5 ms·

I get why furries are called that — they’re into human-animal caricatures with fur. What do you call someone who likes dragons? Scalies?

nicman23 1y ago
yep that is what they are calling themselves
- senectus1 1y ago
  They're not InDrag? :-D sorry, this is a silly subject
- rootsudo 1y ago
  TIL and I didn't want to, sigh, Internet.
  - mukesh610 1y ago
    Unintentionally discovering a thing you know you're going to hate has got to be top 10 internet experiences.
    - some_furry 1y ago
      Hate's a strong word for this interaction.
  - toast0 1y ago
    Don't ask a question you don't want answered :P
cess11 1y ago
People who are into dragons are furries, it's not a literal term. Their furry subgroup is usually called scalies, which besides dragons and snakes include people who are into things like salamanders and other amphibians. I'm under the impression that such taxonomies are less important to these in-groups than whether you're just into the aesthetic or get off on it sexually as well.
- JCattheATM 1y ago
  Disney movies and 80s cartoons with talking animals really created a whole new subculture.
  - seabass-labrax 1y ago
    It certainly didn't start with 80s cartoons - anthropomorphized depictions of animals feature among the oldest written works. Aesop's Fables are 2500 years old, and the geographic dispersal of similar stories indicates that they originate even further back than that.
    - JCattheATM 1y ago
      Sure, but it was 80's kids who started tuning in every week, nay, day, and forming emotional attachments with cartoon animals.
  - cess11 1y ago
    Austin Osman Spare did it earlier than that, as did some of the old greeks and others.
colpabar 1y ago
Fun fact: there are also "therians", which are people who truly believe they are part/all animal.
- vegadw 1y ago
  I'm a furry (Been for ~10 years, actually going to a big con in a week) but not a Therian. I too sometimes find some of the Therians a bit, uh, eccentric. But I think it's worth clarifying that most (I think) don't literally believe themselves to be part animal or werewolves or whatever, I think it's usually a spiritual thing, where they so strongly identify with the animal that it's part of how they act and see themselves. I, personally, find that actually more understandable (as someone that isn't in the group) than I do, say, most religions and their belief in a higher power. That's not to in an attempt to offend or belittle either group (or the overlap, religious Therians), just a view from my particular perspective where it's really no more strange than anything else people do. If it makes them happy, lets them connect with others, etc. who am I to judge? There are, of course, outliers that literally believe themselves to be shapeshifters or whatever, but, okay? As long as its not impacting their day-to-day too much, many of them are still probably mentally more healthy than a lot of other people.
  - lilyball 1y ago
    Speaking as a trans therian, being a therian is kind of like being trans, except there's no cross-species HRT, and even fewer people will be willing to respect your identity. It is really hard to actually describe what this means, though. What's the actual distinction between "they so strongly identify with the animal" and "they are the animal, trapped in a human body"? Is it just the desire to tell us "ok but you know you really are human, right?" I know my body is a human body, I know my DNA is human DNA, but that doesn't say anything about the mind inside this body, the concept of self. What I experience can best be described by a thought experiment: imagine that, through some magic spell, an animal was put into the body of a human and had to learn how to fit in to human society. What would that animal be feeling after all that? Probably the same way I feel. Ultimately though, it doesn't really matter how one tries to describe this. None of the descriptions will be sufficiently accurate. But what matters is that treating me as the animal whose identity I claim makes me happy, and it doesn't harm anyone.
RiverCrochet 1y ago
My cousin is a furry, and she has the following the say about it: 'You still use the term furry, really. "Furry" has become an wide umbrella term used for artwork featuring fictional anthropomorphized animals and tends to cover any species - so this would include fur-less animals such as reptiles, amphibians, birds, and even insects. "Scalie" is used to describe art/characters featuring anthropomorphized reptilies and dragons. Fans of them would still be furries tho.'

nicman23 1y ago

yep that is what they are calling themselves

senectus1 1y ago
They're not InDrag? :-D sorry, this is a silly subject
rootsudo 1y ago
TIL and I didn't want to, sigh, Internet.
- mukesh610 1y ago
  Unintentionally discovering a thing you know you're going to hate has got to be top 10 internet experiences.
  - some_furry 1y ago
    Hate's a strong word for this interaction.
- toast0 1y ago
  Don't ask a question you don't want answered :P

cess11 1y ago

People who are into dragons are furries, it's not a literal term. Their furry subgroup is usually called scalies, which besides dragons and snakes include people who are into things like salamanders and other amphibians. I'm under the impression that such taxonomies are less important to these in-groups than whether you're just into the aesthetic or get off on it sexually as well.

JCattheATM 1y ago
Disney movies and 80s cartoons with talking animals really created a whole new subculture.
- seabass-labrax 1y ago
  It certainly didn't start with 80s cartoons - anthropomorphized depictions of animals feature among the oldest written works. Aesop's Fables are 2500 years old, and the geographic dispersal of similar stories indicates that they originate even further back than that.
  - JCattheATM 1y ago
    Sure, but it was 80's kids who started tuning in every week, nay, day, and forming emotional attachments with cartoon animals.
- cess11 1y ago
  Austin Osman Spare did it earlier than that, as did some of the old greeks and others.

colpabar 1y ago

Fun fact: there are also "therians", which are people who truly believe they are part/all animal.

vegadw 1y ago
I'm a furry (Been for ~10 years, actually going to a big con in a week) but not a Therian. I too sometimes find some of the Therians a bit, uh, eccentric. But I think it's worth clarifying that most (I think) don't literally believe themselves to be part animal or werewolves or whatever, I think it's usually a spiritual thing, where they so strongly identify with the animal that it's part of how they act and see themselves. I, personally, find that actually more understandable (as someone that isn't in the group) than I do, say, most religions and their belief in a higher power. That's not to in an attempt to offend or belittle either group (or the overlap, religious Therians), just a view from my particular perspective where it's really no more strange than anything else people do. If it makes them happy, lets them connect with others, etc. who am I to judge? There are, of course, outliers that literally believe themselves to be shapeshifters or whatever, but, okay? As long as its not impacting their day-to-day too much, many of them are still probably mentally more healthy than a lot of other people.
- lilyball 1y ago
  Speaking as a trans therian, being a therian is kind of like being trans, except there's no cross-species HRT, and even fewer people will be willing to respect your identity. It is really hard to actually describe what this means, though. What's the actual distinction between "they so strongly identify with the animal" and "they are the animal, trapped in a human body"? Is it just the desire to tell us "ok but you know you really are human, right?" I know my body is a human body, I know my DNA is human DNA, but that doesn't say anything about the mind inside this body, the concept of self. What I experience can best be described by a thought experiment: imagine that, through some magic spell, an animal was put into the body of a human and had to learn how to fit in to human society. What would that animal be feeling after all that? Probably the same way I feel. Ultimately though, it doesn't really matter how one tries to describe this. None of the descriptions will be sufficiently accurate. But what matters is that treating me as the animal whose identity I claim makes me happy, and it doesn't harm anyone.

RiverCrochet 1y ago

My cousin is a furry, and she has the following the say about it: 'You still use the term furry, really. "Furry" has become an wide umbrella term used for artwork featuring fictional anthropomorphized animals and tends to cover any species - so this would include fur-less animals such as reptiles, amphibians, birds, and even insects. "Scalie" is used to describe art/characters featuring anthropomorphized reptilies and dragons. Fans of them would still be furries tho.'