Plushophilia
| Synonyms: | Plushum, pluesexual |
| See also: | Furry, Fannish Dolls |
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Plushophilia is a subgenre of objectophilia, which is a sexual and/or romantic attraction to objects, in this case to plushies. Plushophilia is tied to the furry fandom, and was one of the kinks that the Burned Fur movement abhorred (along with pool toy furries, another subgenre of objectophilia). Though having origins with furries, plushophilia is broad and extends past furries, with some plushophiles including canon character plushies in with their beloved objects, for example Pokémon plushies.
While the original 1990s FAQ from alt.sex.plushie said that plushophiles refer to themselves as "plushies,"[1] this is outdated as plushophiles/plushum in the 2020s do not do this. Instead, they just refer to themself as plushophiles, plushum, pelusexual, or more broadly as objectum.
History
The earliest surviving mentions of plushophilia online come from 1993 on the furry newsgroup alt.fan.furry.[2] It discusses a (likely lost) thread discussing sexual attraction towards plushies and gave an address to P.L.U.S.H., a custom plushie maker club and bulletin board system. Next, two plushophile newsgroups were made in 1994; a German group named de.alt.fan.pluesch on Jan 4, 1994 and and English group named alt.sex.plushies on Aug 9, 1994. Dr.Cat, one of the creators of Furcadia, was among one of the early furries to be on alt.sex.plushies, where he may have been an admin or moderator based on his frequent re-posting of the Plushophile FAQ.[1]
In the 2010s plushophilia began to become less obscure, with r/plushlove being made on Reddit in 2012 and r/plushophile in 2013. "Objectum-sexuality" is coined potentially around 2007, which would later influence plushophilia language in the 2020s with the word "plushum," a broader category that removes sexual connotations, coined in 2019 by Tumblr user fairycheesecake. "Pleusexual" was also coined in 2018 by Tumblr user genderplaylist from the French word for plush, literally meaning plush-sexual.[3]
Controversies
Burned Fur included plushphilia in its mission statement beside bestiality and fursuit sex, the excerpt is quoted below.
2) WE STRONGLY DISCOURAGE the support of acts such as bestiality, plushophilia, fursuit sex and other things seen as "wrong" by non-fandom individuals (known by fans as "mundanes"). It will be easier for non-fans to sympathize and identify with anthro art if these elements are, if not eliminated, then pushed to the far outer fringes and rendered irrelevant to the fandom at large.Excerpt from the Burned Fur Mission Statement[4]
Plushophilia may be seen as taboo by some due to the association between children and plushies, though not every plushophile engages in "childhood" kinks, such as diapers or DD/LG.[5] This includes being disliked by some other objectophiles, which plushophiles see as gatekeeping.[6]
In furry fandom, plushophiles with quadrupedal plush partners are seen as ferals, which is a point of contention among many furries even outside of plushophilia. Some plushophiles modifies their plushies with strategically placed holes (SPH) which resemble animal genitalia; this is especially common with Pokémon plushie modification on the plushophile Reddit.[7] However, some plushophiles may argue that animal plushies are not the same as attraction to real animals, because plushies only marginally resemble real counterparts.
A plushum attracted to a plushie that looks like a silly cartoon dog does not find real dogs attractive, they only find the cartoony plushie attractive. Plushophiles being attracted to animals is a rumor as old as the furry fandom itself (and plagues the furry fandom even more so) and still just as wrong. There needs to be fabric, stuffing, plastic eyes, buttons and zippers, etc.Plushophilia/Plushum/Pelusexual FAQs, 2023[3]
Some plushophiles are upset or discomforted by plushie destruction, such as ripping a plushie apart, while others may find this to be a kink in itself, sometimes called plushgore. On the plushophile Reddit plushie destruction is not allowed, and users are also not allowed to request that others destroy or "hurt" their plushies.[8]
Thea act of destroying plushies is the polar opposite of what r/Plushophile is about. We represent the love for plushies and this community is for those who treat plushies accordingly.Plushophile Reddit thread.[8]
Gallery
| Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples. |
objectum pride flag by desideriumdaydreams
Further Reading
- 1990s alt.sex.plushie Plushophilia FAQ
- 2023 Plushophilia/Plushum/Pelusexual FAQs on Tumblr
- PlushYiff Survey Results, 2001
References
- ^ a b alt.sex.plushies Frequently Asked Questions, alt.sex.plushies. Jun 29, 1996 (Accessed 9/17/2023)
- ^ Plush Furries?, alt.fan.furry. July 20, 1993 (Accessed 9/14/2023)
- ^ a b Plushophilia/Plushum/Pelusexual FAQs, Tumblr. May 23, 2023 (Accessed 9/17/2023)
- ^ Burned Fur Mission Statement, Burned Fur website. Accessed 6/17/2021 (Archived 1/12/2013)
- ^ Comparing a literally harmless kink (plushophilia) to pedophilia, Tumblr. Jun 3, 2023 (Accessed 9/17/2023)
- ^ i think some people gotta realize that being objectum is a sexuality. Tumblr, Aug 18, 2023. Accessed 9/17/2023.
- ^ Plushophilia, Reddit. (Accessed 9/17/2023)
- ^ a b POLL: In what capacity should we allow users on here that destroy plushies?, Plushophile Reddit. Sept 9, 2013 (Accessed 9/17/2023)