Dogpatch Press

Fluff Pieces Every Week

Tag: fursuiting

Anniversary of the New Jersey FurBQ Hoax – this bullshit cost $185,000.

by Patch O'Furr

Update: read to bottom for new details of the $185,000 cost!

Remember this sad thing? On May 26, 2012, the final New Jersey FurBQ was held for nearly 200 attendees.  It ended seven years of a party loved by a community of friends.  But it didn’t just die – it was killed with controversy and nasty headlines.  The truth was buried under biased and false reporting.

It’s a tale of intolerance and ridicule. Misinformation and dishonesty. Exploiting and scapegoating.  Shaming and moralizing against “offenses” like having fun and serving alcohol to adults over 21.  A fake sex scandal, that provoked our own anti-sex hysteria. Beneath it all, dirty town politics.

They said they had photos of two costumers doing “simulated” public sex. Everyone freaked out and pointed at each other – but it was a wild rumor. The accusations failed burden of proof.  Accusers are responsible to give evidence, but they failed to produce photos or even names, when harm made it critical to be fair.   I say if it happened, we’d at least know names.  If you’re a furry, you know how rumors go. Sure, evidence could have been held for confidentiality – but there’s no credibility for that. Photos didn’t just fail to exist – there were extra allegations of lying, a money incentive, and an unreasonable rush to judgement that was too perfectly provoked. It’s way past time to call it a HOAX. This may be the first headline to do it. (I found support from this DJ who was there.)
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Mask/hood bans: Haters love this excuse for war on fun and freedom.

by Patch O'Furr

3RANT! Sometimes, you don’t know how good it is to have tolerance, until you see it taken away from others.

In Vermont, fursuiters were mingling with crowds at a Mardi Gras celebration.  They were high-fiving people and making them feel like they were in magical unicorn-land, like fursuiters do.  Then a town official with a Sequoia up his butt decided that fun should be illegal. Or they weren’t paying the Smile Tax. Or whatever.

Vermont town selectively bans fursuiters: Prejudice complaint and update.

Here’s what happened since:  The sad fursuiters patiently worked with the town, trying to jump through their hoops to get permits.  The town officials stroked their Hitler mustaches, and came up with this scheisse:

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Yay for street fursuiting! San Francisco’s 2015 How Weird Street Faire furmeet.

by Patch O'Furr

To me, street fursuiting is the best, most spontaneous form of “The Most Furry Activity”.  Street fairs are the best place to do it.  So, the start of street fair season is a special occasion.

In San Francisco, for at least the past several years, How Weird Street Faire has been first on the list.  After this, the season reaches a high point with the million-attended Pride celebration. It stays strong through October with events like the Superhero Street Fair.  It’s especially strong here because the crowds are very friendly to freaky spectacles and costuming – and the area may have the world’s highest population of furries.  Fun like this makes a good reason to say that the San Francisco Bay Area is Furry Mecca.

To any fursuiters who have never done it on the street, and feel like traveling – consider making a trip coincide with one of our meets.  You’ll get an amazing subcultural experience you can never have as a regular tourist.  That’s the beauty of subculture – friends wherever you go!  You can do this wherever you are, though.  Get inspired by my interview with Sakura Fox:  Renegade fursuiting is BEST fursuiting.

The 2013 How Weird furmeet gave us wonderful photos.  For the 2014 meet, ABC News gave a shout to furries picked out from thousands of costumers.  There was continuing recognition at the 2015 How Weird Street Faire, their 16th annual event.

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Special Features and Top Articles at Dogpatch Press.

by Patch O'Furr

Updated Feb 2019

  • Did you hear about that one time when President Obama invited a furry to the White House?
  • Read interviews with personalities like Pixar movie directors, punk rocker Jello Biafra, comedian Margaret Cho, and the most devoted fans.
  • See how fursuits sell for $25,000, and the biggest furry conventions raise six figures for charity and millions in local spending.
  • Furries in movies, on the front pages, featured on Youtube, trending on Twitter, and more.

Dogpatch Press has published over 1200 articles so far.  These got high traffic, dug deep to uncover a story, or they’re just favorites.

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interviewsINTERVIEWS FOR FANS AND FURRIES:

Makers and Doers make a subculture thrive. Whether they build it or feed it with stuff we like, they have valuable stories to tell.

A THRIVING SUBCULTURE – PAST AND FUTURE, POLE TO POLE.

There’s a fur con somewhere in the world every weekend of the year. There’s furry houses with multi-generations of fans. Here’s roots, coming opportunities, spotlights on what makes a good community, and how far their influence goes.

“CELEBRIFURRIES” AND STREET CRED:

Furries have more influence than they even realize. Advertisers covet the street cred of subcultures. Disney winked at us with Zootopia. Are there celebrities who are secret furries? How do other subcultures overlap? What are the peaks of mainstream recognition for the fandom?

patch_icon_fursuitFURSUITING, THE MOST FURRY ACTIVITY.

It’s the the most original fandom creation, with it’s own coined name.  Nobody does it like furries and nothing else represents them so directly. Fursuiting is a booming cottage industry and makers are raising the craft until they’re envied by commercial mascot designers. Only 20% own this costly wearable art with scene-stealing looks, but a picture is worth a thousand words.  It’s hard to deny their huggable appeal (representing the touch-based name of this subculture.)

THE FURRY ECONOMY: 

economy

Cons are expanding at a healthy rate. Furry creators work fan-to-fan with self-sufficiency that even supports full time careers. Their main site Furaffinity is an independent project acquired by a venture-capital funded company.  It’s rising beyond a full-fledged subculture to possible commercialization. How will it develop?

“PALEO FURRIES” – ANTHROPOMORPHISM IN HISTORY:patch_icon_history

Fandom has hidden connections to a rich history of art and performance. A “museum of furry” could exhibit work that look like it’s from a parallel universe. Call them Paleo Furries. A “Panto-animals and Paleofurs” con panel could uncover hidden depth for what we love.

THE FURRY ART WORLD

It’s one of the most creative fandoms because all the content is self-generated. Sometimes it gets recognition in galleries and more.

THE FURRY MOVIE SCENE.

Film and video can be more challenging than other media where furries thrive. Other subcultures have developed enough to support independent film making. There have been a few attempts at furry features and some outside ones that come close. There are many fursuiting shorts (especially music videos) and animation student work. The holy grail might be a furry-made animated feature.

patch_icon_fame

FURRY MUSIC AND DANCE PARTIES – IT’S A MOVEMENT:furclub

Since around 2010, furry dance parties are getting established as urban night life.  They build on the growth of cons, but take their own direction in partnership with established venues.  Howl Toronto says – Con dances happen once a year, and “that’s just not enough to fill the need!” There’s also a slice of the fandom that makes original music and is starting netlabels, composing for video and games, and performing at cons.

BAD MEDIA, GOOD MEDIA.

Media exploitation makes sensitivity about being in the spotlight, but it’s a chicken-or-egg relationship. Rising recognition and appreciation brings power to negotiate and be better represented.

ANTHROPOMORPHIC POLITICS OF THE WORLD.

Like Democrat donkeys, Republican elephants, or “Animal Farm” the political allegory by George Orwell.

FANDOM POLITICS.

CHARITY AND SUPPORT.

WHEN FURRY MEETS FURRY – “THE TOPIC THEY LOVE TO HATE”.patch_icon_furry_love

It’s not an urban legend – some furries get wild. But sex isn’t a definer.  It can be a family friendly hobby too.  Media hypes sex, but romantic themes are part of being human, and furries are just regular people with extra rich imaginations.  Being unusually open and expressive is required for an interest spectrum beyond the default.  It can cause controversy. It also makes first-time visitors call them the most friendly people you could ever party with. This blog is anti-prude and not shy about sex-positivity.

FURRY PRIDE TIMELINE.

San Francisco Pride is one of the biggest Pride events in the world, with organizing by Patch since 2012.

FURRY TRASH.

Sometimes it’s fun to mix satire and comedy with news.  Keep Furry Weird.

LIMITS AND LIBERTIES IN SOCIETY

protestAcceptance is a big feature of furry subculture. It draws interests together, but nothing represents every member, because membership is self-defined.  Some interests get conservative disapproval. It makes tension between freedom and collective interest. It can involve prejudices, laws, or times for a social group to stand up for itself.

WHAT’S WRONG INSIDE FANDOM?

Furries have been punching-bags with sensational media exploiting them as freaks.  It can come from bias to only look for the worst in people. It can show stigma, shaming, scapegoating, or a streak of homophobia. But negativity doesn’t build anything, and that’s why it’s losing power with time. If you hear of “inherent” problems, look at the positive, expressive nature of the group.

CRIME AND PUNISHMENT:

Any community has crime, so it naturally happens with furries sometimes.  Most everything they do is harmless and positive, but rare problems can get sensationalized and it needs caution about bias.

SPECIAL GUEST POSTS BY PUP MATTHIAS:

ideasMORE SPECIAL GUEST POSTS:

FRED PATTEN PRESENTS:

Check his tag.  Fred was a star guest poster, with a long resume as fandom historian and reviewer.

THE REGULAR NEWSDUMP (phased out):

See the “Newsdump” tag.  These digest posts had curated links and “list worthy” small stories from around the web and the border between subculture and mainstream.  They gave a look at the state of the community over time.

Vermont town selectively bans fursuiters: Prejudice complaint and update.

by Patch O'Furr

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Public fursuiting with the Vermont Furs.

 

IYCHXufVThe Vermont Furs have an active online presence including Facebook and Twitter. I see many positive events such as BBQ’s, bowling, camping, and a walk to benefit Cystic Fibrosis patients. They look like a fantastic group- the kind that makes me love everything about furries. But their activities are being harmed by treatment they feel is unfair.

Fursuiters kicked out of Mardi Gras event in Burlington, Vermont – but not others dressed in masks.

Why were they being singled out, the furries wanted to know, when the streets were teeming with other strangely dressed revelers?

“It’s just different,” was the response, Owens said.

A thoughtful and well-written article in the independent alt-weekly Seven Days recently covered the February 28 incident, and following talks with the city.  The given reason was a lack of performer permits – (to be clear, none of them were busking or asking for money) – and child safety concerns.

For evidence, there was mention of a bad incident with a costumed “Elmo” Sesame Street character in New York’s Times Square.  I googled the incident as suggested, but it didn’t mention children- only a panhandling offense.  At the Seven Days article, I commented that it was quite a stretch to pick one sensationalized headline from hundreds of miles away, for a “think of the children” argument about people who weren’t hurting anybody.

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Chat with Strypes, Edmonton Oil Kings mascot performer and fursuit referee.

by Patch O'Furr

Here’s a followup post to:  Edmonton Oil Kings hockey hosts fursuiter race. “It’s looking hairy at ice level!”

OIL_8042

On January 2, 2015, the Edmonton Oil Kings hosted a fursuit race at their hockey game.  The “Frantic Furry 500″ entertained the crowd during intermissions.  It was organized by Strypes, (AKA bcbreakaway). It was incredibly cool of Strypes to answer my questions about the event and his furry activities.  I was surprised to find out that he seems to have discovered this fandom only two years ago – and he’s a professional mascot who already had the spirit inside.  Give him a high-paw for being an amazing example of why Furries rock! 

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IMVU’s big buy-in. These messages sponsored by hugs and scritches. Newsdump (3/20/15)

by Patch O'Furr

Headlines, links and little stories to make your tail wag.  Tips are always welcome. 

____________________________

Fandom News

_____________________________

FurAffinity sold to 3D social network IMVU.  

downloadYou heard, right?  FurAffinity is the shaky but most active anchor for furry socializing and art.  Naughty stuff on it can’t go without mention.  That makes it a haven for freedoms that make the community what it is, for good or ill (depending on how prudish you are.)  The sale to IMVU comes as a surprise.  It’s a bold move for a company to partner with a community with stigma attached.  How well will this work?

In January, IMVU reached out to me. They got an article about their appearance at Fur Con.   (It was before today’s news was public, but apparently around when FurAffinity was sold.)  I got back in touch with their rep, and have a confirmation that they’ll answer my questions.  Everyone’s yapping about it – more soon in a followup article.

4 fursuits stolen from Jakedashep. Send hugs.

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Austrian TV and Lakeside Furries, Harper’s con story, Awesome Possum – Newsdump (2/25/15)

by Patch O'Furr

Headlines, links and little stories to make your tail wag.  Story tips are always welcome. 

Ursa Major Awards nominations close on February 28.  Nominate Dogpatch Press – get fuzzy hugs!  I love furries so much, blogging about them is it’s own reward.  But I love shinies too, so can the highly attractive readers of this site nominate it for an award?  Submit a Best Magazine nomination.  These hugs are worth it.  (OK, they’re worth nothing because I hug everyone for free. They’re just priceless.)

                                             _____________________________

                  In the Media

                                             _____________________________

High traffic for $11,575 fursuit story.

Far flung places like German news sites are continuing to give notable high traffic for last week’s story of the record high fursuit price.

Austrian TV covers furries with a good 15 minute news piece.

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$11,575 fursuit sale brings comments from Furbuy and seller PhoenixWolf.

by Patch O'Furr

(UPDATE: The buyer does an interview with Dogpatch Press!  Thoughts from the winner of the record-setting $11,575 fursuit auction.)

“Angel Dragon” set a new record for known fursuit auctions.kestrel

The $11,575 sale on Furbuy beat the recent record of $8,025 for Lavender Corgi, sold on 10/11/14.

At the time, Lavender Corgi’s buyer declined my request for comment, citing drama that could be seen on forums elsewhere.  (In requests, I mention: “When something sells for a lot of money, I consider it positive “patron of the arts” support for artists.”)

The “Angel Dragon” is by PhoenixWolf Fursuits, maker of the popular suit for Telephone. The contest of 187 bids ended on 2/14/15.   The auction didn’t go without drama even before it ended.  At one point, bids shot up to $14,000.  These were removed after a bidder commented:

 I guess I don’t have 14000 I only have 11,000 in my bank can and admin remove me from the angel dragon auction please I’m no interested anymore I really do want it but I don’t want to bid too much

Furbuy admin, Jurann, replied…

“…this is one of the straws that broke the camel’s back and caused us to implement the new bidding restriction measures today.”

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$11,575 fursuit, 50 Shades of Celebrifurries, Inside Edition invasion – Newsdump (2/15/15)

by Patch O'Furr

Headlines, links and little stories to make your tail wag.  Story tips are always welcome. 

Nominate Dogpatch Press for an Ursa Major Award – get fuzzy hugs!  I love furries so much, blogging about them is it’s own reward.  But I love shinies too, so can the highly attractive readers of this site nominate it for an award?  Submit a Best Magazine nomination at the Ursa Majors site.  These hugs are worth it.  (OK, they’re worth nothing because I hug everyone for free. They’re just priceless.)

                                             _____________________________

                  Fandom News

                                             _____________________________

Ursa Major Awards nominations close on February 28.

The final ballot should be ready around March 15.  It will be announced here.  There’s a little time left to nominate your favorite creators.  Don’t wait! (Please also nominate College Humor’s Furry Force, the millions-viewed comedy animation.  Writer Adam Conover is super grateful for furry support.)

“Angel Dragon” fursuit sets new auction price record of $11,575.

The auction on Furbuy beat the recent record of $8,025 for Lavender Corgi, sold on 10/11/14.  The “Angel Dragon” is by PhoenixWolf Fursuits, maker of the popular suit for Telephone. The contest of 187 bids ended on 2/14/15.  There was controversy when some bids inflated the price to $14,000 before they were removed.  A followup article will share comments from Furbuy admins, and the seller. (Confirmation of payment is still pending.)  

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