ANTHRO-CONS

Technology via the internet has allowed people who once thought they were the only person on earth with their own peculiar proclivity, to meet up with multitudes with the same bizarre desires.

ANTHRO-CONS

I recently read an article in the paper about a weekly gathering of ‘furries’ who, it turns out, are people who like to dress up in animal suits and the people who like to hang around with them. I can only guess that these people were taken to a Disney theme park at a very impressionable age. Being curious I Googled (v) ‘furries’ and much to my surprise there was an endless list of conventions for the active participants of this compelling hobby. This made me realize that the Internet has opened up a whole world for people who always feared they were weird. They have learned they are not alone. This can be either good or bad depending on the hobby, fetish, or god forbid, perversion.
Of course then I started wondering what other types of conventions there are and found myself on a site called dactylmanor.org/fanboy. In 2009 alone it lists 329 conventions. Not medical or dental or literary conventions mind you. No, these conventions had one thing in common. They were basically designed to give hobbyists, fetishists and, god forbid, perverts a chance to gather together to exchange information and play.
Back to the ‘furries’. Among the many, many conventions listed (who are these people?) there was one called Feral! and it was a camping event. I don’t know about you, but I for one would not want to sleep in a tent in the woods dressed as a bear, unless of course I was looking to have a little cub of my own.
Most of the conventions have something to do with sci-fi, Japanese anime and culture, comic books, Star Trek, you get the idea. These people have a problem with reality. They become obsessed with television shows, movies and reading material that is only sold in comic book stores. Don’t get me wrong--whatever floats your boat is okay by me. But those of us who get along fine in the real world tend to find it silly.
One type of convention that amused me is in the taxidermy field. Now you could argue that that is a bona fide profession but do they really need so many conventions? In 2009 alone they had fifty one. I assumed they would be in places where the big game roam, but no, they even had one in New Jersey. I was curious to see what kind of game was hunted so I clicked on the web site. There, much to my surprise was a picture of the “Best in Show” which looked to me like a big horn sheep. I grew up in New Jersey. The only wildlife I ever saw was an occasional rat down by the shore, but I can understand why nobody would want to stuff one of those. While I was perusing this particular topic I started to think how easy it would be today for Norman Bates. He could have used the Internet to order all of the taxidermy equipment he needed to keep his mother in the pink.
Among the many conventions for tattoo artists was the one being held, appropriately, at the Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee. Tattoos and motorcycles. Love and marriage. My, my. The tattoo convention billed as the “Biggest on Earth” was being held in Las Vegas and you can vote for your favorite on their web site which I didn’t access because I still have dial up and it would have taken a week.
The Queen City Kamikaze convention had a big Japanese flag on their site. I’m old enough to remember WW2, so I passed that one up not knowing if it’s about pilots or the Japanese. It was held in Canada, if that’s any help.
The one listed as ‘Fandemonium’ had no web site or description of the event. I guess they were having too much fun. I’m tempted to buy a pair of horn-rimmed glasses for my daughter and send her to Geek.Kon which advertises all things geek. Her current insignificant other is no Bill Gates.
My personal favorite--I guess it’s because I married an Irishman--is called LepreCon. I don’t know what they do there but I bet there’s beer.