This past week has been quite interesting for me. A few years back, I was interviewed for VICE on HBO regarding clinical research studies or the more affectionate term, lab rats. I thought it was going to air last year but hearing no word, I thought the episode was dead which happens from time to time with news stories. A few weeks ago, I was notified that the episode was very much alive and well and would air mid November.
Since I was interviewed, I had started the process of moving on from the clinical research studies and found myself embracing the world of furries. I have always been one but didn't know there was a real world outlet like meetups and conventions or that there were many others who shared my interests in the anamorphic arts.
I have seen a few stories and documentaries on the subject of furries and most leave a bitter taste in the mouths of furries. Generally, furries shy away from the media and some coverage of furries has been unfavorable. I see it more as a misunderstanding, people not taking the time to research and talk to furries.
But alas, I have ran into this before. Lab rats have a very similar story. Many lab rats don't want the world to know about what they do. So both the lab rat and furry worlds share many similarities and I somehow am a part of both.
I was a lab rat for the better part of 14 years. I still do a few studies a year but not as many as during my heyday. Being a lab rat is quite simple. You sign up, see if you qualify, go in and screen and if everything is good, you do the study. A clinical research study tests medications awaiting approval by the FDA and people like me take the medication; not to see if it works but for the pharmacology data from our blood and other tests.
For the time we spend at the clinic, we can be compensated $200 to $300 per day and studies can last from 1 to 30 days or more.
This life that lab rats live is quite interesting so it's no surprise the media has covered it extensively over the years. I started a website early on to help point people to where the trials were and over time, I more or less became an unofficial expert for clinical research volunteers. This has led me to be interviewed for many news and magazine articles and even appearing in a documentary film. I feel the more information I can share about our world, the less misinformation will be out there. I hope I have dispelled many rumors like the fact that we do know some information about what we're taking. It's not taking a random drug blindfolded like some will have you believe.
Furries have had it harder with the media due to a few unfortunate shows that painted a picture that furries are sexual deviants. Sure, there are some who do that but the vast majority do not. There are furries of all ages from all backgrounds.
Lisa Ling's Furry Nation was an intimate look behind the fur without categorizing furries like many stories have done. We look into lives of 3 people along with some well known people in the furry fandom to see that furries are not any different than the average person.
VICE's look at the lives of lab rats had a similar demeanor. A look at a few people while actually in a study which is rarer than a camera crew getting into a furry con.
Both of these shows literally aired within a few days of each other so I found it quite ironic. And with similar titles, I'm pretty touched to be a part of both worlds.
Yes, the media can be bad at times but the media can also be great. Being a furry or a lab rat is nothing to be ashamed of, granted not everyone wants to be on TV, but we should embrace the media as a way to share, educate and encurage others to be a part of our worlds.
I have now reviewed both pieces!
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6xbebl - Lab Rat Nation
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6xfci3 - Furry Nation
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