CHAPTER NINE
The Naughty Bits
TO PARAPHRASE MONTY PYTHON, there’s absolutely nothing sexual whatsoever about furry fandom, and when I say nothing, I mean . . . well, maybe there is, just a little bit. It’s a topic most furs shy away from; talking about it might seem to confirm the stereotype of furry fandom as a non-stop kinkfest. However it would be equally dishonest to pretend it doesn’t exist, or that for a segment of the fandom it doesn’t have its charms. That reputation, as unfair as it is, did not materialize out of thin air.
When Disney turned Mae West into the buxom bird Jenny Wren, strutting saucily into view (“my little chickadee,” indeed!) or presented a leggy mouse chanteuse wiggling her derriere while crooning “let me be good to you” (sung by Miss Kitty Mouse from The Great Mouse Detective) fifty years later, most people saw nothing more than a cute spoof of female beauty. But a certain percentage of the furry population got more than a chuckle out of it. For these folks, a deft combination of realistic human and stylized animal attributes carries a certain heat with it. (The neologism “furvert” has been coined to describe us.)
Along with everything else, animals represent our physical selves—and that includes our sexual selves. But largely, anthropomorphic animals have been banished to the land of family-friendly children’s entertainment. Any critters trying to escape that particular jail (or zoo) are going to make a lot of people uncomfortable…
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CONTINUED IN –
FURRY NATION:
The True Story of America’s Most Misunderstood Subculture
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