| Hi, and welcome to BigClawz. This little BIO is a bit of a intro as to who I am, and about being here at this site (particularly if it's your first time browsing such sites).  I'll try not to make this BIO quite as much of a novel as the last one was. :P  First off, a little about me so much as I'm willing to disclose at random - I go by the kooky nickname of ToeClaws in what's often referred to as the "Fandom" or, "Fur/scalie fandom" or "community" or probably a ton of other names as well.  I'm an author who enjoys sharing stories of various fandom natures with others that share the same likes, and sometimes also just write stuff because I enjoy writing.

There's probably a lot of burning questions in your mind about something like this, especially if it's your first time finding something like the fandom.  You probably thinking "Good gods... I thought I was the only one that felt like that!"  That's pretty normal, don't worry. :)  I stumbled across the fandom quite accidentally in 2000 in what was the predecessor to this site - a place called BigLizardFeet.  It was definitely a jaw-dropping, double-take sort of experience at the time because, just as I had said, I thought I was the only one.  Truth is that there are thousands, perhaps even millions of folks that share a love of different aspects of this stuff.  Anthropomorphic reptiles, furs, dragons and some or all of their parts are things that I imagine people have fantasized about for centuries, but largely remained a taboo subject throughout history.

Enter the Internet... a place where people are less apprehensive about their particular fantasies, and suddenly a place came to be where people could talk about this sort of thing - talk to others like them about this sort of thing.  No - you're certainly not alone, and within this fandom, you're sure to find many others that share your interests as well as stories, art and even forms of interactive things that all indulge what you once thought to be something you had to keep to yourself.

Some things you might be asking yourself:

Should you tell all your friends?  That one comes up a lot and truth be told, it has a lot of answers because it depends immensely on the sort of friends that you have and how open they and/or your generation is.  Generally, most people keep their particular fantasies and/or fetishes to themselves.  If your friends are open-minded and don't mind such topics, then they may not mind finding out about this.  If they are of a more prudish nature or very straight and narrow, I wouldn't suggest bringing it up as a topic. ;)  Of my friends in real life, only a handful know of my likes in the fandom - those I know I can trust with that knowledge and who are open-minded about it.  Those who are not like that, don't know and probably never need to know. :)

You like male and female things, or ones of the same sex but don't feel your gay/bi: This is actually normal too - I've run into a TON of people in the fandom who are straight as an arrow in real life but find that they like mostly gay stuff or bi stuff in the fandom.  I haven't the slightest idea why that is, but at least take comfort in knowing you're not alone there either.

Are most people in the fandom gay?  No.  I think there's a very even spread of gay, bi and straight folks in the fandom - I can't really say that in my years here that I've encountered anymore of one than the other.  That in itself though is an interesting mix because there's lots of all types in that sense.  If you're wondering about me, I'm bi.  What I also find really cool is that acceptance of ones sexuality is generally VERY open in the fandom, which is many people's cases is a nice change from the real world.  I've also known a great deal of people that have come to learn their sexuality via the fandom and its community.  I think that's more a function of the openness of its people than the content of this place, but that's still a very nice thing.  Before such open communities, coming to terms with ones sexuality was often something done alone.

What is "Yiff"?  Yiff is the fandom-ish term for pornographic content of some type be it in art or in a story.  It can also be used to explain an action between characters implying something of a sexual nature.  Where it came from and why it's used, I don't know!  But yiff is generally used to explain R-rated/X-rated stuff all the time, so if you see a picture or story section labelled "yiffy", then you can pretty much guess the nature of the content.

Why do most folks use nicknames? Varied reasons - some use them as a character name, others because they're better than their real names but also many use them to avoid using their real names.  We live in an age of communication, and take it from me (as I'm a professional in the IT field) it's VERY easy to find out information on someone if you have their real name.  If am employer fires up a web browser and punches your name into Google to see what comes up, you really don't want a ton of fandom-based references leaping out at the person searching!  Same as your probably don't want Mom, Dad or your grandparents finding it either!  Now, I'm not in any way saying you can't or shouldn't ever use your real name or mention it on a profile in the fandom - some artists do in fact use their real name (some even make a living off of what they do), but only suggest to always be aware of the fact that others can search that information.   If you're wanting to pick a nickname for the fandom - don't use one that you might already have as people might cross-reference it with the fandom stuff - be original. :)

Should I tell my partner about this? (Okay... first off, I should make very clear this is my own personal opinion on the matter) Depends... if all you ever do is look at stuff, read and/or download stuff and never actively post, write or participate, then I suppose it's no different than anyone elses' fantasies, which many people don't always share with others, even their mate.  If you do contribute, however, you've changed the nature of things by interacting with others about something that is a form of intimacy.  Now, most interactions are not that serious - just e-mailing or IM'ing others, or posting on forums isn't a severe breach of intimacy or anything, but is also something you shouldn't be doing without your partner being aware of it.  If you get into things like "yiffing" in mails or chats or whatever, then you REALLY need to make sure your partner is aware.  Don't ruin a good relationship just because you want to do something in the fandom!  Besides - you never know what your partner will say.  For all you know, they may admit to the same feelings!  I think if you can't have honesty between you and  your mate...  you're gonna have big problems down the road. ;)  Again, my opinion, so take it as you will.

Things you're wondering about me personally:

How old are you? Like I said, in my 30s - born in the 70's just prior to the invention of video games and Elvis was still around (but fat).

What is your E-mail, AIM, Yahoo-IM, MSN: E-mail can be found around my stories most of the time, the others I don't do - writing for the fandom is a hobby and something I'm happy to share with others who enjoy my work, but beyond that, I try not to park in front of my PC anymore than I have to!

Do you yiff/rp? No, sorry.

Where do you live?  Southern Ontario, Canada! 

What do you do in real life? I work as a Network Administrator at a federal (and major) University.

What's your real name? Something I generally don't tell people.

Alright... so you've read all there is for this thing on me and your eyes are probably bleeding. :P  If not, go check out what there is to see out there and take care. :)

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