Furries

Furries are people who have adopted a “fursona” and who associate themselves with animal characteristics, or, more properly, people who identify as humanized animals. The adoption of a fursona usually includes the adoption of an alternate furry name and recognition of a furry identity. The furry lifestyle grew out of a subgenre of science fiction and fantasy writings featuring anthropomorphic animal characters. Early mass media publications focused on the sexual aspect of the furry lifestyle; however, several unpublished surveys of the community have found that sex is important to the furry lifestyler in only a minority of cases.

Furries are a grossly understudied subculture. The popular perception is that furry lifestylers dress in fur suits, similar to college mascot suits, and are primarily homosexual males who engage in sexual acts. Some find that animal characteristics such as grooming are important for those adopting this lifestyle. However, most do not own a full fur suit, which can be quite expensive, and most do not engage in animalistic sexual activities. The furry lifestyle community has spoken out against such portrayals in the media. Despite this, the public perception remains that this is a sexually deviant subculture.

Furry lifestylers meet in annual conventions that are held in various places throughout the country. The largest of these annual meetings, Anthrocon, is held each summer in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. At the conventions, furries meet to exchange artwork, purchase crafts and other furry materials made within the furry community, and exchange stories related to the furry fandom genre of writing. As such, the conventions are geared more toward advancing furry fandom and meeting people with similar literary and artistic preferences than they are a place to meet and engage in sexual encounters.

Another venue for the sharing of art and literature is the Internet. Two massively multiplayer online game sites cater specifically to the furry community, and the multiplayer online game Second Life has various simulations at which members of the furry fandom community meet. There are also Listservs and chat rooms that provide a forum for the online gathering of members of the furry fandom and furry lifestyle communities. In urban areas with a concentration of members of the furry lifestyle community, members may meet at formal or informal gathers known as furmeets. There, members exchange art and writings and may view anime productions that feature anthropomorphic characters.

Furry fandom consists of various types of art and literature, most of it featuring anthropomorphic characters. Several fan Internet sites feature the creative work of artists and writers in the furry fandom tradition. Unlike other fandoms, there does not appear to be a single canonical work on which the culture is built. Rather, what is considered within the furry fandom is a (sometimes contentious) creatively coauthored definition of the body of work itself. There is a sharp division on most fan Internet sites between fandom art and literature that advance the fandom canon and those that cater to more prurient tastes. Adult fan Internet sites exist, but these are not considered representative of the furry fandom as a whole but merely a subgenre of the fandom canon.

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