Recently an opinion piece was published here by Cassidy Civet about alleged fraud in the fandom and its infestation of furry spaces. I feel many would believe that it is beneath this platform to have released it to the general public as it is “obvious” that its intention was not to foster improvements within the community, but instead to act as a platform for the author herself in order to rant about the situation she finds herself in when it comes to her desired musical career in the fandom. Which we’ll cover is mostly true. However, I do think allowing such a piece to publish can act as a springboard for a larger conversation on situations that actually has come up in the fandom from time to time.
This is where someone with a stage addiction gets caught up in the euphoria and gets poisoned by narcissism and typically guises it as altruism and virtue.
This may seem harsh as a counter statement to Civet’s article, especially since sprinkled in there are genuine concerns that other furries do hold. But the way in which they are presented leads to her own words countering herself in such a way where when all of them are put together, all that truly remains is a rant about our convention boards having agency on those they are allowing to have a stage and what can appear to be purely sour grapes towards those that are getting it.
So let’s take these issues from another angle to try and separate the chaff from the wheat.
BREAKING: Purported data leak involving Thai furcon SiamPaws’ attendees
On Monday, June 9, the furcon’s Wikifur page was updated, detailing the furcon’s attendee data structure. A link, allegedly containing the leaked data, was also posted on Wikifur.
The edited Wikifur page further claimed that the leaked data included personal information such as attendees’ real names. This claim was also posted on X (formerly Twitter); GFTV and Furry Times cannot verify this.
As of Wednesday, June 11, Wikifur administrators have reversed these page edits, and the data repository link now displays an error. SiamPaws has yet to release a public statement regarding the incident.
I’ve seen two reactions to this tweet, from reasonable people:
No, it won’t. The actual crimes themselves caused irreparable harm to our community, but the best thing for a community to do when there’s a problem is to take out the fucking trash. And we did. And that documentary is all about us doing exactly that. It’s a good thing to talk about this.
Regardless of the facts, because of the ongoing misinformation campaigns (litterbox hoaxes that amount to nothing more than thinly-veiled queerphobia, bills being proposed to solve the virtually nonexistent problem of furries in public school, etc.), this will add fuel to the ragebaiting headlines and outright lies about the furry fandom.
Not to mince words, reaction number 2 is a valid fucking concern, and I have no rebuttal to offer. Only time will tell how it plays out.
I could include several more examples of bad takes, but I think we have enough of them to make my point.
Why Are We Even Talking About Bad Takes On Social Media?
While I doubt these twits would agree with each other in a social media discussion, it’s pretty easy to see a common narrative structure that underlies all of their arguments.
The argument implied by their position goes like this:
Aesthetics, optics, and purity are held higher than all else.
Talking about bad or shameful things is to be discouraged.
If you talk to the media about the bad things, or tolerate something that isn’t bad but a moron might superficially get confused and think it bad, then you deserve social consequences.
Naturally, I disagree with all of these points.
Good actions are more important than good optics. Since aesthetics are largely subjective, aesthetic similarities are not evidence of equivalence. Sexuality isn’t inherently evil (but consent is absolutely necessary).
Talking about bad or shameful things is essential to having a healthy community.
If I talk to the media recklessly, you do not deserve the collateral damage caused by my recklessness. And vice versa.
But I’m not here to offer mere disagreement.
The worldviews that follow the flawed structure I outlined above have observable downsides to the communities that perpetuate them.
For starters, perpetuating negative peace (sweeping bad actors under the rug instead of dealing with them transparently) is how you get missing stairs.
Refusing to openly act against (let alone discuss) bad actors is what gives abusers cover to hide and operate within our community.
I’ve said it before, more eloquently, but it didn’t stick. So here’s a bullet point list intead:
The darkest period in the furry fandom’s history wasn’t the zoosadist abuse coming to light.
The revelation was the end of the dark period.
The dark period was all the time that the abuse was happening, and the people who knew did nothing to stop it, and the rest of us didn’t know about it.
People who cannot digest this simple concept have no business in the discussion. They’re simply not qualified to be taken seriously.
Quick aside:
One common thread from the more puritanical arguments made by younger furries is they seem to be coming from a place of, “If my parents find out about [bad thing], I won’t be allowed to participate in [group].”
That is the incentive structure that most reliably explains their talking points and decisionmaking, anyway.
There may be more going on than that, but they don’t explain their positions very well.
To wrap up this section, the existence of bad takes was always a certainty. In that regard, the ones I shared in this blog post aren’t really novel. But understanding the assumptions and the framework that the arguments arise from is useful.
Actions Speak Louder Than Words
As valuable as talking about the bad is, actually fucking doing something about it is way more impactful.
Sometimes, that means identifying and ousting abusers from your community.
Ultimately, what you get out of any social group will be a function of what you put into it. (There is a loss function somewhere in the mix too, unfortunately, but that’s life.)
A Note From Queer History
The gay rights movement, until the mid 1990s, failed to oust the influence of NAMBLA and PIE that advocated for what most people today would simply call “pedophilia”. These organizations had hoped to ride on the coattails of an increasingly popular rights movement to provide legal protection for their reprehensible activities.
Most discussions of queer history seem to gloss over this gratuitous error, which is a shame because some bad actors want to try this tactic again.
Takeaways
You cannot just sweep shit under the rug and expect problems to not fester.
You can have positive fandom representation without covering up the bad shit that’s happened in the fandom.
You can oust bad actors without repressing healthy expressions of sexuality between consenting adults. (Yes, that includes weird expressions of sexuality that aren’t harmful.)
Queer liberation without sex-positivity is self-defeating. (Happy Pride Month, I guess?)
Finally, I want to be clear that I haven’t watched the series in question–only the trailer and some commentary in discussion groups.
For all I know, the trailer is misleading and the actual substance is hot garbage doused in weapons grade cringe. I don’t think that’s the case, but we’ll all have to wait and see before we form a judgment about the actual merits (or demerits) of the series.
Here’s your reminder that registration for our 21st Birthday opens June 16th!
We’re super excited to say that this year should be a blast, but there will be a few changes to keep in mind!
1st, as some of you may have noticed on our site, we are officially moving towards being a 21+ convention. This is a long time coming, and makes the experience safer for all involved. We’re not just a drinking event (and stay tuned, event and activity signups will be opening soon!), but there’s no denying that the Tilted Tavern plays a large part in our activities!
2nd, we will be moving our traditional charity raffle on Sunday at 1pm! This gives us a lot more time to set up, and you a lot more time to get your tickets in! A daylight show also makes it easier and safer to see what’s going on, and we’re excited to see what kind of trouble our show-folks get up to this year!
3rd and finally, we’re making some changes to Super Sponsor perks. Super Sponsors will still enjoy an exclusive event with themed food, drinks, and entertainment, but rather than a custom badge for each person, the Guest of Honor will be making a Super Sponsor only design that will be featured on an exclusive gift. Custom badges will still be available, but they will be an add on to Super Sponsor registration for $50. They will be limited to 40 slots and will be first come, first served!
