Furvey v. furryforest =========== This version of the Furvey was created with the members of the Furry Forest in mind. It is a mixture of three different versions of the Furvey with some of our own questions added in for fun. *smiles* If you would like to see the original versions of the Furvey, please visit: www.furvey.org What is the Furry Forest, you ask? The Furry Forest is a mailing list and gallery for all members of the furry community regardless of appearance and/or lifestyle. We are a no-yiff group who advocates peace and compassion and provides artists and writers a place to post their work without fear of mean-spirited criticism. To find out more, please go to our website at www.furryforest.com To contact the creators of this version of the Furvey (v. furryforest) please feel free to email them at (remove the underscore in "earthlink" and "hotmail" ONLY) bearknight@earth_link.net and tolstoy_the_bear@hot_mail.com Paraphrased from version 3.5 of the original Furvey: The 'Furvey' is a furry lifestyle related questionnaire. You can use it as a template for introducing yourself to other furries. You may also find that completing a Furvey helps you to explore your own furry thoughts and feelings. Feedback is welcome. If you have feedback for the creators of the original versions of the Furvey, feel free to email your comments and suggestions to (remove the underline) furvey@ya_hoo.com The Furvey is voluntary. Ignore any questions or sections which do not apply to you, or which you do not wish to answer. When posting a Furvey, it is a good idea to include your name in the subject header, e.g. "JackFox's Furvey". YOURSELF 1. What is your name? 2. What is your email address? [if you are concerned about spam, replace the @ with a %] 3. Are you male or female? 4. How old are you? 5. What is the month/day you were born? 6. Where do you live? [region or city/state] 7. What are your interests/hobbies? 8. What talents do you have? 9. How would you describe your personality? 10. Is your living space (e.g. room/house/apartment/etc) furry-themed? 11. What kind of music do you like? 12. What do you do to relax/wind down? 13. Do you draw/write/make furry things? 14. Do you have a website or is your work posted anywhere? BEING FURRY 15. What is/are your species? 16. Describe yourself (e.g. height, weight, build, color, markings, scars/tattoos/etc., clothing preferences, etc.) 17. How does furriness influence your lifestyle, personality, emotions, or thoughts? Examples: - Vocalization: barking, meowing, howling, yipping, etc. - Physical: walking digigrade, pouncing friends, etc. - Online play: acting out your phenotype within a virtual world - Imagination: thinking about being an animal and/or furry in real life - Shifting: similar to 'imagination', but more intense. A form of meditation/hypnosis which induces a strong awareness with your phenotype - Dreams: dreams/nightmares relating to animals and/or furries 18. Was your furriness evident from a young age? 19. How, and when, did you realize your furriness? 20. How much control do you have over your furriness? Does it have negative side effects, has it ever manifested itself involuntarily? 21. What do you like most/least about being furry now? 22. Do you think that your (human) body resembles, in any way, an animal? (e.g. hirsute, foot shape) 23. Do you think that your personality resembles that of any animal/furry? 24. What kind of furry interests/hobbies do you have? 25. Are you ashamed/proud of being furry? 26. Have you ever worried about your 'furriness'? 27. Did you ever think you were childish/weird/confused? 28. Have you ever had a (non-sexual) furry dream? 29. Do you have (non-sexual) furry fantasies? 30. How do you enjoy/express your furriness? (e.g. being around other furries, being in the great outdoors) 31. Do you wear 'furry' clothes or fursuits? 32. Do you collect miscellaneous furry items? (e.g. books, magazines, etc.) 33. Has a major event in your life ever been affected by your furriness, or had a furry theme? (e.g. wedding) 34. Do you think you are furry for a reason? If so, why? 35. What factors influence your furriness? Examples: - Observation: being inspired by, learning from, and imitating the behaviour and activities of animals (also known as 'zoomancy') - Empathy: an innate, possibly unexplainable affinity to a particular species of animal(s) - Past life: the belief that you were an animal in your past life - Guardian spirit: external animal spirit offering you advice based around that species' 'medicine' - Cartoon stereotypes: Disney-esque characteristics (e.g. "lion are regal") or furridom clichés (e.g. "foxes are playful") - Inner spirit: the belief that you _are_ an animal spirit in a human body. Possibly accompanied by: - Species dysphoria: the feeling that you are in the 'wrong' body; that you would feel more comfortable in an animal's body BEING 'TRULY' FURRY 36. Would you become an animal/furry (assuming you could change back), given the chance? 37. Would you become an animal/furry (assuming you could NOT change back), given the chance? 38. Would you worry about being shunned by society/friends/family if you became 'truly' furry? 39. Would you (giving the chance) live in a furry-only world? 40. Describe your furry alter ego. OTHER PEOPLE 41. How do you act furry in public/in private/with friends (furry and non-furry friends)? 42. Do you worry about people knowing about your furriness? 43. Are there people (non-furries) who are tolerant of your furry lifestyle? If so, how do they support you? 44. Are there people who are intolerant of your furry lifestyle? If so, how do you cope with them? 45. Is/Are your Significant Other(s) furry? [i.e. boyfriend/girlfriend/partner. Animals don't count.] FURRY MEDIA 46. Who are your favorite furry characters (e.g. Mickey Mouse, Chester Ringtail, Amy Squirrel, Sonic, etc.) 47. What type of fury artwork do you enjoy viewing/collecting? (romantic, manga, goth, cyber/sci-fi, cutesy/toony, photomorphs/realistic, mythological, action, humorous, etc.) 48. What type of furry literature do you enjoy reading? (romantic, adventure, cyber/sci-fi, humorous/parody, etc.) 49. What are your favorite furry films/cartoons? 50. What are your favorite furry computer games? 51. What are your favorite furry comic books? 52. What are your favorite furry comic strips? 53. What types of furry media do you create? (art, stories, music, etc.) 54. Who are your favorite furry artists? 55. Who are your favorite furry writers? (mainstream authors like Colin Dann and Brian Jaques; furry fandom writers like Allen Kitchen and Will A. Sanborn; or anecdotal Homesteaders like Batty and Plonq) 56. Who are your favorite furry musicians? PLUSHIES 57. What types of plushies do you own? (species, size, color, etc. If you have a menagerie of plushies, then you don't need to list them ALL.) 58. What are your favorite species of plushies? 59. What attributes do you look for when buying a plushie? 60. Describe your ideal plushie. FURSUITS & ACCESSORIES 61. What type of fursuits do you own? (species, size, design, etc.) 62. Do you enjoy wearing furry accessories? (collars, tails, ears, etc.) 63. Do you wear your fursuits in public? (conventions, parades, etc.) If so, is it because it's your job or from fursonal choice? 64. Describe your favorite/ideal "furry" appearance. (e.g. wearing animal-themed clothes, fursuits, tail, collars, etc.) RELIGION/SPIRITUALITY 65. Have you ever communicated with an animal spirit? (e.g. animal guardian, the spirit of a living animal, the spirit of a deceased pet, etc.) 66. Do you believe you were an animal in a former life? 67. Do you believe you have an animal soul? 68. What is/are your 'totem' animal(s)? 69. Do you collect items relating to your totem animal? (e.g. statues, plushies, etc.) FURRY COMMUNITY 70. How did you discover the furry community? 71. Are you glad that you discovered the furry community? 72. How have you benefited from the furry community? 73. Have you met any furries in real life? 74. Do you go to furry gatherings? (e.g. confurences, informal gatherings) If not, do you want to? ANIMALS 75. Do you own any pets, or have access to animals (at stables, etc.)? 76. Do you work/have you ever worked/do you want to work with animals/furries? 77. Do you bond easily with animals? 78. Are you concerned about animals and the environment? 79. What are your favorite kinds of pets? 80. Are you interested in real animals as well as furries? 81. Do you have a greater-than-average knowledge of your totem animal(s)? (i.e. do you own books about your totem animal, communicate with your totem animal frequently) 82. Do you ever get annoyed about how animals (in particular, your totem animal) are portrayed in fables/mythology? 83. Have you ever/do you enjoy watching animals in the wild? (e.g. on safari, in your backyard) 84. Do you read books/magazines/etc. about animal spiritualism and other furry lifestyle topics? 85. Have you ever communicated with an animal via telepathy/empathy?