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Why I left Furtopia
15 years ago
Welcome to Cicero's cat box.
Some may wonder why I left Furtopia and made sure my account was removed. Aside from being too busy to really devote time to a furry forum (holding down three jobs, finishing a graduate thesis), I decided enough was enough. Why stick around somewhere where I was never really welcome. The thing that a lot of people in this fandom fail to understand is that respect is both earned and a two way street. If I am never treated with respect by a group of peers, then I can either choose to be as disrespectful to that group (which I am above that) or simply leave the group. I chose the latter. But because in my farewell, I stated, "you can consider this my dramatic leave," I was told I was disrespectful. I read my statement to my mate, and he agreed it was respectful and rather undramatic, considering what I could have said.
I am an artist who sometimes creates furry art, so you will still see me post something here from time to time. Will I ever attend another con? Highly unlikely. There are a lot of conventions that I would rather spend my time and money attending, most notably ones that are of a professional nature, such as Photoshop World, which is always a good time and never a drama fest.
My mate could probably say everything I said on the Furtopia forum and never suffer the slings and arrows I had, but then again, he had at one time had a romantic relationship with one of the founders. I could have taken things personally when I never received a link to my art site hosting despite numerous requests by Itico and myself. I gave the forum enough of a chance... three years in fact. What did I get? Hurt mostly. I had people think they could make me their sex slave. I had people who thought it was okay to personally attack me. There were some exceptions. There were a few, who while they may have disagreed with me from time to time, they would be respectful. There were a few who found my advice helpful, but others who simply took offense that I, a lowly woman who had only discovered the fandom in 2006, would even offer them advice.
I learned one thing from Furtopia. There is a lot of sexism in this fandom. There is also a lot of ageism. Overall, a fandom that is supposed to be about tolerance comes across as horrendously bigoted at times.
Thankfully, I have not had the same negative experience here or on Second Life.
I am an artist who sometimes creates furry art, so you will still see me post something here from time to time. Will I ever attend another con? Highly unlikely. There are a lot of conventions that I would rather spend my time and money attending, most notably ones that are of a professional nature, such as Photoshop World, which is always a good time and never a drama fest.
My mate could probably say everything I said on the Furtopia forum and never suffer the slings and arrows I had, but then again, he had at one time had a romantic relationship with one of the founders. I could have taken things personally when I never received a link to my art site hosting despite numerous requests by Itico and myself. I gave the forum enough of a chance... three years in fact. What did I get? Hurt mostly. I had people think they could make me their sex slave. I had people who thought it was okay to personally attack me. There were some exceptions. There were a few, who while they may have disagreed with me from time to time, they would be respectful. There were a few who found my advice helpful, but others who simply took offense that I, a lowly woman who had only discovered the fandom in 2006, would even offer them advice.
I learned one thing from Furtopia. There is a lot of sexism in this fandom. There is also a lot of ageism. Overall, a fandom that is supposed to be about tolerance comes across as horrendously bigoted at times.
Thankfully, I have not had the same negative experience here or on Second Life.
Wandering_Smoke
~wanderingsmoke
Wow. I am sorry you had such a bad experience there. I haven't been to furtopia in a few weeks but I thought it was a good place. I almost never talk though, A local friend of mine said he left furtopia for similar reasons. Unfortunately there are jerks everywhere. Some of my favorite artists here are having a hard time right now due to harassment or thoughtless comments. I like to see all art, anthro or not. I hope you don't leave the fandom entirely. I might not comment much but I am here and I will always lend an ear and I'll help if I can.
CiceroKit
~cicerokit
OP
Thank you. I don't intend to completely leave the fandom, just shift my focus more to creating art and admiring the art of others. I haven't had bad experiences at cons, but they weren't great either. I would usually wind up spending most of my time in Artist's Alley, and with sales down, wonder why I was even there. I have friends I like to visit with, but the con atmosphere can be a bit too hectic for me at times, so would prefer getting together with my furry friends at other times. I will always be a fan of the art though. My favorite comics tend to be of a furry nature.
