Are mers furries?

[malinghi]

Simple question. Do you think merfolk fall inside furry fandom? Obviously there's no fur involved, and merfolk are human from the waist up while furries are anthropomorphic animals, but ultimately the distinction seems pretty minor.

[Ayla of Duluth]

Other than the idea that some merfolk may enjoy a good furry comic every now and then, or possibly even be a furry when they're not being human or mermaid, I hardly think merfolk fall into that category. Furries are people who dress up and have sex. We just dress up.

[Toxotes]

I think it's a similar difference to that between merfolk and cosplayers, or between cosplayers and furries.
All of them wear costumes, cosplayers have a certain original, furries wear costumes disguising their identity and merfolk wear costumes with the function to swim and resembling a type of mythical creature. To me, the only thing in common is a very specialised costume.

[Joy&RaptorsUnrestrained!]

@Malinghi, Interesting topic! I think there are some cases of overlap (didn't we have a fish furry in here a couple months ago), but I think while there are a lot of similarities, each has its own distinct culture and differences. Mers, Furries, Cosplayers, LARPers, Society for Creative Anachronists, Re-Enactors, Tinks/Pans/Fae (whatever the equivalent of mers for fairies is called), Real-Life Superheroes, and Mascots all feature the common element of dressing up in unusual or thematic clothing and sharing an interest in their costumes and identity, but there is a great deal of variety within all of those (and our) communities. We might not have the the sexual aspects of SOME furries, the organization of cosplayers, the research of re-enactors, the community goals of real-life superheroes, or the job/support services of mascots, but we do have something special... our costumes tend to be functional as well as "form"... certainly putting on a superhero or fairy or morrigan from darkstalkers costume doesn't allow one to fly the same way built in monofins and the like enable a mermaid or merman to swim. I think that recognizing our similarities and enjoying our differences (think of all the different costume construction techniques we could learn from furries, for instance) without attempting to categorize ourselves and others overmuch is probably the way to go. Personally, when I explain the mernetwork, I tend to mention the Polar Bear Plunges (as both merfolk and polar bear swimmers tend to swim in unusual conditions and wearing unusual choice of clothing) as a similar group that has a bit wider acceptance and familiarity.

@Ayla of Duluth, That's actually a common misconception. There are plenty of people who describe themselves as or identify as furries who do not have or want to have a fursuit and/or do not have sex in their fursuits. Furries basically are fans of the anthropomorphic animal style of creature (I myself am a big fan of the furry comics Carpe Diem and Dan and Mab's Furry Adventures and the roleplaying games Ironclaw, Jadeclaw, Shard, and World Tree) who take it on as part of their self-image (which I don't... I can't limit myself to just one creature, and while I find the furry style aesthetically pleasing, it doesn't offer any personal identity or attraction for me). Also, we mers do more than dress up. We come up with mersonae, write stories about merfolk, promote environmental awareness, perform professionally, and invent new forms of costume for ourselves and others.

[malinghi]

Furries are people who dress up and have sex. We just dress up.


@Ayla of Duluth, That's actually a common misconception. There are plenty of people who describe themselves as or identify as furries who do not have or want to have a fursuit and/or do not have sex in their fursuits. Furries basically are fans of the anthropomorphic animal style of creature

Yeah, its amazing how persistent the misconception that "furry" is exclusively a fetish. Its really just another thing where people where costumes, and I'm convinced that for all things where people where costumes, some people also enjoy having sex in them.

[Kanti]

Not all furries have sex or think about having sex in their costumes in the same way that not all
bronies clop to MLP content xD

I actually know quite a few furries who are just like us with mermaid stuff. They like it, they dress up
as it, they don't do anything promiscuous.

[Ayla of Duluth]

My bad...>,,>

[Merman_Ryan]

To me I have to differentiate anthropomorphic (anthros) characters and furries. Anthros I think of a half animal/human hybrid, where furry is a more cartoon like animal with human characteristics. I personally have no problem with furries and I love anthro characters. I've written a couple of stories over the years (serious and comedic) and they pretty much rival merfolk for my favorite type of characters to write or think of.

Then again I've combined them in the past: :P
http://fc09.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2010/230/0/f/Merman__Markers_by_Sirothello.png


Other anthro/furry pieces my girlfriend has made: http://spork-bunny.deviantart.com/
http://th05.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/f/2012/023/c/2/alice_portrait_by_spork_bunny-d4nez8v.jpghttp://th02.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/f/2010/221/9/0/90f94fad2053344e2953cc08e394a89f.jpg
http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2010/155/a/3/Flower_Squirrel_by_Spork_Bunny.jpg

[merboy78xy]

well... ON the subject, as long as it's been broached: Would mers on here say that they have not fantasized sex as a mer-person?
To be honest, I have not thought much about the actual act of mer-sex, however, I DO think that merfolk ARE sexy! And they "turn me on" to a degree. I also am aware of at least 2 mers in the past that have told me of their actual "fetish" for mer-sex. Which I find interesting.
As far as furries go: I'd wager that most people who engage in dressing in fur costumes and having sex would call themselves furries, tho I don't think in reverse that all furries have sex in costume.
So: are merfolk furries? I tend to agree that the community at large is so varied in degrees, interests and intentions (some believe that we really ARE merfolk, others believe it is just costume dress-up, etc. etc.) that it's darn hard to categorize mers as a "furry"... but what do I know ;)

[spottedcatfish]

Well I don't think Mer's are categorized with furries or any other subculture. Furries mostly focus on anthropomorphic characters, that they generally design for themselves. It also focuses on media with anthropomorphic animals in them. These animals generally do not have human features... just human bodies. Whereas Merfolk do have the upper torso of humans and the lower torso of a fish, or other aquatic wildlife. A furry version of a mer, would be equivalent to a dolphin with legs... thats entirely dolphin, but has human joints and has a tail which is it's fluke. So No no no... mers are definatley not associated with the furry subculture. However, depending on the extent the person is into the mermaiding/ mermanning subculture... it could cross over into othekin. Which is a whole nother subculture entirely....

[Kanti]

I prefer the more "anthro" look to mermaids. I really don't like the whole half-human half-fish that ends
off so suddenly, it doesn't look natural. So I suppose if you categorize furries as anthros, which I consider
them to be, it would also make mers anthros as well. That is, if you categorize them as that. If you like
to think of mermaids as the half human half fish then maybe it's not really much of an anthro at all?

3368
Anthro mermaid


3369
Non-anthro mermaid

At least, that's how I think of it. But to be a furry, I think you have to HAVE fur as the name implies o_o

[Merman Craig (Delphinar)]

It's not the costume that makes you do what you do. It's how you use it. So in my opinion, I don't think furries can be a sex thing. And neither are mers.

[malinghi]

to be a furry, I think you have to HAVE fur as the name implies o_o

So... are we scalys?

Also, on the subject of words and language associated with subcultures, I think the fact that the terms "mersona" and "fursona" are used in the mer and furry communities respectively is enough to cast doubt on the theory that they have absolutely nothing in common.

[Merman Ray]

I see some similarities, but I believe we mers are still very different. In response to Malinghi, "scalys". ahh, no. I like "merfolk" better. Sounds more civil.

[Mermaid Lorelei]

So... are we scalys?

Have you ever watched Dinotopia? The term scalys was quite deragatory in that movie...

[Joy&RaptorsUnrestrained!]

Have you ever watched Dinotopia? The term scalys was quite deragatory in that movie...

Actually, Dinotopia the movie was a good idea and a terrible execution. The books are ten thousand times better... and in them, only one character ever refers to dinosaurs as "scalies" and he's the misguided recurring "villain." Regardless, there have been reptiles among the furry community, but I think fish (and even marine mammals) are fairly underrepresented.

[malinghi]

Hahaha, here's a thread on a furry forum debating if mermaids are furries: http://www.anthrocon.org/node/5611/mermaid-anthro

There's also an entry on merfolk on wikifur.com: http://en.wikifur.com/wiki/Mermaid

[Dacora]

I have a few furry friends, I used to RP as a wolf and such and I have tails and ears I used to wear but I have not gotten into a full costume yet. In my opinion its about the same. Both are used to create an identity for the person.
From what I have seen and experienced you don't have to have fur to be a furry. I have seen bird furrys, lizard furrys ,dragons and dinos. I have yet to see a fish furry though.

[Spindrift]

?

http://img.wonkette.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/fun-fish.gif

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v401/Sailorkk/Jafax%2013/fish_cat.jpg

[Merman Ray]

I just wanted to say that the biggest difference between furries and the mer community is the interest in sex. While there are furries that are not into the sex and porn, there is still a strong presence of porn in the fur fandom. In the mer community I do not see this interest in sex. For me personally I am glad to see that sex and porn are not something I see in the mer community.

[merboy78xy]

tho I DO find it fascinating that sex and porn are NOT something you often see in the mer community. I mean, mermaids and mermen (tho most especially the females) have been used for CENTURIES to represent the pure sexual allure, sexual danger, temptation, lust, beauty, sensuality, etc....

[Joy&RaptorsUnrestrained!]

tho I DO find it fascinating that sex and porn are NOT something you often see in the mer community. I mean, mermaids and mermen (tho most especially the females) have been used for CENTURIES to represent the pure sexual allure, sexual danger, temptation, lust, beauty, sensuality, etc....


Great points, merman ray and merboy78xy! I wonder... does that mean that for mers, the focus is on the costuming and swimming more than a lifestyle?

[Merman Craig (Delphinar)]

Nah. I don't think that mers are furries. I do think that mermaids and mermen are sexy though, but I don't think they're into sex.

[Mermaid Annariea]

i think merfolk would be very sexual and alluring creatures. but not in a "hey come do me right now please" sort of way. i think itd be more subtle. like in a glance or a flirty sort of smile.
but i dont think merfolk are furries.

[Mermaid Momo]

i do have a few furry friends, and while i can say that merfolk do have the costume and the persona in common, we identify with all one creature while furries identify with hundreds of different animals or combination of animals. Also, furries are animals with human characteristics so basically personafication while Merfolk are humans with qualities of marine life so the other way around. I think that even anthro merfolk can be thought of as Humans with Marine characteristics instead of the other way around because, while you do see merfolk with fish heads sometime, the figures are just waaaay too human to be called Fish with Human characteristics while if you look at a furry, they have animal heads, covered in fur, most have paws instead of hands and feet, so they are full animals who stand on two legs and have a human personality. This will be a nice topic to argue with my furry friends XD

[Joy&RaptorsUnrestrained!]

i do have a few furry friends, and while i can say that merfolk do have the costume and the persona in common, we identify with all one creature while furries identify with hundreds of different animals or combination of animals. Also, furries are animals with human characteristics so basically personafication while Merfolk are humans with qualities of marine life so the other way around. I think that even anthro merfolk can be thought of as Humans with Marine characteristics instead of the other way around because, while you do see merfolk with fish heads sometime, the figures are just waaaay too human to be called Fish with Human characteristics while if you look at a furry, they have animal heads, covered in fur, most have paws instead of hands and feet, so they are full animals who stand on two legs and have a human personality. This will be a nice topic to argue with my furry friends XD

This is a really brilliant way of thinking about it... thanks for sharing! It helped me clarify some of my thoughts about the topic. Maybe it is the bringing out animal characteristics in humans rather than human characteristics in animals that accounts for my above thoughts about the distinction between action (swimming/costuming) and lifestyle/preferences.

[Sierra Larars]

I find myself quick to anger with the several 'furries are all about sex' comments. I can honestly say that being asexual and a furry myself, furries are not solely about having sex in a costume! If it was about that, me being asexual would be completely pointless. The sex you are seeing 'yiff' is based more on the artwork and even then I would say that was about 30% of the entire archives! Furries have long since been painted in the media as sex crazed deviants who dress in mangy mascot costumes and have sex constantly.
There is a sexual aspect to EVERY community, like another commenter above says there are some mers who like sex with their costumes and some who are turned on by it. Quite frankly I find it derogatory for people to automatically post that furries are people who have sex in fursuits. Its like saying all gay men are easy and always out to make straight men 'stray from the path' or every priest preys upon young boys or every woman belongs in the kitchen or even all mermen are gay! All of which are not true!

Fursuiting specifically is about - for me - becoming something else, something I could never realistically become. Not only am I a fursuiter but also a costumer. I cosplay too. The costumes I make tend to be ridiculously complected and far out reach the costs of a mer tail. I build quadsuits, complex four legged animal costumes. That in the suiting world is a minority too.
There are many kinds of furry, some never even touch a fursuit! actively some would avoid them and I know a fair few who are creaped out by suiting. What identifies a furry is not a costume but the appreciation of anthropomorphic media. I say media because not only is it illustration but sculpture, costume, dolls, film, cartoons, anything! Some furries have a fursona some do not. Some - like myself - cosplay the mammalian side of things ---> http://www.furaffinity.net/view/6999041/ and http://www.furaffinity.net/view/8218178/

I think mers could be considered furries based upon the fact that not all furs are furry (made of fur bearing animals). You get latex furs (which in this case I think I could say with the amount of latex tails that mers could easily fall into this category :O) furs with scales, hell! you even get spiders! A mer tail could be considered a 1/2 partial (where one half of the body is covered by costume) if we look at it from a strictly costume point of view.

Personally it is up to the individual mer to decide whether they are furry or they are not.

I prefer mermaid like Kanti does, more on the fish side of things. Aesthetically the cut off between tail and human is not pleasing at all. If these creatures were real chances are they would not be the pretty 'disney mermaids' everyone see's more than likely they would not be pretty in the slightest and very likely to be scavengers with an appetite for everything including wayward swimmers :D

I would say yes and no. As a costume to alter your body and become something else they are virtually the same. In terms of mers who think mers are strictly fish and human then no. Furry is a forgiving culture and encompasses pretty much everything that is not human. Mers being fish can fall under this yes.

Ultimately I would say that aside from the costume similarities that no, mers are not furries :3 at most they would be demi-furry due to being half fish, that is all.

I asked some furry friends the same question. Immediately they said no but when I asked why they answered that their conclusion was the same as mine, no but kind of yes. Half furry at most. :3

Apologies for the ridiculously long response :3 but alas it is my opinion :D

Kura xxx

[Patches]

I'm a furry but I don't really dress up and have sex or anything. Although I'd have sex with a catgirl/boy if one existed or a mermaid/man. I'm weird. Oh wells. :3

[Joy&RaptorsUnrestrained!]

I'm a furry but I don't really dress up and have sex or anything. Although I'd have sex with a catgirl/boy if one existed or a mermaid/man. I'm weird. Oh wells. :3

Just for clarification, do you mean someone with costume cat ears and maybe feline contact lenses and a tail or paw-shaped gloves, or do you mean someone who was actually physically/genetically a catgirl/catboy or mermaid/merman by birth or some sort of transformation?

[Patches]

Haha this is such a weird thing to talk about :$ but I mean like if there was such a thing as a real catgirl/boy not just some random cosplay. I mean, I wear them all the time and they're cool and all but it'd be nothing compared to the real thing. I guess I'd find it more cute than have a sexual attraction to it, but still maybe both....
And honestly, I'd mostly do it with a mermaid/merman just so I had bragging rights. Like "hey guys, guess what I did today? I fucked a merman!" I'd find it very humorous considering they don't have genitalia. And kinda the same
thing goes with the catgirls. I mean, I'd love to walk up to a fat weeaboo at a con and be like "I have sex with catgirls, IRL. You jelly?"
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[Patches]

i did make a wolf mask and my friend took a vid of me at the park with it because no one could know it was me! lol!! <3 >O"
I wanna see a picture of this. :D

[Ashe]

Really old thread... but whateves. Ok, so not all furries have sex in their costumes and some are even asexual! There are just some that do, and somehow, it turned into a steryotype about all of them. Remember, even in the mer community there are some who well, do it in tails, but that doesn't mean that all of us do that, right? No. Case closed.

Also, there is a big misconception that all furries wear fursuits to hide their real human identity. Not entirely true. Yes, for the most part, many furries are very self-consious and not confident in themselves, so they dress up so they can do what they want in basically another body. But, with that being said, nat all are like that. Take myself for example: I am a furry. Though I don't plan on getting a fursuit or going to Anthrocon, I still enjoy the artistic and costuming aspect of it. I am very outgoing and not afraid to be in public. I'm a bit crazy sometimes and I don't get embarrassed easily. So, I am living proof that not all furries dress as animals to hide themselves, and aren't crazed with sex. Tthe same goes with many others. I have many furry friends who don't dress up to cover who they are, but because they do it for fun! Just like us mers, and the cosplayers, and the comic book and anime fans. And that is what I think all these fandoms are for: Fun.

[Koral]

From what I know of furries, the ones I know have literally thought they were an animal. I mean, the concept is either "I was ___ in my past life," or "I was meant to be a ____" or "I relate best to ____ so I act like one," whatever their excuse is. Honestly, furries scare the crap out of me. Which is hilarious, because I have played "Furcadia" for 10 years now and I draw furries their commissions, and yes I roleplayed an "anthropomorphic." I do not call myself nor wish to associate with furries, however. (Nowadays I roleplay only humans that may have a few animal attributes like wings or feathers, or... well, mermaids.)

But I don't think just because you draw them, or even costume them makes you a furry. It's a mindset. You think you're part/full animal and want to display it. Or, if you wish to support it and call yourself one because you feel such a relation to it (essentially, still in aforementioned mindset), then so be it.

That said, I don't think mermaids are furries. Merfolk are their own classification, though we relate in question and definition. "I AM a mermaid," "I dress up as a mermaid," "I draw mermaids;" any one merfolk may say one or more of those things just as furries would, but like with furries, it's only if you feel that's what you are by classification.

But I separate them, and here is my simple comparison to say why. Goth and Emo aren't the same thing, though they get asked the same questions and equally get looked at funny. Mermaids and furries aren't the same thing, so on....

[Triton-Mahtlinnie]

<- Asexual furry right here. :D

On the subject of furries: I make fursuits and wear them in public too. Why? Because it's fun. Same reason I wear a mer tail. I have four fursuits, and each of them is a different character. I don't think I'm an animal, or particularly closely affiliated with any animal. I have a pterosaur fursuit because I like pterosaurs and thought it'd be a fun challenge to make one. -shrug-

I like it when people at a festival see me in costume and laugh and smile and want to take pictures. I like making people happy. (if anyone's curious about the kind of stuff I get up to in fursuit, I have a DA gallery of my varying adventures http://exdraghunt.deviantart.com/gallery/10143642 )

Anyway, I think that furries and mers are similar, but I don't think it's the same. I mean, both groups involve a lot of art, creativity, and costume making. There's also the aspect of creating a character and then portraying it, as well costuming in public. (To me, wearing a tail at the local pool is about the same as public fursuiting= it's fun, and you get a lot of funny looks and questions. :B) But I also think that a key thing about being a furry, or being a mer, is calling yourself one. If you don't want to be, you don't have to be.

[EnidDarkWater]

Personally it is up to the individual mer to decide whether they are furry or they are not.
Kura xxx
[/SIZE][/QUOTE]
A few things on this. Firstly your full suits are amazing work.

Secondly this post could go back and forth and back and forth and the content as we've seen, can be pulled either direction to fit as yes mers are furries or into the argument that they aren't for one reason or another. It's kinda like the mixed feelings on fetishes:right or wrong all personal preference. Now personally I don't agree furries are all sexual based and have suits to have sex in, granted there are people that do. I personally feel like most merfolk fall into the larp or cosplay category but could see them going more into the furrie catagory with extensive work to be more fish than human.

[OceanicStory]

I just wanted to say that the biggest difference between furries and the mer community is the interest in sex. While there are furries that are not into the sex and porn, there is still a strong presence of porn in the fur fandom. In the mer community I do not see this interest in sex. For me personally I am glad to see that sex and porn are not something I see in the mer community.

Ah, but despite this, merfolk are still considered sex symbols all across the world. The mer-community might not express sexual desires quite as explicitly as the furry community, at times, but it's still something we're associated with.

Personally, I think it's a matter of similarities, and assessing why one is involved with either community. If a Mer and a Furry enjoyed wearing costumes because they felt a sense of adventure, comfort, belonging, or fantasy while dressing up, then it could be said that they are similar. If a Mer and a Furry did not dress up, but still enjoyed their respective communities for other reasons, then again, it could be said that there are similarities (perhaps they love fantasy creatures). However, if a Mer took to wearing a tail because they liked the way swimming feels in it, while a Furry wore their costume for only the fantastical appeal and not a practical purpose, then it could be said that they're not so similar at all, outside the fact they're in costume. It all comes down to the Mer or Furry in question, and their motives for enjoying fantasies/dressing up.
I actually know several furries (who are just lovely, by the way), who actually like the idea of Anthropomorphic Animal + Mermaid. You know, animal upper body, and a fish tail. :D I don't see why they shouldn't like it, either. "Anthro-Animals" are pretty impressive creatures of fantasy, when you think about it, so why shouldn't one combine the two? :p

[Ashe]

But I don't think just because you draw them, or even costume them makes you a furry. It's a mindset. You think you're part/full animal and want to display it. Or, if you wish to support it and call yourself one because you feel such a relation to it (essentially, still in aforementioned mindset), then so be it.

^ This. I draw anthro, love animals, and even want to make a fursuit just for the fun of it! But with that being said, I don't think I am an animal, or was an animal, and I don't really want to be labeled as a furry unless I am making a statement about them.

[Azurin Luna]

Here you have a merhuski:
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As for me, I'm in both worlds now, first I was only in the merworld, but I've always been fasinated by furries. My mother never liked it because of all the bad words being said about furries and jiffing. But since I got my first partial suit and have been to a meeting here in the Netherlands and saw all the smiles it created on peoples faces, I've been sold to the furworld too.
So as of now, I'm doing both. I go swimming in my tail almost every week to relax and go to meetings once in a while to cheer up people. Being a furry is still dangerous here, especially since people don't like odd people here, so you really need spotters here to be safe on the street. The pool I'm swimming in is pretty relaxed about me being a mermaid, and as long as I don't hurt others with it, they are fine with it.

[OceanicStory]

As for me, I'm in both worlds now, first I was only in the merworld, but I've always been fasinated by furries. My mother never liked it because of all the bad words being said about furries and jiffing. But since I got my first partial suit and have been to a meeting here in the Netherlands and saw all the smiles it created on peoples faces, I've been sold to the furworld too.
So as of now, I'm doing both. I go swimming in my tail almost every week to relax and go to meetings once in a while to cheer up people. Being a furry is still dangerous here, especially since people don't like odd people here, so you really need spotters here to be safe on the street. The pool I'm swimming in is pretty relaxed about me being a mermaid, and as long as I don't hurt others with it, they are fine with it.

I think you and I are the same, in that regard. I don't have a fursuit, nor do I intened to get one, but there are aspects of the furry fandom I've been introduced to and quite enjoy. As with mermaids, the fandom represents beings of fantasy, so it's really just a way to enjoy one's imagination.
Besides, just look at that there merhusky. Ain't he just gorgeous? :D

[Mermaid Hamant]

I literally just accepted my interest in the furry fandom. I have been interested in it for a couple of years now, but I was always discouraged by all of the negativity associated with it. I have no sexual interest in it, I just like the idea of anthro animals and the creativity involved in making and dressing up in fursuits (in a way, similar to mermaid tails) and all the other artwork involved.

To answer the question that this forum was originally created around, I agree with those that keep the mer community and the furry fandom separate, unless a certain individual wants to mix the two together as a personal preference.