Something to read for y’all…
I rarely watch TV these days, but now and then I take a look to see how the “vast wasteland” is doing. Recently I came upon an alleged news item about a furry convention (in Las Vegas, I believe) on CBS news. Granted I saw this late at night, but I was surprised to see it at all. Here were members of furry fandom gathering for the sake of gathering (I guess), doing their anthropomorphic best, with a spokesperson trying to explain the phenomena. I kept thinking about the similarity with MtF crossdressing, in its most innocuous form, and wondering if CBS news would “report” on a growing trend towards cross-gender role playing…
Whether or not there is such a trend is a moot point, but I think the presence of furries reinforces the idea that these types of things are somewhat inevitable, meaning they should be expected. If tolerance exists for furries, what about the males who like to dress as females? Personally, I don’t know whether I would like to convene with my panty-fetishist brethren (my apologies), since I am a confirmed loner in the CD world, but surely SOME MtF crossdressing can be accepted with a sigh or two by “normal” people…
I read where Vanity Fair, in an article about furries, described some hotel guests as "stunned", with some calling convention-goers "freaks", "blatant homosexuals", and various derogatory terms. Others LIKED it, of course. How come this sort of thing gets press, while the MtF CD gets short shrift? In many ways, the two types of transformation are similar, although one is transgender and the other is transmammalian, or a cartoon approximation of a mammal. Does someone ever ask the furry if he (or she) wants to become this furry persona permanently, i.e. transition? Alas, perhaps a furry lifestyle is all one can hope for…
Meanwhile, the MtF crossdresser wants to enjoy his crossdressing and become female for a time, at least in appearance. For some of us, it’s just FUN, and there are a lot of us who do it. I’m sure that a “convention” of trannies wouldn’t be suitable TV viewing, especially at this time and in this place (the U.S., I mean). Much like cartoon crossdressing can impress young minds, seeing adults enjoying their trans-gender excursions would be seen as visual poison for youngsters, and such things are deleted out of hand, a kind of censorship…
Of course, the Gay Pride Parade gets on the news, with all its myriad celebrations of otherness, but the “I don’t want to bother anybody” MtF crossdresser is nowhere to be seen. Whether he’s gay or not is irrelevant, and pride is not an issue. Here, in this all-too brief snippet of existence at the edge of The Milky Way, males would like to enjoy life, if only for a brief moment, and dress as they please. No big deal, but instincts, prejudice, and fear of the unknown work against us…
It’s nice to see that SOME groups are getting attention, as people melt into their furry disguises, but it may be the novelty of the latter that works in their favor. I hear that the furries emerged sometime around 1980, but didn’t the Beatles “do it,” on the cover of the Magical Mystery Tour album, back in 1968? In any event, furries are relatively new. However, MtF crossdressing has been around a LOT longer, and it will remain, stubbornly in place, in the hearts and minds of intrepid individualists everywhere…
Are furries queer? Just asking…
BTW, if you happen to see Wile E. Coyote, tell him Freddy says “hi.” We go WAY back…