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furry existential crisis - !!!! please read and discuss !!!!
13 years ago
General
First of all don't let the term "crisis" throw you. This doesn't amount to some sort of real life personality crisis.
The other day I posted a clean and a mature version of a reference sheet for jackpot. Publicly and privately I was made aware of some concerns people had about the character and how he was portrayed. During the process of working with the artist on the images, concern was raised about the appropriateness of the character for the furry community. The potential for people misunderstanding him based on his anatomy is something I've worried about before. Concern about his lips, in context, being inappropriate is a new idea to me though.
Jackpot is not merely supposed to represent how goofy and awkward I feel in certain social situations. He has the body I wish I had. If I was a donkey with a big bare ass (etc.,) perhaps I would be inappropriate for the world? Changing the character would be quite inauthentic I feel. Actually I feel something close to pride in regard to how well we are integrated into each other. Now I feel stuck. There must be broader issues here and implications for others as well. If any furs care to enter into a serious discussion about this I would benefit and greatly appreciate it. I'm really interested in the views of those who know me to some degree as well as those who don't.
thanks
P.S. My furry être-en-soi is something that's taken a lot of work and has bled into who I am outside of the furry fandom even before I discovered it. Actually it's more like the fandom allowed a space for who I am to be unwrapped.
For now at least I've pulled the ref sheet because of concerns about it's layout more than because of the issues above.
The other day I posted a clean and a mature version of a reference sheet for jackpot. Publicly and privately I was made aware of some concerns people had about the character and how he was portrayed. During the process of working with the artist on the images, concern was raised about the appropriateness of the character for the furry community. The potential for people misunderstanding him based on his anatomy is something I've worried about before. Concern about his lips, in context, being inappropriate is a new idea to me though.
Jackpot is not merely supposed to represent how goofy and awkward I feel in certain social situations. He has the body I wish I had. If I was a donkey with a big bare ass (etc.,) perhaps I would be inappropriate for the world? Changing the character would be quite inauthentic I feel. Actually I feel something close to pride in regard to how well we are integrated into each other. Now I feel stuck. There must be broader issues here and implications for others as well. If any furs care to enter into a serious discussion about this I would benefit and greatly appreciate it. I'm really interested in the views of those who know me to some degree as well as those who don't.
thanks
P.S. My furry être-en-soi is something that's taken a lot of work and has bled into who I am outside of the furry fandom even before I discovered it. Actually it's more like the fandom allowed a space for who I am to be unwrapped.
For now at least I've pulled the ref sheet because of concerns about it's layout more than because of the issues above.
Here, specifically, is what's in question: He has an enormous over-sized bare rump. (The skin is human and he blushes there.) His lips are large and human-ish, which in combination with the ass, if I understand correctly, might make a clean image impossible. Actually I'm not really clear on why. The last of these features isn't featured in the clean reference for obvious reasons, though it feels strange leaving it out. - His balls are so over-sized that his hind legs can't be brought together.
...and yeah, all sorts of more extreme stuff is tolerated. It's just hard to know what is appropriate for minors to see. Perhaps speculating about similar issues in event that I somehow actually had this body is beyond this discussion. ...but, anyway maybe some sort of clothing would be required since I couldn't be considered purely non-human. If I lived with a herd of wild asses or or alone in the wild somehow though, that wouldn't be possible.
There's an attitude you get from some people in the fandom that it ought to be beyond the reproach of the hoi polloi. The argument goes that maybe if everyone acted "appropriately" then we wouldn't get negative publicity from media outlets looking for sensational stories, or whatever else. These people go around letting everyone know in no uncertain terms that the fandom as a whole considers certain things appropriate and certain things inappropriate. They're relentless and loud and most importantly they're naive and wrong. Listen to them if you want everything you do to be nitpicked to death. Some busybodies you just gotta roll your eyes at, yo.
Jackpot is awesome and he's fine as he is. Leave him alone.
It's boring seeing every anthro animal character that's just basically a pretty human with fur or a talking dog. I like Jackpot. I like "different" furries.
If your character has a blend of human and animal attributes regardless of the blend then it's appropriate for the furry fandom, end of story. Nuff said.
Rock on with your bad self Jackpot.
And besides.. Always need more donks around!
Now as far as you can be "clean" I get that argument but that's a whole other can of worms. Lots of furry 'sonas or characters are very naughty by definition and Jackpot with his big bald bum does tend that way at least while nude XD
As for it possibly not being G or PG rating... Guess what folks? There's a certain brand of sunblock that's been showing a toddler's butt as part of their logo for decades, and I don't hear a lot of wailing and bemoaning that fact. I saw both versions, and the 'clean' ref sheet was something I'd be fine letting my son see... And you know I'm a pretty protective and responsible mom.
Jackpot, your ref sheets were fine. The parts that needed left out for it to be 'clean' were left out, and the mature one had all the rest. If people don't like it, that's their problem, not yours. So don't worry about it too much, okay?