This is was my first con since the explosion in popularity of bluey. Wow, bluey sure is popular among furries. I enjoy bluey enough but have only ever watched it in the actual context of having small children (my nieces and nephews) around and haven’t watched it independent of that. Two running theories for furry bluey fandom:
- Bandit heeler is among the best fathers ever depicted on tv, eternally patient and ever willing to go along with the flights of fancy his kids lead him on. Furries—queer people who are known for going on extended flights of fancy—unfortunately also are disproportionately likely to be raised with emotionally distant parents who maybe didn’t know how to raise a queer kid or were overcorrecting for mistakes their own parents made. Bluey is a salve for this, a healing (no pun intended) look into what it’s like to actually have good parents. This mirrors, to an extent, how Mountain Goats fandom is often a socially acceptable way to say you had an absolutely terrible time in high school but you’re getting over it slowly but surely. Many but not all kidfurs (meaning the ones that don’t sexualize actual children) also fall into this camp. But some…
- Pedos with whom furry’s relationship is “don’t ask, don’t tell”. Not the majority, I think, but in a 5000 person con I wouldn’t be shocked if there were 50-100 of em. Bluey iconography sure is a great way to hide, huh