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The false image depicted in yiffy pictures
2 years ago
General
Perhaps this isn't anything that I need to really say, but I feel compelled to do so.
The furry fandom is full of people that grow up with big dreams. Perhaps that's natural, especially for the millennial generation (that I object to being qualified as), but I feel like back in the day furry art made me expect certain things from the future… images of a more sexual nature to be precise…
I saw them and my mind sort of started to believe that this had to be somewhat reflective of reality…. Of course I'm not talking about scenarios like vore , transformation or anything that cannot realistically happen! I mean just the act of "doing it". Back in the day, it did make me see the fandom as a group who to a large extent consisted of people who:
- Are attractive (depending on their idea of what attractive means), which I wasn't
- Have a ton of friends everywhere, which I didn't beyond my online buddies
- Are having a lot of sex every single day, which I wasn't
I admired them, and strived to one day be just like that , even if I was almost 30 years old at that point. I felt bad about not being quite there yet, but I believed that I'd make it at some point.
Some time has passed since those days, and I had to think about how some younger people might be doing right now. Perhaps they are feeling down, just like I was back in the day and could use some words of wisdom…. So here we go:
- Do not go into worshiping other artists or Furries. The amount of effort that it takes to LOOK attractive is infinitely bigger, than the effort of drawing or commissioning an image of your fursona looking how you wish. Add to that the natural passage of time, getting older, and this only becomes more true. When I go to a furry convention, I mostly see a bunch of nerds, with nobody being a true reflection of their fursona. You don't need to feel bad for not feeling beautiful. Of course with that said, you are free to work on yourself. I myself try to go to the gym regularly. I still don't have a six pack… I'm definitely weak, but that's already more than what certain Furries do…. So I do wish to say that you do not need to feel bad about how you look. Of course this isn't meant to discourage you from working on yourself, because that's always good, but you should not feel like you don't belong in the fandom, because you're not some physically buff giant.
- Don't get into a parasocial friendship with these online people. Sure, it's easy to see w picture of someone who's smiling, being friendly, and imagining that you two could get along, but people are so much more complicated than what they show of themselves online. They could be wild party Animals. They could be huge shut-ins. Or they could be complete assholes who just portray themselves all nice and sweet… You don't really know who's behind the image. When you're all alone, you might be wishing you could have fun like all the people in the pictures , but in all honesty, that might not work at all . You don't know their true self, so it's kind of naive to assume things. The recent years have shown me how messy things can get in the fandom…. One small bit of drama could get you kicked out of a group. People get into fights over really stupid things… And even if people get along and are buddies, they still might only see each other every few months on furry conventions or furwalks. This isn't meant to say that this makes these friendships worthless, but I am trying to make a point that this fandom isn't just a bunch of people who are always surrounded by huge social circles and are never alone. It's far from the truth… and while I still encourage people to be more outgoing, I do want to make a point of how there's nothing wrong with you, if you can't make friends as easily. There's others like you in the fandom, so don't feel bad for struggling
- Sex… well I could do a similar spiel here about how images are just images, and it doesn't mean that everyone has sex , etc. etc. Which is true, however I do feel like I should admit that…. I only became truly sexually active in my 30s. All of the people that I've done things with range from very close friends to loved ones. I have no regrets about that, because what I had/have is meaningful.
I dreamed of big things, which did not come to be, but I do in the end see how it was all for the better in the end. Being surrounded by a bunch of friendly faces who could "satisfy your needs" sounds all well and good, but who are these people? All these years made me aware of how badly these scenarios can go… Catching STDs from some irresponsible idiot is an obvious example… but what about just doing things with someone you barely know? Doing things with someone who just leaves you, because they only cared about being pleasured? Someone who just abandons you because of a small disagreement ? It feels nice to think that I have what I do. I'm not the wild party animal that I dreamed of turning into, but that's because in all honesty, it wasn't what would have brought me happiness in the end anyway.
I basically want to say : sometimes you are not where you wish to be, and while it can be a motivation to work on yourself and get better, it should not be a reason to feel depressed or do some really reckless things … You might regret them very soon, and later even realize that you didn't really want what you were aiming for to begin with…. Just because being 18 can make you an adult in the eyes of the law, doesn't mean that you are fully mature. I'll turn 36 this year, and only recently did I come to realize how the story of my life isn't a series of wasted opportunities, but a real path to maturity.
Keep your chin up, walk your path towards your future, and don't let silly images twist your perception of reality.
The furry fandom is full of people that grow up with big dreams. Perhaps that's natural, especially for the millennial generation (that I object to being qualified as), but I feel like back in the day furry art made me expect certain things from the future… images of a more sexual nature to be precise…
I saw them and my mind sort of started to believe that this had to be somewhat reflective of reality…. Of course I'm not talking about scenarios like vore , transformation or anything that cannot realistically happen! I mean just the act of "doing it". Back in the day, it did make me see the fandom as a group who to a large extent consisted of people who:
- Are attractive (depending on their idea of what attractive means), which I wasn't
- Have a ton of friends everywhere, which I didn't beyond my online buddies
- Are having a lot of sex every single day, which I wasn't
I admired them, and strived to one day be just like that , even if I was almost 30 years old at that point. I felt bad about not being quite there yet, but I believed that I'd make it at some point.
Some time has passed since those days, and I had to think about how some younger people might be doing right now. Perhaps they are feeling down, just like I was back in the day and could use some words of wisdom…. So here we go:
- Do not go into worshiping other artists or Furries. The amount of effort that it takes to LOOK attractive is infinitely bigger, than the effort of drawing or commissioning an image of your fursona looking how you wish. Add to that the natural passage of time, getting older, and this only becomes more true. When I go to a furry convention, I mostly see a bunch of nerds, with nobody being a true reflection of their fursona. You don't need to feel bad for not feeling beautiful. Of course with that said, you are free to work on yourself. I myself try to go to the gym regularly. I still don't have a six pack… I'm definitely weak, but that's already more than what certain Furries do…. So I do wish to say that you do not need to feel bad about how you look. Of course this isn't meant to discourage you from working on yourself, because that's always good, but you should not feel like you don't belong in the fandom, because you're not some physically buff giant.
- Don't get into a parasocial friendship with these online people. Sure, it's easy to see w picture of someone who's smiling, being friendly, and imagining that you two could get along, but people are so much more complicated than what they show of themselves online. They could be wild party Animals. They could be huge shut-ins. Or they could be complete assholes who just portray themselves all nice and sweet… You don't really know who's behind the image. When you're all alone, you might be wishing you could have fun like all the people in the pictures , but in all honesty, that might not work at all . You don't know their true self, so it's kind of naive to assume things. The recent years have shown me how messy things can get in the fandom…. One small bit of drama could get you kicked out of a group. People get into fights over really stupid things… And even if people get along and are buddies, they still might only see each other every few months on furry conventions or furwalks. This isn't meant to say that this makes these friendships worthless, but I am trying to make a point that this fandom isn't just a bunch of people who are always surrounded by huge social circles and are never alone. It's far from the truth… and while I still encourage people to be more outgoing, I do want to make a point of how there's nothing wrong with you, if you can't make friends as easily. There's others like you in the fandom, so don't feel bad for struggling
- Sex… well I could do a similar spiel here about how images are just images, and it doesn't mean that everyone has sex , etc. etc. Which is true, however I do feel like I should admit that…. I only became truly sexually active in my 30s. All of the people that I've done things with range from very close friends to loved ones. I have no regrets about that, because what I had/have is meaningful.
I dreamed of big things, which did not come to be, but I do in the end see how it was all for the better in the end. Being surrounded by a bunch of friendly faces who could "satisfy your needs" sounds all well and good, but who are these people? All these years made me aware of how badly these scenarios can go… Catching STDs from some irresponsible idiot is an obvious example… but what about just doing things with someone you barely know? Doing things with someone who just leaves you, because they only cared about being pleasured? Someone who just abandons you because of a small disagreement ? It feels nice to think that I have what I do. I'm not the wild party animal that I dreamed of turning into, but that's because in all honesty, it wasn't what would have brought me happiness in the end anyway.
I basically want to say : sometimes you are not where you wish to be, and while it can be a motivation to work on yourself and get better, it should not be a reason to feel depressed or do some really reckless things … You might regret them very soon, and later even realize that you didn't really want what you were aiming for to begin with…. Just because being 18 can make you an adult in the eyes of the law, doesn't mean that you are fully mature. I'll turn 36 this year, and only recently did I come to realize how the story of my life isn't a series of wasted opportunities, but a real path to maturity.
Keep your chin up, walk your path towards your future, and don't let silly images twist your perception of reality.
