A common reaction upon encountering furries is one of disgust towards the sexual elements that are part of the community. Since ancient times, tales such as Leda and the Swan, in which Zeus takes the appearance of a swan to seduce the maiden Leda, show that the anthropomorphic figure has long been sexually charged.
Whereas Zeus sheds his divine form to mimic a lowly swan, for many furries the fursuit is a natural extension of the self, or rather, wearing the fursuit is an act of ascent towards the “ideal” self. But this appearance must also represent the anthropomorphic form to others, and as such the fursuit becomes an object of craftsmanship that aims to recreate this concept of the ideal self, the “fursona”. My degree project Beautiful Paws is an effort to explore the vast theoretical network that enshrouds the fursona in a playful way by physical acts of reproduction, alteration and examination.
