Autistic son & "Furries"

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Cloisters

Cloisters

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We’ve been down this road before with my son, who has a great liking for Furries – humans dressing as animals. My late son told us that the Bible condemns this. I just found on an internet marketplace that he had apparently been looking at more Furries stuff. I’ve been trying to get him to daily Mass, but life gets in the way, sometimes. He does better with consistent communion, and we’ve started attending an earlier Mass which accommodates his work schedule. Other days, we both go to the gym. He slept better when we did that.

Is there Biblical support for my argument against his frequenting the Furries subject? He told me he was trying to minister to those on the internet who were taken with the same hobby. There had been a young man he was corresponding with who sounded like he was basically atheist. The boy said he was nothing more than a lousy kid in an animal costume. I told my son we could do more for him through prayer, and other boy seemed to get better.

I realize my son is 26, but we are paying his insurance, and he still lives with us. He’s the child who opened the womb, so I am thinking he may have a vocation. He says he’s ruled out the diocesan priesthood.

Blessings,
Mrs Cloisters OP
Lay Dominican
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I don’t think there is any biblical prohibition against dressing up in an animal costume.

I think “Furry” fandom (as with any fandom) can get out of hand for some people. Those with autism tend to have a greater propensity for fixating on certain things, so that is something to be attentive to. But I don’t believe it is intrinsically wrong when done with moderation.
 
There is definitely a sexual side to “furries”…there is a lot of really bad stuff on the internet. Nasty pornographic artwork, images, fettish sites, you name it. Be verrrrrrrrrry careful letting your son get into this.
 
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As someone who is also autistic (I’m 22, BTW), although I don’t do furries (it’s not my thing), I suggest you have your son watch the following video. Going on a retreat might help as well.
A Message To All Furries
 
Obviously dressing up in a costume is not sinful. Even play acting is not sinful. But there is a fetish component to some furries groups and even some predators. There just has to be something more wholesome to do!
 
Does your son have friends offline? This is the best antidote to things becoming obsessions. Is there a local youth adult ministry in the diocese? That source of friendship and community has been the greatest blessing for my son who has Aspergers.
 
There is nothing wrong with dressing up in a costume and going to an event. I’m not aware of anything in the Bible that forbids it either, or else we’d have a real problem with costume balls and Halloween. Like anything else, moderation is important - if you actually think you are a fox or a bunny or whatever, or you can’t function without a fursuit on, that’s a problem, and it’s likely psychological, not sinful.

There are some concerns about certain types of people who hang around furry fandom. Some of them are into illicit sex or porn. The sex and porn are the problem, not the fursuit.
 
Every fandom (yes every fandom) has pr0n at some level.

Star Trek has slash fiction of kirk/picard ranging from G to adult,my little pony:friendship is magic has rule 34,star wars probably has rule 34,anime has various rule 34 like yaoi and such, for a time the adult side of anime was a joke in many movies and tv shows. Remember the movie Unbreakable? That movie had a joke about Japanese comics being all about pr0n.
 
Furry is a good hobby,every fandom has bad apples in it.


www.dailymail.co.uk

A quarter of furries are Christian, and 4% say the fandom is about sex

In the new study, titled Pleasures of the Fur , researchers examined data from The Furry Survey to find out more about the community – and the misconceptions around it.
www.dailymail.co.uk www.dailymail.co.uk

www.dailymail.co.uk

Expert says furry fandom could help some boost their mental health

In a blog post for Psychology Today, social psychologist Dr. Courtney Plante says the furry fandom has been linked to a need to belong, and desire for a distinct sense of self.
www.dailymail.co.uk www.dailymail.co.uk
 
Le_Crouton said:
Is he not able to support himself with a job? Why are you paying his insurance? Why does he have access to the internet in your house if he uses it to look at borderline porn?
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Flagged. The reasons for parents paying the insurance and him living with them are not relevant/ not your business; he has a medical condition; and not all furry material is “borderline porn”.
 
He is 26, fell off his father’s insurance, and has high-functioning autism. We attempted SSI in this state, but he was refused because they said he was able to work. The case was about to go before a judge, but my son passed, and we had to withdraw from the process. We are waiting to hear back from my husband’s job interview before attempting SSI again with an attorney. SSI is a legal process, and really should be done with an attorney.

My son does have a 2-10 hours-a-week job, and sometimes more hours if they need him. I asked him about the search results on that particular site. He said he had just looked up a book which was like an intro to Furries. The other books were recommendations made by the site.

To my knowledge, he has not been viewing p*rn. We are near-daily communicants, and I should hope that the Lord would give me a heads-up if that were happening. I started my son on the Spiritual Exercises this past Monday. They seem to be answering some of his questions.
 
I know many furries who don’t like the adult side and don’t want to do anything to do with those who are into that side of the fandom. Every fandom, (yes every fandom) has a sexual side. I once found sexualized cosplay pics without even looking. At a con one time,at a panel people were mentioning the adult side of anime,star trek Slash fiction and such. And at the dealers den,i saw some vendors selling rule 34 of anime, i kid you not. Rule 34 is a internet meme which goes,if it exists, there is p*rn of it. no exceptions.

To me furry is a nice hobby, Not as pervy as a lot of people like to pretend. Just a lot of people having fun and trying to be as silly as possible!
 
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I feel he should be allowed to be into furry thing as long as it’s the fursuiting stuff and install filters on the pc to block adult related content, either websense,sophos adult filters or such. Yeah Sophos home actually has filters that can be turned on in settings.
 
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Same as with other fandoms

And not all anime,star trek,star wars,mlp:fim material is “borderline p*rn.”

Like anime has a adult side,i remember when i was growing up that anime was associated with tentacle prn,but does that mean all anime fans are into it? No it doesn’t. Same with Star trek, star trek has kirk/picard slash ranging from g to XXX,but does that mean all trekkies view star trek prn? No it doesn’t. and Star Wars,i wonder how many kids had a crush on Princess Leia from ROTJ(don’t kid yourself) Even my little pony:friendship is magic. I heard where Hasbro was actually apologizing to parents for kids finding prn material related to my little pony. But does that mean all Bronies do that? no it doesn’t. Same with furries. Sure there are some furries who create prn. But does that mean all furries do it? No it doesn’t. Some statistics from about 2011 of all submissions on Furaffinity 87% are rated G to PG-13. Only 13% are rated adult. of the 87% rated G to PG-13{general to mature} 86% of that {75% of all submissions} are general. Don’t believe it? Check the math, the statistics are openly posted on the FA Live Journal.
 
Furries isn’t at all sinful, although some misuse of the hobby may be. The relationship between anime and hentai is the same as furries and “furry porn”. It’s a very small subgroup that uses the main fandom in a perverted way.

I personally really don’t get it and find it kind of strange…but, different strokes huh? If this is a way for your son with autism to be social and meet people, that can be a huge benefit to him. In my experience as a teacher, people with autism can have a very difficult time interacting with peers, and having a shared hobby or interest can be a big help and helps them develop social and communication skills.
 
Hoosier-Daddy said:
The fact that this needs to be said really backs up the point that a disabled person should really stay away.
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There is stuff from every fandom that is “borderline porn” or actually crosses over the border. This is not news to anybody involved in a fandom. If a person is that vulnerable to porn or near-porn, they should be avoiding fandoms in general, not just furries.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
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Hoosier-Daddy:
The fact that this needs to be said really backs up the point that a disabled person should really stay away.
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There is stuff from every fandom that is “borderline porn” or actually crosses over the border. This is not news to anybody involved in a fandom. If a person is that vulnerable to porn or near-porn, they should be avoiding fandoms in general, not just furries.
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100 Percent agree.
 
I fully admit that this is just my personal reaction to it and no one is obligated to listen to me…that said, even if this stuff is completely 100% nonsexual, it still creeps me out. It’s just got this weird arrested development, age inappropriate vibe that gives me the willies. It would be like seeing a 35 year old man riding a tricycle and eating a popsicle or something. There’s nothing objectively immoral about it, per se, but it’s just unsettling and…weird.

But again, free country. If an adult wants to dress up like a cartoon fox and play furry with other adults, it’s not my place to tell them they can’t.
 
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I don’t think you are going to be able to reasonably support your position regarding furries using the Bible. Even if it WAS inherently sinful, it wouldn’t be specifically mentioned in the Bible because people were too busy trying not to starve back then to spend their time dressing up like animals. I think if you want to state your case, you should do so not from the angle of it being sinful, but of being and unwise expenditure of time and preventing your son from engaging in real human interaction. Then maybe suggest some more appropriate alternatives.
 
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