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Yiff is a term widely used by the furry fandom as a slang term in various sexual contexts. The word has a number of different meanings, as explained below.
Etymology
The term has been popularised by the furry Internet roleplaying MU* community (in particular, FurryMUCK), originally intended as an onomatopoeic transliteration of a sound humorously attributed to the mating of foxes and, naturally, those who play anthropomorphic fox characters.
However, while the original meaning still remains, the term quickly developed into a synonym for "sex", "sexy", "aroused", and so on, and nowadays this meaning is the most prevalent. Examples of the word's present usage include "a yiffy fur", meaning a furry who is sexually aroused or active, "yiffy artwork", meaning sexually explicit furry artwork, "to yiff", meaning to have sex, etc.
An alternative etymology exists; around the time that yiff came to exist in the furry community, an August 27, 1990 cover story in Fortune Magazine coined the term "Yiffies", describing a new breed of worker, the "Young, Independent, Freedom-minded Few" (a naming convention somewhat akin to that used with the yuppies, Young Urban Professionals). While this generation contained many of the first FurryMUCKers, the connection between the two terms is subject to speculation.
Different Meanings
The precise meaning of the word "yiff" and its derivatives can vary, depending on precisely where and by whom the terms are being used. There is also an online petition that asks for the word to be added to the English dictionary. [1] (http://www.petitiononline.com/yiff/petition.html)
General Sexual Activity or Context
Being humorously attributed to the sound made by mating foxes, it is most widely known as sexual activity or context. This applies to cybersex (specified below), to erotic and pornographic art, to standard sexual intercourse, to sexual arousal, and other variations of sexual context.
This definition is most widely adopted by furry lifestylers, and used as a slang term. When the people involved have met in person, this is the most likely meaning.
Cybersex
Having originially been popularised in an Internet roleplaying environment, the term is widely known as a reference to cybersex among furries. It refers generally to textual descriptions of the sexual act written through a role playing or persona playing environment.
This is generally the meaning of "yiff" on MUCKs, and often for instant messengers or chat rooms such as IRC, AIM or ICQ.
Erotic or Pornographic Art
Possibly the most widely known definition of "yiff", this meaning involves the visual arts, particularly drawing and painting. The nature of the artwork can vary from slightly erotic poses to heavily pornographic art (often called spoogy art, or simply spooge, in a reference to a slang word for male ejaculate).
This is a common meaning used on artwork forums and websites. Many furry artists have gallery websites with yiff sections as well.
Sometimes there is art about cybersex. It usually fits in this category.
Derived Words
- Yiffy: sexually aroused (person), sexually arousing (art), or one frequently sexually aroused (person)
- To yiff: to perform cybersex or sexual intercourse
- Yiffable: open for yiffing (practically or speculatively)
Debates
Yiff probably arouses more debate and dispute within the furry fandom than any other single subject. The large amount of yiffy art available on the internet is looked down upon by a number of professional artists, and in some cases puts those artists off drawing furry art at all, either because they feel that yiff devalues the whole area of anthropomorphic art, or because they feel that their non-yiffy art will be tarred with the same brush as the yiffy artists by those from outside the fandom.
Simplistically, it could be said that there are two main strands of thought about yiffy art, as follows:
- "There's something wrong with the fandom!"
- This group includes some of the professional artists mentioned above, as well as those who object to yiff as a whole.
- They generally believe that the behaviour of many members of the fandom is highly perverted, ignoring taboos in a way which they feel is bad for the well-being of society as a whole.
- Solutions proposed often run among the lines of combating, limiting, and/or hiding potentially offensive artwork.
- "There's something wrong with human society!"
- This group includes some of those involved in MUCKs and forums.
- They generally believe that adults should be free to decide for themselves what type of art to create and view, and argue that there is a wide range of furry artwork suitable for all ages available from sites such as Yerf and even mainstream sources such as Warner Bros (e.g. Pinky and the Brain) or Disney (e.g. The Lion King).
- Solutions proposed often run among the lines of pride campaigns, making it clear that artists are not ashamed of their works, and see nothing wrong with them.
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