Furrysak i Dagbladet FREDAG?

[Alyxx]

Å få furry fandomen til å fremstå som en eneste stor parafili ville vært utrolig smakløst, dessuten er det gjort allerede.

Alt dreier seg om anthro dyr med pels.

[Ziggy Wolf]

Trur ikke du har mye å frykte, Har snakka med jurnalisten, han virker som en ålreit fyr som har begge beina godt planta på jorda.

[Aeternus]

Hello, krushdbug.

I had a friend of mine translate all of the posts in this topic and would like to express my interest for an interview - preferrably not face to face, I fear. I have chosen a name different to what I normally use on the Internet for this very purpose to not only protect my online identity, but also to protect my offline identity. Considering the amount of Fursecutioners (anti-furries who, in their effort to ruin the furry fandom, has caused a lot of insecurity and necessary paranoia in relation to interactions with the media) and their extremist behaviour, I'd not want to endanger my friends or family. I do hope you understand.

I live in Norway and have been researching the furry subculture in this country for over five years and I believe I can shed some light on questions, misconceptions and/or issues that will, have or might arise as a result of your article. I do not read or speak Norwegian too well and would prefer to conduct the interview (if any) in English.

I am by no means a 'scientist' of any official standards, nor am I a 'furry' (which I'd consider to be an offensive term for the subculture's members; I normally prefer to use 'anthro' instead, which is much more general and leaves less room for intentional misinterpretation) but I sympathize with the subculture and I promised a friend (who was an anthro until a small group of Fursecutioners discovered his real identity and sabotaged his life, ending in my friend now living with me because he no longer has a home) that I'd make every effort to relinquish the negative impression of the subculture and advertise it for what it is: a medium for free thinking, creativity and socialization. Anthros are largely one of the most accepting & friendly subcultures I have ever had the joy of researching and it is such a shame that society makes every effort at demonizing anthros simply because they have the guts to be different.


The scepticism held by the members of Norwegian Paws is understandable and well-justified, but I assure them that my intentions are NOT to demonize; only to educate and shed a different light on this severely misunderstood subculture.
I am, however, very objective in the way I work; I do not make things into what they are not, but I also don't sugarcoat things. Any and all questions would be answered objectively.


I would also be willing to forward questions from Norwegian Paws to you (anonymously, of course) & relay your answers back to them and vice verse.

And thanks for taking this initiative; we need more open minds such as yourself in this world full of prejudice and segregation.

[Ziggy Wolf]

Hey news flash for ya kid, the cold war ended two decades ago.
Although I can understand a lot of people are sceptic, since this will be our first exposure to the media here in Norway.
But, you have to take in to account that, many such prejudices have not yet been formed over here.
I had a tacher in an art class project one of my anthro drawings on to a two meter square canvas, and received nothing but praise.
A lot of people I meet (even complete strangers) are aware of the fandom and even of its darker sides and seem to have no problem with it. I used to draw anthros in exchange for cash or cigarettes at work, most of my coworkers had never even heard of anthros, but gladly bought or traded the drawings none the less.
So, from my experiance the prejudice you speak of just isn`t there.
So, how can I be so open about this? Well, because I have nothing to be ashamed over, it`s just a hobby, an intrest, and yes to some extent a lifestyle. The truth is that we`ve got no darker secrets then that of your average superhero-drawing fanboy.
Sorry if I kinda sucked all the excitment out of it, but that`s how it is.
And what do I base this on? 14 years of experience that`s what.

But, again to utter a word of caution, what we do from this point on will determin if we end up with as much prejudice as there is in the states, or raise the whole thing to a new level.

[Miles T.F. Baxxter]

Although I can understand a lot of people are sceptic, since this will be our first exposure to the media here in Norway.

Jeg tror faktisk det vil bli vår tredje.

[Ziggy Wolf]

O`rly? Link?

[Miles T.F. Baxxter]

Her og her.

Kan jo være mer vi ikke vet om også.

[Ziggy Wolf]

Den tingen på wiki var jeg forsåvidt klar over. men den andre hadde jeg ikke sett.
takk, da har jeg noe å lese i lunsjpausen.
Del 2 av opptaket manglet har du den et sted?

[Dax Cyro]

While ziggy might sound harsh, I do agree with his statement.

I live in Norway and have been researching the furry subculture in this country for over five years and I believe I can shed some light on questions, misconceptions and/or issues that will, have or might arise as a result of your article. I do not read or speak Norwegian too well and would prefer to conduct the interview (if any) in English.

I guess you can understand my skepticism when I find it a tad odd that you've research the Norwegian furry fandom for years, yet never been in contact with any of it's members.
It's like someone saying they've researched car enthusiasts, yet never spoken to one.
As for background information. I have the impression that krushdbug has already done quite a bit of research on his own and already have some knowledge about it's various sides. Plus we've already supplied him with both furry and non-furry sources.

However the decision rests on krushdbug. It's his article so he decided what goes in it and not.
We've got no shortage of people willing to share a bit about themselves and their views, and he's already turned down a few less serious offers.

[Miles T.F. Baxxter]

Del 2 av opptaket manglet har du den et sted?

Hm, ser ut til at filnavn er case sensitive... Du finner direkte lenker til begge filene her.

[Aeternus]

For some reason, the forum wouldn't let me post a bug-free answer so it is included in a text-file.

[Kinjara]

Jaujau, feskarhau. Noen idé om hvilken FREDAG dette blir? Vil jo gjerne kjøpe. Om ikke annet så kan man i alle fall tegne bart på folk!

[Wolftale]

Why do you call some anthro and other furs?

And why do you believe we can't explain about us?

And how did you find this thread I also wonder?

And CabinCon is fun yes, I have been at CabinCon and want you feel there is was you normally feel in a furmeet here in Norway.

Jaujau, feskarhau. Noen idé om hvilken FREDAG dette blir? Vil jo gjerne kjøpe. Om ikke annet så kan man i alle fall tegne bart på folk!

En fredag etter at intervjuene er holdt
Forhåpentligvis i mars engang etter slik jeg har forstått

[Aeternus]

Why do you call some anthro and other furs?

And why do you believe we can't explain about us?

And how did you find this thread I also wonder?

And CabinCon is fun yes, I have been at CabinCon and want you feel there is was you normally feel in a furmeet here in Norway.

1) Ultimately, the meaning of the words in the context I use remains the same. I try to avoid the term 'furry' (and its derivatives) as much as I can as I believe it is connected to too much negativity & is too easy to misread, either by purpose or by accident. Sometimes, however, it cannot be helped as I grew up in a very conservative family who were very much followers of the "do not utter two of the same words in one sentence-rule" or something like that. I would call it a force of habit.

2) I don't, nor did I ever imply such. However, I figured that perhaps a person who is not a part of the subculture could be of great assistance.

3) After my inactivity on NP (which is still the case, by the way), I found it while Googling for updated information about the subculture today. A complete coincidence.

[Trash]

I am by no means a 'scientist' of any official standards, nor am I a 'furry' (which I'd consider to be an offensive term for the subculture's members; I normally prefer to use 'anthro' instead

Well, you might find that offensive, but still, the terminology is wrong. The most widely accepted term for those whom this fandom consists of is furries. Anthro means man, so applying that term to someone who already walks on two legs would be counter-productive, don't you think?

I must voice my converns, about having someone who chooses to change the core terminology of our fandom, represent us as a whole.

[Aeternus]

I am by no means a 'scientist' of any official standards, nor am I a 'furry' (which I'd consider to be an offensive term for the subculture's members; I normally prefer to use 'anthro' instead

Well, you might find that offensive, but still, the terminology is wrong. The most widely accepted term for those whom this fandom consists of is furries. Anthro means man, so applying that term to someone who already walks on two legs would be counter-productive, don't you think?

I must voice my converns, about having someone who chooses to change the core terminology of our fandom, represent us as a whole.

You are right that it is wrong; I simply prefer to use other terms above that one because I feel that it might be interpreted as offensive to those who actually are. I believe the most relevant example of this would be how two African-American men may address each other with a variety of different words that when uttered by a European or someone of different ethnicities would be considered to be racist because many used them in negative contexts before.
Similarily, I feel that calling someone a 'furry' when 1) I am not one of them, & 2) there are so many negative meanings tied to the term 'furry' as well, especially by those who are not a part of the subculture, isn't appropriate and could very quickly be taken the wrong way.

If that made sense.

*edit*: That does not mean I do not use it. I am only careful about how/when I use it.

[Trash]

I don't know where you get the idea of a non-fur calling a fur by that very term would leave the fur offended. Sincerely, I appreciate it when people call me by righteous terms!

Gay is also a negatively charged word, by this definition, but someone who is gay, should not be offended by getting called gay! I am gay, if you're wondering.

[Aeternus]

I don't know where you get the idea of a non-fur calling a fur by that very term would leave the fur offended. Sincerely, I appreciate it when people call me by righteous terms!

Gay is also a negatively charged word, by this definition, but someone who is gay, should not be offended by getting called gay! I am gay, if you're wondering.

This is more a case of "what if" than anything, considering the fursecution-factor. I suppose it is a force of habit.


The term "gay" is a good example of what I mean, though! "Gay" did not originally translate to "homosexual", but it used to mean "happy"/"overjoyed". How the term changed its meaning, I don't know nor would I dare myself to speculate. Regardless, you know the history so I won't dive into it any further, but I do not like calling someone else "gay" (not even those who are) because I feel I am insulting them, which is the last thing I want.
I don't think I have ever used terms such as "gay", "straight" or "bi" in relation to sexuality and I do suppose this is yet another force of habit.

It's always "what if" this and "what if" that. I will, however, practice the use of the terms while I am here to avoid future misunderstandings if you'd prefer.

[Trash]

Please do. I can ensure you that no one on this board will feel insulted if you call them a fur.

[Miles T.F. Baxxter]

I would also be willing to forward questions from Norwegian Paws to you (anonymously, of course) & relay your answers back to them and vice verse.

We already have a handful of folks who've been in touch with the reporter, and we also have this here thread, so I don't think that will be necessary.

And whether or not furry is a negatively charged or inaccurate term might be a discussion better had at a different thread. For the record, we also have our own Norwegian words for furry which sees some use in the community. See our Furry FAQ.

[Ziggy Wolf]

Forgive me if perhaps I tend to be a bit harsh or sarcastic.
I see you took my refferance to the cold war, as being somthing behind us, so is this subject.
True, there have been some "trolling" on the internett, But not in public a seen in the us.
With reguards to what is online, It is a concern, but we are unable to controll it.
By showing people who we really are, we can show people who have made wrong assumtions,
that the assumtions say more about them then they do aout us.
I myself have experianced so called "trolling" online and have delt with it in a satesfactory manner.

I do deeply appreaciate your concern, however with reguards to the use of either furry or anthro, I see the two as equally valid.
Debateing their usage in some sort of semantic mastrubation leads to no definate conclution and is therefore not worth my time.

[Aikho]

I must say that I agree with ThrashWolf on the use of Anthro being wrong, as anthro (or Anthropomorphic) is a prefix for what is human-like, meaning that an anthro animal is a human-like animal. A furry is someone that associates themselves with the furry fandom (or subculture if you wish). It is in my eyes nothing like black men being "allowed" to call each other nigga and white men not being "allowed" to. So I would prefer you using the correct term, please.

Also, like Wolftale asked, I think we are better suited to answering questions about us. after all, a motorcycle enthusiast is not the person to interview about car enthusiasts even if he owns a car.

I admire your intent being all well, but I think you see more America in Norway than there is, the streets of Norway are not yet the "Something Awful" boards.
The worst so-called prejudice I've seen was 1-2 years ago when the entire cafeteria at school howled at me (Because I wear a collar (It's like a necklace to me)). It was meant to be insulting (I think), but I have to say I found it rather awesome.

Also, like already said, we have many people willing to be interviewed and some of them are willing to be interviewed face to face and even with their picture taken and also don't fear giving up at least their on-line name.

[Chen]

To be hones Aeternus; your introduction could've benefited from abit more work to come off as abit less creepy.
Coming into an already debated topic and offering your information as someone who knows us, but only from afar, someone who doesn't see themselves as a fur. And personally debunking the word furry which is the one most widely used name for us, and at the same time using fursecution. Which in quite a few circles is a more debated word than furry.

From the way you word yourself("been in contact with", "entered (...) never spoke to" and actually having records) isn't - as you admit a reason to make us less sceptic.
The secrecy you surround yourself, and your gathered information, with is as mentioned previously in this topic actually one of the reasons we are doing this. Exactly to show that we are normal people and have nothing to hide.

While it is krushdbug's decision as to what goes into his article, hopefully we'll have a say too.. But, aren't your observations technically going to be just the same as his; just with abit more background? ... and stealth.

Of course; all things being both equal and relative; you could among be the most benign people and just have bad luck as to timing and wording.
So... going slightly off topic; Welcome Aeternus, hope you have fun here and find friends with which you can feel that you can be yourself amongst. We're a friendly bunch, although somewhat easily startled.

[Ziggy Wolf]

I`ve worn a collar for many years on a daily basis, I even wore it to work, forgettng that I still had it on.
Some commented that it suited me, but perhaps not quite apopriate when dealing with customers, to wich I had to concure.
On a sidenote I just had a friend and his girfriend over who had never heard of furries,
the subject of furries came up, and I showed them some of my work.
She thought it was cool, even cute. Coinsidentally I had FA open to which they said "Oh, this is cool"
So, again why is there any need to hide what we do?
What I am ashamed of rather is the dreadfull state of my studio, I really need to tidy up in here, but that`s another matter.
If you wish to learn more about us and make a few friends here Aeternus, I bid you welcome.
Yes, we`re a screwy bunch, but our door is always open to welcome new arrivals from what ever walk of life they may have stumbled from.

[Dax Cyro]

I think Chen's pretty spot on.
Especially "We're a friendly bunch, although somewhat easily startled".
Any normal person flinches if someone random comes up to him/her and says "I know a lot about you, but I wouldn't tell who I am".

But you're still welcome ^^