What Happened to the Furry Fandom?

I wanna share some thoughts with you guys. Please take some time to read this. A lot of it is based on my own personal experiences and from some of my friends as well:

I've been a furry for about 14 years. Basically I just wanted to find a group of people who liked cartoons as much as I did. I loved talking with others at conventions, learning about art, and being creative. I've seen it all from the good times and the bad. I've made a lot of good friends here and has had a huge impact on my life. But lately things have changed; sadly not for the better. So I gotta ask...

...What happened to the Fandom?

- We went from being open and accepting to too exclusive. We used to celebrate our differences; now we just let anything divide us.

- We've become too cliquey. Many furs only hang out in certain and become far less social; not wanting to talk to anyone who isn't exactly like them.

- We put too much emphasis on negativity and drama.

- We made owning a fursuit a priority instead of an option. Now don't get me wrong. Fursuiters are great and all; but they tend to get a little too much attention. Those who don't have a fursuit or any furry apparel feel left out. They've come to believe that owning a fursuit is the only way to get attention.

- We focus more on the character than the person behind it.

- We don't respect anyone's opinions anymore.

What happened to this great community I once knew? Whatever happened to the days were we would just get together and have fun? Has things gotten so bad that there's no way back?

I don't believe so. I love this fandom too much to watch it get dragged down. I love this fandom; even during the times when it didn't love me back. That's why I'm still here.

We need to be better in order to improve. We have to set a better example for ourselves; especially for those younger furs coming into the group. Obviously change won't happen overnight. It takes effort to make things happen; if you're willing to do so. We can't just sit idly by and watch the fandom crumble and fall.

There's a lot to unpack here. I'll probably bring them up another time; but for now...what do you guys think?

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Added:	5 years, 2 months ago 23 Feb 2019 08:43 CET

3 Comments on this Journal

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KootieBirdo

5 years, 2 months ago

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Edited 5 years, 2 months ago by Owner

It's difficult to escape drama and negativity, these days. This fandom, along with a lot of other things, have been taking much of the brunt of it.

We just need to be optimistic, and keep our heads up.

*hugs* ❤

rick2tails

5 years, 2 months ago

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I think that a lot of people have joined the fandom from online.They are highly focused on fursuits because that is what stands out on videos about furry conventions.As far as divisions in the fandom well as it grows bigger,it becomes harder for larger groups of people to stay homogeneous and smaller factions and cliques form.Also civil discourse when it comes to politics are race and several other things have become more divisive and toxic over the past decade and the fandom is jus a smaller reflection of everybody.Other fandoms have had some similar problems