Some furry fans create and wear costumes of their characters, commonly known as
fursuits
'Furry fandom' is a
fandom distinguished by its enjoyment of
anthropomorphic, often
humanoid, animal characters.
[1] Examples of anthropomorphism in the furry fandom include the attribution of human intelligence, facial expressions, and often anatomy, speech,
bipedalism, and the wearing of clothes. Members of this subculture are sometimes known as ''furry fans'', ''furries'', or simply ''furs''.
[2]
Art and entertainment celebrated by furry fandom includes fictional work that employs the concept of animal characters with human characteristics, rather than any particular type of fiction. For this reason, any work, in any medium, may be considered of interest to furry fans simply by inclusion of a
fantastic animal character, although such characters are most often seen in
comics,
cartoons,
animated films,
allegorical novels, and
video games. The
science fiction and fantasy genres make frequent use of anthropomorphism, and as a result, are especially popular in furry fandom.
Since the 1980s, the term ''furries'' has come to refer to anthropomorphic animal characters.
[3][4][5] Although mammals are the most common, anthropomorphized
reptiles,
birds or
aquatic animals may also be known as furries (sometimes "scalies"
[6], "avians,"
[7] or "aquatics," respectively).
History and inspiration
According to YARF!, a
magazine run by members of the fandom, the concept of 'furry' originated at a science fiction convention in 1980,
[8] when a drawing of a character from
Steve Gallacci’s ''
Albedo Anthropomorphics'' initiated a discussion of anthropomorphic characters in science fiction novels, which in turn initiated a discussion group that met at
science fiction and
comics conventions.
However, fans consider the beginnings of furry fandom to be much earlier. Fictional works such as ''
Kimba, The White Lion'' released in 1965,
Richard Adams' novel ''
Watership Down'', published in 1972 (and its
1978 film adaptation), as well as
Disney's ''Robin Hood'' are oft-cited examples of the beginnings of furry fandom.
To distinguish them from seriously depicted animal characters, such as
Lassie or
Old Yeller, cartoon animals are referred to as funny animals,
[9] a term that came into use in the 1910s.
During the 1980s, furry fans began to publish
fanzines, developing a diverse social group, that eventually began to schedule social gatherings. By 1987, there was sufficient interest to stage the first furry convention.
[10]
Throughout the next decade, the Internet became accessible to the general population, and became the most popular means for furry fans to socialize. The newsgroup alt.fan.furry was created in November of 1990, and virtual environments such as
MUCKs also became popular places on the Internet for fans to meet and communicate. One of the oldest and largest MUCKs in existence is
FurryMUCK.
[11]
Art and literature
at
Further Confusion]]
Furry fans participate in the arts, including amateur and professional illustrators, comic strip authors, painters, sculptors, writers, musicians, and craftspeople. Furry fans are eager for more material than is available from mainstream
publishers, and this demand is met by other fans, who range from amateur to professional. These artists, writers, and publishers produce a prolific amount of drawings, paintings, stories, comic books,
fanzines,
puppets, and
small press books, as well as sculpture, textile art, fiction,
music, and photography. Some artists also produce a wide variety of erotic artwork, which is a subject of controversy both inside and outside of the fandom.
While most fan-created art is distributed through nonprofessional media, such as personal
websites, some is published in
anthologies, by
Amateur Press Associations, or in
APAzines.
[12] A few works of furry art have been released in mainstream culture, and furry artwork has appeared on commercial apparel.
There are several
webcomics featuring animal characters created by furry fans; as such, they may be referred to as "
furry comics". One such comic, ''T.H.E. Fox'', was first published on
CompuServe in 1986, predating the
World Wide Web by several years.
[13]
Some websites devoted entirely to furry artwork exist
[1][2], while other sites contain furry artwork under the term "anthro."
[3] Many artists maintain their own, independent websites as well.
Crafts
Fans with craft skills create their own plush toys, sometimes referred to as ''
plushies''; and also build elaborate
costumes called ''
fursuits'',
[14] which are worn for fun or to participate in parades, convention
masquerades, dances, or fund-raising charity events (as entertainers).
[15] Many fursuits feature simple construction and resemble
sports
mascots, and others feature more sophisticated construction that includes moving jaw mechanisms,
animatronic parts,
prosthetic makeup, and other features. Fursuits can cost upwards of $1,000.
[16] Some furry fans pursue
puppetry, recording videos and performing live shows such as
Rapid T. Rabbit and Friends and the
Funday PawPet Show.
Role playing
Furry fans create anthropomorphic animal characters in order to engage in
role-playing sessions on the Internet; these characters may be used in
MUDs, on
Internet forums, or on
electronic mailing lists, and are known as fursonas. The longest-running online furry role-playing environment is ''
FurryMUCK'' (although it was predated by the GE-run
BBS called ''The Beastie Board'' in which conversation occasionally led to role-play). Another popular online furry social game is called ''
Furcadia'', created by
Dragon's Eye Productions. There are also several furry-themed areas and communities in the
virtual world ''
Second Life''.
[17] An online gaming community called
Skotos currently offers a furry roleplaying game called Iron Claw Online and Right Brain Games is currently making a furry
massively multiplayer online role-playing game titled Antilia.
[18] Iron Realms Entertainment is also currently developing an MMORPG, Earth Eternal, which will feature anthropomorphic animals as playable races.
[19] This will not be the first, as
EverQuest II has anthropomorphic
cats (Kerrans),
frogs (Frogloks),
lizards (
Iksar), and
rats (Ratonga).
World of Warcraft also makes available the
Tauren, which are a race of
minotaurs.
[20]
Conventions
Furry fans prepare for a race at Midwest FurFest 2006
Sufficient interest and membership has enabled the creation of many furry conventions in
North America and
Europe. The largest of these is
Anthrocon held annually in
Pittsburgh in July.
[21] One convention,
Further Confusion, held in
San Jose each January, closely follows Anthrocon in scale and attendance. The total attendance for furry conventions exceeded 9130 in 2005, an increase of 13% since the previous year.
[22] In 2006, more than 25 such conventions took place around the world. The first known furry convention,
ConFurence,
8 is no longer held; Califur has replaced it, as both conventions were based in
Southern California.
Such conventions feature auctions or fundraising events, with the proceeds often donated to an animal-related charity. For example, Further Confusion has raised more than $62,000 (USD) for various charitable beneficiaries throughout its eight-year history,
[23] and Anthrocon has donated more than $66,000 (USD) to animal-related charities since 1997.
[24] In September 2004, Mephit Furmeet raised more than $15,000 for an organization known as Tiger Haven.
[25]
Furry lifestylers
The phrases ''furry lifestyle'' and ''furry lifestyler'' first appeared in July 1996 on the newsgroup alt.fan.furry during an ongoing dispute within that online community. One group within furry fans believed that any peripheral interest not directly relating to furry art, literature and fantasy should not be directly associated with the fandom, while others believed that the definition of what constituted furry could only be decided by the individual. The dispute was resolved by the creation of the newsgroup alt.lifestyle.furry in August 1996, created to accommodate discussion beyond furry art and literature. Members of this newsgroup quickly adopted the term ''furry lifestylers'', and still consider the fandom and the lifestyle to be separate social entities.
[26]
Subcultures such as the
were or therian communities share similar beliefs with furry lifestylers, but wish to distance themselves from the term ''furry'', as their beliefs are not necessarily connected to furry fandom. Furthermore, they perceive association with what they describe as a "cartoon fandom" as "trivializing" their beliefs.
Sex and furry fandom
Differing approaches to sexuality have been a source of controversy and conflict in furry fandom. Examples of mainstream sexual aspects within furry fandom include erotic art, a style known as ''yiffy art'' (from the subculture term "yiff" referring to sexual activity or arousal, supposedly derived from the sound
Arctic foxes make when mating), and
pornographic movies of sexual activities between participants wearing fur suits.
[27] According to
''The Pitch'', examples of the word's present usage include "a yiffy fur", meaning a furry who is sexually
aroused or active, "yiffy artwork", meaning
sexually explicit furry
artwork, "to yiff", meaning to have sex, etc.
[28] Such art often depicts
humanoid animals in poses and outfits similar to those in standard erotic art.
The term is most commonly used to indicate sexual activity or material.
[29] This applies to sexual activity and interaction within the subculture whether
online or
offline; it is also applied to sexual arousal and to
erotic material causing it.
[30] The explanation offered for the etymology of the term within the subculture is that it is an
onomatopoeia for the sound foxes make when mating.
[31]
In
cybersex, also known as "TinySex" and "TextSex", it is the act in which one or more players engage in the interactive writing of erotica, describing their "tinybodies" or fursonas engaged in sexual activities.
Dery, Mark. ''Escape Velocity: cyberculture at the end of the century''. New York: Grove Press, 1996. (ISBN 080213520X) 205
The term ''furvert'' (a
portmanteau of "furry" and "pervert") specifically refers to the subgroup of the fandom that sexualizes anthropomorphic animal characters.
[32] Similar to the word ''queer'' in homosexual culture, the term ''furvert'' may be used pejoratively, as a
self-referential joke, or merely as a descriptor.
Fandom survey
A survey which examined social and sexual attitudes in furry fandom conducted by David J. Rust published as ''The Sociology of Furry Fandom'', interviewed 360 respondents (325 in person, 35 online).
[33] Rust's results indicated that in regards to sex:
★ Furries "report a rather non-judgmental attitude" to some aspects of
sexuality.
★ The fandom contains a large proportion of people reporting
homosexuality,
bisexuality,
polyamory, or other non-traditional forms of relationship.
★ 48% reported bisexuality, 25% reported heterosexuality, 19% were homosexual, and 8% were uncertain. Additionally, 2% stated an interest in
zoophilia, and fewer than 1% stated an interest in
plushophilia.
★ Furries have "a higher tolerance for variety in sexual orientation and activity".
★ Heterosexual furries "participate in mixed-gender social body language between members of the same sex without any apparent threat to their sexual identity".
He cited these findings as reasons why inaccurate perceptions of furries arise. However, the accuracy of such statistics is questionable for two reasons: as Rust's survey required respondents to submit their legal names and 90% of the respondents answered in person, the reluctance to answer some questions truthfully may have resulted in a statistical bias; furthermore, the constantly increasing size of furry fandom may render these statistics obsolete (the research was based on data compiled in 1997 and 1998, and published in 2002).
The University of California, Davis survey
In 2007, another survey by the
University of California, Davis Department of Psychology was made. Over 600 people took part in the survey, although not everyone completed it.
[34] 81% of the people who took part were men and 19% were women. This survey not only looked into the sexual aspect of the fandom but also examined pastimes and political views.
Survey results included:
★ 37.3% of respondents are bisexual, 32.7% are heterosexual, 25.5% are homosexual and 8% are uncertain.
★ About half of the respondents were in a relationship and 76% of those in a relationship were having a relationship with another furry.
The survey also published some other results. 89% of the respondents are white, 83% were American, the most frequent occupation was student (38%), most do not own a fursuit (82%) and earned less than $50,000 per year (90%). Also, around half take part in furry-related internet friendships, chat rooms and blogging, whilst 42% attended conventions, a third attended parties and around a sixth took part in art auctions.
Politically, 40% of respondents described themselves as "Liberal" or "Very liberal", compared to the 7% who were "Conservative," "Very conservative". 35% were "Not political" or "Other", and 16% were "Moderate". Of the 35% who marked "Other," the dominant write-in was "
Objectivist," which tallied 17%.
Media coverage
Early portrayal of the furry fandom by the media was considered unflattering and
sensationalist by furry fans.
29 Articles in ''
Loaded'', ''
Vanity Fair'',
[35] and the syndicated sex column "
Savage Love" focused sharply on the sexual component of certain individuals, which inspired dramatized fiction on television shows such as
''ER'',
[36] '',
[37] ''
The Drew Carey Show'',
[38] ''Sex2K'' on
MTV,
[39] and ''
Entourage''.
[40] Furry fans claim that these media portrayals are misconceptions,
[41][42][43] and while some tabloids still focus on the sensationalist aspects,
[44] most recent coverage focuses on debunking the myths and stereotypes that have been perpetuated.
[45] A reporter attending Anthrocon 2006 noted that "despite their wild image from ''Vanity Fair'', MTV and ''CSI'', furry conventions aren't about kinky sex between weirdos gussied up in foxy costumes," and that they're "not having sex more than the rest of us."
[46] but about "people talking and drawing animals and comic-book characters in sketchbooks."
29
The
Milwaukee Brewers had a run-in with a group of furries at Anthrocon 2007, claiming that they found the furries "creepy" and both "players and staff reported neighboring rooms generating loud animal noises, barking and other, deep into the night."
[47] Jim Powell stated "Going up the elevator is unsettling when you are packed in with a bunch of people who look like they hadn't left their mother's basements since the last convention".
[48] However, Pittsburgh has also welcomed furries, with local business owners creating special t-shirts and drawing pawprints in chalk outside their shops to attract attendees.
[49] The convention, which contributes $2.5 million to the Pittsburgh economy, plans to return to the city every year "for the foreseeable future".
[50]45
References
1. It's a furry weekend Daveen Rae Kurutz
2. Invasion of the Furries Rob Staeger
3. Critters Offer Consumer Retorts in 'Over the Hedge' Desson Thomson
4. Fera Vita: Pax Draconis, , Justin, Dagna, Technicraft, 2005,
5. Furries funny, humans not in 'Dolittle 2' Paul Tatara
6. Finally comfortable in their own fur
7. Avians.net
8. Chronology Of Furry Fandom Fred Patten
9. Reading the Rabbit: Explorations in Warner Bros. Animation, , Kevin S., Sandler, Rutgers University Press, 1998,
10. on WikiFur for more information.
39. Sex2K Fursuit Video MTV
40.
41. Get Furry Tim Kelly
42. Walk With the Animals: Local furries explain it's not about perversion, furpiles and plush Denis Baldwin
43. All about 'furry fandom' at confab Ann Belser
44. We're at it like rabbits
45. Furries purr over Pittsburgh reception Chris Togneri
46. Fur Ball In The Works Melissa Meinzer
47. The Brewers Meet the Furries Deadspin
48. A Hair-Raising Time In Pittsburgh Jim Powell
49. Anthrocon 2007 draws thousands to Pittsburgh for furry weekend Mike LaSalle
50. Anthrocons convention turns city into 'real zoo' Mackenzie Carpenter
Further reading
★ Hilton, Craig. "Furry Fandom — An Insider's View from the Outside", parts 1 & 2. ''South Fur Lands'' #2 & #3, 1995, 1996.
★ Mange: the need for criticism in furrydom by Watts Martin, 1994, 1998
External links
★
★ WikiFur, the furry encyclopedia - furry fandom's community wiki
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