Most weeks, Saturn the Husky, 21, Cañada College student, goes to Bay Area Fur’s Main Street meetup in Cupertino on Feb. 27.
The student said she feels like she has “been destined to be a furry, probably my whole life.”
“I’ve always loved dogs and drawing dogs,” she said. “I use furry to not only express myself, but to leave a positive imprint on people that I engage with.”
The student said her personality, or “fursona,” gives her confidence for things she would otherwise be too afraid or shy to do.
“I can be a little bit more brave,” she said. “Because I’m here in this costume, it’s safer.”
Reporting and editing by Meryem Arslan
Filming by Dicanio Darren Liong
TRANSCRIPT:
0:00
SATURN THE HUSKY, 21, CAÑADA COLLEGE STUDENT: I feel like I have been destined to be a furry probably my whole life. I’ve always loved dogs and drawing dogs.
0:06
MERYEM ARSLAN, LA VOZ REPORTER: First I wanna ask you about your fursuit. I think you have a beautiful outfit on. Did you make it yourself? Did you buy it? What was that process like?
0:12
SATURN: So this is a head that actually was made by one of my good friends for me. But for a couple of my other pieces like these paws, I commissioned them online. And then I got this (dress) off of Amazon.
0:25
ARSLAN: So what does being a furry mean to you personally?
0:28
SATURN: Being a furry to me is a form of self-expression. I use furry as a way to not only express myself, but to leave a positive imprint on people that I engage with, even if it’s just me and you, or parents with their children, or my friends or peers, or even just the random people that come to take pictures with me. And I don’t have to be shy to do that.
I would normally be shy being in front of a camera, being interviewed. But because I’m here, in this costume. I feel like it’s safer that way. I feel like I can be a bit more brave.
1:01
ARSLAN: Have you felt judged for being in this community by the people around you or online?
1:06
SATURN: I have felt judged for it. Throughout my whole life, I’ve had things said to me, you know, mean things said to me. I’ve had cans thrown at me, I’ve had other trash thrown at me. But at the end of the day, this is my life, and I’m gonna choose to live it in a way that’s most fulfilling to me.
And if it’s in a way that’s weird, I can’t change what fundamentally makes me feel welcome and makes me feel more like myself, because I know I’m a normal person on the inside, and it doesn’t matter what other people think about me. I’m just doing me.
