- Available at the end of this web and PDF. Reference:
Gallardo Linares, Francisco J. (2013). Construcción
de la identidad furry. Intersticios.
Revista Sociológica de Pensamiento Crítico, 7 (1). http://www.intersticios.es/article/view/10524/7774 (Translated into English PDF: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B4sxNh6KKl7cSmI5LU5LTTdvZlk)
- Available at the end of this web and PDF. Reference:
Gallardo Linares, Francisco J. (2013). Identidad furry en España y sus prácticas de género. Un análisis crítico del discurso. Aposta, (57). http://www.apostadigital.com/revistav3/hemeroteca/jglinares.pdf (Translated into English PDF: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B4sxNh6KKl7cZC1uQU5vcUg2Y3M)
- Researching PhD statistical facts about identies.
CONSTRUCTION OF THE FURRY IDENTITY
Francisco Javier Gallardo Linares
Psychologist
Mastered in Social and
Communitarian Investigation
and Intervention
PhD candidate in Psychology, Psychology Faculty
from Malaga
Abstract
The
essay carries out a brief but exhaustive theoretical revision of the furry
identity and some of its controversies related to sexuality. Therefore, we are
going to analyze its construction as gender practice: on one side, the queer
theory permits us to frame the problem of the normalization and representative
of identities (we provide as argument a list of gender practices susceptible to
subversion); on the other side, through the cyborg feminism we frame the
cultural construction of the human nature; especially within the
scientific practice, which is irrevocably transcended through the cybernetic
domination. Finally, we can conclude that the gender practices, as ideology
about the human nature, operate imposing limits to the corporeal autoimage.
The agency of the furry identity is acquired with ability opposite
to the new cybernetic domination.
Key
words: Furry, identity, gender, cyborg, queer
Furry fandom is a subculture, the term of which
emerged in 1992, when artists, writers and role players started generating
their own slang, art and literature, organizing themselves as the possibilities
of the internet appeared (Osaki, 2008a;Patten, 2010). We are talking about anthropomorphic
animal characters, histories or arts, in the fandom of which they are
recognized, promoted and produced (Furry Fandom
Infocenter, 2012). Soon
an extravagant image of the group was mediated (Osaki,
2008a; Morgan, 2008 y Altman, 2010), for example in Vanity Fair magazine
(Gurley, 2001) or in the television series “CSI: Las Vegas” (2003). Apart from
this sensationalism, few dare to define what means being furry (Osaki,
2008a). The only consensus revolves around an interest in animals or
anthropomorphic creatures (part human, part animal), generally in one or
various arts or in some sense (Staeger,
2001; Rust, 2002; Gerbasi, Bernstein,
Conway, Scaletta, Privitera, Paolone y Higner, 2008; Evans, 2008); with very
heterogeneous members (Morgan, 2008 and Altman, 2010).
A furry convention (or FurCon) is an event
similar to the conventions of science
fiction or anime, but centered on fans of anthropomorphic animals (Furry Fandom Infocenter, 2012). The most important is
Anthrocon, in Pittsburgh, which started in 1997 and reached 4200 assistants in 2010[i].
Theoretically, there
are various cognitive
determinants of the predisposition to anthropomorphism (Epley, Waytz and Cacioppo, 2007), all of them
with a strong collective and cultural component, not exclusive of the furry fandom.
This essay carries out a
brief but exhaustive theoretical revision of the furry identity and some of its
controversies, which, taken as gender practices, allow the analysis of its
construction: starting from queer
theory (Córdoba, 2003;
Enrique and López, 2004; Butler, 2007; Pérez, 2008 and Marcús, 2011) and cyborg
feminism (Haraway, 1995; Enrique and López, 2004).
According to the
gender performativity, there is a
sexual regulation of the gender and its limits shouldn’t be presupposed (Butler, 2007); any gender
definition is problematic, since it excludes other fields (Haraway, 1995). We understand that this essay must turn out paradoxical (Gonnet, 2011) for those who reduce any
analysis to the bipolarity male-female, obscuring the diversity (Vanwesenbeeck, 2009), but, neither
in psychology nor sexology, there is an agreement regarding the concepts gender
and sex (Barberá and Cala, 2008; Vanwesenbeeck, 2009). Perhaps the furryfandom is fruitful for its
understanding.
By the way, theorizing
about who the subject of the enunciation is involves political, situating the
rest of the discourse at the same level; specifically, the role of the science (Haraway,
1995; Córdoba, 2003; Enrique and López, 2004 andButler, 2007).
Theorical revisión
Besides the statistical sketches of the furry fandom,
in English (Osaki, 2008a; 2010a;
2010b; 2012; Rust, 2002; Rossmassler and Wen, 2007; Evans, 2008; Gerbasi, Bernstein, Conway,
Scaletta, Privitera, Paolone and Higner, 2008 and Supuhstar, 2009; Gerbasi, Plante,
Reysen and Roberts, 2011a; 2011b; 2011c) there are qualitative
investigation (Morgan, 2008 and Altman, 2010) and historical antecedents (Morgan,
2008 and Patten, 2010); quite coherent with each other, considering the limits
of every methodology (see the table Main
statistical and qualitative investigations about the furry fandom).
AUTHORS
|
PUBLICATION
|
PARTICIPANTS AND METHODOLOGY
|
Rust
|
2002
|
360
questionnaires: 325 in-person
interviews
(conventions and meetings between 1998 and 2000) and
35 online
questionnaires (with identity confirmation)
|
Rossmassler
y Wen
|
2007
|
600 online questionnaires
|
Gerbasi, B.,
C., S., P.,
P. y
H.
|
2008
|
Correlational
methodology in Psychopathology: 217
furries, 29 no-furries and 68 students
|
Evans
|
2008
|
276 online questionnaires
|
Morgan
|
2008
|
Qualitative
methodology in Anthropology: 27 fursuiters
and 27 no-fursuiters interviewed,
also more than 50
informers.
|
Supuhstar
|
2009
|
More than 600 online questionnaires
|
Altman
|
2010
|
Qualitative
methodology in Arts: 10 in-person
interviews, 2009
|
Osaki
|
2008a, 2008b
|
7024 online
questionnaires (definitive version), 2008
|
2010a
|
9024 online questionnaires, 2009
|
|
2010b
|
4895 online questionnaires, 2010
|
|
2012
|
4365 online questionnaires, 2011
|
|
Gerbasi, Plante
|
2011a
|
4823 cuestionarios
online: 4338 furries y 485 no-furries
|
Reysen
|
2011 b
|
242 cuestionarios:
presencial (convención Dallas) y online,
219 furries y 23 no-furries.
|
y Roberts
|
2011 c
|
2031: 877
presencial (convención Pittsburgh) y 1154 online;
1961 furries y 179
no-furries.
|
Table: Main statistical and qualitative
investigations about furry fandom
To this end, systematic research has was
carried out in the main databases: PsycINFO (including PsycARTICLES), ISOC,
Teseo, academic Google, Psicodoc and MEDLINES; during 2011 and less exhaustive
subsequently.
Broadly speaking and
according to these samples, the furries tend to be young persons (68,4-78,7% of 15-24 years), male (78,6-82,9%)
and white people (71,1-89,9%) from the United States. They are interested, in
this order, in graphic art, online communities, conventions, the usage of
fursuits and writing; also in science fiction and role games; with a quite
marked religious and political diversity (Osaki, 2008a; 2010a; 2010b; 2012; Gerbasi, Plante,
Reysen and Roberts, 2011a;2011c). We call fursuit a furry suit or
disguise, full-body (Furry Fandom Infocenter, 2012); therefore, it differs from
the cosplay.
The term avatar is common among fantasy and role
players, a representation of one’s self in the virtual environment; for
example, it is possible to assume anthropomorphic animal identities (Ursula, 2006). In this sense, the
furries use to have fursonas, defined with animal and human features: there are
abundant canines (44%), felines (22,2%) and reptiles (8,1%); specifically
wolves (17,9 %), foxes (12,9 %), domestic cats (8,6 %), dragons (6,5 %) and
tigers (4,2%) (Osaki, 2008b); in other samples the rate of these features seems
more varied; the 77,3% have only had a fursona, 12,3% two, 6,3% three. Curiously,
only the 61,9% use a fursona exclusively of their own
gender (on a scale of 1 to 5) (Gerbasi, Plante, Reysen and
Roberts, 2011a), the design of which is an important activity (or not) for many
furries (Altman, 2010), an idealized self-image (Morgan, 2008).
According to
investigation centred on culture, we could understand the furry subculture as
the effort of its members to create a more satisfactory culture (personal and
general), motivated by the social exclusion; reinventing the identity, values and/or
sexuality through the animal symbolism, fursuits and/or
anthropomorphic art (Morgan, 20008).
As furry, they don’t tend to manifest interest
in the sex; they do in half of the cases when referring to other furries, but the
rate is disproportionate when talking about what the people attributes them (Osaki,
2008a; 2010a; 2010b; 2012). In other samples with less participation, of 276
furries nobody expresses an entirely sexual interest for the Fandom (Evans,
20008), and half of 600 furries meet their internet friends in the real life (Rossmassler
and Wen, 2007).
In 2008, 32, 3 % declare themselves
heterosexual, 35, 1 % bisexual and 22 % homosexual; subsequently, from entirely
heterosexual 20,7-23,8% to entirely homosexual 10,3-13% (Osaki, 2008a; 2010a; 2010b; 2012). Besides,
they can be considered of different sexual orientation from
their own fursona: for some furries their fursona is more homosexual than them (Gerbasi, Plante, Reysen and Roberts, 2011a). As Morgan interprets
(2008: 45) in his American sample, the great diversity of sexual orientation of
the furry fandom isn’t initially related to ideological changes of gender.
While considering
oneself furry generally involves accepting the membership in the fandom, they
can be more/less furry or no-furry; as well as there are also other identities
in game (Gerbasi, Plante, Reysen and
Roberts, 2011a; 2011c). Perhaps there are important statistical
differences between online participants and face-to-face conventions
participants (Gerbasi, Plante, Reysen and
Roberts, 2011b), for example in an online sample, the 40-45 % don’t make public
their identity in the family, at work or school (Gerbasi, Plante, Reysen and Roberts, 2011a).
Gender controversy
There are other aspects relating to the
furry fandom more controversial, on the part of the own fandom, media agents,
theorists and/or our culture in general. After a short but exhaustive summary
of some of these, subsequently they will be related to the gender practices.
The jargon yiff is an
onomatopoeia, from the etymological point of view related to the furry fandom,
which imitates the sound of the fox during the sexual relations (Osaki, 2008a and
Morgan, 2008); generally, it indicates sexual activity or material in the
fandom, online or not (Morgan, 2008 y Psychology dictionary, 2010).
Specifically, a questioner asks for “the personal involvement in the yiff”,
from the item and conclusions of which (Supuhstar, 2009) we can introduce that
the yiff can be seen and read for artistic and/or erotic reasons; to a lesser
extent, on online chats, for participation and observation; some persons draw
it for artistic and/or erotic reasons; finally, it can be disliked by many furries
(the majority, excepting when they see it in drawings) or there can be no
involvement.
Only the 78% agree or quite
agree with “I am human” and the 4,7-6,1% don’t consider themselves entirely human (Osaki, 2008a; 2010a). They declare
themselves neither male nor female the 0,5-1,5% (Evans, 2008; Osaki, 2008a; 2010a; 2010b; 2012; Gerbasi, Plante,
Reysen and Roberts, 2011c). It’
a controversy because an investigation with a psychiatric approach discovered a
sample of furries which didn’t consider themselves 100% human and preferred to
become 0 % human. The investigators consider this belief and preference in parallelism
with the sexual identity disorder (or transsexualism). They conclude that, for
the most extended group, being furry is simply a way of socializing with common
interests (Gerbasi, Bernstein, Conway, Scaletta, Privitera, Paolone and Higner,
2008). In a recent survey, the 19, 2 % were furries and the 8, 6 % were
no-furries, and they revealed
certain statistical differences in opposition to the other survey respondents.
By the way, both questions are more frequent in persons which identify
themselves with the therian (therianthrope)[ii], although
it might be mediated by the belief mentally
not human (Gerbasi, Plante, Reysen and Roberts, 2011a; 2011c). See as
example this case, Therianthropy, 2007. Some authors inclusively talk about species
dysphoria (Lawrence, 2009;
Earls and Lalum, 2009), by analogy with the gender dysphoria at transsexuals (APA,
2005; Bergero, Asiain, Gorneman,
Giraldo, Lara, Esteva and Gómez, 2008; Lawrence, 2009).
The anomaly
only expresses other possible rules of life (Rodríguez, 2012). By antagonism with the psychiatrist position, the social deterioration of the trans
population (transvestites, transsexuals or transgenders) it can be produced by
the own society, which doesn’t accept them and make difficult their
socialization (Farfán,
2007; Bergero, Asiain and
Cano-Caballero, 2010 y Drescher, 2010); inclusively from a medical
approach, in the transsexuals there can’t be found a mental, organic or
psychopathological alteration, greater than in the general population (Gómez, Peri, Andrés and de Pablo, 2001; Gómez, Esteva and Bergero, 2006; Gómez, Trilla, Salamero, Godás and
Valdés, 2009; Drescher, 2010). It is
incongruent, since
in 1973 APA, the American Psychiatric Association, erased the homosexuality from
the DSM, explaining that presenting significant uneasiness or social
deterioration was not inherent in homosexuality, therefore it could not be
considered a mental disorder and, by the way, until 1983 it was not accepted as
other variation of the normal human sexuality (Farfán, 2007 and Drescher, 2010). This
questions the validity of the psychopathology inherent in transsexuals and,
consequently, of the species dysphoria.
On the other hand, the plushophilia refers to an erotic interest for the plush toys
(Osaki, 2008a and Lawrence, 2009), it is descriptive for the 6, 9 – 9 % of them
(Osaki, 2008a; 2010a; 2010b; 2012), less than 1 % in a sample of assistants at
conventions (Rust, 2002). Lawrence (2009) comments about the use of fursuits in
some persons with plushophilia the species dysphoria, but without a direct
reference to furries, but to each supposed disorder. The use of fursuit, its
paper in conventions and wearing tail or
ears is described by Morgan (2008). Therefore, we can conclude that wearing
a fursuit doesn’t involve having plushophilia, species dysphoria or sexual
motivation (Lawrence, 2009 and Morgan, 2008).
They consider themselves zoophiles the 13, 2 -18, 4 % (Osaki, 2008a; 2010a; 2010b; 2012), the 2 % in
the sample of assistants at conventions (Rust, 2002). It must be clarified
that, according to the investigation, the zoophiles
prefer to differentiate themselves from those who use animals as sexual objects
without emotional attachment (bestiality). There are usually preferred dogs or
horses, and they don’t use to show the
psychopathological criterion of DSM-IV-TR clinically
significant discomfort or social, labor or from other important
activity areas deterioration. Seems that, unlike bestiality, it isn’t
subject to rural areas or to the cultural level, and it is too complex to
calculate it in the general population (APA, 2005; Earls and Lalum, 2009 and
Kafka, 2010).
Given that the human sexuality has a strong
symbolic component (Macionis and Plummer, 2007), apart from a possible
criticism through the sociohistorical evolution of the psychiatrist disorders,
in general (González and Pérez, 2007), or of the gender and sexual orientation,
in particular (Drescher, 2010); it is distinguished a symbolic social
regulation of the body, through
social practices or gender regulations (Haraway,
1995; Cabia and Gordo, 2002; Córdoba, 2003; Butler, 2007; Pérez, 2008; Bergero, Asiain and Cano-Caballero, 2010):
very specifically in the psychiatric practice, as medicolegal authority (Butler,
2007: 75 and Drescher, 2010), since the biomedicine is a “social institution
and a historically determined ideological-cultural and organizational
apparatus”. In the “biomedical ideology”, corporal
reality is equalized with the gender normative
definitions; coherently “in our culture there is a strong insistence on the
embodiment of the gender stereotypes (Bergero, Asiain, Gorneman,
Giraldo, Lara, Esteva and Gómez, 2008: 213-214).
Concurrently (for any person, furry or not), the
internet permits re-constructing modes of interaction, identities and the
emergency of virtual communities, including the non-normative sexualities (Cabia and Gordo, 2002; Pichardo, Toledo and Galofré, 2007); it also
permits experiencing the seduction of
the intellect and new meanings and
desires in the immateriality of the information, like the cybersex (Cabia and
Gordo, 2002), exploring identitary erotic paths, as well as experimenting with
the own gender, with different representations or changing it, releasing the
participant of the copresence through discursive practices, where the identity is
constructed (Ursua, 2006), a very frequent activity among young people (Cáceres,
Ruiz and Brändle, 2009). In this way, the pornography and sexual practices from
the internet will probably end up eliminating the paraphilias of DSM, referred
to agreed sex between adults (Silverstein, 2009 and Drescher, 2010: 453).
The cyberspace
is a social space; the virtual interactions are not fiction, imitation or
falsification (Gómez,
2003), but a technical appropriation of the quotidian, taking place a kind of symbolic territory in exchange of
information, images and values; as well as virtual communities. Let it be
understood that the knowledge, the memory or the imagination are by themselves
virtual representations or social constructs, which produce effects (Martínez,
2004).
On the other
side, wearing a fursuit just for fun (with or without a sexual motivation), in
one way involves the use of a body,
an embodiment or materialization of the fursona, generating alternatives of
social integration.
The identities, to build themselves, require
intersubjective contexts, as an expression of the culture (Marcús, 2011). “In the language games manifest forms of life” (Martín,
2008, p. 150). From a poststructuralist approach to the social movements (Fernández, 2008), neither we study the furry
identity in itself, nor being furry is the cause of the fandom; actually, from
the multiplicity of social actors (the fandom), new meanings reconstruct
themselves in the own social interaction, creatively breaking with the already
known. It is not possible to conceive a subculture as a subject of enunciation,
perhaps a synthetic sum of subjects represented with an objective entity.
Normalization,
performativity and representativity of gender
Until the
moment, the furry identity counts with a defining history and a great diversity
of interests, preferences and beliefs; it reaffirms itself through personal
practices as the use of fursonas, fursuiting and/or conventions; nevertheless,
where is its objectivity?
The queer theory
allows an analysis of the normalization and performativity of the identity, as
also the problem of the representativy, involved, in turn, in the gender
discourse (Córdoba, 2003; Enrique y López, 2004; Butler, 2007, Fernández, 2008; Pérez, 2008 and Marcús, 2011).
According to
Butler, “the legal structures of language and politics create the actual field
of power”, and it is necessary a genealogical criticism of its own legitimating
actions. The representativity/representation has, on one hand, a normative
function regarding the language, which provides the identity with objectivity,
as normative ideal; and, on the other hand, a legal function (operative in the
political structure, under the form of rule/law), which makes visible and
legitimates as political subject. Nevertheless, the political subjects always
build exclusive practices, non visible from the legal structure. Resuming, it’s
a political subject that legitimates and excludes, produced at the service of
this structure of power, perhaps as it has always been (Butler, 2007: 46-52).
The furry identity is maintained with low linguistic normalization and legal
legitimacy; inclusively in sexuality, where pornography, sexual practices and
desire orientation develop explicitly apart from the identitary construction.
Related to the theoretical origin of any performative (Córdoba, 2003; Butler, 2007; Pérez, 2008 and Marcús, 2011), a contingent and ritualized historical repetition
(the sedimentation) generates a belief that integrates into the social
practices, under the form of discourse and inducing what it anticipates. It is
also theorized that the exposition to this ritual repetition progressively
makes intelligible the common subjectivity which incorporates. That is, being
furry is a belief implicit in a set of discursive social practices, for
example, incorporated in the practice
of identifying oneself in furry spaces or in the practice of creating and using
fursonas and/or fursuits: intelligibility that is acquired with the practice.
Resuming, the
notion of body (a performative), the
practices/rules of gender determinate what is intelligibly human, real and
legitimate, and what is not; the limits
of what has to be separated and what has to be united. If we take distance from
the practices, we lose intelligibility (Butler, 2007).
Every identity
involves a double process of negation: firstly, the exclusion of the other
opposite this identity; secondly, hiding the traces of this process of
exclusion. In both cases, it’s about the fiction of an origin or essence which
has always existed. Córdoba
suggests that the second is not a necessary condition
for the first one, given that, when the production of an identity is made
clear, the exclusion maintains (Córdoba 2003). Congruent with this hypothesis, the furries are
conscious of their recent historic construction; however,
they talk about “we”. Moreover, through the interpellation, as the experience
is re-interpreted, the founder act is also hidden.
Probably the
furry discourse re-constructs the hegemonic discourse towards other normative
process, less rigid and more liberating, fact that involves losing the
intelligibility/recognition from that hegemonic discourse. Nevertheless,
simultaneously each legal structure produces representativity at service of its interests or ideological core,
such as: different furry subgroups, the media or scientific disciplines.
Therefore, the
controversies previously mentioned (related to the gender practices); could
they denote and re-produce a gender
hierarchy within the furry fandom?
On the other
side, perhaps if being furry denotes the desire of affiliation with its fandom
or a form of signifying the own experience, it also necessarily involves a
static vision and, consequently, a motivation in favour of the statu quo. New furries appear as they
join the fandom, while, at the same time, anterior furries could prefer
re-producing their know fandom. Moreover, different furries (new and anterior)
can have different points of view about their meaning, so they could
discursively compete for the
linguistic normalization. With these two possibilities it could be structured a
hierarchy in safeguard of the represented entity (being furry and its fandom),
a normalization at service of its statu
quo.
We have two
examples. Firstly, the lack of auto-acceptance or the slight feeling of guilt
persists deep down in some furries; “through the negation of sexual aspects of
the Fandom, in essence they are blaming it” (Morgan, 2008: 88). Secondly, in 1998-2001
already occurred that a group of furries, Burned Furs, took an opposing stance
on perversion (related to the
controversy previously mentioned); took up for the second time in 2005, without
success (BurnedFurs, 1998; wikifur, 2012).
It is
contradictory to prioritize the definition of the political subject in order to develop its political interests, and
afterwards the action: this essentialist position would oblige its own
subjects, which pretends to represent and liberate (Enrique
y López, 2004); fact that has already happened in the feminism with women (Haraway, 1995; Butler, 2007). A
group is not the sum of its parts; at the same time, especially within the
furry fandom, any substantiation of the political action, based on the
supposition of the political subject represented, will be sterile.
List of the possible subversions of the gender
normative
As gender
identity, it would involve the dissemination of possible genders starting from
the subversive parody and reconstruction of the gender normative; which occurs
at each level of the cultural matrix (sexed body, gender and orientation of the
desire). It allows the subjection within the community or the subculture, where
they can recognize themselves with a common intelligibility.
Being furry is a
unity of gender as far as it re-constructs the gender practice or normative,
susceptible of subversion. In short, its relations are:
- The parodical repetition (repeating the gender practice pointing out its constructed character, which can result or not subversive):
-
Artistic products, principally
drawings of animals and anthropomorphic creatures, provided with qualities
and/or human personality. It parodies the rationality of the human being,
estranged from the animal, as also the corporeal
limits that define the human subject.
-
The cultural symbolism
associated to animals and gender, such as female-cat or man-wolf. For example,
it can be parodied the feline as feminine attribute, which distances the
feminine from the woman.
-
Hyperrealization of the gender,
amplifying the stereotypes from the real
life (Ursua, 2006);
-
Fursonas/avatars with sexual
and/or gender orientation different from their own (Gerbasi, Plante, Reysen and Roberts, 2011a).
- Reconstruction of the norm (constructing starting from the hegemonic discourse, in a different sense from the previous):
-
Every artistic gender has a
creative and reconstructive sense. Specifically, frequent representations
and/or diverse transgressions of gender appear.
-
New meanings in and for the social interaction; for example, creation and usage of
jargon, fursona and fursuit.
-
Drawing known/popular animated
characters in new senses (for example, the videogame character Sonic has sexual
relations); by the way, this subversive strategy probably isn’t exclusively of
the Furry Fandom, but it is attributed to it through the operative definition
of the artistic gender furry).
-
Transgression of the corporeal
(auto)image (inclusively beyond the
dichotomy in two genders).
-
Role games in the cyberspace
through a constructed body (fursona
and cyborg identity).
·
Deconstruction (to distance
from an essential identity, distinguishing the constructed character of the gender
and the discourse that makes it up):
-
It
is recognized and defended a historical genealogy that configures this
identity;
-
Limited
linguistic normalization of the furry subject, probably related to its poor
political function;
-
Rejection
of some furries to consider themselves exclusively
human;
-
Acceptance
(in the sense of Rogers or, at least, more tolerance) towards non normative
sexualities, such as fetishes;
-
A
surprising diversity of sexual orientation (Morgan, 2008);
-
Pornography,
sexual practices and orientations of the desire without reference to any
essential identity. Therefore, we are talking about affective-sexual diversity
without subject (linguistic or political);
-
Humor
and irony (Rodríguez, 2012).
Cyborg
feminism
The white
feminists considered the black feminism as a problem and contradiction, not a
solution in itself. Nowadays we believe that the feminism must subvert the
ideology about the human nature,
which involves a form of social control through the domination, generating
inequality or hierarchy (of race, ethnic group, colonialism, region, age,
generation, sex, sexuality, gender, education, social class, labour and of
access to reading and formation). The natural
sciences have passed from studying organisms in functional terms (the organic
person and its adaptability) to study them as cybernetic systems. The analysis
of the gender can be understood as a cultural construction of the human nature, which is the starting
point of the re-production of the domination or hierarchical differences. The nature of the organic person can be seen
as a comparative biological science
(perhaps statistically designed in order to face the variability), which passed
from administration to the repression of social problems. Nature is seen as the domination based on normalization and
medicalization, legitimating the statu quo psycho-biologically.
Nevertheless, the cybernetic makes way to a new type of domination, through the
creation of networks, designing new communications and managing the stress; a
social engineering based on domination and optimization, at service of the
market and the capitalist structure; it is to be understood that this
cybernetic vision subverts the argument about what natural is and transcends it
irrevocably. For example, within the investigation about sexuality, it moved
from “studying the human variability in order to use it in a policy of social
management”; according to the organic capacity, variation and health; to a
further study centred on the demographic or population genetics and ecology, in
connection with the communications and information technology: we must perceive
gender as a verb (not as a noun), make and unmake bodies in an answerable world
(Haraway, 1995: 81).
The cyborg is a metaphor or allegory of how
we have turned into cybernetic creatures; a high technology product in which
hardly can be distinguished human from animal organism or machine; an object
theorized and fabricated within the textuality of the information fluxes. At
the same time this cybernetic ontology of the cyborg is the feminist hope of political action, towards this
emerging form of social control; without nature or original unity, without an oedipal
or related to the bisexuality narrative; where the reconstruction of this
science, ideologized towards a feminist
or equalitarian science, becomes indispensable (Haraway, 1995).
It is recalled
that the concept gender and the
technologies of the gender identity
are a political reformulation, whose initial establishment in 1958 intended the
study of intersexuals and transsexuals in medicine. The notion was fruitfully
adopted by the feminism; initially Gayle Rubin defined the system sex/gender in
1975 as the system of social relations which transform the biological sexuality
in products of the human activity. Nevertheless, the term has been gradually
losing its original meaning, as it is usually identified with both sexes. In
fact, Butler insists on the fiction of heterosexual coherence and the
antagonism between men and women as a discourse intrinsic of the gender identity. It’s a regulatory
fiction unnecessary and inhibitory for a responsible feminist activity (Haraway, 1995; Butler 2007;
Vanwesenbeeck, 2009).
Therefore, the
furry identity destabilises or subverts
the gender identity (understood as an
ideological justification of the human
nature), which presently is being displaced by a cybernetic conception
towards the reproduction of the domination. When the organic person (with its
normalization and medicalization) is losing importance within the reproduction
of the domination, the agency of the furry identity is ably acquired in terms
of its cybernetic constituion: constructed within the ambiguity of the human,
animal organism and machine.
It seems at least
ironical that the species disphoria
arises as a hypothetical psychiatrist entity in parallel with the gender disphoria, as if the human
nature would only recognize being man or woman, in supposed coherency with
the biologic sex. Moreover, given that “the non normative sexual practices
question the gender stability as analysis category” (Butler, 2007, p. 12), they are also ironic the
diverse orientations of the desire, whose presence subverts the stability not
of two genders, but of the questioned human
nature. It seems that the controversies of the furry identity coincide with
the cybernetic transgression of the human
nature.
How could we
improve the scientific practice? We must accept that any description is produced and in the action of naming we
find the ability to objectivise and
totalize. A bad science observes but
dominates with it, granting itself the establishment of meanings and body, not
in order to transcend them, but for a communication which gives it power. We must understand the objectivity
as a situated knowledge, incarnate and responsible; reflexive and rich in points
of view; especially from the position of those subjugated subjects, not for
their identity but as a visual key capable of accessing more adequate versions,
sustained and, consequently, objective. This way, we would produce a rational
knowledge, understood as a process of critical interpretation between
interpreters and encoders, not through a logic of discovery, but of preservation
charged with power, which recognizes the object of knowledge as actor or agent.
Since the science is a questionable text and a field of power, its debate
involves a combat for the language with value of public knowledge: the rational
access to an impartial science is an illusion. Therefore, the crisis of the
political identity can be solved without a logic of appropriation or
incorporation, but replacing it through a coalition. In fact, the theoretical
or practical fights for unity through the incorporation or domination end up
justifying the bad political and scientific practices already mentioned (Haraway,
1995).
Consequently, especially
in reference to the cyborg gender,
the political action can’t be based on the assumption of the human universal subject (Enrique and López, 2004: 3). The furry identity will be able to
organize itself politically only in coalition, given its cybernetic character.
Conclusion
The
transgression of the human nature
from the cyborg metaphor allows
analyzing gender practices in the furry fandom and furry identity, whose agency
is ably acquired towards the new cybernetic domination.
Being man or
woman are cultural meanings embodied in life forms. Understanding the
construction of an identity refers to its re-production, as normalization or
practices in which it is incarnate its meaning.
Speaking about
diversity in sexual orientation involves two gender identities as unique expressions of the human nature. However,
reasserting in masculinity or femininity could turn out even more parodic in a
cybernetic context, without a biologic body to incarnate them.
In sum, the biopolicy
based on the gender identity, as human nature, functions
producing limits to the corporeal
(auto)image; reduced to its coherency with two possible interpretations of
the sexed biologic body. A fursona or avatar isn’t a virtual body alien to the
real world, but our cultural interpretation of the biologic body is also guided
by two genders, another intersubjective or virtual fantasy.
What do the
revised statistics and the parameters of its controversies signify? The statistical representativity
is a normalizing legal structure, a mathematical model which doesn’t explain
anything by itself, but it provides parameters which must be explained.
However, the legal structure of a research (including a survey) can recognize
the participants as a multiplicity of contextualized social actors: the
statistical parameters can provide a coalition of affinities; for example,
through the recognition of the variance or diversity.
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[i] http://www.anthrocon.org/. For more
information about different conventions, you can consult wikifur (2012): chronologically
ordered (http://en.wikifur.com/wiki/Convention)
localized on a (http://greenreaper.co.uk/wikifur/ConventionMap.html) and
previewed (http://en.wikifur.com/wiki/Template:Upcoming_events).
[ii] Etymologically,
it has Greek root in
therion (savage animal or beast) and anthrōpos (man). Therefore, in English we talk about therianthropic (Diccionario Oxford,
2012 and Wikifur, 2012), therianthropy
and therianthrope; usually shortened
in therian to refer to a certain
spiritual subculture. In Spanish, although the form should be teriantropía and terian identity, we have decided to adopt therian and its use is more common.
THE
FURRY IDENTITY IN SPAIN AND ITS GENDER PRACTICES. A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS
Francisco Javier
Gallardo Linares
Psychologist
Mastered
in Social
and Communitarian Investigation and Intervention
PhD
candidate in Psychology, Psychology Faculty from Malaga
(Email)
Abstract
The Furry Fandom is a
subculture surrounding the interest for animals or anthropomorphic creatures,
but its Spanish-speaking population has hardly been investigated, despite the
instigation of the Spanish media, which reproduce stereotypes of the American
media. The article addresses how the furry identity is constructed in Spain and
its relations with gender practices (sexually regulated); as also the use of
the jargon. The method consists of participating observation in forums and case study interviews; which enabled the
analysis of diverse content, interpretative
repertoires and a critical discourse
analysis. As conclusion, the furry fandom frames feminist issues on the
basis of the cyborg metaphor, such as
what role the science should have, ideology about the human nature and the necessity of identity coalition.
Key
words
Furry, identity, gender, queer, cyborg.
The Furry Fandom is a subculture developed
around the interest for animals or anthropomorphic creatures, but its
Spanish-speaking population has been hardly investigated, despite the instigation
of the Spanish media reproducing stereotypes of the American media. The article
tackles how the furry identity is constructed in Spain and its relationships
with the gender practice (sexually regulated); as well as the use of jargon.
The method consists of participating observation in forums and interviews for case analysis; this
permitted the analysis of diverse contents, interpretative
repertoires and a critical discourse
analysis. In conclusion, the furry fandom frames feminist matters starting
from the cyborg metaphor, such as the
role that the science should have, ideology about the human nature and the necessity of the coalition of identities.
Key words
Furry,
identity, gender, queer, cyborg.
The
furry fandom is a subculture initiated by artists, writers and role players
which in 1992 started generating their own slang, art and literature (Osaki, 2008a; Patten,
2010). The only consensus about the furry
identity revolves around an interest in animals or anthropomorphic creatures
(partly human, partly animal), in one or various arts or in any other way (Staeger, 2001; Rust, 2002; Gerbasi, Bernstein, Conway,
Scaletta, Privitera, Paolone & Higner, 2008; Evans, 2008), with very
heterogeneous members (Morgan, 2008 & Altman, 2010).
We
can outline the profile of those identifying as furry: they are usually young, male and white people
from the U.S. They are interested, by order, in graphic art, online
communities, conventions, the use of fursuits
and writing; also in science fiction and role games; with quite religious and
political diversity. They tend to use one or various avatars (Osaki, 2008a; 2010a; 2010b; 2012; Gerbasi, Plante, Reysen y Roberts, 2011a;
2011c), defined with animal and human features, and named fursona; it is frequent the case of
canines, felines and reptiles (Osaki, 2008b); it’s an idealized self-image
(Morgan, 2008). A fursuit is a furry costume or disguise, of full body
(FurryFandomInfocenter, 2012). Its
utilisation in furry conventions is described by Morgan (2008).
As furries, they don’t use to consider the sex
important, but they do, in half of the cases, when referring to other furries;
but the numbers are disproportionate with what people attribute them. There are
plenty sexual orientations (Osaki,
2008a; 2010a; 2010b; 2012) and even the fursona/avatar can be considered, in
varying degrees, with a different sexual orientation or gender from its own (Gerbasi, Plante, Reysen & Roberts, 2011a). The yiff jargon
refers to furry pornography or sexual activity within the fandom (Osaki, 2008a
y Morgan, 2008). Other controversial
statistical data refer to a poor percentage of identification with the
plushophilia (erotic interest for plushies) or zoophilia (Osaki, 2008a; 2010a;
2010b; 2012). Although online and in-person samples reflect important
statistical differences (Gerbasi, Plante, Reysen y Roberts, 2011b), perhaps it’s about
less than 1% with plushophilia and less than 2% zoophilia at conventions
assistants (Rust, 2002). It is also controversial that some furries don’t consider themselves 100% human and
they prefer becoming 0% human, issue which has been investigated in
parallel with the transsexuality (Gerbasi,
Bernstein, Conway, Scaletta, Privitera, Paolone & Higner, 2008). For example, the 19, 2 % of a survey, perhaps mediated
by the belief mentally non-human (Gerbasi, Plante, Reysen & Roberts,
2011a; 2011c). Some others talk about species dysphoria in analogy to the gender dysphoria at transsexuals (Lawrence, 2009; Earls &
Lalum, 2009). We can also name it therianthropy (to be consulted the following
case: Therianthropy, 2007). In sum, wearing a fursuit doesn’t involve having
plushophilia, therianthropy or sexual motivation (Lawrence, 2009 y Morgan,
2008); but a materialization of the fursona, generating alternatives of social
interaction. We want to clarify that the statistics doesn’t necessarily involve
a defining normative criteria; it can also be useful in the recognition of the
variance or diversity, as also the multiplicity of social actors which compose
the furry fandom (Gallardo, 2013).
The
internet is a virtual space of social interaction (Gómez, 2003) and
intersubjectivity, requirements when building identities (Marcús, 2011).
Nonetheless, from another point of view, the knowledge, memory and imagination
are already social and virtual representations, with effects (Martínez, 2004).
On the internet there are re-constructed ways of interaction, identities and
virtual communities (Cabia & Gordo,
2002; Pichardo, Toledo & Galofré, 2007); as also the seduction of the intellect, the cybersex
(Cabia & Gordo, 2002) and the
exploration of identitary erotic patterns;
experimenting with their own gender (Ursua, 2006). It is a frequent
activity among young people. (Cáceres, Ruiz & Brändle, 2009).
In
the United States, it
was soon mediatised an extravagant image of the group (Osaki,
2008a; Morgan, 2008 & Altman, 2010), for example, in the magazine Vanity Fair (Gurley, 2001) or in the
television series “CSI: Las Vegas”
(2003). Everything
mentioned gathers the proper ingredients for sensationalism and media
morbidity, which in Spain reproduces the American example: “CSI: Las Vegas” in 2005;
articles from the state press, such as one published in 20 Minutos (Mañana, 2005)
and two in El País (Wiener, 2008a;
2008b); as also television, “La Sexta:
Noticias” (2009).
We
adduce that this
phenomenon can be framed within the gender
practice: normalization and representativity in the multiplicity of social
actors, performativity (Enrique & López, 2004; Butler, 2007, Fernández, 2008; Pérez, 2008 & Marcús, 2011), biopolitics through the gender identity (Butler 2007) and the construction of a human nature in current transgression because of the domination through the
cybernetics (the cyborg metaphor) (Haraway, 1995). Considering
that being man or being woman is a display of appearances and
representations, two naturalized sexual statuses (Garfinkel,
2006); nowadays there are recognized only two auto-images (feeling man or
woman), in coherency, from the ideological point of view, with the biological
body, identity and sexual orientation (Gallardo, 2013). Furthermore, especially
related to the cyborg, it raises the impossibility of political action
based on the universal human subject supposition, but the necessity of
organization by coalition of identities (Enrique & López, 2004).
It is necessary to
investigate the development of the furry fandom in Europe (Morgan, 2008) and in
other languages. We can recognize a tremendous diversity within the furry
fandom and its artistic production, but our interest focuses on clarifying the
role of the gender practice and the sexed factor in its regulation. The
objectives are:
1) Understanding how the furry identity is constructed in Spain, having
into account the rest of the Spanish-speaking population.
2) Understanding its jargon which, as linguistic alternative to the
hegemonic discourse, could articulate alternative gender constructions.
Finally, the necessity of a critical discourse analysis arose, in order
to comprehend and oppose to the power relations in the production of the
discourse (that is, in the use of the language) (Wetherell
& Potter, 1998; Van Dijk, 2002; 2003; Morano & Sanchez, 2004; Pulido,
Montalbán, Palomo & Luque, 2008 & Espinosa, 2010).
Methodological
framework
The
qualitative
paradigm in social sciences doesn’t search for generalization, but it is
idiographic and studies in depth concrete situations. Comprehending means associating the current data, configuration and
evolution of a situation. It is a systematic and rigorous process of directed
investigation, which takes decisions only from the research field; it is
especially adequate for the description and study of the organizational unities
and communities (Pérez, 2008b).
The
discourse is
the use of the language by the users in specific situations: 1) it refers to
social structures (since they are a condition for its utilisation), 2) “it
constructs, constitutes, changes, defines and contributes to the social
structure” and, 3) finally, the discourse
structures talk about, denote or represent parts of the society. Therefore,
the social interaction not only expresses, but also constructs and confirms,
reproducing social cognitions as knowledge, ideologies, norms and values that, among
group members, regulate and control the interaction (Van
Dijk, 2002: 29). The discourse constructs our reality, given that 1) it is
fabricated on preexistent linguistic resources, 2) there are used some
linguistic resources instead of others also available and, furthermore, 3) it
is oriented towards the action with practical consequences. Thus, at the group-social
level, we can search for regularities, certain inconsistencies internally
coherent, named interpretative
repertoires. It is proposed the following method: 1) to codify and filter
the data of a group according to a theme of interest, 2) to search patterns or
organizations recurrent in the argumentation (so that the inconsistencies stand
out) and 3) we name each pattern interpretative
repertoire and each participant combines it in a different manner. This
method is unviable for the questionnaire methodology (where the percentages
have a complex interpretation); it is laborious and doesn’t pretend to find
empirical laws or universal psychological processes. Rather, it unfolds in the natural context and
analyses the language as a constituent part of the situation (Wetherell &
Potter, 1998). In the critical discourse
analysis we focus on the abuse of power domination through the discourse,
taking a pro/con position towards the multidisciplinary development (Van Dijk,
2002; 2003).
The
auto-narrations
are defined as social forms of self expression or as a public discourse, in a
historical situation (Duero, 2006; Estrada, Acua, Camino &
Traverso-Yepes, 2007). Engaging in the conducts of a community, these turn out
intelligible (Mandujano, 2007). For example, in virtual spaces such as forums:
the contents (re)construct the identities of the participants (Pulido,
Montalbán, Palomo & Luque, 2008); where the subjects internalize a
repertory of norms, values and perceptions of the reality (Espinosa, 2010) and
achieve the self-conscience through the others (Martínez, 2004); a real
identity workshop (Ursua, 2006).
The
common comprehension, beliefs about the life in
society from within this society, can’t be totally formulated through
prescriptions, given that we would always find exceptions, according to the
context. An option for its study is the documentary
method of interpretation, which consists in the reciprocal elaboration
between the appearance and a supposed basic pattern. This method is especially
frequent in linguistic studies or related to motivated actions, so that the field researcher must interpret
retrospectively the appearances: only during the manipulation of a situation
(and because of it), the future state of the issue clarifies; especially when
the lack of knowledge about the issue impedes valuing the possible courses of
action. For example, documenting the underlying pattern of a motivated character requires using what has been
observed until the moment. Let it be
understood that the investigation doesn’t pretend to explain to the
participants their own stories about what they do, given that they could
consider it lacking of interest, making
reflexive their own observable practical activities (Garfinkel, 2006).
Furthermore, the observation of paradoxes allows diverse methodological
strategies: given that we observe through distinctions, a paradox evinces
latent structures, not visible from the distinction, supposed in the
observation. To make it explainable, we can incorporate more structures or
social processes into the distinction, or make it reflexive (Gonnet, 2011).
METHOD
Participants
It has been used data
from five different forums, four of them with participating observation: two
Spaniards, one Mexican and another Spanish-speaking (one of the Spanish persons
was particularly active in the participation). There were selected some
comments and 58 furries were asked for their permission: 32 became
participants, 22 didn’t answer, 3 refused and one was minor.
In parallel, there
were 11 participants valid for the interviews on Messenger: 8 Spaniards and 3
Mexicans; 10 men and 1 woman; 7 members of the forum with greater participation
and 4 of other three different forums. In turn, 7 have been participants at
comments in forums and the majority are students. Some of them have contacted
the investigator, who was asking for collaboration in the forums; others have
been required for their predisposition expressed in the forums or for another
relevant quality.
Finally,
there was
scarce participation at the revision of the conclusions: 8 participants, only
two of them without previous participation.
In
total, there were 38
participants for the raw data: 32 in forums, 11 in interviews and 8 in the
third review phase. Of the 6 ones without participation in forum, 4 cases were
related to the interviews and 2 to the review. Add the collaborators and
informants for documentation, orientation and/or suggestions, related to the
procedure.
Materials
It has been used the
connexion to internet for the access to Google, webs, email, Messenger, press
and audiovisual media, for diverse analysis through word-processing program. Al
the raw data is systemically registered through software applications.
Procedure
During the
investigation, there have been carried out searches in the main data basis: PsycINFO
(including PsycARTICLES), ISOC, Teseo, academic Google, Psicodoc and MEDLINES.
It
has been used
the classic general model of decision
making (e.g. Gil y Alcover, 2004) to define three investigation
phases, whose objectives and concrete methods are defined from the general
ones, expresses previously.
Firstly,
the
access to documents with high ecological
validity was a priority (the real use in the subculture). Google enabled searches that provided links,
forums and collaborators. For that, it has been created a thread in 4 forums,
identified as investigator and requesting any valid/reliable source about the
furry identity and sexuality, such as articles or documents of consensus in the
community. Moreover, the first interactions were aiming for orientation within
the subculture. As a result, it was possible the access to webs, bibliographies
and participants; it was a fructiferous first contact with the group. It should
be made clear that this first phase involves the beginning of the participating observation, congruent
with the documentary method of
interpretation.
In
the second phase, given
the poor documentation of the necessary rigour, the conclusion was that it was
necessary to refer to the direct experience
of the furries, as also to understand the jargon and usual dynamics. In that moment, the priority was to gain
access to the experience of concrete persons in valid manner, and use it in
order to accomplish the objectives. It has been initiated a field of study,
through participating observation in forums and semi-structured interviews on
Messenger (Pérez, 2007; 2008b). Given that there have been
detected internal conflicts and towards the investigator, it has been provided
the option to refuse the participation (Official College of
Psychologists, 1987) through an assertive communication (Castanyer,
1996). The interviews were organized as case study method (Pérez, 2007; 2008b),
emphasizing a reflexive interaction according the Rogerian theory (Rogers, 1986;
Miller y Rollnick, 2003). In order to understand the sexuality of each
participant, there were used four components: physical attraction, emotional
connection, sexual fantasies and sexual behavior; regarding men and women in
distinctive manner, given that it could result more reliable than the sexual
orientation dimension (Fernández, Quiroga & Rodrígez, 2006). The axes of
the interviews were: introduce themselves; the community and their entrance in
it; being furry and their relation with the personal experience and the
fursona; sexuality, their own and referring to furries; appreciation and
keeping in touch for future issues/explanations. The forum of origin of the
participant was always taken into account.
It
has been
included as research method the content
analysis (Fernández, 2007) and contrasting information: forums,
interviews, emails, private messages, webs and documents such as press articles
and audiovideo material. It was also inquired about jargon, hypothesis and
impression.
The
questionnaire method
was not reliable; therefore, progressively it has been assumed the qualitative
paradigm, regarding the nature of the data. Thus, the raw data was codified and
sifted in order to find regularities; inconsistencies internally coherent (or
interpretative repertoires, Wetherell
y Potter, 1998). Afterwards, the critical
discourse analysis became necessary (Van Dijk, 2002;
2003).
In the third and final
phase, concluded the analysis and interpretation of the data, it has been set
as objective integrating the evaluation
of the participants about the conclusions, in order to increase their validity.
For that, some furries have been asked for orientation, there have been
established different ways of communications for the revisions, it has been published
a link that resumed the conclusions and it was promoted among forums and
participants. There have participated 8 furries: their evaluations were very
positive, as they appreciated the neutrality of the document and the pertinent
distinction between furry and yiff. The field study lasted five and a half
months, finishing by the middle of March of 2011.
RESULTS
We do not claim the statistical representativity of
the furry fandom, as we don’t suggest that being furry involves intrinsically
more sexuality than any other identity. It refers to the social elaboration of
the meaning, intersubjectivity, discourse and the identification constructed
among the participants.
Content analysis: Jargon
Furry: 1) Artistic product with animals or
anthropomorphic creatures; 2) Subculture or communities related to these
artistic products (the fandom); 3) Identification related to this subculture.
In Spanish, it is
frequent the specification of the gender by furro
and furra. It is also met fur instead of furry, especially in the Mexican discourse. In
both cases the word can start with capitals or lowercase. All this cases frequently appear within the
same conversation.
Fursona: each
avatar in the furry fandom and/or the artistic character. Generally, an
anthropomorphic creature, whose construction and use are very varied and
personal.
Yiff: pornography related to the artistic gender
furry; generally drawings. It can also refer to sexual role games on the
internet or, as a synonym, to sex.
The fursuit is the suite of a fursona, used especially for leisure or conventions
(they reject the denomination disguise).
Few furries have manifested their wish to use it with sexual purpose; in these
cases: 1) the media has irresponsibly exaggerated it; 2) the body temperature
makes a fursuit of high quality the preferred choice; 3) excepting its synonymy
with sex, it doesn’t make part of the yiff jargon; 4) it doesn’t necessarily
involve real sexual intentions; for
instance, it can be just ludic, like a game.
Content analysis: Means of communication
We can use the content
analysis of the chapter from the “CSI: Las Vegas” (2005) series, three articles from the state press
(Mañana, 2005 y Wiener, 2008a; 2008b) and a video broadcasted by “La Sexta: Noticias” (2009); we can
recognize common regularities in the image that they reflect on the furry
fandom:
A sexual community dedicated especially to the cybersex and sexual
meetings, based on the fursuits and a paraphilia for the synthetic fur. For
that, they create an animal avatar that imposes over their previous human
identity, used in the sexual experiences. It installs a them, the furries, in opposition with the we, the normal.
Discourse analysis: Informative repertoires
Subsequently,
there are enumerated possible subjective
components
of the furry identity, none of them
sufficient or necessary; but a discourse shared by some members as a debate
(so that each of them could be an interpretative repertoire susceptible of
study): auto-assigned, subjective/personal, identification, having a fursona,
inclination to consume and/or produce artistic gender (especially drawing and,
to a lesser degree, narrations, but also any other artistic form), interaction
with other furries, the community, the fandom, open-minded, tolerance, respect,
liberty, imagination, spirituality, sensitivity with animals, interest and/or
identification with animals and/or anthropomorphic creatures, special interest
for animation, a way to connect with the animal side, fursuit (for
entertainment or sexuality), symbolism of specific mythological creatures (for
example, the wolf man), taste for role games and anthropomorphic creatures
(sexual or not), to consume and/or produce yiff (as pornography or artistic
style), sex, sexual liberty, erotic dreams with anthropomorphic beings,
eroticism towards anthropomorphic animation (similar to a fetish for
anthropomorphic beings), tendency to define a disregarded identity, tendency to
define the taste for some animation/ myth/ anthropomorphic, continuity around
the creation of the fursona through the fandom, a certain point of view about
life (especially through the anthropomorphic art, either comical, affective
and/or sexual), a sense of belonging or
affinity with other furries, certain compromise for some “furry reason” or the
fandom, a way of “joining diverse interests” and/or a part of the “life/
leisure/ taste/ mind”. “The furry is a fandom where everyone can stay for the
reason they want.”
Therefore,
they should be understood as possible attributes depending on the experience
and individual reconstruction, an organizational axis of different
interpretative repertoires. In sum, it is perceived as something abstract but
with its own entity. According to the objectives presented, we will focus on
the following interpretative repertoires: fursona, sexuality in the fandom and
this investigation.
Fursona
A furry can have one,
various or no fursona; generally, they use to alter over time, as one of them
consolidates, and require a very personal process that can reach (or not) many
years. They can represent animals, anthropomorphic creatures, mythological
beings, characters from videogames or popular cartoons. The fursona can be
experienced and used in many ways, not mutually exclusive: a nickname, a very
personal auto-definition, identification, with humour/entertainment, role
games, a caricature of reality, in a spiritual sense, fursuiting and/ or sexual
activities.
Sexuality in the Furry Fandom
Furry
is not sex, but interest for the anthropomorphic art and animals, as also the
group of its followers; in this respect, yiff would be a part of the furry art
or the synonym of sex in the jargon. Nonetheless, the art/porn yiff is a type
of furry art and its followers are necessarily also followers of the furry art.
This led in Spain to a semantic labyrinth: on one side, part of the Spanish
fandom discourse doesn’t manifest explicitly that, in specific persons, there
is a relation between the development of their furry identity and their
sexuality (perhaps on the basis of the fear that this idea could expand over
the furry essence, in answer to the
media sensationalism); on the other side, they appear in interviews or on
forums, enunciated as “the sexuality is
intimately connected with the furry”. Therefore, it is true that for some specific
furries their sexuality is related with being furry, independently of their
statistic representativity; but for other specific furries this doesn’t apply.
Yiff
can refer to different meanings depending of each personal interpretation (or
rather of the use of the witness; hence its constructed nature): in addition to
what we have already defined as jargon, there is pornography/ art of the furry gender (depending of degree of
anthropomorphism, being feral the
most animal), “like it exists the hentai in manga”. It is known the large
amount of fetishes that can be
developed within the yiff; besides, some furries mention the yiff as a fetish,
identifying it with the desire orientation. In fact, besides pornography, it
also includes a diverse affective or erotic
content around relations, contexts and symbolism.
The different
hypothesis about the large affective-sexul diversity in the fandom explain this
fact, though there is a certain consensus consisting in an intermediate point
between the essentialism and the constructionism of the sexuality: on one side,
the fetishes that appear in the fandom also exist outside, therefore some
furries become more open-minded through the fandom. On the other side, people
have a previous sexual orientation that discover through the fandom, although
it is assumed a much more opened conception about the limits of the sexual
orientation. Thus, in these two regards, some of them talk about a certain
reconstruction of their sexual orientation. Moreover, it is believed that the
affective linkages or concrete moments can have a very important paper in the
genesis
of the desire.
It
seems reasonable that, to define being
furry, the yiff must not be more important than any other possible
subjective component, such as drawing or the sensitivity regarding animals.
That would involve an imposition on the others. But the fundamental
inconsistency (not reflected by the Mexican participants) would be other: why
denying the yiff as a possible component,
neither necessary nor sufficient, from among many other subjective
components? In the end, none of them seems objectively defining. This inconsistency represents a strong reason of
conflict: for instance, the investigator asked twice in the forum “There are
persons interested in the yiff (in a wide sense) and others that are not; why
shouldn’t we study both parts?”, but no participant answered directly and they even
became more hostile.
The investigation about the furry
fandom
This interpretative
repertoire has not been detected in the Mexican participants, which have shown
predisposition to collaboration and receptivity towards possible relations
between the furry and the sexuality. Thus, in a part of the Spanish fandom this
repertoire has been generated, related to the furry investigation (this
repertoire has also been observed towards initiatives organized by furries).
The attitudes towards the investigation are varied, constructing a constantly
changing image:
-
positive:
the investigator acts professionally, educated and he has good intentions. In
some moments he feels offended in one of the forums and there is hostility, but
that is a normal situation, as the previous experience has demonstrated. A
study about sexuality in the fandom is worthwhile; for example, about sexual
orientation; perhaps it could reveal the uncertainties that many furries also
have related to this issue.
-
negative,
besides the opposite to the positive ones: the furry fandom is a source of income
for any kind of investigator, exclusively through sensationalism and
discredit. The investigation about the
furry fandom generalises the yiff and it associates it with paraphilia and
fursuiting, as also with the totality of the furry identity. The methodology is
rejected for being incorrect/invalid. This cannot represent the work of a
psychologist; perhaps he could investigate about psychopathology, although it
would not be beneficial for the fandom either.
There is no differentiation between science and journalism investigations.
The investigation on furry shouldn’t be confounded with the investigation about
sex, given that the yiff research should give up investigating the furry
identity, even though in some specific cases this relation appears. If the
investigator doesn’t have a subordinate attitude, he must be sensationalist and
dangerous.
Perhaps the negative
aspect could be resumed as the lucrative and generalizing intention, attributed
to all investigators, which involves a certain image of science; in fact, as
the investigator witnesses it, the knowledge transmitted about science applied
to the furry fandom is diffuse (in content and discipline), lacking precision
and negative. For example, a furry interprets that asking openly about yiff on
a forum “means to keep insisting on the fact that furry is yiff or that it
always has a sexual connotation”, which is an attribution of intentions that
doesn’t recognize other reasons.
Critical
discourse analysis
What is wrong with the
fact that some furries are sexually attracted to fursonas and others aren’t?
Moreover, what is wrong with the fact that a small percentage of furries affirm
that they are zoophiles? Is it that, in order to defend themselves from the
media defamation, the more normalized
furries should reprimand the others, the minority, so that they could reach a
more desirable social image? In such case, the supposed liberty of the group
would become a discourse of double moral, of exterior composure, reproducing
the power hierarchy. Is it that some furries must be silenced for the benefit of the group?
In our culture, almost
all sexualities are normalized by conceiving them a socially recognized
identity: the homosexuals are gays/lesbians,
the oglers are voyeurs and who enjoys
being humiliated can be a slave; it
is necessary when we need to indicate the other.
How should we call the user of yiff? Seems like the furry fandom doesn’t have a
jargon for it, but it reduces to pornography, sexual practice and/or desire.
The slang term yiffer has been
investigated, but it doesn’t correspond to this meaning and it is hardly used. We
could interpret it in two very different senses: either as an exclusion and
negation mechanism or both. Probably the first case is more likely to occur,
but in Spain it also works discursively for the separation of yiff from the
supposed furry essence, as a mark of the objectivity of the dictionary.
How is it that this
situation has developed in Spain? “CSI: Las Vegas” (2003) determined many American furries to
protect their public image (Morga, 2008) and it occurs a subsequent parallelism
in the Spanish furries and press.
Previously,
we have accomplished a media content
analysis, which indicates that the Spanish means of communication converge
in a eccentric and sexual vision of the furry fandom, but this image is
incongruent with the data and analysis already exposed. It is surprising how,
after a television series, different state means of communication (in different
formats) have reduced their actions to the confirmation of a television
stereotype, instead of actually informing about the issues. All of this
highlights irresponsible journalistic practices, both in form and content. For
instance, this happens in a prestigious newspaper such as El País, according to how Wiener denotes openly in his first
article that, after an “intensive and heroic day”, he came back from the beach
and managed to investigate and write the article in the same day (Wiener,
2008a).
Reaching
this point, an interesting constructionist effect takes place:
In the Spanish furry fandom, there is a discursive reaction opposite the
sensationalism of the meanings constructed by the media and partly attributed
to the investigators. Nevertheless,
these meanings were unknown and pointless for the investigator. Moreover, they
appear as quotes/discourse in the furry-investigator interaction. The
investigator centers contents of the investigation on them, given that they
seem important for the participants. Therefore, the investigator submerges in
what the Furry Fandom denies, starting from the re-citing of the furries.
Fortunately, this investigation understands the knowledge contents as
productions resulting from the interaction, as a process; unlike an
investigation centered only on contents, such as essences to be discovered,
which could re-confirm and re-produce.
Perhaps the
fundamental problem is re-citing what is detested, such as quotes previous to
the interaction; which are actually re-constructed with this, reproducing
cognitions and social structures: the
auto-accomplished prophecy. This means, the best way to counter-verify an
uncertain image is showing what the false image subverts, and not negating it
and classifying every social actor with these false roles.
In
this respect, the
audiovisual mounting and writing of the means of communications generate the
impression of a prediscursive resource, such as criteria of maximum rigour; but
they are produced descriptions. On one hand, the media can realize a
construction that turns abject and frivolous something with subversive
potential; but it can also be subversive for their self-interests: for example,
the transgressor and successful advertising campaign of Orangina (2010) in
France, which uses the yiff as satire of other quotidian products through
animalized humans and implicit eroticism.
Certainly,
“CSI: Las Vegas” (2005) was frivolous towards
the furry fandom, but also against the investigation processes. It is ironical
that some furries could feel defamed by the investigators while they don’t even
question the defamation of the media towards researchers, even confounding
journalism with science. Anyway, it should not surprise us the fact that
victims of prejudices also do it, but the role they have in the construction
and reproduction of the identity. What should cause surprise is that a
television series consolidates a point of view that has been re-produced by the
media in an irresponsible manner and, most important, whose victims haven’t
acceded to these means in order to produce a public discourse from their own
point of view.
FINAL REFLEXIONS
The participating observation in forums
requires taking decisions during the recollection of data in a virtual space
and its analysis is laborious; nevertheless, as a qualitative methodology, it
allows a first approach to the common
understanding and motivation of the
participants. On the basis of its initial documentation
it can be realized a content analysis
of the raw data, interpretative repertoires and, finally, a contextualized
interpretative labour opposed to the domination, a critical discourse analysis.
Once the furry
identity is understood, we confirm
that its jargon (such as fursona, fursuit, yiff and being furry) constructs alternative gender
practices for the hegemonic one: the virtuality of the corporeal self-image is
questioned, monopolized from the gender oppression in man or woman, although both are also virtual, since they are social
constructions. Moreover, it is an open identity and, on the basis of its
diversity, they explicitly deny the possibility of resolving it.
In
consistence
with the cyborg feminism (Haraway,
1995), clever regarding the cybernetic ambiguity person-animal-machine, the
furry fandom frames feminist issues such as the role of science, the ideology
about the human nature and the necessity of a coalition
of identities. For instance, the basic political and media logic
preserves a conception of representativity of the fandom on the basis of the furry subject; nonetheless, this
approach generates violence and exclusion, inside and outside the group.
Therefore, it is essential to abandon the identitary normalization that defines
the legitimate represented subject and act directly through a coalition of
multiplicities. En consistence with this article, the scientific practice
should combat the cybernetic domination (that also operates through the media);
otherwise, it would be constituted a technology in the service of this
domination.
Having
concluded the objectives,
we can compare this investigation with the quoted ones. As
similarities we have found: also in the case of the Spanish-speaking
participants the fursonas of canines and felines are frequent; the presence on Furaffinity.net
and the hobbies around graphic art and virtual communities; the sex is not
important al the person level as furry, but it is considered important
concerning many other furries, and it is disproportionate in relation with the
public image created by the media. As differences, these participants hardly
refer to the furry literature and the community is not so “strong”. Comparing
the Spanish participants with the Mexicans, the data reveals that the Spanish
furries is more immersed in internal conflicts, is very critical in regards to
the possibility of organization and part of its discourse refuses the
investigation about its sexuality;
but both groups frequently interaction through the internet, favoring a common language
and small communities in the cyberspace.
The future qualitative
investigation could reproduce this study in other forums, with other languages
and/or other cultural contexts; define better the jargon; go in depth in every
interpretative repertoire. It could also be repeated after 5-10 years in order
to check the discursive changes occurred longitudinally; moreover, there could
be applied other methodologies, such as the ethno-methodology and the
action-investigation. On the basis of the quantitative research, we have
studied deeper the variables and categories that were quantified as common knowledge, but they were incomprehensible for lectors not
familiarized with the jargon: it could be realized a quantitative study about
the use of categories, reproducing items of other researches and their
subsequent statistical analysis. Finally, it is recommended to the future
investigators to work with furries directly, as members or collaborators, in
order to facilitate the access to the subculture.
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