Should I mention that I'm a furry in my SOP?

[Winged Scapula]

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Members do not see this ad.

This is a thing?

Exactly.

I'm fairly sure most faculty have no idea it exists.

Even I had to google it.

 

[deleted407021]

I know not all furries are bronies but are all bronies furries?

Wow, never thought I'd ask this on SDN

No, but there's some overlap. The two fandoms are unrelated as far as their origins.

 

[Demosthenes1]

Definitely.
Can't see a single problem with doing this.

 

[The Knife & Gun Club]

Had to google this to figure out what it was...thanks for giving me nightmares

 

[Lucca]

Adcoms and other adult folk I can understand but how can you exist on the Internet and not know what furries are.

 

[avgn]

Adcoms and other adult folk I can understand but how can you exist on the Internet and not know what furries are.

Because, believe it or not, be careful this might change the entire way you view society and people at large, most people only use the Internet for things they are interested in.

 

[Lucca]

Because, believe it or not, be careful this might change the entire way you view society and people at large, most people only use the Internet for things they are interested in.

That's wild.

 

[Psai]

Exactly.

I'm fairly sure most faculty have no idea it exists.

Even I had to google it.

What are your thoughts?

 

[Reckoner]

What are your thoughts?

Have you seen her avatars? She's clearly into it

 

[The Knife & Gun Club]

Adcoms and other adult folk I can understand but how can you exist on the Internet and not know what furries are.

If you look at my "top sites" on google, you'd see SDN, Facebook, Amazon, and 3 blank tiles since I've yet to visit any other websites lol.

 

[Summerlax2016]

I will be applying next year and am writing my POS. I have several hobbies, and one is "fursuiting" (i.e. being a furry). I have actually won several dance awards at furry conventions and am active in the community. Should I mention my involvement and awards?

I had to google what this was, and it is awesome...

 

[Dr Tony T. Chopper]

Pls no.

I had to google what this was, and it is awesome...

 

[Summerlax2016]

Pls no.

haha okay i just looked at it more its a bit strange. I just saw the costumes, and that the OP mentioned dancing. My assumption was that it was people who do dance competitions dressed up like that which is hysterical...

 

[WingedOx]

I mean, we can all judge the habits of others, but last night I drove past the United Center and witnessed 20,ooo people walking through town dressed up in expensive but poorly made hockey player costumes before entering a large convention center to ritualistically cheer for a sexual predator and his teammates. Then I'm sure many of them went home and had sex, some of which while still wearing their hockey player costumes.

again, it's a tough call between them and the furries...

 

[piii]

I mean, we can all judge the habits of others, but last night I drove past the United Center and witnessed 20,ooo people walking through town dressed up in expensive but poorly made hockey player costumes before entering a large convention center to ritualistically cheer for a sexual predator and his teammates. Then I'm sure many of them went home and had sex, some of which while still wearing their hockey player costumes.

again, it's a tough call between them and the furries...

It's shameful that, despite that facts that Patrick Kane's allegations were dismissed in a court of law, and that he was never charged, you still label him as a predator. Either have faith in the justice system, or condemn every single person who has ever had a charge dismissed for being the criminal they were alleged to be.

 

[WingedOx]

It's shameful that, despite that facts that Patrick Kane's allegations were dismissed in a court of law, and that he was never charged, you still label him as a predator. Either have faith in the justice system, or condemn every single person who has ever had a charge dismissed for being the criminal they were alleged to be.

I'll judge him more objectively if he ever signs with the Wings...

/That said, if the best thing that can be said about him off the ice is "not a rapist" then he really needs to drop the manchild act.

 

[piii]

I'll forgive him if he ever signs with the Wings...

It's early, didn't sense the joke lol my bad

 

[Dr. Stalker]

Legit thought the title was a typo and thought you meant furby

 

[DokterMom]

Legit thought the title was a typo and thought you meant furby

Close enough... 😵

 

[piii]

Legit thought the title was a typo and thought you meant furby

Such dreamy eyes, how could a furry not resist

 

[Goro]

Troll or no, it IS a teachable moment!

Just registered yesterday...zero percent chance this isn't a troll. Come on guys

 

[samac]

I agree others view it as "weird", but I remember several other members posting about talking about their weird hobbies (someone who collected parrots and talked to them professionally, IIRC). I don't see why this would be covered in the media.



This is not necessarily true and is a common misconception. I will say that some are into the sexual side of things, but there are many who are not.



The dancing that I do requires a lot of athletic ability and most would agree that it is even harder in a fursuit (reduced mobility/vision, easier to overheat, etc.). This isn't the same as playing videogames.



It seems like most answers are some variation of "this is too weird for people to handle". I am disappointed to see the same attitude mirrored on SDN that I experience in everyday life (but I can't say I'm surprised). If this is indeed the sentiment among medical students then it is also likely the sentiment among ADCOMs, and I agree that censoring this significant aspect of myself is probably necessary. I don't think I can include it on my application in a vague way without inviting many more questions (in an interview or otherwise): it is NOT the same as cosplay and I feel like many ADCOMs would not know what cosplay is either.

I get you're disappointed but realize that we are people too that have the same public perceptions. You can't expect people to pull away from everything that has existed on furries in the media just because we're trying to become a physician.

And yes, it is put in the same category as gaming. Sorry.

 

[lightblueelephant]

I am going to say, NO don't do it. It's great you have fun with it but I don't think you should put this on your app.

 

[Lawpy]

Troll or no, it IS a teachable moment!

Im surprised you can find teachable things on SDN troll threads

 

[Lannister]

I mean, we can all judge the habits of others, but last night I drove past the United Center and witnessed 20,ooo people walking through town dressed up in expensive but poorly made hockey player costumes before entering a large convention center to ritualistically cheer for a sexual predator and his teammates. Then I'm sure many of them went home and had sex, some of which while still wearing their hockey player costumes.

again, it's a tough call between them and the furries...

👎

 

[Goro]

It comes from being both a dad and an educator.

Im surprised you can find teachable things on SDN troll threads

 

[Tvicl]

No but if you're african-american or hispanic and actually look it, you should definitely mark the box as it really helps. Furries would mortify adcoms if they knew what furries were and mentioning LGBT stuff or anything with regards to sexuality is like playing with fire with adcoms.

So I shouldn't mark myself as hispanic because I'm not brown? Even though I'm the first to be born in America from my mom's side?

Also thank you OP, I was having a rough week and this thread really brightened my day.

 

[QofQuimica]

Exactly.

I'm fairly sure most faculty have no idea it exists.

Even I had to google it.

Me too. It's not a typical type A premed kind of activity to do, and it's clearly not something the "popular" kids would typically do. That being said, assuming the OP is only referring to the costuming/convention performing part and not the, ahem, alternative sexuality part of being a "furry," I think it's fine to mention it as an EC on an app. Though how said entry is worded is obviously of paramount importance. 😉

 

[owlegrad]

Exactly.

I'm fairly sure most faculty have no idea it exists.

Even I had to google it.

Does being into cougars count as being furry though?

 

[Meeehai]

Does being into cougars count as being furry though?

The importance of literal vs figurative distinction.

 

[Psai]

It's not a phase mom, it's who I am!

 

[PB&Jam]

I've thought about making an account with SDN for a while, but wanting to reply to this made me finally do it!

I don't know how advisable it would be to put your unique hobby out there on an application like that. I guess it depends on what you've done with your hobby and how relevant it is. You'd also need to be able to spin it to sound cool and different, rather than weirdly fetish-y and sexual. One of my best friends is a furry, and he expresses that through being our college's mascot. This entails entertaining people at events and sports games, and visiting children in hospitals as "School X's Mascot." I think something like that (a defined activity as part of a recognized organization) would be wonderful to put on an application. However, dressing up in a fursuit and going to a convention really isn't, even if you've done it a lot. Ultimately, it's up to you how much you want to disclose about it or talk about it. And if you do decide to include it in your personal statement, have multiple people read it, including a pre-med advisor, to make sure it will garner more "Oh wow OP that's so cool!"s than "NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE"s.

 

[PB&Jam]

I dont see how this is any different than me putting down that I have thousands of hours in DotA. Yes you have a lot of hours. Yes you got "awards".

Come on. As a 1k DotA player, I've learned plenty of things that will help me in medical school, such as teamwork, humility, perseverance in the face of adversity...Oh who am I kidding, the most useful thing I've learned from Dota is how to yell at people in Spanish and Russian.

 

[DokterMom]

@Slack3r - Where have you been? Do you have anything to add here?

 

[Slack3r]

@Slack3r - Where have you been? Do you have anything to add here?

?

 

[DokterMom]

?

Just referring to your avatar. That's what the OP is talking about, right?

 

[Tvicl]

If you're a white-passing Hispanic growing up in a middle-class white neighborhood I don't see how you were disadvantaged in your life at all. You're gaming the system by calling yourself a URM.

This isn't really about calling myself URM, but I certainly don't mind any benefit that may come from my ethnicity, this is more about pride about who I am. If you ever had to prove how <insert race here> because you are lighter than your peers, you get it.