FA+
Shop
UA Furvey, my answers
16 years ago
General
The University of Alaska is doing a survey on furry culture, and I wanted to see what it was about. And then, just for the hell of it, I decided to post my answers here, too.
Take it or don't, the link is here anyways: http://uafurvey.org/
You
-Do you think of yourself as a furry?
No
--Why are you furry?
As I said, I do not really consider myself as a "furry", although I acknowledge that people outside the fandom would be likely to label me as such.
In short, I like cartoony, anthropomorphized animals. I like drawing them, looking at them, making up stories about them with my friends on the internet and then trying to illustrate said stories.
-About how many of your friends are furry?
Some
--About many friends do you have?
20
-Does religion play a major part in your life?
No
--If you feel comfortable doing so, please discuss your religious beliefs.
I am an atheist, and would rather religion not play any part in my life.
-If you have someone you think of as a best friend how did you meet that person?
In high school, we had classes together.
--Would this person describe themselves as a furry?
No
--Would you describe this person as a furry?
No
-Do you have friends who you first met online?
Yes
--Would you be as inclined to help them if they encountered life difficulties as you would an offline friend?
To clarify a little on the question above, I have a few people I met online, yet have never met in person. However, I consider these people to be my friends all the same. I do not think "online friends" are inherently any less important than "offline" friends, but instead I think it all depends on your level of interaction.
By all means, I would. However, the great distances involved generally limit our interaction, so besides talking and giving advice, there often isn't all that much I can do.
--Do you often find that you help your friends, online or offline, with life issues/problems?
No, I would not use the word 'often'.
--Are they supportive when you are sad or "down"?
Generally yes, if I choose not to hide it when I have the blues.
-Do you expect to be a furry in five years?
Yes. //Disclaimer: I do not expect to call myself a furry in five years, although I do not see myself liking cartoon animals any less at that time.
-Do you feel comfortable discussing your furryness with people who are not furs?
Yes
--If not who are you uncomfortable talking about your furriness with?
I would like to note that 'furriness' is not really my defining attribute, so I generally do not talk about it very much, and I don't even think there is so much to talk about it, really.
Furries
-What is a furry anyway?
That is a good question. In part, it's the internet punching-bag term for people who have sexual kinks for drawn anthropomorphic animals, and in part it can be used for people who just like to draw, look at or make stories about cartoon animals, such as myself.
It's become such an ambiguous term (and not to mention silly sounding) that I prefer not to use it.
-Do you think that anyone who thinks of themselves as a furry is a furry?
Yes
--Why or why not?
If someone wants to call him/herself a furry, then who am I to argue? It's not like the definition is set in stone, anyways.
The Furry Community
-Please describe the furry community as you perceive it.
I do have somewhat mixed feelings about the community. There are some people involved in the community who are super open about their sexuality and either seemingly want to push it on other people, or otherwise like to flaunt about it excessively. People like these are probably where the community got its internet-stigma.
However, people like that are a minority, at least in my experience. That may either be true, or be because I like to surround myself with classier people. Needless to say, does not solely consist of weird people or I would not want to be a part of it. There are some very cool people around as well.
-What is your favorite aspect of the furry community?
Because anthropomorphic animals do not exist in reality, the community inherently has to rely on art and artists, which I think is the best aspect of the whole shebang. Also, I like to be able to share my art with others who have similar tastes in art.
Your involvement in the Furry Community
-How did you feel about yourself before you joined the furry community?
Regular? There are always ups and downs in life.
-Did your feelings change after you joined the furry community?
No
-Do you feel that being involved in the furry community helps when you encounter stressful life events?
No, not really. My involvement in the "community" has been somewhat loose.
-Have you ever been to a fur con?
No
Take it or don't, the link is here anyways: http://uafurvey.org/
You
-Do you think of yourself as a furry?
No
--Why are you furry?
As I said, I do not really consider myself as a "furry", although I acknowledge that people outside the fandom would be likely to label me as such.
In short, I like cartoony, anthropomorphized animals. I like drawing them, looking at them, making up stories about them with my friends on the internet and then trying to illustrate said stories.
-About how many of your friends are furry?
Some
--About many friends do you have?
20
-Does religion play a major part in your life?
No
--If you feel comfortable doing so, please discuss your religious beliefs.
I am an atheist, and would rather religion not play any part in my life.
-If you have someone you think of as a best friend how did you meet that person?
In high school, we had classes together.
--Would this person describe themselves as a furry?
No
--Would you describe this person as a furry?
No
-Do you have friends who you first met online?
Yes
--Would you be as inclined to help them if they encountered life difficulties as you would an offline friend?
To clarify a little on the question above, I have a few people I met online, yet have never met in person. However, I consider these people to be my friends all the same. I do not think "online friends" are inherently any less important than "offline" friends, but instead I think it all depends on your level of interaction.
By all means, I would. However, the great distances involved generally limit our interaction, so besides talking and giving advice, there often isn't all that much I can do.
--Do you often find that you help your friends, online or offline, with life issues/problems?
No, I would not use the word 'often'.
--Are they supportive when you are sad or "down"?
Generally yes, if I choose not to hide it when I have the blues.
-Do you expect to be a furry in five years?
Yes. //Disclaimer: I do not expect to call myself a furry in five years, although I do not see myself liking cartoon animals any less at that time.
-Do you feel comfortable discussing your furryness with people who are not furs?
Yes
--If not who are you uncomfortable talking about your furriness with?
I would like to note that 'furriness' is not really my defining attribute, so I generally do not talk about it very much, and I don't even think there is so much to talk about it, really.
Furries
-What is a furry anyway?
That is a good question. In part, it's the internet punching-bag term for people who have sexual kinks for drawn anthropomorphic animals, and in part it can be used for people who just like to draw, look at or make stories about cartoon animals, such as myself.
It's become such an ambiguous term (and not to mention silly sounding) that I prefer not to use it.
-Do you think that anyone who thinks of themselves as a furry is a furry?
Yes
--Why or why not?
If someone wants to call him/herself a furry, then who am I to argue? It's not like the definition is set in stone, anyways.
The Furry Community
-Please describe the furry community as you perceive it.
I do have somewhat mixed feelings about the community. There are some people involved in the community who are super open about their sexuality and either seemingly want to push it on other people, or otherwise like to flaunt about it excessively. People like these are probably where the community got its internet-stigma.
However, people like that are a minority, at least in my experience. That may either be true, or be because I like to surround myself with classier people. Needless to say, does not solely consist of weird people or I would not want to be a part of it. There are some very cool people around as well.
-What is your favorite aspect of the furry community?
Because anthropomorphic animals do not exist in reality, the community inherently has to rely on art and artists, which I think is the best aspect of the whole shebang. Also, I like to be able to share my art with others who have similar tastes in art.
Your involvement in the Furry Community
-How did you feel about yourself before you joined the furry community?
Regular? There are always ups and downs in life.
-Did your feelings change after you joined the furry community?
No
-Do you feel that being involved in the furry community helps when you encounter stressful life events?
No, not really. My involvement in the "community" has been somewhat loose.
-Have you ever been to a fur con?
No
Do you think of yourself as a furry?:
no
Why are you furry?:
I like cartoon animals and the internet says that that means I'm a furry
About how many of your friends are furry?:
None
About many friends do you have?:
5
Does religion play a major part in your life?:
no
If you feel comfortable doing so, please discuss your religious beliefs.:
I go to church and play the organ there. I once described the organ as having a celestial sound, therefore using a word filled with religious connotation.
Do you expect to be a furry in five years?:
no
Do you feel comfortable discussing your furryness with people who are not furs?:
yes because my furriness is very 'I like Graeme Base's illustrations' based
If you have someone you think of as a best friend how did you meet that person?:
I was playing Frisbee in the park and I hit the guy on the head, knocked the person over and made the fellow faint, helped out with some water, became friends.
Would this person describe themselves as a furry?: no
Would you describe this person as a furry?: no
Do you have friends who you first met online?: no
Would you be as inclined to help them if they encountered life difficulties as you would an offline friend?:
If I ever would have a good one, yes I would try and help them, even if it means leaving my town in the middle of nowhere with an organ that has to be pumped by two fit men for me to be able to play it and catching a plane to go help them!
Do you often find that you help your friends, online or offline, with life issues/problems?:
Yes
Are they supportive when you are sad or down?:
If I ever am, I ask two fit men to pump my organ for me to play with it, but I don't think people on the internet can do that.
If you've met your online friend(s) in person did meeting them affect your friendship?:
no
If so in what way?:
How, I don't have one!
What is a furry anyway?:
A furry starts from the lowest stage, one that looks at cartoon animals, only idiots would classify them as furry, ones who draw furries, slightly more, and we go up until we reach people who wear suits and dance, those are 100% furry by all definitions (mickey mouse people at Disney land don't count)
Do you think that anyone who thinks of themselves as a furry is a furry?:
yes
Why or why not?:
I really don't mind how people describe themselves, if they say they are gay but only have relationships with women, I think that they should get up to speed with the modern vocabulary, but they\'re still gay.
Please describe the furry community as you perceive it.:
A lot of artists, a few perverts and some interesting people. That\'s true for any community (though there are less artists in other communities).
What is your favorite aspect of the furry community?:
Nice art! And seeing artists progress.
How did you feel about yourself before you joined the furry community?:
Like a human
Did your feelings change after you joined the furry community?:
no
Do you feel that being involved in the furry community helps when you encounter stressful life events?:
Haven't tried calling out for help yet nor do I think I ever will...
Have you ever been to a fur con?:
no
Yah, I wasn't too serious. I once shooed a religious person's dog from my garbage... Take that religion! But without religion, there might not be an organ, and without the organ, no two fit men, and without the two fit men, I wouldn't be fit myself, due to me not playing enough Frisbee with them, and if I wasn't fit enough I wouldn't have been able to knock that guy unconscious and become his friend... Hmmm...