The year was 1997, and the furry fandom was largely still family-friendly and heavily focused on anthropomorphic art and cartoons. However, the actions of
Mark Merlino, one of the seminal figures in the development of the fandom, was causing this to change. According to allegations, the man wanted to add a sexual element to the subculture. To realize these dreams, he advertised the fandom in alternative sex communities and
publications and distributed recruitment material filled with furry porn at sci fi gatherings. This brought an influx of people to the fandom who were more interested in using it to fulfill their sexual desires than they were in anthropomorphic cartoons.
Merlino had a house in Southern California that he promoted as a place for people in the furry fandom to gather. Eventually these gatherings left the Merlino's house and blossomed into a formal convention, the first dedicated furry convention in fact, called ConFurence.
By the time 1997 rolled in, the Confurence had been held seven times, and old-time furries were beginning to grow weary of the direction that Merlino was taking the subculture in. By the time
ConFurence 8 was held, people were willing to speak up about their dissatisfaction with the sexual elements creeping into the subculture. The debauchery that occurred at ConFurence 8 confirmed and elevated their fears:
- sexually explicit material and "alternative lifestyle" pamphlets in the Dealers' Room and Artist Alley
- selling bootleg tapes
- playing "freak the normals" with extreme displays of PDA
- semen on the elevator wall
- selling dates/companions (including at least one underage furry) in the "Pet Auction" with the expectation of sex while news crews filmed
- LOTS of openly-worn bondage gear and underwear (see here and here)
- public flogging in the hotel registration line
- lapdances and simulated sex dancing
- a security worker wearing drag
- numerous fire hazards created by the con organizers
- numerous alcohol law violations (selling without a license, selling to minors, open container)
- high levels of drunkenness at the hotel (made the last con seem like a sobriety meeting according to an attendee)
Although some of these things are now commonplace at furry conventions, the happenings came as a shock to furries who had appreciated the previously family-friendly, cartoon-focused nature of the fandom. As such, they took to Usenet's alt.fan.furry, the biggest furry hub at the time, to report what they'd seen at the con and air their grievances:
Of course, as we all now know, they fought a losing battle. Merlino's influence cemented the sexual streak within the furry fandom, and the fandom is now strongly associated with sexual deviancy. As alternative lifestylers continued to flood the fandom, many of the original furries quit, and the subculture as we know it took shape.
