I have been a “furry” since 1986 but that isn’t correct really since I was the same before but didn’t know what to call it. It is something that grew out of science fiction, basically some folks rooted for the aliens rather than the boring ol’ human hero stereotype. They gravitated around theme elements where the alien wasn’t just the convienent bad guy Bug Eyed Monster. One of the appealing attributes of Star Wars was the idea that the aliens were niether all good or all bad but were individuals just like humanity itself.

Using Star Wars as an example, we all have an idea who Chewbacca is and how throughout the series he showed himself to be trustworthy, brave, compassionate, highly skilled in many ways, a good person to have at your back and a hero just as much as any human character. Yet, why is it when a person takes up that character as a costume or avatar they are suddenly perverts who like to hump sheep?

I wear a tiger skin pattern on my avatar in SL yet I have no desire to boff an animal of any kind. My girlfriend, who isn’t a furry, thinks it makes me look exotic and sexy. She views it like makeup, jewelry and clothing, a way to make the person unique, desirable and visually exciting. She has a few of the skins I make and she wears them as the mood strikes her, just like a pair of earrings, a certain color of lipstick or a leather jacket. I think she is the bomb wheather she is in her human skin or her furry skin, either is good because I am attracted to the person, not the avatar.

The same sort of thinking that certain people use who hate furries because they consider them all perverted freaks would be the same as thinking all people who wear fur coats have sex with their dog or all women who wear makeup have a clown fetish… its stupid, utterly moronic. But then there are a lot of them out there.. they sold an awful lot of Yugos and Chrystler K cars and they are bringing back the Partridge Family.

If you look around SL a while you will realize no group has cornered the market on morality, SL has a thriving business selling mature sim land and vendors of sex toys and animations are thriving yet there is only a small number of furs in SL. The skies are dark over mature sims all over SL with private skyrooms yet there really is only one furry dominated sim and it looks like any other sim… other than a glaring lack of BDSM toys that is. I’ve been to both furry and human events and there really is no difference in how people act.

I sell my skins to both furs and non-furs alike. The tan leopard skin in the article was a custom av for a woman who had no idea furry even existed but thought it would be exotic and sexy to have leopard fur. I sometimes catch flak from furs who think my skins aren’t really furry because it isn’t toony enough. Just as there are people who hate furs, there are furs who will not have anything to do with non-furs at all and will shun those who do… (don’t worry, we think they are nuts too)

There are two things I have learned; The only normal people are the ones you don’t know and we are all human under the pixles.

Call me misunderstanding, but if they try their darndest to be different, theyre opening themselves up to criticism and misunderstanding.

And, I dont know what this sexual aspect is, but it sounds pretty.. different.. and very open to misunderstanding.. to me.