Interviewer: At what point did you realize this was your lifestyle?

Shelby Winter: My father’s collection of Confederate memorabilia from the Civil War was always a source of pride and confusion for my brothers and I in Baton Rouge. We knew he was a good ‘ol boy and many people around us had Confederate flags in their homes or cars, but our mother (who is Jewish) always greeted it with suspicion. I became a furry in 2002 through my interest in Neopets because I always more closely identified with the pets than their owners. I also identified with the element of fantasy and role-playing involved in being part of the Fandom, though wondered why everyone else’s fursona was so wrapped up in the present– I mean, if this is a fantasy then time should be able to be traversed as easily as our bodily manifestations. My fursona, Shanty-Kae, is a fox/human who specializes in the art of seduction. At the present moment I’m preparing my body to travel back in time to seduce Jefferson Davis into joining the Northern States’ cause prior to the Civil War, with the hopes that through loving him in 1858 the United States could’ve avoided a great catastrophe. Sometimes men need to be shown unconditional affection to avoid their more brutish nature., 2013

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