Furriesarepeoplewhohaveaninterestinanthropomorphicanimals,oranimalswithhumanqualities.Manyfurriescreatetheirownanimalcharacter,knownasafursona,whichfunctionsastheiravatarwithinfurrycommunities.
Whilefursonasareeachbasedonananimal--adog,cat,reptile,bird,wildanimal,orevenmythicalcreature--theywalkuprightlikehumansdoandoftenhaveacartoonlikeappearance.
Furriesrepresenttheirfursonasthroughart,writing,onlineidentities,orinthecreationof"fursuits,"whichareelaboratecostumesdepictingtheindividual'sanimal.Somefursuitsarefullcostumes,whileothersarepartial,includinganimalears,tails,orgloves.
Afandomisacommunityofpeopleunitedbyacommoninterest.Inthecaseoffurryfandom,thetermdescribesthewholeoffurry-dom,meaningthosewithaparticularinterestinanthropomorphicanimals,suchasBugsBunnyandothercartoonanimalsthathavehumanqualities.
Furryfandomprimarilyexistsinonlinecommunities,buttheydomeetinpersonaswell,inlocalgroupsandatfurryconventions.Ifyouareafurry,youarepartofthefurryfandom.Othertermsforthisincludefurrydom,furridom,furfandom,andfurdom.
Inadditiontogatheringonlineandinperson,membersofthefandomproducefanartandfanfictiondepictinganthropomorphicanimals.Costumescalled"fursuits"--notunlikethesuitswornbysportsteams’mascots--areapartoffurryfandom,butonlyforsomefurries.Infact,fewerthan15%offurriesownfullsuits,mainlybecauseoftheveryhighcost.Thepriceofafullsuitcanbebetween$4,000and$5,000.Instead,mostfurrieslimitthemselvestopartialfursuitsorto"furryparaphernalia,"suchasfakeanimalearsortails.
Whenitcomestocostumes,furryfandomdoesnotdifferinbasisfromothercommunitiesthatinvolvetakingondifferentidentities.OneexamplecouldbeCivilWarreenactorswhodressupasUnionorConfederatesoldiersandgettogetherformockbattles.Cosplayersareanotherexample.Theycostumethemselvesascomicbooksuperheroes,villainsfromStarWars,orothercharactersoutofsciencefictionandfantasy.
Somemediaportrayalsoffurrieshaveemphasizedastrongsexualelementtothefandom.Butifsexmotivatessomeofthefurryfandom,it'shardlytheonlythingthatinterestsitsmembers.Peoplearedrawntofurryfandomforavarietyofreasons,includingitsfocusonart,creativity,andcommunity.Someresearchhasfoundthatmostfurriesdohaveatleastsomesexualinterestinfurry-themedcontent,suchaseroticart,buttheyhaveonlyamodestsexualmotivationforparticipatinginthefurryfandom.
Thefurryfandomthrivesintheonlinespace,butmanyindividualsalsomeetlocallyornationallytoengagewithlike-mindedfans.Eachyear,furryenthusiastsmeetatconferencesacrossthecountry.
Thecommunityitselfisknownforitsdiversityandacceptance.One-thirdofthefurrycommunityidentifiesasexclusivelyheterosexual,andfurriesare5timesaslikelytoidentifyasLGBTQ(lesbian,gay,bisexual,transgender,transsexual,queer,questioning,intersex,asexual,pansexual)thanthegeneralpopulation.
Thefurrycommunitybegantoemergeinthe1970s,alongsidegrowinginterestinsciencefiction,anime,androle-playing.YoumayhaveheardofTrekkies,thefandomthatdevelopedaroundthesci-fishowStarTrek.Furriescameonthescenearoundthesametime.
Atfirst,furries--whoweremostlymen--metupinformallytosharetheirinterestswitheachother.Thefirstconventioninwhichfurriesfeaturedhappenedin1977,atameetingoftheCartoon/FantasyOrganization.Inthe1980s,furriesbegantomeetformallyatsciencefictionconventions.Then,in1989,thefirstfurryconventiontookplace.
CalledConFurence0,itwasorganizedbyMarkMerlinoandhispartner,RodO'Riley,bothofwhomareconsideredfoundingmembersofthefurryfandom.ItwasheldattheHolidayInnBristolPlazainCostaMesa,CA.Somereportsputattendanceatonly65people.Today,furryconventions--whichtakeplaceworldwide--sometimeswelcomemorethan10,000people.
Sexmaybeonethingthatdrawsyouintothefurrycommunity.However,itisfarfromtheonlybenefit.
Therearesomedrawbackstobeingafurry.
Despitethesenegatives,researchsuggeststhatfurriesarenotmorelikelytohavedepressionoranxietydisordersthananyoneelse.
Alongwithconsent,youneedtoclearlyunderstandandrespectboundariesandexpectations.Noteveryonewantsthesamethingasyou.Andremember:pastsexualexperienceswithsomeonedoesnotentitleyoutohavesexwiththemagain.Consentshouldbegiveneverytime.
Also,ifyourpartnersaysstop,youstop.Startingsexdoesnotentitleyoutokeepgoing.Consentmustbeongoing.
Finally,verifytheagesofyourpartnersbeforeyouhavesex.Costumingmaymakeithardtodetermineifthey'reoldenoughtogiveconsent.Andsomefurriesdon'tusetheirrealageintheirfursonas.
Ifyou'reinterestedinthefurrycommunity,youcanexplorethesefeelingsinanumberofways.
Furryconventions
Youcanattendfurryconventions,alsoknownas"furcons."Thesepubliceventsallowhundredsoreventhousandsoffurryfanstoattendpanels,events,merchandisebooths,livemusic,dancecontests,games,andmore.Smallerfurrycommunitygatherings,called"furrymeets,"allowlocalfurryenthusiaststomeetandsocialize.
Furrywebsites
Intheonlinespace,youcanparticipateininternetforumsandchatprograms.Whethercreatingyourownfursona,sharingandreadingfurrycontent,orchattingwithotherfurriesonline,theInternetoffersnewwaystoengagewiththecommunity.
Role-playinginparticularisawaytoexplorefurrysexonline.Furriesoftenrole-playastheirfursonasinthevirtualworldwithotherfurries.Thiscanbeacreativeoutletforfurriestosocializeinalow-stakesenvironment.Forothers,itcanbeaspaceforsexualexploration.
Furriesarepeoplewhoidentifywithanimalswhohavehumancharacteristics,likecartooncharacters.Overthepastseveraldecades,they'veformedagrowingandinclusivecommunitythatoffersacceptance,friendship,andtheopportunitytoexpressoneself.Whilesomeportrayalsoffurrieshavefocusedonsex,furriesthemselves--likeallpeople--havealargeandvariedsetofinterestsandmotivations.
FurScience:“Orientation.”
FurrySociology:“TheFurrySociologicalSurvey.”
InternationalAnthropomorphicResearchProject:“FurryFiesta2014andLongitudinalStudyWave2.”
JournalofSexResearch:““ChasingTail”:TestingtheRelativeStrengthofSexualInterestandSocialInteractionasPredictorsofFurryIdentity.”
SocietyandAnimals:“FurriesfromAtoZ(AnthropomorphismtoZoomorphism).”
ArchivesofSexualBehavior:“The“Furry”Phenomenon:CharacterizingSexualOrientation,SexualMotivation,andEroticTargetIdentityInversionsinMaleFurries.”
FurScience:“ResearchFindings.”
Phys.org:“Whatare'furries'Debunkingmythsaboutkidsidentifyingasanimals,andlitterboxesinschools.”
Dunn,K.“Aestheticfandom:furriesinthe1970s.”
FurScience:“What’safurry”
Rainn.org:“WhatConsentLooksLike.”
Silverman,B.“Fursonas:Furries,Community,andIdentityOnline.”