Furry lifestyler

A furry lifestyler is one who lives a furry lifestyle, to put it simply. However, like most things in the furry community, the term Lifestyler tends to have different meanings depending on who you ask, and the context. It varies in the amount of devotion to the subculture, but usually it is exclusive to the more extreme cases.

The furry lifestyle, lived by those who call themselves lifestylers involves a more pronounced expression of what the Furry Fandom means to them in real life through their actions and beliefs. Lifestylers tend to identify more strongly than typical furries with their furry avatars, and often act out animalistic behaviors of them. For example, a wolf furry lifestyler might go out barefoot to howl at the moon, and an otter lifestyler might spend much of the day swimming. Often this is coupled with a strong belief in an animal totem, and many lifestylers feel their avatar's spirit selected them instead of them selecting their avatar of choice. Fursuiting and other costuming are popular with lifestylers, as are verbalizations such as "Murr" and "Meef" that express their furriness.

Furry lifestylers have a few distinct subgroups, such as the barepaws and the old TLKIAWOLers (A Lion King oriented version of FIAWOL or Fandom Is A Way Of Life).

While a select few weres or therians may also live a furry lifestyle, this is extremely rare. In fact many tend to ignore or look down upon lifestylers and even the furry subculture as a whole.

Definitions

• The broadest, simplest and shortest definition of this word was put forth by Renard Foxx and states simply that "A lifestyler is any person for whom furry extends beyond a simple interest and affects their daily life."
• To some, this term has a decidedly negative connotation and is used to refer to those within the community who flaunt and publicly display their furry tendencies in every social situation, those who are unable to distinguish between the situations which are appropriate or not for furry behaviour and those who try to impose furriness on others.
• To others, the definition of "furry as a way of life" is more accurate. For these furs, furriness is not something that you do, it is something that you are, an inseparable part of oneself. It may be a part of their spirituality. This is distinct from the notion of being a furry fan, who, by contrast, can choose to 'not be furry' at times.

• The term is also used to describe those who choose to participate in furry activities, yet are perceived as not being truly furry (a highly subjective evaluation). This viewpoint is most often expressed by those who have been in the fandom for longer periods of time when talking about newcomers, especially those who try to rapidly immerse themselves into the fandom.

Yiff

This tends to remain a constant whether you are a lifestyler or not. Many Furries tend to see yiff as a sexual activity. Furry lifestylers generally tend to choose likeminded people as their mate. One who chooses being a furry as a lifestyle would most likely not have a problem choosing someone outside the fandom as their mate.

See also

• Category:Lifestylers - People who identify themselves as furry lifestylers.
• A Furrytale - short documentary about a furry who might be deemed a lifestyler