What keeps you in the community?

[Neox]

I've been an active member of the furry/otherkin community for about 9 years now.  For me, that's a long time (I'm only 23), and I often reminisce on the good and bad times I've had just in this crazy little subculture.  I've seen a lot of people come and go, seen newcomers start making names for themselves and veterans renounce their furry status for reasons entirely their own. I've stuck with it, and I feel like I am sticking with it for a long time. Something about this place keeps me here, and I love it. Most of my best friends are either full-blown furries or at least sympathetic to them. All of my RL friends know who I am and where I stand on the matter, and a lot of them have taken a genuine interest in it.  Long story short: I am a furry (and an otherkin, but that in itself requires some explanation), and I am damn right proud to call myself one!

So I ask you guys: what is it about the furry community, or being furry, that keeps you here?  Why do you choose to be a part of one of the most taboo groups on the face of the earth?

My answer?  I'd say it's got a lot to do with the fact that I've got a somewhat spiritual connection to my character, Neox, and I get to meet a lot of people with similar feelings on the subject (this stems off the whole otherkin aspect of it, I think).  Yeah, Neox is a fictional depiction of myself, but I can't help but feel like he's essentially a more "true" representation of my soul, that if physical form had anything to do with reflecting one's personality, he would be the exact match.  That, in itself, is typically considered disorderly, extraordinary, to individuals with zero imagination and no spirituality whatsoever.  Being able to talk to other people with open minds and similar feelings on the subject as I have really gives me different perspectives to view it from, and it's great to know that I'm not the only crazy bastard out there with somewhat outlandish spirit beliefs. =P

I'd also have to say that the artwork and the escapism side of it is a great reason why I stick around.  I love to pretend, to let my mind slip into fantasy for a few moments and just let go of the real world for a bit. I try not to make a habit out of it, but damn is it ever fun to illustrate my character (or my purely fictional characters) in scenarios that I would otherwise never find myself in.  It's just like videogames, novels or movies, except that YOU get to decide on the content.

I want to hear what other people think of their involvement in the furry community.  Do you do it for the roleplay?  Otherkin beliefs?  Do you simply enjoy being in a group of people who don't give a shit about "normal" social activities?

[Renwaldo]

I stay here out of a sense of boredom honestly. If it weren't for the meets I wouldn't have anything to look forward to every month.

[Drake Wingfire]

My personal answer.

Furries/ Otherkin/ Therians are one of the most unique subcultures out there, dare I say the most unique as our interests and who we are usually go deeper than sheer fanboyism.

For me a big part really is the friends and the art, the art got me interested and the good friends kept me active. Though I have had sketchy activity years back I am making more of an effort to once more be more than just a lurker in the fandom. I have met some great people, and I have met some bad, I have had great mates.. and I have had so-so lol but you gotta take the good with the bad. You will never find a sub culture that can have such life-styler types. But also have very spiritual ones and also very energetic types. I love the connection some people have to their fursonas spiritual or not. It really can show you who they are or who they want to be. Some people even going as far to try and emulate the better qualities of their species in a sorta unique way to be something more than the average human being. I can really respect that someone would make an effort to become a person with integrity and respect, yet also have that flare of life in them, its really something I see less and less of in your average person in this era.

Regarding myself, I take a lot of pride in my identity as a dragon. (maybe ever too much so) Over the years I went from just the shy real quiet guy with little personality to something of an eccentric, this identity of mine has grown with me ever since 2001. To think of myself as another species or even completley separated from the fandom is nigh impossible to do, I just can't see me being anything close to resembling an individual with actual personality. The dragon that is me is just so deeply ingrained into my identity and its helped me to become the person you see before you today. Every year is just a further bonding between my average human identity and my dragon one. Just simply in the sense that who I am is no fly by night type. I am too far in to back out or vanish.

[Roffo]

Nothing at the moment. There really isn't much of a community here.

[bloodredruby]

If I had to narrow it down to one thing that keeps in in the furry community, I would say that it is absolutely the people.

People as a species disgust me, people as individuals never fail to intrigue and fascinate me. I enjoy the severely eclectic mix of people the fandom attracts, and find it really hard to become bored with interacting with other furries. I'm not particularly outgoing, but I'm surely no wallflower either, and my favorite part of any meet I go to is meeting and talking to new people.

I've pretty much always wanted to be a cat, ever since I can remember, I just never had a name or deffinition for that feeling. Whatever happens with the community, regardless of whether I stay or fade away, I will always be furry. Proud? Damn right!

[EmoFox]

I kind of agree with Ruby. I'll always be a furry. Whether I'm active in the fandom or not, it's part of who I am. Actually, I kind of agree with everyone (except Ren. Boredom? really?)

But what keeps me in *this* community particularly, is Gizmo's potlucks, :p I'm going to miss those when we move to Alberta next year.

[Naq Ryba]

For me it's pretty much the fursuits.    I've been fascinated by animal and monster costumes since I was in elementary school, long before I knew what furry was.   Seeing all the wonderful suits that were coming out of the fandom is what drew me in.

[H u nn Y]

For me one of the main reasons is for one I'm accepted in this group and two everybody I meet are just super amazing people and really easy to get along with and they make my life all the more better. Having great friends like I do right now be around me is one of the best feelings ever. Nowadays I don't really have much to do but when I get the some-what odd message or phone call to hang out I'm most of the time headed out the door and ready to just hang out and be myself. :D

[Neox]

Good good!  This is good!  So we've got the fur-meets, fur-suiting, and certainly the people and friends you make here... more people with otherkin/therian beliefs (yeah Drake, I knew you'd pipe up--you're maybe the single person here with beliefs as parallel to mine =P), and... boredom?  Seriously?  I think if someone was really that bored, they'd opt to join a poker group or play videogames all day, not choose to be a member of one of the most socially rejected communities on our planet. XD

Some people seem to think I was talking specifically about your LOCAL community.  Well... that can certainly be included in your reasons, but that wasn't what I was aiming for.  I only discovered we even HAVE an active furry presence in the lower-mainland last year, so to use that in my reasons for staying furry isn't exactly relevant. =P

[Gizmo]

I kind of agree with Ruby. I'll always be a furry. Whether I'm active in the fandom or not, it's part of who I am. Actually, I kind of agree with everyone (except Ren. Boredom? really?)

But what keeps me in *this* community particularly, is Gizmo's potlucks, :p I'm going to miss those when we move to Alberta next year.

ROADTRIP to Emo's and Jester's place in Alberta for their first POTLUCK!!!! Woo-Hoo!!

[Gizmo]

Nothing at the moment. There really isn't much of a community here.

I would be really curious as to what YOU would like to see in a furry community that isn't already there? If there is NO community here in your eyes, what would you like to see?

[EmoFox]

ROADTRIP to Emo's and Jester's place in Alberta for their first POTLUCK!!!! Woo-Hoo!!

WOO! ..wait, what?
:p

This is the only part of the furry community I'm really part of anyway, is the local one. I browse around and am a bit of a lurker on furaffinity etc, but I don't really participate much. I've never been to a con, dont have a fursuit, don't do a lot of art. I just lurk. :p

[Tef]

It's definitely meeting people who share interests in furries for sure and making some friends in the process, and by stating this, it incorporates quite a wide spectrum in itself. Initially I was a bit of a socially awkward penguin, but meeting all you outgoing furs made me happy to be kept within the community.

Before coming to Vancouver, I lived in a place where I felt it's isolating, only managing to meet up with furries online, I just felt like meeting furries in person at conventions or meetups.

In a sense the community manages to give me the umph to keep on moving on as a furry. Before I found out I was a furry, I was always interested in dogs, but I could never get around to owning one because I don't have the time and space for them. Joining the community to find quite a number of canine furs sorta sparked the canine furriness in me.

[Temrin]

For me, the reason why I'm here is because i honestly hate being solely part of 'normal society'. Its so... boring? (its why i dont make a habbit of drawing humans. I just find them boring. -shrugs- Not that people are mind you. Just the aspect of drawing humans.)
I love interacting with people, furries and non furries alike but the fandom (and some other fandoms) just seem a lot more interesting, open, and just. Exciting?
I love the art and the people. I love how i feel like i can really be me here. Sure, theres been tons of ups and downs but honestly thats life and you learn to live with it. I know i'll be in this fandom for many many years, if not the rest of my life. I love the culture and community here and I've learned a lot about where i stand with myself, relationships and even just with life in general. Its also given me a great freelancing job opportunity that i absolutely love :3 I love fantasy creatures so this really gives me an outlet to release stress, have fun, and interact with people from all over the world.

There have been some HUGE downs, but the positive things and what i take out of my experiences definitely beats those downs. Regardless of if my family and some friends understand it or not. They still like me for me and the fandom has given me some really interesting perspectives. I hate the drama with a passion, but that too you learn to deal with and realistically avoid with logic :3 (not all of course)

Aaaaanywas i'm rambling. I love the fandom. Nuff said. XD

[Amylith]

C: the fandom, the people and the costumes all interest me

I do have some otherkin beliefs but that's also cultural and a bit hard to explain xD