Sex and furry fandom
Differing approaches to sexuality have been a source of controversy and conflict in furry fandom. Compounding this are stereotypes regarding furries and sex. Protests have been made by members of the fandom against what they regard as "distasteful, unrelated, or deviant aspects" of the fandom, in particular by Burned Furs, a group active in the late 1990s who thought that furry fandom's image was being harmed by a sexual faction within the fandom.
[22] This group was strongly opposed by Freezing Furs, a group who did not wish to cleanse the fandom of its sexual component. This led to other groups who had two objectives: acceptance of differing points of view, as well as creation of an inclusive culture, in which both sexual and non-sexual elements were welcome. This inclusiveness is now widespread in furry fandom.
Examples of mainstream sexual aspects within furry fandom include erotic art, a style sometimes known as
yiffy art (from the subculture term "yiff" referring to sexual activity or arousal), and
pornographic movies of sexual activities between participants wearing fur suits.
[23] According to
The Pitch, examples of the word's present usage include "a yiffy fur", meaning a furry who is sexually
aroused or active, "yiffy artwork", meaning
sexually explicit furry
artwork, "to yiff", meaning to have sex, etc.
[24]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Wiktionary-logo-en.png
Look up
yiff in
Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
The term is most commonly used to indicate sexual activity or material.
[25] This applies to sexual activity and interaction within the subculture whether
online or
offline; it is also applied to sexual arousal and to
erotic material causing it.
[26] The explanation offered for the etymology of the term within the subculture is that it is an
onomatopoeia for the sound foxes make when mating.
[27]
In
cybersex, also known as "TinySex" and "TextSex", it is the act in which one or more players engage in the interactive writing of erotica, describing their "tinybodies" or
fursonas engaged in sexual activities.
[28]
The term
furvert (a
portmanteau of "furry" and "pervert") specifically refers to the subgroup of the fandom that sexualizes anthropomorphic animal characters.
[29] Similar to the word
queer in homosexual culture, the term
furvert may be used pejoratively, as a
self-referential joke, or merely as a descriptor.
Many furry conventions communicate their codes of conduct, which restrict sexually explicit material and behavior, reasoning that furry fandom includes people of all ages.
