Communities… Somewhere to Belong

     From my experience, communities vary in size, shape, color, motive and more. I detested my physical community in high school. As soon as I turned 16 I connected online with friends from travel softball and mutual friends online (Myspace) and shifted my social efforts into communities outside of the small town I lived in.

      After my sister’s first week at college she called to tell me she had met a furry. I     had no idea what a furry was and she was more than excited to enlighten her big sister. In class we briefly spoke of online furry communities, which led me to the following realization. In the online world, you get to choose your community. Some may argue that you can choose your community in the physical world, however you are limited to what is physically accessible and what those communities choose to expose. For example, I don’t think you will find a furry community in a newspaper or phonebook especially in a small conservative town, whereas after a quick search for “furry location” this map comes up as well as blogs and conventions for those who are active or looking to join this community.

      In the online world, communities are not without judgement however they are seemingly endless. Some follow hobbies and fetishes. Some communities are built around a product, brand or politician. The most beneficial aspect of the online communities is that people have options. An unlimited opportunity to find somewhere they belong.

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