:

The appeal to me, like many others (at least this much all furries can agree on) is that I can be something else on SL. I'm a human for life (barring dramatic advances in genetic research, divine intervention, or a resurgence of magic*), so why would I want to be a human when I could be something else?

I chose to be a furry because I feel I've got a lot in common with certain animals. Initially I came on to SL and made myself a cougar avatar because at the time, cougars were downright rare (I think I was one of two for the better part of last year), and because I feel I've got the most in common with felines. Excluding the first few days while I was making that avatar, I haven't been a human since. Now I'm a fox (also self made avatar) because I felt it was time to change my appearance, but foxes also share quite a bit in common with felines.

As to human interaction, of course. There are plenty of open minded people out there in SL willing to spend half an hour getting to know me despite me being anatomically correct and lacking clothing. Very shortly that fact just seems to disappear and I'm just another guy (albeit a guy with fur and a tail). I don't find myself leaving Serenity Woods all that often, but it's less to do with not wanting to be amongst humans and more to do with not having any interest in clothing and pretty much being barred from every PG sim out there. Since I make everything I could want, and I'm reasonably skilled at all aspects of object creation, I just don't see a reason to leave when the Serenity Woods has a nice atmosphere and friendly people.

When I DO leave Serenity Woods (usually a the request of one of my friends, often human friends) I enjoy the change of scenery (usually because it's something "you must see!" according to those friends. > ). I don't usually get any odd looks, comments, or questions about my appearance from anyone out there either. Actually I find I get more remarks from fellow furries (often tongue in cheek humour).

* The resurgence of magic theory is, as far as I know, a fictional theory that suggests that the planet has a sort of tidal pattern where magic ebbs and flows. At this point it would be an ebbing of magic (no, or very little magic). Assuming past claims of sorcery and witchcraft in the medieval times were truth and not superstition and myth, that would mark a time of flowing magic (high magic, the likes of which would allow people to hurl fireballs, call storms, and shake the very earth with their will).

Thats complete bullship.

99.999999999999999999999% of ppl are furries cause they have sick fetishes, freaks.

That's basically why I am often a furry cat. You'll never catch me as a plain old human. How boring. Personally I don't see why so many people walk around as human in SL. Oh, right. Cybersex. Look ma, a stereotype right back at em!

Baiting for comments is fun, isn't it?

Excuse me, I have sick fetishes and I am not a furry (except when it amuses me).

why become a furry? why build? why script? why make your avatar dance? BECAUSE WE CAN!!

Well, I was a furry before joining SL so it was the obvious choice, though the fact that the human avatars look pretty fugly helps too.

I mutated into a dragon shortly after joining SL and I've never looked back. Yarr! Furries for t3h win