A Furry's Manifesto¶
2024-09-22
Preamble¶
Furries are one of the most diverse communities. To say "I'm a furry" conveys as much information as "I love animals" (for better or for worse). I, as a new member of the furry community, feel the urge to make a statement regarding my missions and principles.
My opinions are my own, and do not represent the furry community, the Anthro Art Association, or the University of Michigan.
Please keep in mind that I have limited knowledge of the furry community at the time of writing. This manifesto may contain factual errors or outdated content. In the case of a suspected issue, please email me.
Missions¶
My mission in the furry community is to create art, and to help fellow furries create art.
Furry, as a hobby, is an art at its core: something that (1) is consciously made by humans, (2) expresses human ideas, and (3) can be appreciated by humans. The most obvious forms of art that check all three are fursuits and commissions. As of the time of writing, I'm incapable of either. However they are by no means the only forms of art; I consider this manifesto a piece of art, and there's nothing you can do about it.
I'm also a fan of creating art through engineering. I'd be more than happy to help you with PCBs. It would feel good to know that my efforts actually helped someone create art, rather than whirring away in a lifeless datacenter.
Acknowledgments¶
I am incredibly privileged to partake in the furry fandom. My parents have, with their hard-earned money, made every effort to provide for 15 years of education and especially my UMich tuition.
My Chinese ancestors fought for a nation free of colonialism. The US has, at least, never let any missiles hit itself.
Computer pioneers such as Ritchie, Stallman and Torvalds made it possible for me to own a computer — even two — and run a free operating system. Tim Berners-Lee et al. made the web happen, which, despite circumstances, are still a net good.
The LGBTQ community has normalized various forms of self-expression. Folks at the UMich Anthro Art Association (AAA) are doing a good job fostering an organized online community.
There is no end to this list. This shall be a reminder to myself that none of this would be possible without the effort of people around us. Be kind and give back.
Anti-Consumerism¶
Having stuff is good.[citation needed] However, I do realize the danger of consumerism. Other than the obvious argument that money doesn't grow on trees, my critique will focus on the philosophical implications.
My favorite MCR lyrics is this verse from "DESTROYA":
If what you are
Is just what you own
What have you become
When they take from you almost everything?
which is incredibly fitting, since the album Danger Days (2010) is a warning against consumerism. If I decide that my (human) identity hinges on ownership of a thing — my Squier bass, let's say — what do I become if I lost it?
You see, the Squier isn't part of my identity. What is though, is the ability to play bass and my love of music, even if all the bass guitars disappear from the Earth.
I disapprove of superiority via wealth. To be clear: I do not mind that you own a Porsche. It would bother me, however, if you feel you're somehow above people who don't. If I ever amass a fortune (unlikely), I promise to never make a big deal out of it.
Sustainability¶
I expect myself to sooner or later attend a furry convention. In the case I live in Shanghai and the convention is in another Chinese city, I would choose railway over air whenever possible, and to encourage my friends to do so. However I recognize that, for conventions abroad, air travel is inevitable. I am skeptical about the "carbon offset" option that airlines offer, so instead I will fund some other organizations that I trust more. Probably people who plant trees.
Generative AI¶
To do art is to be human; generative AI can never do art in this sense. I will not allow my art, in any form, to be used to train a generative AI that pretends to make art.
I will never use the output of a generative AI and claim it as my "art". I may, however, use them for research, parody, or discussion.
If I ever commission someone else, I will make sure, to the best of my ability, that they do not enlist the help of generative AI.
Future amendments¶
This manifesto is not exhaustive. There will mostly likely be amendments to this manifesto.
Two years later¶
I received an email from someone who's researching consumerism in the furry fandom, asking if I had a sequel. As I drafted the reply, I realized it was the sequel. Here it is:
Wow it's been a hot second since I wrote that. Two years? I just skimmed over it again and surprisingly do not feel the same level of cringe I get reading some of my older crap. I still stand by what I wrote.
The lack of continuation of the post is due to a symptom called "being hosed with tasks and deadlines". One day I'm gonna update that. But wouldn't succintness be one of the points of a manifesto? idk
I'm really glad you're researching consumerism in furries. So you might have seen from my blogpost catalog, I've attended three cons so far and spent at least 500 USD in the dealers den and various merch. So I'm quite guilty of consumerism. Still, ppppretty sure this is less than average (Dealers Den Georg, who spends $30k a day, is an outlier and should not be counted).
My perspective on consumerism, two years later, is that it's ok to buy stuff that you actually use, and to avoid what I call Furry-Temu (mass produced, low-quality, made to break). I actually quite enjoy wearing my Nomad Complex hoodie and Camp Howl shirt outside of the furry circle now. So far only one of my professors (who is known to be very inclusive) knows, but that was because of a furry club flyer I put up outside of our lab.
These two years have made me realize that furry drama can go far worse than consumerism. I've seen someone quit the fandom and contemplate setting their suit on fire, a club officer trespassing multiple members's boundaries and almost got a restraining order, and a chat admin making ableist insults and nuking the chat when people pointed it out. So yeah, I'll take consumerism over any of that.
Sustainability is a combination of reducing consumerism and the awareness of the human race's destruction of the environment. Not all of us are in a position to make a great impact, I've sadly realized.
I'm still adamantly against gen AI slop. For the record, I've used AI to write my code because it is purely for my own and there is no room for creativity. I also do not give a damn if you used AI for a job or coursework when it's allowed. But anything creative? Absolutely not. The point of art is expressing yourself. If you can't, you should either (a) learn how, or (b) shut up.
Sadly I've been deceived by AI slop several times, but each time there was a voice in my head telling me something wasn't right, that the eyes were like a thousand yard stare, but the image was oh so pretty, like it would have instantly been my fav had it been drawn by a human. And then I go to the comment section and people point it out.
Still, I believe that furries, among all people, will be the last to bow to AI slop. Maybe except for the Amish though?
At the end of the day, there are things much worse done by furries and non-furries that are out of my control, so my manifesto is probably just copium, written in a time when I was insecure about my one-month-old furry identity to overcompensate. Now that I'm much more comfortable, I think the #1 priority for furries is to be decent humans.