This is a follow-up of my previous post.

I’ve also had a few more question about tail furgonomics. Where would the tail go when sleeping or sitting?

I suppose chairs could be built with holes in them for tails to go through, but that would bring a problem especially for animals with larger and thicker tail. When sitting on a bus, for example, animals with larger tail might have their tail be in the way of someone behind them. Or if a chair were located close to a wall, there might not be enough space for larger tails to go through.

And when sleeping, would animals with thicker tail struggle to lay in their bed? Since their tail would get in their way, would they be forced to lay on their side? Would sleeping in a position where your tail is crushed under your body painful?

And what other problems would having a tail bring? It seemed like having a tail as an anthro animal could be a hassle.

But let’s be honest, we view everything about anthro worldbuilding within the lens of a human, because obviously. But an actual anthro society would probably have figured out how to deal and manage with their tail problems the same way we did with our human problems. Their society might not even look like ours, so many problems they would’ve faced in our human society, whether caused by their tail or not, wouldn’t apply. They would probably design their society around the fact that they have tails.

Though a bit of a struggle, we can find products for humans of all shapes and sizes. Shirts, pants, clothings are available of all sizes, even if some sizes are harder to find; left handed scissors exist; and more. So it would be possible for anthros to deal with the hassle of tails. But, it would still be a struggle, just like how much it is a struggle for us to buy shirts with unusual sizing.

But the last two paragraph might not always apply. I am interested in writing a story about a child who suddenly turned into an anthro while others still remain human, so they didn’t have the luxury of anthro-animal-centric societies catering them. Since they were the only anthro, they would have trouble fitting in many ways due to their different, furry body. They had to figure out how to deal with their tail, fur, etc in a society not built for anthro.

With that I wondered, what other struggles would they have? What could potentially be a source of struggle or conflict for an anthro in a society of humans-- aside from discrimination, which would be the main focus of my story. And for more fun, what other adaptations or differences would a society of anthros have over human ones?

  • Sloan the Serval
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    1 year ago

    Headwear of any sort is one that often gets glanced over, especially any sort of protective helmet or hardhat.

    Also, footwear might be an issue depending on foot and leg structure. Human shoes are designed for plantigrade feet. An anthro with digitigrade won’t be able to wear shoes made for humans, not just due to size but due to significant differences in shape. And it’s not always good to go barefoot even with paw beans, particularly on hard, thermally conductive surfaces like asphalt or concrete.

    You also can’t forget the snoot. Snouts would make it hard to wear any sort of full-face covering. This combined with ear position would require a completely different mask design should they need to wear one.

    Honestly, in general, the more animal-like the anthro, the more complex things get. A relatively human-like anthro like Rio Lepidoptera wouldn’t have nearly as many issues fitting into human society as a more traditional “petting zoo people” style anthro. And on the flipside, a taur, naga or “meroid” (for lack of a better term for a merfolk-like body plan) would have significantly more issues due to their non-humanoid body plan.

    • Laurentide
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      1 year ago

      You also can’t forget the snoot.

      Try not to look up while in the shower, because your nostrils might be pointed forwards now.

      • Sloan the Serval
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        1 year ago

        Yup, that’s another thing, although it depends on the species. A gator anthro would just be able to close their nostrils and not care.