Digital Play
introduction |
furry/roleplay crash course |
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the avatar |
online identity, fursonas |
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virtual playground |
roleplaying spaces |
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furry works |
art by furries, furry events |
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play |
queerness & play |
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interviews |
liliko interviewing furries |
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credits & sources |
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made by liliko & emad
Introduction
What is Digital Play?
digital play is how we interact with our computers and each other online.
it is how people socialize on the internet for fun.
What are Furries?
furries are people who are interested in anthropomorphic animal
characters. the community consists of people from a variety of
backgrounds, including artists, writers, roleplayers, musicians, and
gamers.
there is a common misconception that the furry community is inherently
based on kink or fetish play. while there are certainly spaces for that,
it doesn't represent the fandom at large.
What is Roleplay?
roleplaying is the act of changing behavior to assume a role separate from
those you hold in your normal life. the specifics of this activity are
heavily context dependent, but for the purposes of this project, we'll be
focusing on roleplaying in recreational, social contexts (mostly in
virtual spaces). in a lot of cases, roleplaying is essential to acting
through ones avatar or sona, as they speak and act not through the lens of
their normative self, but that of the avatar or sona they're embodying.
roleplaying online can be entirely text-based, voice-chat based, or more
multidimensional when taking place in virtual spaces (like in an MMO).
The Avatar
Digital Body
the absence of the physical self in most forms of digital play creates
unique opportunities for people to express themselves and interact with
one another unbound by the limitations and rigidity of the physical world.
A natural & intuitive solution to the lack of physicality in online spaces
is the creation of and expression through avatars.
Identity Plasticity
since digital spaces lack physical form, avatars have the advantage of
infinite flexibility, and they could take any form the user wants. this
allows people to create and manipulate the way they are represented in
space. the avatar could be a representation of the physical self, an
extension or adaptation of the self, or a completely unique parallel
persona. through an avatar, you could be anyone you want, whether that's
your ideal, true self or someone completely new and different. we could
attribute the possibility of identity plasticity not only to the
flexibility of avatars, but also the potential for anonymity online.
Fursonas
fursonas (furry + persona) are anthropomorphic animal characters or
avatars that furries create, interact, and often identify with. there is
no standard to how many fursonas a person might have or how they relate to
their fursonas. some people like to adopt fursonas that they admire and
collect artworks of them, some use their sona(s) to represent themselves,
some view their sona as an extension of themself, and some have multiple
unique individual fursonas not necessarily representing them at all.
fursonas are not limited to the digital world--there are numerous
conventions and IRL gatherings where furries meet and interact with
eachother while embodying their fursonas. this is made possible by
fursuits, which could be anything from a full-body costume to just a mask
and gloves representing a fursona.
Virtual Playground
Structure of the Site
the form of a given online social space heavily influences the way that
people interact. in spaces like forums and chatrooms, users are limited to
using only text or image to express themselves and interact with one
another. in these spaces, simming (textual, play-by-post roleplaying) is
especially prevalent, and often this could be as immersive as playing in a
virtual space with more dimension. since simming is so adaptable, this
form of roleplay is not limited to sites dedicated to particular fandoms
or communities. for more visually rich experiences, there are websites
where players could make custom characters and interact with each other in
a more dimensional virtual space. in MMOs like Pony Town and Animal Jam,
users could walk around in simulated space and emote in place of
describing their settings, actions, and emotions.
NetSpeak
since online spaces are limited by their lack of physicality, online
roleplayers use specific language adapted to describe their actions and
expressions that might not otherwise translate through text. this could
take the form of describing facial expressions or actions, emoting when
possible, or using tone indicators when describing speech with text. to
keep virtual interactions immersive, roleplayers maintain kayfaybe—the
convention of treating and presenting imaginary or simulated interactions
as reality. for example, Mimo *stabs me in the gut*, and i shout “ouch!”
and *clutch my bleeding belly.*
Virtual Playground: Notable Locations
Animal Jam
Animal Jam is an MMO where players could customize their animal
characters, build their own dens (virtual houses), explore virtual biomes,
and chat with other players. it was developed by Wildworks with funding
from National Geographic with the intention of educating players about
animal biodiversity. the games chat function was mostly unmonitored in its
early stages, which enabled players to use their animal avatars as vessels
to interact with each other completely freely.
Animal Jam is fondly remembered today for being the place where many
furries had their beginnings and first contacts with the community, with a
variety of sub-fandoms gathering to roleplay together in the virtual world
of Jamaa. The “pillow room” in Jamaa became an unofficial-official
adoption center where roleplayers adopted other players, while forest
biomes were hotbeds for users to role play as members of a wolf-pack. In
the jungle, groups from the Warrior Cats fandom could almost always be
found roleplaying clan battles.
Second Life
Second Life is a an open-source online multimedia platform where users
could create avatars, socialize with other users, and interact with user
generated content within an online virtual world. the open-source
licensing of Second Life paired with its scarcity of restrictions allow
users limitless creative freedom to do and create virtually anything they
please. because of the openness of Second Life, the platform is very
popular not only as a platform for socialization, but also as a tool for
multimedia artwork. advanced users could create virtual spaces and
environments that could host other users and real-time social events.
Furry Works
conejopinky & peppercrow cillers
Conejo Island
“conejo island is a wonderful island in the virtual world second life
founded by yogurt200 and maintained by friends and smiles”
-yogurt200 [via casaconejo.com]
Conejo Island was created as a gathering space and safe haven for
friends and other queer artists to hang out and socialize. Conejo
primarily exists on Second Life, where elaborate user-generated virtual
environments serve as meeting grounds. one of the things that stuck out
to me the most about Conejo Island was how user/noob friendly the people
that run it are. while working on this section, Wafa (yogurt200), Nezu
(awabug), and comcoo gave us a tour of the island, hooked us up with
cool accessories, and helped walk us through the controls/UI for Second
Life.
on Second Life, Conejo is host to live audio-visual parties and events
[CONEJOBEAT], and outside of Second Life, Conejo runs contests. at the
time we're working on this, there is an ongoing visual novel competition
[VNCUP].
transcript/interview from our tour with nezu, sofa, and comcoo:
[20:28] nezu (awabug): ok like dont tell them but im making my gf a
little photo album zine of pics of us together in sl for their
birthday lulz
[20:28] nezu (awabug): its so funny looking thru all the pics cuz we
both joined in like 2020
[20:28] nezu (awabug): and were dating other ppl in that time but
theres like pics of us ogling eachother gayly from like 3 years ago by
coincidence
[20:28] nezu (awabug): slowburn shit
[20:28] ricefish: hehehe thats so cute
[20:28] nezu (awabug): second lifei s seriously so gay
[20:29] nezu (awabug): both my current and last partner i met thru
sl
[20:29] sofa (glue9): yeah same i met my girlfriend on sl..
[20:29] nezu (awabug): still friends w my ex too he plays in
conejobeat n hangs out here sometimes
[20:30] nezu (awabug): my gf asked me out for the last conejobeat like
"wldnt it be cute if our avatars had a date.. like fake sl gfs" and i
was like heh. "fake" gfs. "fake" date sure buddy And here we are
[20:30] 西東 今古 (comcoo):
デジタルでバーチャルな世界だけど人間同士なのでまぁいろいろある··
[20:30] comcoo: It's a digital and virtual world, but since we're
human beings, there's a lot going on...
[20:30] nezu (awabug): yeaa
[20:30] nezu (awabug): second life is literally second life they named
it perfectly
[20:30] nezu (awabug): once u have an avatar and a community of
friends in sl itslike.. literally just another reality it goes deep
[20:30] nezu (awabug): what still blows my mind is like
[20:31] nezu (awabug): so in games like roblox or minecraft or ffxiv
whatev like
[20:31] nezu (awabug): diff places are in diff "servers"
[20:31] nezu (awabug): and theyre disconnected
[20:31] 西東 今古 (comcoo):
本来なら出会わない海の向こうの人々と縁ができることはよいことね
[20:31] comcoo: It's good to be able to connect with people across the
sea that you wouldn't normally meet.
[20:31] nezu (awabug): in second life you can get basically anywhere
by driving, walking, sailing, flying, etc
[20:31] nezu (awabug): bc all the "servers" are just regions in a
connected grid
[20:32] sofa (glue9): its a very deep world
[20:32] nezu (awabug): in the SLURL u can see were in a region called
Lendrum rn
[20:32] nezu (awabug): if u go to the edge of lendrum u canjust walk
straight into the next region etc
[20:32] nezu (awabug): and see across
[20:32] nezu (awabug): everything in sl is user created
[20:32] nezu (awabug): theres entire cities and stuff
[20:32] nezu (awabug): its litreallyjust a world it still blows my
mind
[20:32] ricefish: thats crazy :0 this world is so big
[20:32] ricefish: yeah the server thing for ffxiv rly sucks
[20:33] nezu (awabug): second life IS the metaverse
[20:33] ricefish: i didnt know everything was connected in sl
[20:33] nezu (awabug): and its 20 years old
[20:33] nezu (awabug): yea its called a "grid"
[20:33] 西東 今古 (comcoo):
メインワールドという区画と区画がつながったエリアと、そうでないエリアがある
[20:33] comcoo: There is an area called the main world where
compartments are connected and an area that is not.
[20:33] nezu (awabug): yea the mainland
[20:33] sofa (glue9): yeah if u do ctrl+m u can zoom out and see all
the continents and stuff
[20:33] nezu (awabug): there are some private regions too outside
that
[20:34] nezu (awabug): pdfjkga ctrl+m minimizes the window on my
system
[20:34] nezu (awabug): but yea like .. i cld ramble so much about this
stuff
[20:34] nezu (awabug): but i figure for ur zine its like worth
experiencing haha
[20:34] ricefish: its really really cool, i love hearing about it!!
[20:34] sofa (glue9): i have endless things to say abt this game
[20:34] 西東 今古 (comcoo):
うん、手の届く範囲を少しづつ広げる程度でいい
[20:34] comcoo: Yeah, it's enough to expand the reach of your hand
little by little
[20:37] 西東 今古 (comcoo):
SLは小規模コミュニティなどがいくつもある環境なので
[20:37] comcoo: SL is an environment with many small communities.
[20:38] 西東 今古 (comcoo):
普通にログインして過ごすだけではイベントに気づけない部分がある
[20:38] comcoo: There are parts where you can not notice the event
just by logging in normally
[20:38] nezu (awabug): lets keep exploring in a sec
[20:38] 西東 今古 (comcoo):
TwitterなどでSLユーザーをフォローしていくことで何とかわかるかもしれないわ
[20:38] comcoo: You may find out somehow by following SL users on
Twitter etc.
[20:38] nezu (awabug): second life is cool because u have to "be
there" to know what goes on.. the only people hearing this
conversation are the people logged on in the vicinity.. unlike discord
or whatev where ull have like 4398539845 users in a server seeing
everything at once
[20:39] nezu (awabug): there are communities and events in sl u may
stumble upon just by exploring
[20:39] nezu (awabug): or thru social media
[20:39] 西東 今古 (comcoo):
いろんな人たちが各自で好きにエリアやコミュニティを作ってる
[20:39] comcoo: Various people are creating their own areas and
communities
[20:40] sofa (glue9): i basically lived 2019-2021 entirely in sl
almost.. and kind of continue to live in it.. and like all the
memories ive made in it feel very very real.. a lot of my online
friendships are only close feeling as they are because of second
life.. cuz u can have conversations and stuff u wouldnt otherwise have
cuz it has this whole physical aspect to it
[20:40] 西東 今古 (comcoo):
相性のいいコミュニティもあるし、悪いコミュニティもあるだろう
[20:40] comcoo: There will be good communities and there will be bad
communities.
[20:42] 西東 今古 (comcoo):
SLは古くからあったり最初期のコンセプトと今のコンセプトが違うからか問題がないわけでもない
[20:42] comcoo: SL has been around for a long time, and it's not that
there are no problems because the concept of the first stage is
different from the current concept.
[20:48] ricefish: the wedding!
[20:48] nezu (awabug): i noticed they stopped trolling us after a
while
[20:48] sofa (glue9): no .. meta spoke with them direcvtly
[20:48] nezu (awabug): oh i see
[20:48] nezu (awabug): glad thats sorted
[20:48] sofa (glue9): ohyeah thats the magazine
[20:48] nezu (awabug): yea like we had someone making burner accoutns
and putting transphobic hate messages everywhere in conejo
[20:48] sofa (glue9): we have all the issues available in the castle
so u can view them better
[20:48] nezu (awabug): like giant cubes w wojaks of trans woman
caricatures hanging themselves n shit it was so lame
[20:48] ricefish: ewww
[20:48] nezu (awabug): yeaa
[20:49] ricefish: so lame >_>
[20:49] sofa (glue9): it really sucked
[20:49] nezu (awabug): we banned them from all parcels
[20:49] nezu (awabug): oh my god i forgot about salamoy
[20:49] sofa (glue9): so thats why objects are turned off
everywhere
[20:49] 西東 今古 (comcoo): それでいいね
[20:49] comcoo: that's fine
[20:49] sofa (glue9): yeah we have a security system now
[20:49] nezu (awabug): oh i still got install that in my parcel
[20:50] 西東 今古 (comcoo): SLは現実の延長線上にあるとは思うが
[20:50] comcoo: I think SL is an extension of reality
[20:50] 西東 今古 (comcoo):
好きにすればいい部分は好きにすればいいのだ
[20:50] comcoo: You should like what you like
[20:50] 西東 今古 (comcoo): 姿も、人間関係も、過ごし方も
[20:50] comcoo: Appearance, human relationships, and ways of spending
time
[20:51] nezu (awabug): yeah
[20:51] 西東 今古 (comcoo):
他人の関係に悪い踏み込み方をすることだけは現実でもSLでも本来タブーだろうね
[20:51] comcoo: Intruding badly on other people's relationships is the
only taboo in real life and in SL.
[20:51] 西東 今古 (comcoo): 迷惑だ
[20:51] comcoo: Annoying
[20:51] nezu (awabug): online ppl can hide behind anonymity to say
lame shit they couldnt get away with irl
[20:52] 西東 今古 (comcoo):
残念ながら迷惑行為を楽しむ人はどこにでもいる
[20:52] comcoo: Unfortunately there are people everywhere who enjoy
nuisance
[20:52] nezu (awabug): the more enlightened among us.. use that
anonymity to be furries
[20:52] ricefish: its rly sad that they would bring that here, this
place is so beautiful
[20:52] sofa (glue9): * starts floating*
[20:52] nezu (awabug): thankfully those trolls always get bored
anyway
[20:52] ricefish: i thought more ppl will be on the furry stuff
here
[20:52] nezu (awabug): yea conejo is like
[20:52] nezu (awabug): we welcome everyone who is chill and respectful
prettymuch
[20:53] ricefish: like SL is inherently so elevated
[20:53] nezu (awabug): yea sl is full of furry stuff to begin with
altho
[20:53] 西東 今古 (comcoo):
現実世界のコピー&ペーストだけではないここはとてもいいところだと思うさ
[20:53] comcoo: It's not just real world copy and paste I think it's a
great place
[20:53] nezu (awabug): a lotof mor emainstream places will have really
realistic human avatars that look like kim k its so funny
[20:53] nezu (awabug): we call them realistics it feels like a slur
rofl
[20:53] ricefish: yeahh i saw them at freebie galaxy
[20:53] nezu (awabug): sometimes in those places theyll like
[20:53] nezu (awabug): kick furries out
[20:53] sofa (glue9): we call them "realistics" lo
[20:55] 西東 今古 (comcoo): センスが合わなきゃ何にもできない
[20:55] comcoo: I can't do anything if my senses don't match
[20:55] nezu (awabug): i dont even remember why im a mouse TBH
[20:55] nezu (awabug): yeah sl becomes 10000x more real once u have an
avatar u like
[20:55] ricefish: mouse girls rock
[20:55] nezu (awabug): then u feel like ur actually in it
[20:56] nezu (awabug): parasitic relationship.. muhuhaha
[20:56] nezu (awabug): clone
[20:56] ricefish: i feel so out of place... i dont even have
hair...
[20:56] nezu (awabug): sis do u rememberlike when i made nezu
[20:56] sofa (glue9): oh yeah the freeprim avatar
[20:56] nezu (awabug): did i ever consider making her anything other
than a mouse
[20:56] sofa (glue9): theres a box of it here
[20:56] sofa (glue9): i dont think so
[20:56] sofa (glue9): um
[20:56] nezu (awabug): like i literally dont know why im a mouse i
forget
[20:57] nezu (awabug): at the time my sonas had been deer or cats
[20:57] nezu (awabug): re: sl and trans ppl like
[20:57] nezu (awabug): dude its so aweome getting to be whatever u
want ingame
[20:57] nezu (awabug): i joined right when iwas coming out the closet
n sl just letme like experiment w clothes n style safely lols
[20:57] 西東 今古 (comcoo): まずは「好き」をかき集めること
[20:58] comcoo: First of all, collect "likes"
[20:58] nezu (awabug): sofa actually is kinda to blame for me finalyl
coming out as trans back then jajaja
[20:58] nezu (awabug): nezu is like one of the shortest avatars in
conejo but im 6'4" and tower over everyone i know irl LOL
[21:00] ricefish: yeah a lot of my trans friends tell me exploring
diffferent modes of being (being a furry, playing w avatars) helped
them a lot with figuring stuff out
[21:01] ricefish: my gf became a furry once she came out lol
[21:01] nezu (awabug): hell yea
[21:01] nezu (awabug): ok i legit think that furry shit and otherkin
etc and nonbinary gender are like
[21:01] ricefish: it just kinda happened together
[21:01] nezu (awabug): the next frontier but the masses arent ready
[21:01] ricefish: exactly
[21:01] ricefish: its really awesome
[21:01] nezu (awabug): like.. most ppl still struggling to understand
the idea of binary trans people
[21:01] nezu (awabug): we areso far beyond that tho
[21:02] ricefish: i think even some trans ppl struggle w it
[21:02] nezu (awabug): yea i used to for sure
[21:02] nezu (awabug): thats why i was closeted for so long
[21:02] ricefish: i think once u realize ur conditions arent static,
theres so much freedom
[21:02] nezu (awabug): imo "masculine" and "feminine" are basically
just vibes i dont think we need to do away with them we just gotta
embrace them and stop gatekeeping lol
[21:02] 西東 今古 (comcoo):
着手前には考えもしなかった姿になることも珍しくはないさ
[21:02] comcoo: It's not uncommon to end up looking like you never
thought before you started
[21:03] ricefish: thats true
[21:03] 西東 今古 (comcoo):
女性ボディの方が流通しているので、女性型の方が多くなる傾向はある
[21:03] nezu (awabug): like pink IS a girly colour. my little pony is
girly. i hate when ppl try to saay Umm tht stuff doesnt have to be
girly its just what it is. Like thats so low level
[21:03] comcoo: Female bodies are more popular, so female models tend
to be more common.
[21:03] nezu (awabug): girly shit is aweome and so is boyish shit
[21:03] nezu (awabug): everyone can and should enjoy all of it however
they want lol
[21:03] nezu (awabug): and theres like
[21:03] nezu (awabug): more gender moods beyond just m/f
[21:03] nezu (awabug): like itcan be anything
[21:03] ricefish: yeah those r just the two most ppl are familiar
with
[21:04] nezu (awabug): if whitewater rapids, grizzly bears, the colour
blue, suits, etc are all masc things thats like so arbitrary like we
made it up
[21:04] 西東 今古 (comcoo):
海外の男をイメージしたメンズボディは日本人感覚にはごつすぎる
[21:04] comcoo: The men's body that imaged a man overseas is too rough
for Japanese sense
[21:04] nezu (awabug): sl is roleplay heavy
[21:04] ricefish: i love roleplay so much, its what my zine is
about
[21:04] sofa (glue9): キャ━━━━(゚∀゚)━━━━!!
[21:04] nezu (awabug): yea lol in the west were on some wack shit like
every guy has to be some ripped bodybuilder its so unrealistic
[21:05] nezu (awabug): all our avatars have a bunch of lore thts built
up over the years
[21:05] sofa (glue9): conejo is a "passive roleplay" community
[21:05] sofa (glue9): like the rp is just existing as the avatar and
having virtual experiences
[21:05] nezu (awabug): yea
[21:05] 西東 今古 (comcoo):
最初は普通の東洋人の姿になりたかったがそんなものなかったよ
[21:05] comcoo: At first, I wanted to look like a normal oriental
person, but there was no such thing.
[21:05] ricefish: its all about imagining different ways to exist,
which is why i decided to use it as my topic for my lgbt media class
^^
[21:05] nezu (awabug): ur in the right place muhuhaha
[21:06] sofa (glue9): yeah seriously ~~
[21:06] nezu (awabug): butyea.. idk.. personally im autistic n the
roleplay shit is like deeply important to me all my life
[21:06] 西東 今古 (comcoo): 人ではないくらいが一番気軽だ
[21:06] comcoo: I feel most at ease when I'm not a person
[21:06] ricefish: conejo is sooo awesome, this is the best way to be
online
[21:06] nezu (awabug): ive pretty much had delusion my entire life tht
im secretly a robot and my life isjust science experiment like cuz iw
as treated differently growing up n shit and itjust kinda never go
away so ijust
[21:07] nezu (awabug): have a ton of robot girl characters.. all my
story protags r robot girls.. nezu is a robot etc
[21:07] nezu (awabug): sofa has similar thing but w aliens lulz
[21:07] sofa (glue9): yeah i think when i made conejo i rlly wanted to
bring artists into it and have a sense of community tht feels more
real than the disconnected feelings twitter and other places have
[21:07] nezu (awabug): yea
[21:07] ricefish: thats so cool!
[21:07] nezu (awabug): like collaborating making a real place together
n stuff
[21:08] ricefish: i think the fact that u need to interact in order to
participate is so important
[21:08] sofa (glue9): most of the people in conejo are people who i
brought in through mutual connections on twitter etc but i became real
actual friends w them only thru sl
[21:08] nezu (awabug): ^
[21:08] sofa (glue9): so its all artists and stuff
[21:08] nezu (awabug): its great for long distance friendships /
romance
[21:08] sofa (glue9): and thats rlly the coolest part cuz like
everyones avatar kind of ends up looking like their art lawl
[21:08] nezu (awabug): yeaa
[21:08] sofa (glue9): yes this too
[21:09] ricefish: its so cool that it all influences each other
[21:09] sofa (glue9): ifeel like its also like second life is a way
that the "scene" online can actually be documented
[21:09] sofa (glue9): in tangible way not just with events but with
pictures and videos and stuff
[21:09] nezu (awabug): yea
[21:09] nezu (awabug): conejo was in toronto news recently
[21:09] ricefish: yeah theres a physicality to it
[21:09] sofa (glue9): i feel like in 10yrs the photodiary i will have
accumulated will be like really valuable
[21:09] 西東 今古 (comcoo):
この世界は国境を簡単に跨げるけど、時差だけはどうにもならない
[21:09] comcoo: It's easy to cross national borders in this world, but
the time difference is nothing
[21:09] nezu (awabug): which makes me laugh bc its not in "toronto"
[21:09] ricefish: like its virtual but this place feels very real
[21:10] nezu (awabug): yea ivehad dreams tht take place in sl
[21:10] nezu (awabug): not many people get this deep into it
[21:10] nezu (awabug): this is why the whole metaverse fad makes me
laugh
[21:10] ricefish: distance & time act so differently online
[21:10] sofa (glue9): theres a lot of real history and stuff to this
place even tho its been only around for barely 4 yrs
[21:10] nezu (awabug): it already exists, its just too niche a concept
for most people to get into
[21:10] sofa (glue9): i have like full documentation of everything
[21:10] sofa (glue9): yeah
[21:11] ricefish: yeah meta is really funny
[21:11] sofa (glue9): i think sl is very hard for ppl to wrap their
heads around cuz its not like a high stim amusment park, you have to
make your own fun
[21:11] nezu (awabug): ppl will laugh like Wtf people are STILL
PLAYING SL IN 2023???? XD
[21:11] nezu (awabug): yeah
[21:11] nezu (awabug): its not a game
[21:11] nezu (awabug): theres rly nothing else like it i think..
[21:11] ricefish: it has to be user created i think for it to work
[21:12] nezu (awabug): exactly
[21:12] nezu (awabug): ppl also get scared off bc theres a ton of
fetish shit in sl
[21:12] nezu (awabug): like if u go on the marketplace expect to see
like HYPER REALISTIC PUSSY WITH CUM DROPLETS AAND LABIA PIERCING
AVATAR MOD L$2400 all over the front page
[21:13] ricefish: i think its so cool that a platform can contain so
many uses & scenes
[21:13] nezu (awabug): but of course that exists because second life
is just a world
[21:13] nezu (awabug): theres tons of fetish shit in the real world
too
[21:13] sofa (glue9): because sl is very much about unfiltered free
expression then ofc sex will have prevelence in it
[21:13] 西東 今古 (comcoo): 欲望の箱庭
[21:13] comcoo: garden of desire
[21:13] nezu (awabug): there are lgbt communities in sl.. there are
nazis in sl.. there are kink ppl in sl.. like
[21:13] nezu (awabug): best way to think of it is anything that exists
irl probably exists here too
[21:13] ricefish: yeah thats what makes it so unique, its like a
virtual mirror of irl world
[21:13] nezu (awabug): so its hard to generalize
[21:14] sofa (glue9): so natrually im very pro like the fetish stuff
even tho i dont rlly engage with it like that or hang out in those
places, conejo is 18+ so i feel like adult ways of expressing
sexuality r welcome here too.. especially as a space for gay people i
feel like its needed to not feel like sanitzied or whatever
[21:14] nezu (awabug): yea for real
[21:14] nezu (awabug): porn is cool we just have an oversaturation of
cishet porn made by and for cishet guys lol
Pinky and Pepper Forever
Eddy & Ivy Atoms Pinky and Pepper Forever is a dark comedy comic about a
lesbian dog couple who are determined to stay together through school
and life and even Hell. their codependent relationship and love for BDSM
in life helps them find each other and thrive together in hell. i don't
want to spoil all of the fun but you can read it online
here.
Crow Cillers
Cate Wurtz's Crow Cillers is an ongoing monthly episodic comic series
that follows Emma and a group of her friends that call themselves the
Crow Cillers. the Crow Cillers group consists of a variety of creatures,
most of whom are Emma's classmates, and together they attempt to
infiltrate, expose, and derail the cult/religion that looms over their
town— the Order of the Crow.
the Crow Cillers hang out, fight, take care of each other, and struggle
together to take down the Order of the Crow, who use fear and violence
to maintain control over the community. the Order's crow masks keep
their identities as unclear as the motives that drive them. the world of
Crow Cillers takes form in a small suburban town complete with
interpersonal drama and a hazy air of creepiness.
play
in “Animating Revolt & Revolting Animations,” Judith Halberstam discusses
the relationship between alternative forms of embodiment and desire for
revolution in the context of animation. here, alternative forms of
embodiment most commonly refers to the use of anthropomorphic animals,
sentient toys, and non-human life used to explore ideas about human
behaviors and desires in animation.
to clarify the role of the animals or human-alters in animation,
Halberstam turns to Sarah Franklin and Donna Haraway's posited concept of
transbiology.
In-between States
like the transbiological, as Donna Haraway suggests in A Cyborg Manifesto,
roleplaying, being a furry, or taking up an avatar all “conjure hybrid
entities or in-between states of being that represent subtle or even
glaring shifts in our understandings of the body.” the avatars, surrogate
bodies, and parallel-selves that the internet enables us to act through
and live as affords us access to these in-between states, where we could
access the truest forms of ourselves. forms that are not born, but created
and then realized. versions and aspects of ourselves that could remain
inaccessible in normative life.
the physical world has been founded on standardized and regulated
approaches to gender expression, sexuality, and virtually all forms of
self-expression. these mores permeate all facets of existence in physical,
normal life, obscuring the paths one could take to explore and invent
their own identity. acts of virtual play provide access to “in-between
states” that make unadulterated self invention possible
Glitch Feminism
“Imbuing digital material with fantasy today is not a retro act of
mythologizing; it continues as a survival mechanism. Using the Internet to
play, perform, explore still has potential. Giving ourselves this space to
experiment perhaps brings us closer to a projection of a “sustainable
future.” [Legacy Russell - Glitch Feminism (27)]
by spending time online and taking up virtual forms, we provide ourselves
as queer people with a space that is safe for self-expression and
exploration free from the threat of physical harm. additionally, the
vastness and malleability of the internet accommodates for the infinite
potential we have to expand and evolve our identities. in the physical
world, patriarchy and whiteness leave little space for anything else, as
Russell puts it. online, however, space is seemingly infinite, enabling
queer people to explore our “range-full self.”
Interviews
verakeithhirquitickitty
are u in online furry spaces?
yeah i guess so- it's not really cut and dry but it's definitely a
significant enough chunk of my online experience to qualify
which spaces do u spend most of ur time in?
i mean, there aren't really active forums anymore, so mostly on
non-dedicated platforms. when i was younger it was furaffinity and
newgrounds (lol) but now it's just following people i know on tumblr or
twitter.
wait have u been a furry for awhile
i thought this was a recent thing
it was always dependent on friend groups. usually id dredge websites in
a weird teenage fog and not think too hard about what i was doing- there
wasn't a coherent identity angle to it. there still kinda isn't. but
then, i didn't really think about it the same way. of course i drew my
wolf ocs and sonic sona's but like, it wasn't like i was thinking about
it. now i also don't think too hard about it but i lean into it much
harder
what caused u to lean into it harder?
when everyone in my friend circle was into it. it became easier
but it wasn't something i selected for consciously- just definitely
common around trans
whats your take on the trans furry overlap
i think it's obviously like, a protean or alternative manifestation of
trans desires
where it's like easy for a kid to chase 'i wanna be NOT human i wanna be
a DRAGON' than 'i wanna get on hormones' or whatever. it's easier to
articulate it as fantasy and pretend and identification
there's also an element of it where i think honestly it's relating
yourself to cartoons. your gender socialization is unsatisfactory, and
so you look to alternative forms of representation, and i think comics
and cartoons have that in the anthro stuff. and it resonates more than
some adult role model or whatever imposed thing
why do u think its common to find that in cartoons/comics/things that
are regarded stereotypically as childrens media? just cause thats
where the anthro content is?
i guess those mediums are the
best for that sort of expression lot of whimsy potential
i think it's partly that it's usually coming from a place that's more
whimsical (lol you beat me to it) than artists making adult media. but i
also think this is a difficult question to answer because i don't want
to try to have a take on all 'adult art'. I think it's really a case by
case thing, anthro is useful for different mediums for different reasons
and maybe 10% of them indicate that you're a 'furry.' it's a useful
device for transposing your work into a setting further removed from the
'real.'
how did you get into online furry spaces?
I first got into online furry spaces when I was about 10ish years old, I
definitely was into warrior cats and my little pony, which at the time
didn't directly link in my brain to the furry fandom, but it definitely
led me into those spaces when it came to like, "related" search results.
I think the first time I fully considered what I was drawing and talking
about online properly as 'furry/fursona' stuff was when I watched a
video comparing bronies (which I considered myself, despite the fact I
was a 10 year old 'girl') to the furry fandom. I had the big switch over
right then.
i see! do you have any fursonas?
i do! ive had a lot over the span of the last almost-decade, but
currently my main one is a bush dog named rudy :) in the past they were
mostly wolves, though
what is your relationship like with rudy? like do you see rudy as a
friend, character, or an extension of yourself?
in the past ive seen fursonas ive made as characters, generally because
they were a way of escapism rather than how i was in the moment, but now
i see him as an extension of myself. almost like a mascot version of me,
as opposed to something that can be written independently.
what sort of stuff do you do with your fursonas? do you make art of
them or roleplay as them?
making art is generally my main way of 'expressing' them, generally
using rudy as a stand in for myself in pieces of art or comics. I have a
fursuit as well, which also functions as a sort of extension of using
him as a standin for me, but in real life instead. it's definitely alot
less stressful and feels much more like im externalizing my actual self
when i draw myself as him, and has certainly boosted my confidence over
the years.
woahh u have a fursuit :D thats awesome, could i see?
sure! i have a good photo of the head and the paws, but the rest is
currently not done, heres some pics from when i was working on him.
SO CUTE thats so amazing that u made him yourself!! its so well made,
the paws are awesome
why do you think most furries are
content creators/artists?
i think it comes down to the self expressionism inherent to the idea of
'being' a furry, youre exploring your own idenity and abstractions of it
which definitely is a trait artists like to gravitate towards when it
comes to groups/communities. it started with creating and itll likely
end with creating as well, just due to the nature of the thing
(thank you keith! keith's tumblr:
keithphobic.tumblr.com)
Hai I'm a furry kind of furry adjacent thang :3
how did you get into being furry adjacent?
I think it mostly dawned on me mostly through social media, the biggest
influx of furry content i'd see that intrigued me was ironically from
people who despised furries- on the cringetopia subreddit (never really
liked it, just had a lot of stuff to browse and start conversation about
with friends) there were tons of really nice fursuits and despite the
cruel comments I became especially fascinated with kemono fursuits. From
there I started doodling kemono furries a lot and researching the
history of the furry community and the difference between them in Japan
and the U.S./Canada and now I regularly incorporate furries into my art
and have a lot of friends who are furries. I was always into cartoons
with furries like the Looney Tunes Show, but never exclusively. I was
more into shows/movies w humans. It never moved me to like anthros in
particular until I saw the online community.
what are some differences between japanese & western furry scenes?
It's a little hard to parse through the language barriers but it seems
there was also a similar pipeline from cartoons with anthropomorphic
animals to a more dedicated community that displayed more mature themes,
however the zine/manga/magazine/comics scene is much more active and
thriving over there with events like comiket and manga circles- where
america more had a boom in individual artists creating on a much smaller
scale and sharing media related to their interests through conventions.
Furries in both communities seem to have a large queer community overlap
which is really awesome to see since Japan's queer community is often
mythologized in a sense or treated as a offshoot of western queer
communities which . is kinda lame and weird imo, I like to see how queer
people are doin around the globe in their own words ^_^
i think the cartoon pipeline definitely makes a lot of sense, a lot of
western furry designs are inspired by cartoon styles while japanese
designs have that moe facial proportioning
yeah i didnt even consider japanese furry circles, much less queer
ones... you rarely hear abt it
why do you think there is an
overlap between queer & furry communities?
I think it's just the nature of being outcasted for something that is a
more "flamboyant" and personal expression of oneself that gives a lot of
relatability between the two groups. It kinda draws the same connection
that drag queens and gay men do, it's like a symbol that you are here
and alive to me. It's hard for me to put into words, it's like a way to
express what's inside of you in a way that is unapologetic and beautiful
despite the backlash you've received :o
do you have any fursonas? or something like an online avatar?
I actually do not ! I used to kinda but it was more based off characters
I made in Animal Jam lol, I can never find something that really stays
as me for long enough to keep as an avatar. I identify really strongly
as a cat so that's usually how I introduce myself but I fluctuate
between what kinda cat a lot, usually tuxedo or full black. I'm also
fictionkin so I often use characters I identify w as myself online.
oh cool! what characters do you identify with?
Omori, Arthur the Aardvark and Majima Goro are my three biggest IDs rn,
I don't rlly mess w the rest currently as identification they r still me
I mjust embarrassed i surpose :p
how do you find your IDs? do you feel being fictionkin is similar to
being a furry?
:3 It's all pretty random tbh my first ever kin i found out bc i saw a
character and went no way. that is literally just me. and I was so
shaken by this revelation that I immediately played the entire series he
was from to get to his game and understand why I felt this way.
Sometimes I get a feeling of just being that character in daily life and
i'm like oh well alright I guess. Sometimes I play a game or watch a
movie and it's like looking into a mirror. I always know because I'll
have no particular connection to the character, I just am them and I
know this. I think being a furry and being fictionkin are both a form of
personal expression especially when kin is mostly psychologically based
instead of spiritually based they have a lot of similarities but in
general I think they're pretty different.
yeah i can see how they are different, furries are inherently based in
creation/fabrication while a kin comes from something that is
existing
do you feel like queerness is tied in any way?
Oh yeas, the dysphoria of not looking how you want to look and need to
keep your identity hidden is already super reminiscent of the queer
experience and there is a huge amount of alterhumans who are trans.
Personal expression is really important to people who are suppressed and
once you're able to there spawns a whole new swath of ways to express
yourself and microlabels and umbrellas and etcetc i think its supa cool
:3 Additionally on furries being fabricated and kin being pre-existing
media, kinsonas have kinda become popular recently where you combine a
character you ID w and personal traits to make something that is
uniquely you. I think they're pretty neat :3 I remembered it when you
mentioned that, I think there is more relation between furries and kin
spaces than I first thought !
(thank you hirquitickitty!!)
works cited:
Atoms, Eddy, and Ivy Atoms. “Pinky and Pepper Forever by Eddy Atoms (Part
1 of 2).” Silver Sprocket, 12 May 2022,
www.silversprocket.net/2020/05/02/pinky-and-pepper-forever-by-eddy-atoms-part-1-of-2/.
“Furscience, the Real Science behind Furries and Their Fandom.”
Furscience, 8 Feb. 2023, furscience.com/.
Halberstam, Judith. “Animating Revolt and Revolting Animation.” The Queer
Art of Failure, Duke University Press, 2011, pp. 27-52.
Russell, Legacy. Glitch Feminism a Manifesto. Verso, 2020.
Wurtz, Cate. Crow Cillers, lamezone.net/cc/.
special thanks to Piney, Vera, Keith, hirquitickitty, Nezu, Sofa,
Comcoo
background art & code by Liliko