2 ms·

The funny thing is that while I don't doubt in my mind that a lot of the folks with anime/furry illustrations in their blogs are generally younger, I suspect ma

by jchw 4y ago

The funny thing is that while I don't doubt in my mind that a lot of the folks with anime/furry illustrations in their blogs are generally younger, I suspect many of them are still knocking on 30 at least. What happened? Anime and furry fandom became more socially acceptable across contexts. Why? Probably because of the ridiculous degree to which we are connected online and the way this has eroded our ability to segregate identities. A lot of people you have seen online have always been huge losers, but many of them are more open to flagrantly displaying it now. Is this good? Dunno. I think making some of these subcultures more mainstream can suck for the subcultures themselves. I've never found it all that off-putting personally, but that could just be a reflection of my own biases as a long-time online loser.

diputsmonro 4y ago
Generally agree, but I do have to bristle with the "huge losers" sentiment. The fact that furries/weebs have a strong visibility in the professional software/IT space should be a signal that those people aren't losers, and are in fact doing quite well for themselves. And if you're in the industry, then you need to do yourself a favor and remove that label from yourself. What you call a "flagrantly display", I call a typical, progressive break from meaningless social conventions. People like cute drawings and post them on their websites, so what? And I think it provides good visibility to those communities to demonstrate the skilled and creative people that inhabit it.
- jchw 4y ago
  I mean, the truth is, it's obviously not that weird. It's a reflection of culture, at least in America, that I regard such things in this light. Still, I mean it with affection. The fact that it was somewhat outcast culture also freed it from the bounds of giving a damn about social acceptability, which led to some very free creativity. I always embraced this. I realize now this attitude may seem unnecessarily self-deprecating, though. Oh well.

by jchw 4y ago

diputsmonro 4y ago

Generally agree, but I do have to bristle with the "huge losers" sentiment. The fact that furries/weebs have a strong visibility in the professional software/IT space should be a signal that those people aren't losers, and are in fact doing quite well for themselves. And if you're in the industry, then you need to do yourself a favor and remove that label from yourself. What you call a "flagrantly display", I call a typical, progressive break from meaningless social conventions. People like cute drawings and post them on their websites, so what? And I think it provides good visibility to those communities to demonstrate the skilled and creative people that inhabit it.

jchw 4y ago
I mean, the truth is, it's obviously not that weird. It's a reflection of culture, at least in America, that I regard such things in this light. Still, I mean it with affection. The fact that it was somewhat outcast culture also freed it from the bounds of giving a damn about social acceptability, which led to some very free creativity. I always embraced this. I realize now this attitude may seem unnecessarily self-deprecating, though. Oh well.