Has anyone else noticed the slow drift of the term fluffy? It seems to become just a bit more encompassing every year. It’s possible, I suppose, that this monstrous definition it’s turned into is applied most strictly by the involved and obsessed (and, loud) on teh interwebs, and the quieter lurkers are cheerfully ignoring it’s scope, but I don’t like it anyway.
Once upon a time, I used “fluff-bunny” for a very specific stereotype. It applied to that person, generally a girl, between the ages of 11 and 19 who’s JUST discovered Wicca. Mostly, Silver Ravenwolf. And it’s TEH NEATEST THING EVAR. There’s connotations of enthusiasm inversely proportional to effort and research, and starry-eyed expectations of magical fixes for everything. A general ineffectiveness at life. It could be wrapped up neatly with the phrase, “Cute, but harmless”.
The final...connotation...involved was the expectation that this fluff-bunny was eventually going to get bored and wander away. This mostly bore out in the last year of high school or first years at college, as they drifted into other more entertaining things and eventually settled comfortably back into whatever style of belief they were raised with.
So the definition was thus: Young, enthusiastic, lacking drive, seeking answers, and likely to go back to being a tolerant, harmless sort of Christian. Who might grab a Tarot reading at Ren Faire every now and again.
Does this reflect how you see it used now? It doesn’t for me. I see fluff-bunny expanded so far that it’s now a range, a “fluff-factor” (Thank you Fire Lyte!). It’s used to beef up your own personal pagan cred by denigrating someone else’s commitment. It’s used to say:
- I find your belief silly and dismissable
- You don’t know what you’re talking about
- You haven’t done enough reading or research
- You’re only playing. *I* am serious.
I find myself taken a little aback, actually. What use is this term anymore? It wasn’t ever precisely nice, but it’s been taken to a pejorative level that has people on the active defensive. I commonly see or hear discussions of belief and practice front-loaded with, “Well, I know it’s a little silly, but I...” or “I know it’s not accurate, but I like to...” in a quiet, self-deprecatory tone. Pagans are afraid of judgement by each other. What happened to the confident declarations of “I practice what I believe, and what works for me,” and “You don’t need centuries of history for validation.”?
Personally, I’m sticking with my own maxim. I’ve had it for so many years I can’t remember where I took it from: “There are a thousand paths to God, and every man’s is different”.
Blessed Be,
Pennanti
Once upon a time, I used “fluff-bunny” for a very specific stereotype. It applied to that person, generally a girl, between the ages of 11 and 19 who’s JUST discovered Wicca. Mostly, Silver Ravenwolf. And it’s TEH NEATEST THING EVAR. There’s connotations of enthusiasm inversely proportional to effort and research, and starry-eyed expectations of magical fixes for everything. A general ineffectiveness at life. It could be wrapped up neatly with the phrase, “Cute, but harmless”.
The final...connotation...involved was the expectation that this fluff-bunny was eventually going to get bored and wander away. This mostly bore out in the last year of high school or first years at college, as they drifted into other more entertaining things and eventually settled comfortably back into whatever style of belief they were raised with.
So the definition was thus: Young, enthusiastic, lacking drive, seeking answers, and likely to go back to being a tolerant, harmless sort of Christian. Who might grab a Tarot reading at Ren Faire every now and again.
Does this reflect how you see it used now? It doesn’t for me. I see fluff-bunny expanded so far that it’s now a range, a “fluff-factor” (Thank you Fire Lyte!). It’s used to beef up your own personal pagan cred by denigrating someone else’s commitment. It’s used to say:
- I find your belief silly and dismissable
- You don’t know what you’re talking about
- You haven’t done enough reading or research
- You’re only playing. *I* am serious.
I find myself taken a little aback, actually. What use is this term anymore? It wasn’t ever precisely nice, but it’s been taken to a pejorative level that has people on the active defensive. I commonly see or hear discussions of belief and practice front-loaded with, “Well, I know it’s a little silly, but I...” or “I know it’s not accurate, but I like to...” in a quiet, self-deprecatory tone. Pagans are afraid of judgement by each other. What happened to the confident declarations of “I practice what I believe, and what works for me,” and “You don’t need centuries of history for validation.”?
Personally, I’m sticking with my own maxim. I’ve had it for so many years I can’t remember where I took it from: “There are a thousand paths to God, and every man’s is different”.
Blessed Be,
Pennanti
It appears that fluffy has been walking the language treadmill! My personal favorite is the word engineer, which used to mean 'builds bridges' but now means 'fixes your washer'. I have every respect for a working washing machine what do we now call the bridge builders?
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Don
Funnily enough, my dad is an engineer. Apparently they tack "civil" onto the front. Or "mechanical", or "architectural", etc. (Though, I get the impression the architectural engineers are the Art Major in the Math Class of engineering land)
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