Firstly, my apologies for any offense.

Second, there's no denying that both the furry and brony/pegasister fandoms have their share of people who have legitimate social disorders, big and small. What do all of you think of it? Anyone who happens to be one of these people?

Personally I think it's one of the most beautiful aspects of both subcultures. Allowing these people who otherwise might have trouble with this sort of thing to congregate with people with the same interests. It really pisses me off when people absentmindedly yell out "LOL AUTISM" at these kinds of things.

Some people do use fandoms as some sort of an escape from reality. There's some people who take fandoms to their very core. And there are some people that see fandoms as good business opportunities and etc.

To each their own.

Franku-senpai!

Social disorder? My social life, as well as my life, are in complete order Not

Everyone is mentally ill, they just don't know it </deep>

Lance_Armstrong said:
Everyone is mentally ill, they just don't know it </deep>

"We're all crazy here".
And I dare anyone to deny that.

Well, since you asked - I was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome when I was 14. I mean, while it did justify how fucking weird and shitty I am, I'm not convinced that AS isn't true syndrome - a disorder.

Because really and truthfully, I would gladly take an autism cure, if only to allow me to socialize properly and not sweat litres whenever I talk to somebody.

PapaFranku said:
It really pisses me off when people absentmindedly yell out "LOL AUTISM" at these kinds of things.

i don't see that happen all that often anymore (least not on any of my comments) but back when i first changed my youtube pic to that of a pony this is one of the main things trolls usually say to/about fans of the show.

pony as an avatar pic? user must be autistic. granted, some members of both fandoms probably are, its an annoying generalization.

well if you ask me being a furrie is "normal" liking animals and that

but bronies, as a german i think they should be gas chambered

h4x0r said:
well if you ask me being a furrie is "normal" liking animals and that

but bronies, as a german i think they should be gas chambered

h1tl3r wasn't wrong, eh?

bronies r a bunch of 4chan trolls who trolled themselves into legitimately liking a show they were pretending to like(as a trolling attempt) and are just as autistic as the average 4chan memeboy

furries range from normal dude who dress up in animal costume, autists, and then people with mental issues worse than autism

I think 'lol, autism' is mostly just 'you like something that isn't mainstream and isn't something I like, so you're fucked up'. It's chan-speak, it's expected to be used for mindless trolling.

I mean, if you actually have a clue what autism actually is, it should be clear that most mental illnesses have nothing to do with that. Some of them are vastly differentiated (acting out, for example -- beating people or objects up, yelling at them, doing things expressly because they piss people off..), while others have a 'correlation isn't causation' relation (eg. you sure as hell don't have to be autistic to be seriously obsessive about something.)

The community norms do seem to affect the proportion of insanity, though. If you make a community where blatant insanity is relatively ignored, naturally the blatantly insane will gravitate towards that community.

Every fandom (including sports, religion, politics, etc) seems to have its own flavour of 'permitted insanity' (overall, and then individual communities modify this). Furry fandom's flavour of permitted insanity would probably be 'I'm a unique individual and deserve special treatment'.

savageorange said:
Furry fandom's flavour of permitted insanity would probably be 'I'm a unique individual and deserve special treatment'.

Well put.

Other fandoms at least have something to focus on, like a show or a hobby, so individual social problems don't appear to be as pronounced as they are in furry spheres. What makes these issues so common in the furry world is that it's a grab bag full of anything and everything, with the only consistent thing being the individual browsing through it all.

So when a young or otherwise impressionable person finds a group of mostly like-minded people where almost anything and everything is permitted, and they're conditioned to believe that anyone outside of this group will persecute them, they may find themselves stuck in developmental limbo.

The individual is allowed to pick and choose what they feel best represents the identity they want to present to others. Unique traits are seen as something to be celebrated. When someone questions or criticizes these traits, it's typically seen as an attack on the identity. The individual sticks to what they feel is comfortable, and their identity stagnates.

We all have problems. Some of us aren't as introspective as others. The furry fandom is one of many havens for those people.

big tl;dr:

If you allow it, the furry fandom can be an everlasting teenage experience with almost no repercussions for less-than-acceptable behavior. Social awkwardness will almost always persist. Chances of growing up are slim.

small tl;dr:

lol autism

h4x0r said:
bronies should be gas chambered

my fetish is kicking in

Fmafanclub said:
"We're all crazy here".
And I dare anyone to deny that.

It is not I who am crazy; it is I who am MAD!

I genuinely dislike people in general and usually prove my terminal helpfulness as just being my feeling sorry for them existing.

It's less a social disorder and more finding most people to be shit in general.

PapaFranku said:
Anyone who happens to be one of these people?

*Slowly raises hand*

PapaFranku said:
My apologies for any offense.

None taken.

Well, I don't know what to tell you aside from my personal experience. I, personally, don't feel that my furfaggotry has much to do with me being fucked in the head, though I suppose I wouldn't be the best judge of that, for obvious reasons.

Knotty_Curls said:
If you allow it, the furry fandom can be an everlasting teenage experience with almost no repercussions for less-than-acceptable behavior. Social awkwardness will almost always persist. Chances of growing up are slim.

That's what can happen when you make being furry (or any fandom) part of your identity, which autistics seem more prone to doing. I used to be like that myself, but thankfully, I grew out of it.

Ryuzaki_Izawa said:
Because really and truthfully, I would gladly take an autism cure, if only to allow me to socialize properly and not sweat litres whenever I talk to somebody.

I guess I got lucky- well, as lucky as someone being diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome at a young age can be. Most people just think I'm introverted.

Fmafanclub said:
"We're all crazy here".
And I dare anyone to deny that.

"I've been crazy all my life - it's kept me from going insane."

I'll just leave this here]

Catachan said:
I'll just leave this here]

I genuinely cannot believe that that is anything but a joke.

Super_Hornet said:
I genuinely cannot believe that that is anything but a joke.

Nope, it's real.](TW: real penis)

h4x0r said:
but bronies, as a german i think they should be gas chambered

post #481446

your wish has been granted

Catachan said:
Nope, it's real.](TW: real penis)

There is no hope. Time for me to pack my things; I'm going to the moon.

Super_Hornet said:
There is no hope. Time for me to pack my things; I'm going to the moon.

But you haven't even seen the pony cum jar project yet

Catachan said:
But you haven't even seen the pony cum jar project yet

If a man-hating feminazi made something like this, it'd be modern art.

Munkelzahn said:
If a man-hating feminazi made something like this, it'd be modern art.

the pony menses project?

Munkelzahn said:
If a man-hating feminazi made something like this, it'd be modern art.

I disagree with the assumption that it isn't already.

treos said:
i don't see that happen all that often anymore

I have pretty often. Not just for furries or bronies. Anime fans too, also certain kinds of gamers, ie:Roblox, Minecraft.

treos said;
its an annoying generalization.

Indeed.

I'm getting tired of people comparing furries and bronies to autistic people. "Autism" is not an insult and it shouldn't be used as such. I understand that the internet has caused the issue, but I don't respect anyone who uses autistic/autism/autist as an insult toward people who aren't autistic. Yes, there may be a few autistic furries and bronies, but calling all bronies autistic is just wrong.

Lance_Armstrong said:
Franku-senpai!

It just hit me. The irony of bringing up this topic regarding my username.

Ryuzaki_Izawa said:
Well, since you asked - I was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome when I was 14. I mean, while it did justify how fucking weird and shitty I am, I'm not convinced that AS isn't true syndrome - a disorder.

Because really and truthfully, I would gladly take an autism cure, if only to allow me to socialize properly and not sweat litres whenever I talk to somebody.

Actinium-89 said:
I genuinely dislike people in general and usually prove my terminal helpfulness as just being my feeling sorry for them existing.

It's less a social disorder and more finding most people to be shit in general.

Super Hornet said:
*slowly raises hand*

Brave of people to admit this :)

My case is a bit like Actinium's. I just grew up in an environment in which I had underdeveloped social skills. Not as serious as a full disorder, but still annoying as hell at times.

JoeX said:

I'm getting tired of people comparing furries and bronies to autistic people. "Autism" is not an insult and it shouldn't be used as such. I understand that the internet has caused the issue, but I don't respect anyone who uses autistic/autism/autist as an insult toward people who aren't autistic. Yes, there may be a few autistic furries and bronies, but calling all bronies autistic is just wrong.

My point PRECISELY.

Catachan said:
I'll just leave this here]

hmmm...looks to me like you found another lepepper. only this guy seems to have been taken a fair bit farther as this guy refers to twilight as his fiance.

Fmafanclub said:
"We're all crazy here".
And I dare anyone to deny that.

crazy? see the pic catachan linked for some crazy. we may all be crazy but most probably aren't THAT crazy. its just varying levels of craziness here and there.

Dey hate us cuz dey ain't us

I would stick to Freuds theories and say that the favorism of Anthropomorphics is based on Zoophilia. And according to Hannibal Lectre ( ^^ ) we desire the things we see daily. So my guess is that most Furries own pets / animals.
The whole "autism" thing is probably meant as metapher for "living in his/her/their own world" + "without thinking outside of it". Very wrong use of the term, but how old is the "Generation Internet"?, so I just say "stupid kids" [I can btw go deeper with details about autism, but this isn't a psychology lesson ;-)]

Don't know if the first 2 sentences lead me to the fandom or my White Jacket psychopathy (Disorder without violent outbreaks caused by social exclusion)

h4x0r said:
but bronies, as a german i think they should be gas chambered

E.on sorgt schon heute für das Gas von morgen

PapaFranku said:
Brave of people to admit this :)

Thanks. Saying that does make it easier...

I don't really want to reply to this comment after I make it but I'll just place this here:

Massive rant incoming (waiting on a bid for an amiibo, staying up and I needed something to do)

Hopefully this helps with your question.

@Cutedementia
Harsh, but to the point.

D4rk said:
I would stick to Freuds theories

Freud's theories have been disproven decades ago, if you base anything on them you're likely to be directly wrong.

Cutedementia said:

Massive rant incoming (waiting on a bid for an amiibo, staying up and I needed something to do)

Http://snip.pl works like a charm.

NotMeNotYou said:
Freud's theories have been disproven decades ago, if you base anything on them you're likely to be directly wrong.

Damn it NotMeNotYou , I'm an office clerk not a psychologist. ;-)

I would still stick with my zoophilia theory when it comes to R34 content.

D4rk said:
I would stick to Freuds theories and say that the favorism of Anthropomorphics is based on Zoophilia. And according to Hannibal Lectre ( ^^ ) we desire the things we see daily. So my guess is that most Furries own pets / animals.
The whole "autism" thing is probably meant as metapher for "living in his/her/their own world" + "without thinking outside of it". Very wrong use of the term, but how old is the "Generation Internet"?, so I just say "stupid kids" [I can btw go deeper with details about autism, but this isn't a psychology lesson ;-)]

Don't know if the first 2 sentences lead me to the fandom or my White Jacket psychopathy (Disorder without violent outbreaks caused by social exclusion)

E.on sorgt schon heute für das Gas von morgen

I'm not sorry.

Cutedementia said:

[snip]

This. Basically everything about this.

Regular people (sports fans) are the exact same thing as furry fandom participants. You're both delusional, you're both crazy in your own ways.

And both are occassionally forced to look at people in fursuits. :P

Knotty_Curls said:
I'm not sorry.

oh, no insult taken

Cutedementia said:
I don't really want to reply to this comment after I make it but I'll just place this here:

Massive rant incoming (waiting on a bid for an amiibo, staying up and I needed something to do)

Furrys:
- Talk about/obsess over fictional animal based characters
- Sometimes debate which character is better (Fighting based rp or whatever)
- Read stories based on those characters (Backstorys)
- Can remember some of the stats for their/others characters: Height, weight, penis length?
- Put their character into fantasy situations involving other characters/settings
- Sometimes wear a costume to make themselves look like their favorite character

Regular people (sports)
- Talk about/obsess over people in games with made up rules
- Sometimes debate which person is better (Insert 2 random names of football players)
- Read about their favorite players life before NFL or whatever. (Backstorys)
- Can remember some if not all the stats of their favorite player/person: Height, Weight, running distances, penis length?
- Put their favorite person into -FANTASY- "league" situations involving other characters/games (fantasy football)
- Wear their favorite persons attire (jersy?/gersy? How the hell do I spell that shit) sometimes even to work or to school.

hmmmm.... Noticing some strange coincidences..

Possible responses to this argument:

- Yea but our favorite sports people are -REAL PEOPLE-
Response: Yes, playing a fictional game made up by other people
Which in comparison: Furrys do RP stuff, which is a fictional setting set up by two or more people.

- You can't compare a real life sport and profession to a fandom about animals and sex
Response: Yes, I can. They're both fictional in their own right. Fursuit or (jersy?) It's the same damn thing. You're both showing off your (favorite?) character or person by wearing attire that represents them in some way.
Which in comparison: ^^^^

- Yea but a fair chunk of the furry population (No, not all) do have social/mental problems
Response: That's because they're not welcome with you guys at sports bars so they come home to the internet where people treat them with at least some respect. assholes.
Which in comparison: A *?*lot*?* (NO NOT ALL) of the sports obsessed population lacks a lot of IQ points, but we don't call you autistic for it.

- But don't furrys have sex with real animals? (Beastiality)
Response: Please shut up.

- What if a furry is bothering me with their antics? Such as going out in public dressed in a fursuit, or talking about this hobby in public. Maybe my roommate has furry porn all over his walls!!!
Response: Get over yourself, you probably have posters all over your walls of bands, sports games/people, "Sexy" girls, cars, whatever. You're just as delusional. Get over it.

- But all the furrys I ever see are the social awkward ones/mentally challanged/handicapped
Response: You clearly haven't gotten that far into the fandom. Or they might just be fucking with you.
Which in comparison: The entry level sports fan usually only knows a couple stats and can't hold a conversation about anything other then sports so.... Same thing. Where as if you go deeper into the "fandom" you'll find people who know every stat and are quite versed in the english language.

(I'll wrap this rant up soon I swear)

- But all furrys are gay and-
Response: No
Which in comparison: A good percentage (If not almost all) Sports fans are straight males (yes there are plenty of females, not the point) There's hardly any gay people in that fandom. Just because some parts of the furry fandom is the other way around doesn't make it any different. It's just what happens to attract that crowd of people. Homoerotic things attract homoerotic people.

- But how is any regular sane person attracted to animals?
Response: How is any "regular" sane person this upset over a different set of ideals then your own? It's like saying you don't like people who eat Fritos because you don't like them. You're gana be put in a mental asylum for that so let's do it for this too. Quick get in the white jacket.
Which in comparison: How are you attracted to watching big hulky men bash into eachother for a couple hours a day?

- But some furrys take things to extreme like the guy who claimed he married Twilght Sparkle
Response: Some football fans take to extremes and stalk their favorite players, one time (can't find the article) A fan tried to force some guy into marrying her through legal action cause he tossed a ring at her at some point? I don't remember the details but you guys are just as fucked up.

- But since most furrys are gay my religion says-
Response: Shut up.

And lastly. Cause this is going on too long:

- Furrys obsess over "Sexy" anthro girls with fur/horns/whatever and (sometimes) imagine having sex with strange creatures in order to get themselves "off" and even go to some lengths as to buy massive dragon penisis off "bad dragon" because apparently a regular penis isn't good enough because you're a bunch of delusional fucks and you have departed so far from the human condition you might as well be put in a mental institution.

Response: Ever seen what "regular" people are into? there are fetishs (normal ones) Which include: accidental anal, forced creampies, schoolgirls, underaged, shit/piss/whatever bodily fludid, grandpa/young teen, grandma/young teen, you're just as fucked up just in different ways. Do we need to mention 2 girls one cup and several other pretty weird ass shit you "normal" people put out?

If we're delusional for liking a fictional character who's stats/content have no basis in reality then so are you. Your favorite football player, sure yes he's real. And his stats are based off real events but it all takes place in a fictional world, a fictional game. Yes it's for real money and real jobs are at stake but it's still just a game, and you guys get worked up over it all the time. Riots happen when people don't see their favorite team win. Whal in comparison when the furry crowd loses and artist or a comic doesn't go the way they want it to they just say "alright time to find something else to look at" you guys are just as delusional if not more so in some cases. Some people are only in the fandom because some of the artist are REALLY, REALLY GOOD. some people are here because that's what they like to see/experience sexually. How is it your concern what shape of a dildo someone shoves into their body every night, both groups are pretty much equally insane both obsessing over meaningless things so why instead of bothering one group over how they act and how it shouldn't be like that, you just shut the hell up and enjoy your own activities?

There was an incident not too long ago where someone dropped chemicals at a furry meeting, and some people got sick, no one knows if it was on purpose or not. The furry fandom was pissed because it might be on purpose and it might have risked lives but we got over it. Some people respond with "lol a bunch of furfags got "attacked" at one of their bestiality meetings" (saying that in the most belligerent tone I can)

And that's apparently funny to you, that a group of people you don't like got attacked by someone. Meanwhile if this happened at one of YOUR SPORTS GAMES. You'd be FURIOUS, and it's likely that the furry community would be off to their forums to talk about what happened not with the message of: "Haha the jock assholes got attacked" and more along the lines of "Shit someone could have gotten killed what the hell happened"

Long story short:

TL:DR
Regular people (sports fans) are the exact same thing as furry fandom participants. You're both delusional, you're both crazy in your own ways. You have the same population of people, people with social problems, with anger problems, with sexual problems. No one is different in these scenarios just because one likes sweaty men bashing into each other at 10mph and watching injury's on a field whal the other likes furry based RP, both of your "games" are fictional and you're both delusional in your own way. (There goes that word AGAIN) No group has more or less "autistic/socially challanged" people in it. You're the same people weather you like it or not. And the furry fandom is a lot more accepting of you then you are of them. I'd rather have my sons/daughters turn out to be hardcore furry then hardcore pro wrestling fan. At least then they might be able to tolerate other people better.

Hopefully this helps with your question.

Best comment ever.

parasprite said:
And both are occassionally forced to look at people in fursuits. :P

Some of the mascots -- I mean, the people who work as the mascot -- are furries. It's one of the few socially acceptable jobs where you get to wear a fursuit in public.

1. I don't believe I have any social disorders. For a long time my social skills were very underdeveloped or perhaps underused because, as an introvert, I would rarely engage in or contribute to conversations if I had no functional need to do so. However, I would also struggle to order my thoughts into something concise in real-time that could be readily understood without taking over a conversation. To that effect, I once said that I think in paragraphs rather than sentences. If you've seen my posts here (read: "my thoughts"), that should be clear. At present, I would say I'm slow but no longer silent.

2. I've never really regarded autism insults as serious insults worthy of hurt feelings, but I also can't see them ever personally offending me either. I just can't take those comments seriously when the insulter very likely doesn't really understand what they're saying and they mean something else. That crystallized for me when I saw someone refer to invincibility frames in fighting games as "autist frames".

3. That specific type of insult also comes off as particularly immature to me. At a basic level they read like "haha, you like something/are serious about something and that makes you weird/abnormal". So? Are these people like impressionable teenagers with undeveloped individualities or such weak-minded adults that they never got passed that point or something? I think it's preferable to be accused of taking something seriously--whatever that may be--than aspiring to be a dull mainstream conformist who's afraid of expression.

4. As for "autistic" furries, I kind of keep my head in the sand. I don't venture too far because that stuff's hella awkward! I like e621 because, as I believe I said in a previous post, its members are "sufficiently disillusioned". I want to see a clear separation between fantasy and reality when I dabble in furry, where things like roleplaying (as/with non-humans), hugbox-itis and whatever other special furry keywords I'm missing fall squarely under fantasy and out of my sight. Hence, I would say I'm not a "true" furry; maybe that makes me a furry user rather than a furry member.

5. Finally, as for "autistic" bronies, god... I barely care at all about that drama. Half or more of it seems to be a spectacle for the sake of it, and I say that as someone who's very likely seen every (Pony) Thread Simulator made publicly available on YouTube until around 1 year ago. As far as I'm concerned, the remainder of bronies who are not in it for the spectacle at all--perhaps those who create and perpetuate the spectacle--are no different from furries, meaning some are quite normal while still others can't keep their shit (or spaghetti) in check.

6. I guess there was one more small point. For the people who do have social or developmental disorders who are also furries or bronies, well that in itself makes no difference to me. "They", in the broadest sense, are among us everywhere, whether they broadcast it or not. I care about (visible) behaviors only and indiscriminately reserve harsh judgement for all.

abadbird said:
[snip]

Please use "section]" next time "/section]"

so brave

Not all furries/bronies have autism, just most. And all it takes is most

I have a few problems with what you said here...

Cutedementia said:
- Yea but our favorite sports people are -REAL PEOPLE-
Yes, playing a fictional game made up by other people

It's real life, like, a real game, with real people, in which years of training and athleticism went into molding the basically superhuman athlete.

Also there have been samples taken in the past by multiple different sources. A study done at Anthrocon 2013 said that:

The most conservative estimates suggest that, based on the obtained data, furries are at least 2.25 times more likely to have Asperger’s Syndrome than the general population, even after controlling for different sex ratios in the furry fandom.

And if you want to read through another entire research paper from just this past year showing the similarities (but mostly the differences) between furries and sports fans (and anime fans), including a nice passage on the larger than average gay and transgender population in furry culture. You can read that here

Look, I'm all for what you are trying to say, but it's much more beneficial to come equipped with some facts and statistics, rather than emotional anecdotes and cynicism.

Knotty_Curls said:
so brave

Knotty_Curls said:
so brave

Why the (presumed) sarcasm?

Moon_Moon said:
Also there have been samples taken in the past by multiple different sources. A study done at Anthrocon 2013 said that:

This isn't about that. Here allow me to explain a second time:

Super_Hornet said:
Why the (presumed) sarcasm?

Because the amount of generalizations, assumptions, and circlejerking in this thread is embarrassing.

I know that my own response to this topic has its own guesswork and can be completely picked apart. It's based on years of casual observation, not essay-acceptable research. However, it's still, at the very least, a bit more impersonal than other replies I've read.

As Moon Moon put it:

Moon_Moon said:

Look, I'm all for what you are trying to say, but it's much more beneficial to come equipped with some facts and statistics, rather than emotional anecdotes and cynicism.

To those of you preaching understanding and tolerance, I 100% agree with you. The world would be a better place. But please, please, PLEASE, if you come asking for these things, extend everyone else the same courtesy.

Cutedementia said:

You're asking me to bring in facts but that's not what this is about.

This is what we need to change.

Knotty_Curls said:
This is what we need to change.

So what do you suggest? I don't think there are many studies on the relation between autism and these obscure fandoms. Moon's is the first one I've ever seen.

Super_Hornet said:
So what do you suggest? I don't think there are any studies on the relation between autism and these obscure fandoms (although I would like to read any if they do exist).

I remember there being a correlation between autism and having a tendency to identify with animals, but I don't have anything to back it up so don't quote me on it.

Not exactly relevant for fandoms as a whole though.

parasprite said:
I remember there being a correlation between autism and having a tendency to identify with animals, but I don't have anything to back it up so don't quote me on it.

Not exactly relevant for fandoms as a whole though.

autism is my spirit animal