Furries And The North/South Divide

[lupestripe]

Reading some of the reviews of the London Furmeet got me thinking about whether the infamous North/South divide in the UK is also reflected in the Fandom. It has been known for a while that RBW and ConFuzzled's rivalry is far from friendly and on many occasions it has become downright personal. Added to this, there is a significant section of furries who fly the flag for their respective regions.

Some of the Northern Furs believe that London Meets are cliquey and unfriendly, often citing toilet escapades and drama that has long been consigned to the past as their reason not to head to the capital. Meanwhile, some London Furs believe that it is not worth venturing north of the Watford Gap because London is THE place to be.

Of course a lot of this relates to local pride and this is why Northern and Southern Patriotism (if we are to call it that) exists in the UK as a whole. I think this is reflected in the Fandom too and I am unsure as to whether it is constructive. We are a small group so is it worth dividing ourselves even further?

It is fair to say that in my experience, meets in the North differ to those in the South. I agree that the Northern meets are often friendlier but does this reflect the oft cited friendliness of Northerners or is it because the size and dynamics of the meets are different? Some people believe that the Northern meets have lost impetus recently and need after-parties to boost their reputations and profiles. Whilst I disagree vehemently with this, if people think this then clearly there is an issue somewhere.

I know there are advocates of both regions but why is this the case? Is it a sense of local loyalty or something deeper? Is it related to a dislike of the other contingent? Is it a friendly rivalry or something more bitter? Is it politically or socially motivated? And are their regional rivalries between furries in other countries?

Comments

[iffriel.livejournal.com]

I've been to 2 London meets and I'd go again because of London, I quite liked it as a little excursion, you can, as they say, buy anything there. The issue really does come down to friendliness, the London furs are all cool and fine as long as they already know you, or as long as you dress like some animé character, but if you're just some random northern fur they just don't want to know, I was ignored by everyone but those I already knew, and they were northern furs too I might add, no one from London wanted to know. Fioxy just attended his first London meet and can totally reflect my experience, there's a real sense raffishness about the London meets that put me off and you know me Lupe I'm not one to make irrational observations. There's a sense of "if you're not cool enough that we don't already know who you are, then piss off" the meets seem to be all about image and ego and your group being the center of attention with the sharpest looking kids or the best artists in it, something I really don't like, yeah we have groups in the northern meets too but they're always different every time I attend one and there's no "you can't hang with us" syndrome.

[lupestripe.livejournal.com]

I believe that the difference between Northern and London meets is that you could turn up to the Northern ones not knowing anyone and you could get talking far more easily than you could at a London meet. London meets have significantly improved when it comes to this though and I met a lot of cool new people the other day but again, it often comes in the way of introductions. Still, with the way the Fandom is online, I imagine it wouldn't be too difficult to meet people before the event.

I haven't seen nor heard of any kind of elitism going on to be honest. I certainly haven't experienced it but I am sure it exists everywhere, irrespective of which part of the country you are in. The furs I did meet in London were all affable and interesting.

[slinkat.livejournal.com]

Sorry, but I don't see the "if you're not cool enough, we don't want to know" attitude at the London meets at all, and I've been going for three years or so. I'm not remotely cool, don't have a fursuit, don't cover myself in glowsticks and randomly hug people and can't draw to save my life, yet I've had no problem getting to know people in that time and have made some valued friends out of it, you just need to put the effort in. I think there's this expectation in the furry World that because we're all furry, we automatically have to like each other, which is nonsense. You can't turn up to a new place and expect people to drop everything to be your friend, then accuse everyone of ignoring you when it doesn't happen. It wouldn't happen at any other event, so why furmeets? Maybe things are more guarded down here, I don't know, but I think this is a fandom problem rather than a specifically geographic issue. You get out what you put in.

[lupestripe.livejournal.com]

I must admit that I haven't seen the cool attitude at London Meets either but then people often have different experiences.

On principle I agree with what you say, you do get what you put in, but when people are already in their own groups, it is very difficult to approach and meet new people. I honestly believe that the best way to traverse a London Meet (or indeed any large meet) is to make a few friends online beforehand and then take it from there at the Meet itself. That's worked for me and it's why I like going to London Meets now. However, if I turned up out of the blue not knowing anyone, it would be tremendously difficult to meet people. I don't think you have that issue at smaller meets, which the Northern meets tend to be.

[slinkat.livejournal.com]

I think London meets have become too large to allow people to just turn up and expect people to talk to them, but then that's a mark of their success. If it was only 10 people sat it a pub then obviously it would be easier to talk to people, but the scale just doesn't allow it. That's the same outside the furry World. Case in point being the fetish munch I went to last week. I could've gone to one in London, but I'm told there are usually 170 or so attendees, so it would be really hard to meet people, yet this one had about 30, so was a nice size and I didn't feel like I was intruding. The pre-meet thing is generally a good idea, as at the very least it allows you to know a few faces before taking the plunge. I just don't see where this notion of Southern furs being arrogant or elitist comes from, I really don't. I blame the internet, to a degree. What with things like Facebook, there's this idea that to be someone's friend you simply have to click "add", yet this doesn't work in the real World, and I feel some people don't seem to realise that.

[lupestripe.livejournal.com]

I think this is the nub of the issue - I don't know how strangers find the massive Manchester meets - if they find a similar thing, then I guess we have found the root of the problem. If there is a mass of people and they are all friends, it is easy for the stranger to get drowned out - which is why I would advocate meeting people on the Internet beforehand (may be worth putting that in the LF meet rules or something).

I don't know where the arrogant or elitist accusation comes from either to be honest, it's not something I have ever experienced at a London Furmeet.