So I was thinking of a conversation I had a few days ago, about when I first joined Furry fandom.
It was—by total coincidence, I'm sure—around the same time the fandom was going through its "there's too many gays in the fandom" phase, and how the fact that I had an INFLATABLE UNICORN (😱😱😱) as a fursona resulted in a lot of undeserved flak from folks who apparently thought I was singlehandedly responsible for destroying the fandom or something.
From their reaction, you'd think I was parading around the hotel lobby decked out in bondage gear, a pup mask, and a power drill strapped to my crotch or something. Which is funny because anyone who's actually seen me at cons knows how boring and average I look.
And goodness knows I wasted a lot of my virtual breath trying to reason with the more conservative elements of the fandom back in the day. It was a valiant attempt, at least.
I stopped trying to reason with them eventually. As a friend rightfully pointed out at the time: "We don't try to reason with hate groups because reasonable people don't join hate groups."
The point is it would never matter how boring and average I was at conventions. I'm gay, and they'd arbitrarily decided there were "too many" of me. When someone's goal is to eradicate anything that's not the norm, it's not a question of if they come for you, but when. There is no level or boring or average that will appease them. They just want to make the world as grey and miserable as they are.
And, y'know, fuck that.
I didn't survive the fucking Reagan years to let some ignorant dipshit try to force me back into the closet.
Furry fandom is an amazingly creative space where you can play with and explore any identity you can imagine. It's my absolute favorite thing about Furry. I love my colorful, whimsical, and yeah, VERY GAY inflatable unicorn fursona. I've had him for ~30 years at this point.
I love that we all create our own individual and unique characters. Often, as a reflection of ourselves. Which makes sense when you think about it. As JuliusGoat says, "Every human being is a unique and irreplaceable work of art carrying intrinsic and unsurpassable worth."
Anyway, I guess my point is don't waste your time trying to appease folks who want to stomp out all the colorful and different things that make the fandom---and the world---a weird and wonderful place.
Be good, stay safe, have fun.
🦄💕🏳️🌈