NEWSDUMP – Furries In The Media – catchup part 1, (7-20-16)

by Patch O'Furr

Here’s headlines, links and little stories to make your tail wag.  Tips: patch.ofurr@gmail.com.

There hasn’t been a Newsdump in a long time, so expect three updates packed with two months of stuff: 

1. Furries in the Media. 2. Fandom News. 3. Fur-friendly Culture.

Pic: Luke Thor Travis, PGH City Paper

Pic: Luke Thor Travis, PGH City Paper

The media gave warm and fuzzy vibes for Anthrocon.

A few worth seeing after the con:

  • WTAE video: The Making Of a Furry. “Daisy Ruth set the scene outside the Convention Center with April, a local fursuiter who created her own suit, and Camille of CF Studios, an artist who creates and sells creature and fursuits.”
  • WTAE – Beyond the Suit: The World of Furries.  “Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 reporter Beau Berman sat down with ‘Clumzy’ to find out what it’s all about.”
Rika and Rusty.

Rika and Rusty.

Anthrocon news topic – Pets.

PGH City Paper: “It probably comes as no surprise, but furries love their pets“.  Four furs are interviewed.  “Some furries say that getting involved in the community that celebrates anthropomorphized animal personas has helped them become more aware of the needs of shelter animals; understand the emotions of their pets; and strengthen their love of our four-legged friends.”

Anthrocon news topic – “Fursonas” movie.

Post-Gazette: ‘Fursonas’ director takes his Anthrocon ban in stride.

Dominic Rodriguez was banned for breaking Anthrocon’s media policy (filming without permission) in pursuit of unvarnished truth that couldn’t be officially filmed for a documentary.  “Fursonas” showed parts that many furries take very personally or feel shouldn’t be suppressed.  It was divisive.  Some took his movie as undermining good work of the con.  Others took his ban as a politicized penalty for PR control that may be stuck in the past. But furry fandom have been around for decades now and it keeps growing.  When will sensitivities loosen up?

“Fursonas” screened at an independent venue during the con.  I asked Dom if he’s interested in doing a guest post about it. Before his trip, he told me:

“Although I’m banned, I have a feeling this is going to be my best Anthrocon yet. I spent the evening hanging out at the bar across the street and then going over to the river to hang with new and old friends. I go to these things mostly to meet people and have cool conversations. I think that’s more fun than anything they have in the convention schedule, anyway.

Anthrocon news topic – Public Image.

WESA (local NPR affiliate): Furry Community Grapples With Identity As Anthrocon Grows.  Dominic may have been banned, but he was a go-to voice about the community at large:

“There’s the idea that we have a nice thing going, and any attempt to go out and show ourselves in the media is only going to be bad for us,” Rodriguez said. “But I’m more optimistic about that. And I think that the world is changing and different lifestyles are becoming more accepted.”

VICE covers furries.

At BLFC: Photos of the Fastest Growing Furry Convention in America.  And interviews with 5 furs: Furries Explain How They Developed Their ‘Fursonas’.

South America’s Columbiafurs in the Bogata Post.

Seven years of fluff in the city: “The movement gained momentum in Colombia in 2009, when a group of furries met online and began to meet up and socialise in person… there are about 500 furries in Colombia today, and this number continues to grow… Being a furry is all about socialising, dancing and enjoying life.”

INVERSE: What Furries Can Teach Us About Sex in the Kinky, Avatar-Filled Virtual Future.

Headline changed to: Furries Are Having Future Sex.  “What happens when you use a borrowed body to take someone to bed?” Actually not a bad or trashy article. (Author Emily Gaudette previously wrote ‘Disney Prepares to Cash In on the Furry Demographic with “Zootopia”‘.)

“I adore furry porn,” says The Dog. “I much prefer it to images of real life humans. I think it’s worth mentioning that furry porn tends to have more humanity than a lot of ‘regular’ porn. Since it’s a drawing, the artist has to bring emotion and humanity into the image in order to make it relatable on some level.” Furry porn endeavors toward emotional narratives, and most mainstream pornographic films still don’t employ that strategy.

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“Fur Sure: Furry Calls Into Kojo Nnamdi Show To Talk Fashion”.  

Story on DCist blog. “In a radio segment exploring whether D.C. takes enough sartorial risks, one listener called the Kojo Nnamdi Show with a particularly hairy comment on his personal style.”

“Good afternoon, Kojo! I am a furry,” said Alexander of Herndon, Va. “I routinely go downtown looking like a giant walking plush toy. I am a tiger-striped skunk.”

Furry arrested for shooting at driver.

You might call him one of the “black sheep” of the fandom.  WILDWULF/DangerDoberman has been in deep trouble with the law before.  Now he’s in the news for shooting at a driver in Arizona.  His passenger, known as Pokeypony, had his own dramatic allegations involving Bad Dragon.

Trashy gossip: “Nick Jonas Talks Sex Fetishes — Is He Into Getting Spanked, “Furries” & Being Tied Up?!”

At Toofab.com.  “What about “furries,” which is having sex with someone while wearing a furry animal costume? Surprisingly, Nick didn’t turn it down…”

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AMAZING FURRY NEWS COMING SOON – Fursecution Declared Hate Crime In #7!

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