Secret(s) of the week

One of my internet obsessions is the site Postsecret, where people can anoymously send in postcards with their most deeply held secrets to the site's founder for publication. For more information, read my last post about Postsecret. I think I may make a weekly tradition out of posting my favorite secret(s) from each week's batch of postcards each Saturday/Sunday night (the site is updated every Sunday morning at midnight).

Here's the more interesting postcards from this week, and my comments.

Secret # 1: 

The text on this card (it is hard to read): "My mom insists on having a party for my 23rd birthday. I wish she would kick me out of the house instead" 

Sad statement, but not surprising, seeing as how the economy has led to more people living with family in young adulthood, and the friction that it causes. Especially if a parent still sees an adult son or daughter as a child instead of as an adult.

Secret # 2

This one confused me at first, I had no idea what a "furry" was, when I started looking it up, here's what Wikipedia told me about it.

From the Wikipedia article:

"The furry fandom is a subculture interested in fictional anthropomorphic animal characters with human personalities and characteristics.^[1] Examples of anthropomorphic attributes include exhibiting human intelligence and facial expressions, the ability to speak, walk on two legs, and wear clothes. Furry fandom is also used to refer to the community of people who gather on the Internet and at conventions.^[2]

"A survey conducted in 2007 suggested that, when compared to a non-furry control group, a higher proportion of those self-identifying as furries liked cartoons "a great deal" as children and recalled watching them significantly more often, as well as being more likely to enjoy works of science fiction than those outside of the community.<sup>[13] "

"</sup>Fans with craft skills create their own plush toys, sometimes referred to as plushies, and also build elaborate costumescalled fursuits,^[14] which are worn for fun or to participate in parades, convention masquerades, dances, or fund-raising charity events (as entertainers).^[15] Fursuits range from designs featuring simple construction and resembling sportsmascots^[13] to those with more sophisticated features that include moving jaw mechanisms, animatronic parts, prosthetic makeup, and other features. "

OK, sounds harmless enough, don't know why this would be such a secret enough that someone would feel compelled to write to Postsecret about it, unless there's more to this....

and there is.

More from Wikipedia:

"Role-playing also takes place offline, with petting, hugging and "scritching" (light scratching and grooming) common between friends at social gatherings.^[8] Fursuits or furry accessories are sometimes used to enhance the experience."

That's well, odd..... don't have more words for that at the moment.

"In their 2007 survey, Gerbasi et al. examined what it meant to be a furry, and proposed a taxonomy in which to categorise different "types" of furries. The largest group — 38% of those surveyed — described their interest in furry fandom predominately as a "route to socializing with others who share common interests such as anthropomorphic art and costumes."^[13] However they also identified furries who saw themselves as "other than human", and/or who desired to become more like the furry species which they identified with.^[8][13]"


So some of them actually see themselves as non-human?



"Of the furry fans that reported being in a relationship (approximately half of the surveyed population), 76% were in a relationship with another member of furry fandom.^[10]Examples of sexual aspects within furry fandom include erotic art and furry-themed cybersex.^[32][33] The term "yiff" is most commonly used to indicate sexual activity or sexual material within the fandom—this applies to sexual activity and interaction within the subculture whether in the form of cybersex or offline.^[34][35]

Sexual attraction to furry characters is a polarized issue within the fandom; in one survey with 4300 furry respondents, 37% answered that sexual attraction is important in their furry activities, 38% were ambivalent, and 24% answered that it has little or nothing to do with their furry activities.^[36] In a different online survey, 33% of furry respondents answered that they have a "significant sexual interest in furry", another 46% stated they have a "minor sexual interest in furry", and the remaining 21% stated they have a "non-sexual interest in furry". The survey specifically avoided adult-oriented websites to prevent bias.^[12] "


So it's also a type of fetish for some people?

Now I understand why someone would consider this worthy of a Postsecret submission. I had no idea that this subculture even existed, despite Wikipedia stating that it has been around since the early 80's. It's unusual to say the least.

Secret # 3:

My rebuttal: It isn't just a few Christians that hold hatred towards gays, unfortunately, at least in the US, it's the majority, trying to fight back against this prejudice and discrimination is not an "obsession", it's fighting for what's right, and recognizing reality. The secret sender does have a point in that the gay community shouldn't lose sight of the fact that there are Christians that are pro-gay rights, and they should try to make them feel included in the movement, don't alienate them, they may very well be the future of the new face of Christianity (though it will probably take a generation or two more before they become the majority).