Anthropomorphic sexuality
To what degree do creatures, objects, or aliens need to resemble human physiology for most people to find them "beautiful" in the sense of "social attractiveness"?
I don't usually find animals appealing even when they are anthropomorphized. I may find them likeable socially, friendable, and sometimes can contemplate a longer-term relationship with some characters like, say, Judy Hopps from Zootopia. But I don't usually see them in a "physical intimacy" sort of way... initially.
More often than not, I stumble upon some fanart depicting said characters in a different light expressing themselves in a way you don't usually see. To be blunt, most anthropomorphized animals (and objects) are family-friendly animations which do not express an overtly amorous or provocative nature (i.e. stretching, bending, walking, or touching in a seductive manner).
It's usually after exposure to this new depiction that I begin to find them attractive. Not all. I still have a type.
These fan-alterations also change how I see characters that are meant to be human such as Betty Boop or Marge Simpson. Sometimes these moments actually occur within the context of the source material. For example, on Futurama, I didn't initially find the Decopoidian Edna attractive until she started trying to makeout with Fry.
But I'm forced to wonder... what specifically am I attracted to?
I don't like the concept of Furries. The idea that you can somehow cosplay/role-play as an anthro is strictly ridiculous. The fan-depictions usually transfer physical human attributes that are more commonly desirable. But obviously some attributes remain strictly animal: the nose, the ears, the feet and legs, a tail, sometimes even the mouth retains a bestial shape.
However, there have been people who have gone to great lengths cosmetically, surgically, to obtain an appearance that is more animalistic and yet they don't usually look attractive in the same way these cartoon depictions potentially can.
So wherein lies the magic? The balance between neutered innocent representative of other-worldly imagination and the ultimately malformed abomination resultant of interfering in nature should be a more or less alien existence which somehow retains a powerful attractive quality to human senses.
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Originally Posted by Fynn
