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Research Question Time: Toon/Avatar/Persona (etc)
3 years ago
So -- as the title says, a research question:
Here's a set of words... what do they mean to you?
1. Toon
2. Avatar
3. Persona
4. Fursona
5. Character
6 How long have you been in fandom? PLEASE NOTE -- IF THE ONLY QUESTION YOU WANT TO ANSWER IS THIS ONE, IT WON'T HELP AT ALL. I AM TRYING TO TRACK THE USAGE OF THESE PARTICULAR TERMS AND HOW THEY CHANGE OVER TIME (WHICH IS WHY THIS QUESTION IS IN HERE, I delete or ignore answers that don't actually address the real question.)
7. What words do you know (not listed here) that are used to describe Furry images (are waifu and husbando common in the fandom>) that I might have missed and how are they used?
Inquiring scientist wants to know.
*and if you know folks who might answer this, direct them here. They don't have to +watch me. Anyone can comment.
Here's a set of words... what do they mean to you?
1. Toon
2. Avatar
3. Persona
4. Fursona
5. Character
6 How long have you been in fandom? PLEASE NOTE -- IF THE ONLY QUESTION YOU WANT TO ANSWER IS THIS ONE, IT WON'T HELP AT ALL. I AM TRYING TO TRACK THE USAGE OF THESE PARTICULAR TERMS AND HOW THEY CHANGE OVER TIME (WHICH IS WHY THIS QUESTION IS IN HERE, I delete or ignore answers that don't actually address the real question.)
7. What words do you know (not listed here) that are used to describe Furry images (are waifu and husbando common in the fandom>) that I might have missed and how are they used?
Inquiring scientist wants to know.
*and if you know folks who might answer this, direct them here. They don't have to +watch me. Anyone can comment.
2) Avatar - a character or being that stands for, or symbolizes, someone or something else
3) Persona - an alternate identity that one creates to represent oneself in another environment
4) Fursona - an (usually) anthropomorphic animal persona that a person creates to identify oneself online and/or within the furry fandom
5) Character - a (usually) fictional person or personality created to exist within a created environment or setting
6) I've been in fandom since about 1991 or so; you've known me in the days of the old Dallas Brawl Updates, Mel.!
7) N/A
2) A representation in an environment, not necessarily a character; otherwise, your online "face".
3) A character representing you, adjusted to hide or bring out particular traits as desired, your face and stand-in, generally something with more personal attachment.
4) A persona specifically with a furry focus.
5) A fictional individual, but not necessarily one that represents its creator in any sense or capacity.
6) Hard to make an accurate assessment. My earliest publicly visible furry art is almost 19 years old now, but I've been making that stuff for a good few years beyond that. At the same time, while I certainly enjoy seeing (and very occasionally also making) furry content, I'm uncertain if I can consider myself part of the fandom as such at all - might be too much of a shut-in for that.
7) Can't tell - my contact with the fandom's vocabulary tends to be somewhat surface-level. As best I can guess, common/popular phrases or words wind up here as well with no issue. Fandom-specific vocab seems to be actively avoided more often than not, at least at my surface-level glance.
2) A personalized character or image representing someone in a virtual space. (An avatar in Second Life, a little pic by your name on a forum, or going back to the original a 2D sprite you designed in Club Caribe.)
3/4) Persona/Fursona : same thing either way, just one's furry. A character used as a 'primary' in interacting with others. Can be a character with a background and such, or just a representation of the player.
5) The dictionary definition, more or less.
6) Almost 30 years
7) Yiffy, though that's fallen out of fashion.
Avatar: A character for online interaction, to represent one's self.
Persona: An identity one creates for interaction. This can be an online persona, a work persona, a parental persona, etc. It is a structure of aspects of self.
Fursona: An anthropomorphic character that one operates online and/or offline, that is closely associated with one's self. A bit different than the old term 'Personal furry' but closely aligned; different but sometimes co-existing with 'OC'.
Character: A created being for fictional works, online interaction, or other interactions. Superman is a character. Chiaroscuro Lyle Themyst is a character (And also my Fursona, also an Avatar on MUCKs, etc.)
6. Since 1993, goldang I'm old
7. OC/Original Character. , 'Original Character'-- though OCs are typically found within broadly-known media universes, such as MLP:FIM or Zootopia.
[x]Sona- extensions of Fursona, such as Ponysona (For MLP).
Personal Furry - a older term close to fursona, meant for a character that was closely linked to you _and_ reflected more of yourself than other characters might, in gender/physicality/personality.
2. Avatar - Headshot/small image of a personal character.
3. Persona - Uh, game series I've never played.
4. Fursona - Fandom characters, personal use.
5. Character - A creation for use in stories/games, etc.
6. Uh, wasn't aware of the fandom 'til the '90s, didn't really get 'in' until I owned a computer in like '06 - '07.
7. Waifu, for sure. 'OC' is used a lot too. None else I'm aware of.
1) A cartoon, though what specifically comes to mind is classic American cartoons as compared to modern stuff or anime.
2) An avatar is something that we in the fandom use to represent ourselves and may take different forms. On FA it's usually through images, on other platforms like Second Life it might represent a full-body 3d character. A very common example is an internet profile picture.
3) A persona is a demeanor that we assume in situations. As far as I know this term doesn't have a fandom-specific meaning aside form many people take on a persona different from their usual behaviors when they're in-character for their fursona.
4) A fursona is a character that someone in the furry fandom uses to represent themselves.
5) A character is a fictional person or creature. Or someone that acts in an exaggerated or outlandish way. EG "He's such a character." I often use this term for characters that aren't actually a representation for someone. A furry may have a number of characters on top of their fursona which are there for storytelling, worldbuilding, etc. I'm not sure if it's still true but back in the day a handful of people would get upset if you called their fursona a character.
6) I've been in the fandom for a bit over a decade now. It's hard to track but if I had to guess, around 10-12 years.
7) A long time ago back in the AOL chatroom days I saw 'anthro' thrown around quite a bit. Though I wasn't part of the fandom back then (didn't even know the fandom existed at the time) so I can't say if this was part of fandom culture or not.
Avatar- Varies by context: If mentioned in relation to Anime, likely refers to The Last Airbender; if mentioned in relation to James Cameron, likely refers to blue cat-people; if mentioned on a forum, likely refers to user-icon; and finally, the answer likely most pertinent to this journal, a fictional being used to represent yourself/idealized self graphically and/or in general online circles.
Persona- A series of games utilizing 'Personas' to combat demons in an alternate-yet-connected reality; The contextual mask you wear when interacting with different people/groups; and again, the final answer to #2.
Fursona- A subset of #2 and #3 particular to the Furry Fandom, this can vary from 'myself, but as an anthropomorphic* creature' to 'character completely unrelated to its creator/owner, that they use as a proxy to interact with others in the fandom'. *(anthropomorphic can range from 'talking animal' to 'humans with animal heads' (or even fewer animalistic characteristics) and everything inbetween)
Character- Can apply to any of the above, but is most often applied to a fictional individual that is unrelated to their creator and is used to: Tell a story; explore aspects/concepts the creator/owner isn't normally comfortable with/doesn't want associated with their fursona/personal character; or as a vehicle for role-play, which may involve both of the previous two possibilities at the same time.
Length of time in the fandom- Geeze, had to save the difficult one for last, didn't you? XD
Let's see... Joined here in '06, that's 16 years, but I was perusing art for a few years before that, including adult art before I was 18.
Sooo... round up to twenty years? Can't recall clearly since I went on antidepressants at 15.
What words do I know? Maaaannn... Another toughie! Making me have to use my memory! XD
Yiff is, I'm sure, a well-known one since it sees wide usage, both accurate and otherwise.
I define 'yiff' (when used to describe images) as art that serves little point beyond titillation and sexual stimulation/gratification. Frequently displaying one-to-uncountable characters engaging in sexual acts with little-to-no text/talking/dialogue aside from lewd sound-effects and moans/gasps/a short list of words commonly found spoken repetitively in cheap pornos.
If the piece contains content that tells a story, builds a character, reveals world-lore, is set in a continuity of sequential art that gives it greater context, or is funny, I do not call it yiff.
It is still adult/explicit/sexual art, yes, but it has more to it than just that.
I have also read historical accounts of 'yiff' having once just been an innocent sound-effect made by those role-playing as a simpleminded/minimally-anthropomorphic fox in the earliest fandom days.
Yarf, yaff, yip, and possibly yurf, were other noises invented for this play.
But, as usually happens with fast-growing fandoms, terms gain new and different meaning as a sort of code for those 'in the know' and yiff came to be the term it is today.
Many, especially critics, use it to refer to any furry art that is above a general-audiences level.
Leaving aside the sordid history of yiff, there are a variety of other terms, too many to cover, so I'll simply list as many as I can recall until I tire of typing. Buckle up, it's gonna be a long post!
Scritch- A fairly self-explanatory term, it refers to the action of giving another a friendly, non-sexual scratching/massaging with the tips of the fingers, frequently around the ears or neck.
(like any words in any language, can be used within a sexual context, but is not specifically tied to such implications)
Waifu is fairly common now, typically used to refer to fandom-favorites like Renamon, Krystal (from Star Fox), and other widely-known feminine characters.
Was once used (and still is used, to some extent) as a derogatory term for when somebody obsesses over a particular character (or string of characters) and will become upset if others don't agree that their waifu is the best.
Seems to be more often used as a term to refer to a character that the person speaking sees as particularly attractive and would desire to marry/have sex with if said character was real.
Husbando is the masculine equivalent, which seems like it is used less (but that may just be biased by my own preferences and the parts of the fandom I frequent) and is sometimes used to refer to a person's real-life masculine partner, something which seems to be far more common for it than such use of waifu.
Squick/Squicky/Squicked- A fairly easy one to figure out from context, refers to images/stories/behaviors/kinks or other things that create a reaction/feeling of disgust in the speaker.
Sparkledog- A term that refers to characters (canine or not) that took 'uniqueness' and turned it up to 11!
Often having over 6 colors, patterns, species, limbs, piercings, scars, or most any other feature.
(yes, that includes genitalia, at least on FA) Also frequently have tragic backstories and/or super-powers/god-mode.
Saw a peak during the early 2000's, especially on DeviantArt and were frequently created by those in the preteen-to-early-teens age-group.
Now still refers to such characters, but there is usually less stigma, and some even celebrate it.
(but they are problematic when it comes to commissions, as extra details cost more, as they should)
...I'm sure, I *know* there are more, but I'm about tapped out for tonight.
I'll link this journal on my twitter account, see if that pulls in anybody else.
Thanks for the intriguing (if tiring) mental exercise!
-Edit: Woo! Almost two pages of text! XD
2. Avatar - A representation of one's person. As of 2022, this is usually an image which may or may not be a photo of themselves; 3D rendered versions have existed since the 2000's.
3. Persona - a person's personality, sometimes called their spirit in religion. Their gestalt. Currently tied to the person's physical form. As of 2022, no technology exists to separate the two.
4. Fursona - a person's personality, viewed through the lens of anthropomorphics. This usually results in an avatar that retains animal-like features, but is not exclusive, and may involve third-party properties (example: Hasbro's Transformers and My Little Pony).
5. Character - a person in a work of fiction, such as a story in print or depicted through film media. A character can be a real life person, depending on the work of fiction, or an anthropormorphized version. A character may be a fursona or avatar of a real life person.
6. Since 1995 (27 years)
7. Um, Mel, that question is a very deep rabbit hole that gets into slang, adult topics, and lengthy discussions. In other words, I refuse because I will be here all night.
What I was looking for was "terms used to describe in general representations of self." So you'd say "that's my toon" or "that's my avatar" but not "that's my vore" or "that's my yiff."
etc.
2 Just a visual token used for online ID.
3 This one is more deep. For me, I'd define Persona as the face we show to the world, either online or offline. Who we try (or pretend) to be, not necessarily who we always are.
4 - Furry only. An OC, or who we would like to be if one could be an Anthro/Furry Character in RL.
5 - Would just define Character as a fictional person, of any type.
6 -Cripes, since the late 80's. Got started way back in the fanzine era.
7 I hear Waifu / Husbando used, although not so much in Furry fandom. Seems to be more of an Anime /Modern Cartoon thing. Although the Pony fandom seems to use it a lot too.
2. Avatar : my first thought actually is either the movie or cartoon on Nick. but in this context I`d say a picture next to your name on a message board or on a site like FA or in a video game
3. Persona : again my first thought is the video game series by Atlus/Sega like Persona5. but in the context of you asking I would say however you portray yourself to the fandom with no need to be tied to your real life. Examples would be self insert human versions of the artist in comics when they break the 4th wall ,or someone acting a certain way online even if they arent that way in rl (age,gender, even personality )
4. Fursona : a much more specific version of a persona but depicted as being an anthro character.My Rick2Tails character is my personal fursona
5. Character : any fictional entity in a story ,comic,game etc . One can own several characters if they are an artist, writer ,or even if you are a fan who wants personal owned characters to commisison people to draw or write about>I would say one`s fursona is a subset of characters one owns.And one can have characters they own and yet not have a fursona
6 How long have you been in fandom? Ive been going to Anthrocon since the year 2000.I was reading anthro comics since 1994? after I started collecting Sonic comics and then went to local comicbook shops looking for comics that had animal people in them and started looking at furry themed websites when I first got online with a Sega Saturn videogame system with dial up modem and keyboard in December of 1997
7. What words do you know (not listed here) that are used to describe Furry images (are waifu and husbando common in the fandom>) that I might have missed and how are they used?
I use waifu and husbando but not to specificly refer to furry just any fictional characters I crush on whether they be human or anthro . terms I have seen in non fandom areas decribing anthro people would include "funny animals" and oc or original character sometimes followed by a snarky "donut steel" as a mocking of a teen or preteen coming up with a unoriginal original character derivative of a famous one and saying "original character do not steal" for example Sonic the hedgehog but with a different color and treating that as an original character.
1. A cartoon character, animated or otherwise, such as Mickey Mouse, Slappy Squirrel, Invader Zim, Archie & Jughead. But WRT the furry community, it can also be how a person describes their persona/fursona/avatar. A good example would be
2. Depending on the context, it can refer to a user icon in a forum or website, such as those here on FA? Or more often, it represents a person's virtual reality presence. In the context of movies or animation, it can refer to "Avatar: The Last Airbender", or the James Cameron film, "Avatar". What's interesting, is that in the film "Avatar", the protagonist had their brain projected into an empty shell; ie an 'avatar'.
3. A persona is how a person represents themselves to the world at large. This is normally considered genuine; what a social scientist might refer to as a person's "natural state". It can also refer to an alternate personality, like an actor taking on a role? But those situations are more accurately represented by the term "role" or "character".
4. A fursona is how a person represents themselves to the furry community in particular, and sometimes to the overall world in general. The majority of people in the furry community do not project their fursonas to the overall world in general, except through the practice of fursuiting, which provides a measure of anonymity.
5. Character in reference to a person, is the product of their personal behavior, multiplied by the formula (belief x actions). Or C = P(B*A). In a best case scenario, a person's (B*A) is a positive number, where beliefs are at least somewhat in line with the consistent survival of the species and society as a whole. Those beliefs are then multiplied by the person's actions, and whether or not they act upon those beliefs. If their beliefs are in line with the consistent survival of the species and society, and the person acts upon those beliefs, then the number is positive, and a good multiplier. If their beliefs are not in line with the survival of the species and society (selfishness, self-centeredness), then that number is, at best, a 1. And if they never take action on those beliefs, then actions can be considered a 1 as well. If they *do* take actions on those beliefs, that would be a negative number, and would bring a person's character into question. And if their personal beliefs are negative, such as racism or sexism, and they actually take action upon those beliefs, the negative number can be even higher, thus being a mark of poor character at best, or dangerous character at worst.
Character in reference to a furry, usually refers to their avatar or fursona, or in reference to themselves, such as when saying they are "in character" during a roleplaying session.
6. Since 1996. That's when I found the furry community "for real". I'd been dabbling at the periphery since 1992, but 1996 is when I found the actual community.
7. Hah!
Yiff = a uniquely furry word, referring to the sexual act, or artwork of the act.
Vore = one character eating another, consensually or non-consensually.
I PMed you on this one. Other than former New York Jets Wide Receiver Al Toon, the obvious response would be Who Framed Roger Rabbit? That was the first time I heard the word used that way.
2. Avatar
Long ago, I recall this word being used in connection with astral projection and the passing of a visible spiritual manifestation from one realm to another. Later it was the image associated with a 'handle' on the old Bulletin Board Systems (ask Gramps about those, kids).
3. Persona
Well, my first two years in college were
wastedspent studying Psychology. Back in the mid-1970s, Carl Jung and Jungian thought were still popular and one's persona was the face one showed the world for better or worse.4. Fursona
A silly portmanteau (rather than demand I explain the word, Google it, people) of Fur + Persona. One's Own Character (OC) or sometimes an avatar. I wrote a silly story about being transformed into my own fursona: The Transmogrification.
5. Character
What hard work builds -- at least according to millions of doting parents and bosses. I write. Without characters I'm kinda sucking air.
6 How long have you been in fandom?
For all intents and purposes, and I blame Disney, Hanna-Barbera, Paul Terry, Warner Bros. and Joseph W. Cohen Jr., (AKA Jay Ward), over 60 years. Officially, as soon as I had Interwebz that didn't require a telegraph key, a hand crank or clay tablets, about 1992.
7. What words do you know (not listed here) that are used to describe Furry images?
Lots of folks have mentioned 'yiffy' above. Transformation comes to mind. My girlfriend was born on Okinawa and all things Japanese appeal to her. She's made me put together a Japanese vocabulary and I draw from that: folks have already mentioned anime but not manga. Bakemono is a transforming monster (the horror flick The Thing comes to mind). I like chibi and kawaii (little and cute). Kemokko means bestiality (eww). Kemono, 'beast' is the Japanese term for furry and kemonomimi are the animal ears on otherwise human characters; nekomimi are specifically cat ears. Nuigurumi means stuffed toy or plushie, yo! An otaku is a person with an obsessive interest in anime, manga or furry (kinda a weaboo).
And of course I must mention Kitsune, and in a positive light, or she will consume my soul after she's otherwise finished using me as a mindless slave.
2) Avatar... As I recall, this has a religious origin, referencing animate representations of Deity... Nowadays, I would consider it a personal representation of you in particular, regardless of the medium of expression...
3) Persona... Literally, this a role played... Sort of like a pronoun, where the person is the antecedent, or an alternate of you... Or a subset of your conglomerate whole... You as ____________, and fill in the blank as you will...
4) Fursona... A variation of persona, but in a furry vein... You as a Furry, to fill in the prior blank... It and the related aspect of persona are VERY particular to you...
5) Character... This is variable... It can have aspects of any of the others, but properly it is a reference to story and setting... Characters live in settings and are part of stories... A well developed character can be portrayed by many different actors... Characters are things in and of themselves...
6) I've been in the Fandom since the late 1980s...
7) Not familiar with other terms, but I was an RPG gamer long before I was in Furry... Any other terms I know would be too tied to Gaming to be meaningful, I think...
2. Specifically a character that represents a real person, and carries enough of a resemblance to them to be recognizable as them. Usually, it's the creator of the fictional characters "interacting" with their creations by representing themselves in the fictional world.
3. Same as an avatar, except the stand-in character for the creator doesn't have to look or act like the real person at all.
4. Same a persona, except specifically anthropomorphic or funny animal in design.
5. Any fictional person or fictional representation of a real person, usually meant to be part of a story or illustration.
6 Since the early 80's. I joined Rowrbrazzle 1983/1984.
7a. Funny animal. A character drawn and represented in an iconic fashion, meant to resemble a non-human animal, either behaving as a human or not. See Scott McCloud's illustrated text book Understanding Comics for a deeper explanation of what "iconic" means in this context.
7b. Anthro. Same as "funny animal" except less iconic and more representational of a non-human character having human behavior, and drawn in a style meant to be more realistic for how such a person would look.
I'm doing this off the top of my head after not thinking about it in about a decade, so I didn't aim for detailed or consistent, just coherent.
2. Avatar- A thumbnail image associated with one's account. (Example: The Major Matt Mason graphic)
3. Persona - A representation of the self. May be anthro, human, or something else. (example: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/1552694/)
4. Fursona - An anthro representation of the self. (Example: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/9630310/ at left)
5. Character - An individual that you use in storytelling. May or may not represent the self. A persona/fursona is a character, but a character is not necessarily a persona/fursona. (Example: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/14649128/)
6 How long have you been in fandom? - Since August, 1984. (See Normalman #4, Cutey Bunny cameo therein)
7. What words do you know (not listed here) that are used to describe Furry images (are waifu and husbando common in the fandom>) that I might have missed and how are they used?
OC (Original character) A persona/fursona made to fit within an established genre/show/etc. (Example: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/6167432/)
Hope this helps! :)
1. A character done in the early/mid 20th century cartoon style (Disney/Warner, etc}; non-realistic iconic proportions.
2. A character that represents an real-life individual (a "furry" rendition that's a translation of the real person)
3. A character being played or acted that is not the actual person (a "mask" or role being played for public consumption).
4. The more current version of "avatar" in the fandom, with the addition that it's far less physically representational and more a personally idealized representation standing in for the real-life individual.
5. Not sure how to define this that isn't an excessively wordy literal definition: any drawn or written non-representational personality construct?
6. Approximately 40 years.
7. The only term that comes immediately to mind is "OC" (Original Character), which seems to get used erratically and may have fallen out of general usage at this point.
2. Avatar. Representative symbol of one's character, personality, or professional company logo.
3. Persona...public human identity in terms of personality and other people's perception of one's behavior or creative output.
4. Fursona ...the same as Persona in animal creative character terms. One's fursona and persona may differ.
5. Character...personalities and mannerisms in the creation of either an illustrated, written, or visual (fursuit, statue figure) manner.
6. Been a fan of anthro animal art since the 1980s. Never a long term convention attendee. Drawn some art but not in a professional, for monetary gain context. Never a leader or prominent name in some capacity in the fandom. Still believe the creative possibilities of anthro animals are worthy although I prefer clean, for all ages, and humorous visual material more.
7. I got nothing. OC, YCH,