Are You Crazy If You Fantasize about Being an Anthro IRL?

Papabear,

Am I just messed up in the head? Are furries like me messed up? I wish I was an anthro a lot. Does this make me screwed up? I already have lots of mental problems like schizoaffective disorder and it would suck if this meant that I'm even more messed up.

Anonymous

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Hello, Fellow Furry,

Good question, and one you usually get from mundanes, not furries—to wit: Do you have to be crazy to be a furry? Does having the urge to be a really anthropomorphic animal make you insane? I suppose, if it does, yours truly is certifiable. I think I would feel a lot more comfortable in my own skin if I looked like this IRL (art by Kleinbar). I mean, yum, hehe.

Part of this, a big part, I must admit, is my general dislike for the human race as a whole (although, not on an individual basis). This has sometimes been labeled “speciesism.” Psychologist Richard Ryder coined this term in 1970. What he was talking about, though, was human beings’ attitudes toward other animals on our planet being “only animals,” and, therefore, it was okay to kill them, ruin their habitat, and hunt them even to the point of extinction.

But, in furries, it is almost the opposite, where you get people who have a low opinion of Homo sapiens (hence, the origin of calling non-furries “mundanes”). Sometimes, this is a way for furries with low self-esteem to feel better about themselves because they are not ordinary humans. Sometimes, it is just a generalized misanthropic urge.

Then there is the fact that many furries simply find anthropomorphized characters very very attractive (hence the emergence of furporn). I, personally, have always thought a muzzle was more attractive than a flat face, that a nice, dense pelt of rich fur was beautiful, and that poofy tails are gorgeous. As a kid, heavily influenced by Disney films, of course, I wished I could jump through the screen at the movie theater and be a talking bear or wolf.

I believe, too, that many furries retreat into such fantasies because their real lives are very difficult and fantasy is a good escape that relieves tension.

Any or all of these might be true with you, take your pick, but none of them make you crazy. You know what crazy is? Crazy is the inability to perceive reality as it actually is and to make illogical choices in one’s life based on that skewed viewpoint. For example, someone believing he is the reincarnation of Napoleon Bonaparte, dressing up as a French general from the early 19th century, and then believing he is on a horse directing troops at Waterloo is crazy. Crazy is thinking that there is a demon from Hell talking in your head telling you to murder people. Crazy is Don Quixote trying to kill a windmill with his lance because he believes he is a knight fighting giants.

If you have a firm grasp on reality, if you know who you are, recognize the people and the world around you for what they are, then no, you are not crazy.

Now, you mention you have schizoaffective disorder, although you don’t explain if it is the depressive or bipolar type—no matter. There is a reason I and the professional community say “you have schizoaffective disorder” and not “you are crazy.” Because you are not crazy. You are suffering from an imbalance that causes serious mood swings, but you are not crazy.

There are many many many people out in the world leading productive, happy lives who are furries. There is nothing wrong with them; they are just into something that they get a lot of fun and pleasure out of. You should feel free to do the same.

Hope that answers your question.

Hugs,

Papabear