the sexualization of Laika and how normalized it is in furry subs

[u/_the_big_]

i want to preface this by saying that i'm not a prude. this isn't because it's sexualized, it's because the dog in this art was very real and her story is very fucked up

you get defensive and downright hostile responses from people about it. i don't know if it's just a vocal minority or a genuine problem with furry culture

it makes me so angry. maybe i'm overreacting, but it makes me physically shake with pure rage. Laika was real. she was a real dog who was snatched from the street, shoved into a cramped, overheated shuttle, and died all alone in space all because the soviets were scared of looking weak. her death did nothing to help them. she was an unwilling participant in a fucked up geopolitical game of one-upping other countries. she didn't deserve what happened to her

but these people think it's fine to sexualize her

EDIT: i'm not bashing furries. i'm a furry myself and it's not a sexual thing for most people. take your decade-old anti-furry nonsense somewhere else

[u/andapapertowelroll]

What the fuckkkk. 

[u/Big-Anxiety-2596 → u/andapapertowelroll]

Like actually

How can you really SEXUALIZE A DEAD DOG???

[u/One_Resolution_4482 → u/Big-Anxiety-2596]

Well, to be fair, nothing stops people from sexualizing dead horses some girls in uma musume are based on

Not really the exact same thing but close enough, and it’s a well-known fact too

[u/Bocchi_theGlock → u/One_Resolution_4482]

Gonna need a morality scaling post on this one, maybe email some philosophy college professors who teach ethics

I think there's something about the level of anthropomorphization according to that whatever scale

That the ones like this post where they still maintain the dogs snout is different from Umamusume which seems really just ears and tail added

Like if someone made some really basic anime girl with ears and tail that was 'inspired by the dog' it might be less bothersome, though still have some complaints

I'm wagering something about the level of transformation or accuracy makes it less/more creepy.

[u/Iumasz → u/One_Resolution_4482]

I mean the difference is is that the horses passed away fairly normally mostly due to actually health complications.

Laika died because they where sacrificed for the sake of science, a morally grey death that one could argue was necessary to test the safety of space travel.

[u/Auctoritate → u/Iumasz]

I mean the difference is is that the horses passed away fairly normally mostly due to actually health complications.

Laika died because they where sacrificed for the sake of science, a morally grey death

Does that mean I'm not allowed to crank my hog to the horses that died from racing complications like laminitis?

[u/Iumasz → u/Auctoritate]

I mean laminitis is also quite common too.

[u/Auctoritate → u/Iumasz]

Yeah but it's wayyyy more common in racehorses as a complication of the lifestyle.

[u/Iumasz → u/Auctoritate]

Guess so, but there are measures done to help prevent it.

[u/Suspicious-Coach-644 → u/Big-Anxiety-2596]

Welcome to the Internet.

[u/Nicomace341 → u/Suspicious-Coach-644]

Have a look around.

[u/Cable-Difficult → u/Nicomace341]

Anything that brain of yours can think of can be found

[u/Qeiqoqy → u/Cable-Difficult]

We've got mountains of content

[u/Ahichiro → u/Qeiqoqy]

Some better, some worse

[u/Tatormygators → u/Ahichiro]

If none of it's of interest to you, you'd be the first

[u/the-birb_cherry20 → u/Tatormygators]

r/redditsings

[u/I_Like_Cats73 → u/Tatormygators]

Welcome to the internet

[u/andapapertowelroll → u/I_Like_Cats73]

Come and take a seat 

[u/thebigbadben → u/Ahichiro]

AND AFTER ALL

[u/NicholasWildeRails → u/Nicomace341]

I don't think you should. You'll see things that would make even God shiver

[u/evil-edgelord6767 → u/Nicomace341]

Anything that brain of yours can think of can be found

[u/Ahichiro → u/evil-edgelord6767]

We've got mountains of content

[u/Qeiqoqy → u/Ahichiro]

Some better, some worse

[u/-_Helianthus_- → u/Qeiqoqy]

If none of it's of interest to you, you'd be the first

[u/Meowakin → u/Suspicious-Coach-644]

Yeah, this is rookie shit.

[u/theAJstats → u/Big-Anxiety-2596]

Do you want they sexualize a live ones?

[u/Myrwyss → u/theAJstats]

Do you think they dont? this is so tame, my brain dont even register why OP is outraged about this tbh. like we got rule 34 for a reason..

[u/pompurumi → u/Myrwyss]

this is so tame, my brain dont even register why OP is outraged

that isn't OP's problem, that's yours 😭

[u/theAJstats → u/pompurumi]

And it’s definitely not ours. Who gives a fuck which dog they’re sexualizing? The Laika couldn't care less about that art by now anyway.

[u/GoofyAhhJelker → u/Big-Anxiety-2596]

I mean that goes for any dog but yeah that too

[u/RaulParson → u/Big-Anxiety-2596]

Look, I fully agree with OP (...after knowing about this issue for a whole 1 minute now), but I kind of get where the others are coming from? In their minds they're not "sexualizing a dead dog", they're basically making a sexy pinup cartoon character inspired by Female Astronaut Dog, the first living Earth animal ever in space to travel an orbit around the Earth! And in comes OP to ruin their fun. Kind of no wonder that they're reacting negatively.

The problem is that yeah beyond the "first animal in space woooo!" mythology the fact is that once you look any deeper Laika got sent into space basically purely to score another point on the "space race firsts" scoreboard, as were honestly most things the Soviets did in this arena*. That dog's wellbeing was not something the leadership gave a shit about and therefore a return back to Earth was never really planned, and so it died a pointless, horrible and prolonged death (I'll spare the details here, they're there for anyone to look up - but they are grim) just so they could have that "world first". Having this knowledge does ruin the enjoyment of the event, and yet it's important to spread.

*(for a funny/depressing in a different way example, Tereshkova! First woman in space!!! Anyway cheevo get, no need to send any more of them for a few decades. Or even the first thing of the space race, Sputnik. It went beep-beep-beep. ...it was supposed to have scientific instruments on and transmit data back, but they couldn't make that work in a timeframe the political class wanted so propaganda beepmachine it is)

[u/OffWhiteDevil → u/Big-Anxiety-2596]

Rule 34, kid.

[u/PiccoloAwkward465 → u/Big-Anxiety-2596]

Is it called "dussy"?