Fur Suits and Top Hats

Last weekend, we attended Further Confusion 2010, aka FurCon, “one of the world’s largest anthropomorphic (or “furry”) conventions”. It’s a magical place full of critters: dogs, cats, birds, horses, yeti, rabbits, mice, and the occasional unclassified creature, plus a handful of Klingons, soldier boys, and characters from cult movies.

About 3,000 ambassadors of furdom explore their own visions of sensuality with Fursuiters on Parade, art shows, dances, masquerade (yes, a furry masquerade ball), Furry performances, and an eclectic assortment of seminars: “Buddhism Panel”, “Created Species”, “How to Write dialog that Doesn’t Sound Like You Wrote It,” “Business Practices for Artists”, and “Norse Spirituality”.

The following evening, we went to the Edwardian Ball, “an unparalleled night of elegance, dancing, music, theatre, storytelling, circus arts, burlesque, and late-night revelry.” Elegant ladies in gowns, handsome gentlemen in tuxedos and top hats, wandering minstrels, a chimney sweep, ballroom dancing to waltzes and quick-step, and, of course, croquet court, mixed with tales from Edward Gorey, the bawdy lyrics of Kitten on the Keys, and shameless women with pantaloons revealing their calves.

We posed on a steam-powered motorcycle, tried on beaver-pelt hats, modeled with living statues, admired the creative costumes of the other guests, and danced Argentine Tango Vals to Viennese Waltz music (since we couldn’t remember what he learned in our Waltz classes).

Both events revealed a contagious joy in the participants. They are exploring a happy part of themselves in a place that encourages it. It doesn’t matter what you are “out there”; in your fur suit, you are that creature, and in your gown or tux, you are that lady or gentleman ¾ transforming into the images of your own vision and creativity.

–TR

The Vilena Pose

Sometimes it takes a daring woman to create change and trends. In the world of pin-up photography, certain poses become famous for these daring women, and a few of these poses are now considered classics. Think about Marilyn Monroe, who posed with her dress being blown up and showing her bare legs!  At the time it was scandalous.  And now with the Internet, a classic Myspace/Facebook photo usually consists of one or two peoples smiling with one arm outreached, as though they don’t have any other friends to ask to take their picture.

So what can a woman do to present herself in a sexy way but without the means to get someone else to take her picture? Legend has it, Vilena, a Russian woman who was on an online dating site, ran into this exact issue. Her solution? To pose in front of a mirror on her hands and knees with her butt up in the air and snap a photo from a cheap camera. The result? A weird but somehow sexy photo of a woman that doesn’t reveal much except creativity and joie de vivre!

Somehow this photo has become a viral Internet phenomenon, with a few people posting their interpretation of “The Vilena Pose”. The general elements of the photo include a bare or g-stringed butt in the air forming a sort of halo-effect around the subject’s head, on hands and knees in the “doggy-style” position, and a small camera in one hand blocking a portion of the face.

Of course, after seeing this phenomenon I just had to try it out for myself. I decided I wanted a nice backdrop so I laid down a sheepskin rug in front of the fireplace. I struck a pose and found it to be surprisingly difficult to do. Here are a few pointers for anyone else who wants to try this for themselves. In order to keep a nice arch in the back you should keep your knees together. If one knee is even one inch behind the other, it gives the illusion that your buttcheeks are lopsided, and that is not pretty! And if you spread your legs apart, it reduces the height of your butt, which makes it more difficult to maintain the halo. If you’re large-chested, it helps to have strategically place your hair in front of yourself to avoid looking like you have udders hanging down.  If you don’t have long hair, you can either keep your chest on the floor or grab a blanket to lay in front of you, since one of the things that makes this pose sexy is that it doesn’t show traditional secondary sex characteristics. Then there was an issue of perspective. I found myself taking several photos just to see which was working and which wasn’t. This was when my back started to hurt, and I ended up with rugburns on my elbows! Damn you, Vilena!

The final product, though, was a surprisingly good photo. By arching the back, any cellulite is erased and what’s left is a beautifully toned butt. I wore a cute g-string that gave it a nice “whale-tail” effect. The expression on my face shows that I was just having fun and being silly. If I were in the market to be on an online dating site, I would consider posting this shot, as it has elements of tease and creativity, two things I admire most about pin-up shots.  Besides, if someone couldn’t handle a silly photo like that, they wouldn’t be able to handle me.

Since I took the shot, I posted in on my private Flickr account. So far, the stats show that it is definitely a flash-in-the-pan novelty, receiving more than 120 hits the first day, which dwindled down to about 30 hits on the second day. I suspect that, like the surprised prairie dog and Chocolate Rain guy, this will be a trend that’s short-lived. It would be fun, however, if it ended up being considered a “classic” pose in years to come. Imagine seeing billboards, greeting cards, postcards, or product labels featuring models in the Vilena pose. Only time will tell…

Make Love Not War

I’m sure I offended them with my aerosol spray of sunscreen, because the scent was “unnatural”, just like my hair color and my boobs. But whatever. I thought hippies were supposed to be non-judgmental. My bad. But in my own defense, I did not think the contents would end up in a cloud around me rather than spray directly on me. And I did apologize once I realized my faux pas. I’m sure our plastic bottles of artificially sweetened diet Pepsi also raised an eyebrow or two. No, we definitely didn’t fit in here. We’re too “city”, too unnatural, not granola enough. Yet what struck me as ironic was that they had posted a rule that really confused me in this clothing-optional hot springs retreat: No sexuality allowed. Apparently, “some people” complained that sexual activity in the area was disturbing to them. I want to know why the discomfort of one can override the enjoyment of another. Why do they always win? You know who, the complainers, the whiners, the perpetually offended…

Okay, so I saw a guy holding his cock in the silent meditation pool. I didn’t care, it wasn’t my thing, so I looked away.  No big deal. So why couldn’t the people who complained do the same thing? Is it a control issue? If you’re so into your meditation, why are you looking at the other guy’s boner in the first place?

The sign actually read, “keep your sexual energy out of the pool area”. If we are all sexual beings from birth until death, how is that even possible? And if everyone is trying to “get back to nature” here, why should sexuality be excluded from the experience? Isn’t sex found in nature all over the place?

What are the relationships between nudity, sexuality, and danger? Is nudity intrinsically sexual, and is sex intrinsically dangerous?

I’ve skinny dipped in the ocean with a friend and did not feel sexual in the least little bit. I’ve thrown lube-pool parties with my friends where I found it to be sensual, but not sexual. And I’ve had hot, steamy sexual experiences while being clothed.  I’ve been asked to cover my nipples at a goth club in Hollywood because they serve alcohol, which of course leads to sexual violence, right? It appears that Americans are more anxious about nudity than violence itself. Janet Jackson created a scandal because she showed her nipple, yet movies and video games can show all sorts of graphic depictions of murder and assault and that’s okay…

I just don’t get it. Perhaps I never will.

And while the clothing-optional retreat might not have lived up to my idea of utopia, I am happy at least that there are places where people of all shapes, sizes, ethnicities, and ages can go and get naked in public without fear.