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{{Short description|Subculture interested in anthropomorphic animals}}{{pp-semi-indef|small=yes}}{{Update|date=February 2022}}File:FBL 2018 FURSUIT GROUP PHOTO.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|A large group of fursuit owners at a furry conventionfurry conventionThe furry fandom is a subculture interested in anthropomorphic animal characters.NEWS, Rob, Staeger,weblink Invasion of the Furries, The Wayne Suburban, July 26, 2001, 2009-05-20, 2020-08-28,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20200828042650weblink">weblink live, NEWS, Dylan, Matthews,weblink 9 questions about furries you were too embarrassed to ask, Vox, March 27, 2015, 2016-08-07,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20160729151838weblink">weblink July 29, 2016, live, WEB, Aaron, Michael, May 12, 2017, More Than Just a Pretty Face: Unmasking Furry Fandom,weblink Psychology Today, September 15, 2017, February 18, 2021,weblink live, Some examples of anthropomorphic attributes include exhibiting human intelligence and facial expressions, speaking, walking on two legs, and wearing clothes. The term "furry fandom" is also used to refer to the community of people who gather on the Internet and at furry conventions.NEWS, Kurutz, Daveen Rae, June 17, 2006, It's a furry weekend in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review,weblink live, 2006-06-30,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20160303203338weblink">weblink March 3, 2016,

History

The furry fandom has its roots in the underground comix movement of the 1970s, a genre of comic books that depict explicit content.BOOK, Skinn, Dez.,weblink Comix: the underground revolution, 2004, Thunder's Mouth Press, 1-56025-572-2, New York, 55592337, registration, In 1976, a pair of cartoonists created the amateur press association Vootie, which was dedicated to animal-focused art. Many of its featured works contained adult themes, such as "Omaha" the Cat Dancer, which contained explicit sex.BOOK, Waller, Reed., The collected 'Omaha': the cat dancer; Vol. 1, 1995, Fantagraphics Books, Worley, Kate., 1-56097-161-4, 1st Fantagraphics books, Seattle, Wash., 122275829, Vootie grew a small following over the next several years, and its contributors began meeting at science fiction and comics conventions.According to fandom historian Fred Patten, the concept of furry originated at a science fiction convention in 1980,NEWS, Patten, Fred, Fred Patten,weblink Retrospective: An Illustrated Chronology of Furry Fandom, 1966–1996, (WikiFur:Flayrah, Flayrah), 2012-07-15, 2012-07-15,weblink 2016-04-05, live, when a character drawing from Steve Gallacci's Albedo Anthropomorphics started a discussion of anthropomorphic characters in science fiction novels. This led to the formation of a discussion group that met at science fiction conventions and comics conventions.The specific term furry fandom was being used in fanzines as early as 1983, and had become the standard name for the genre by the mid-1990s, when it was defined as "the organized appreciation and dissemination of art and prose regarding 'Furries', or fictional mammalian anthropomorphic characters".NEWS, Fred, Patten,weblink The Yarf! reviews, (WikiFur:Anthro, ANTHRO), 2007-09-24,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20160313204950weblink">weblink 2016-03-13, live, However, fans consider the origins of furry fandom to be much earlier, with 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 as oft-cited examples. Internet newsgroup discussion in the 1990s created some separation between fans of "funny animal" characters and furry characters, meant to avoid the baggage that was associated with the term "furry".BOOK, Sandler, Kevin S.,weblink Reading the Rabbit: Explorations in Warner Bros. Animation, Rutgers University Press, 1998, 0-8135-2537-3, New Brunswick, N.J., 202, 37890394, [The distinction between "furry" and "funny animal"] is largely because of the baggage the term 'furry' carries with it, as a number of people see 'furries' [to be] obsessed with the sexuality of their fictitious characters., registration, During the 1980s, furry fans began to publish fanzines, developing a diverse social group that eventually began to schedule social gatherings. By 1989, there was sufficient interest to stage the first furry convention.BOOK, Patten, Fred,weblink Furry Fandom Conventions, 1989-2015, McFarland, 2017, 9781476663814, 57, Fred Patten, y, 2023-03-19, 2023-04-08,weblink live, The convention was called Confurence 0, and it was held at the Holiday Inn Bristol Plaza in Costa Mesa, California.NEWS, Klee, Miles, Oct 16, 2016, Here's some amazing raw footage from the world's first furry convention, The Daily Dot,weblink live, 28 June 2018,weblink 28 June 2018, Once the Internet became accessible to the general population in the 1990s, it became the most popular means for furry fans to socialize.NEWS, Who are the furries?,weblink Denise, Winterman, BBC News, BBC News Magazine, November 13, 2009, 2009-11-29, 2020-11-09,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20201109040643weblink">weblink live, The newsgroup alt.fan.furry was created in November 1990, and virtual environments such as MUCKs also became popular places on the internet for fans to meet and communicate.WEB, Stamper, Chris, Furry Muckity-Muck, The Netly News, March 29, 1996,weblinkweblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20070927162630weblink">weblink 2007-09-27, 2007-04-13,

Inspiration

Allegorical novels, including works of both science fiction and fantasy, and cartoons featuring anthropomorphic animals are often cited as the earliest inspiration for the fandom. A survey conducted in 2007 suggested that, when compared with a non-furry control group, a higher proportion of those self-identifying as furries liked cartoons "a great deal" as children and recalled watching them significantly more often, as well as being more likely to enjoy works of science fiction than those outside of the community.JOURNAL, Gerbasi, Kathleen, Paolone, Nicholas, Higner, Justin, Scaletta, Laura, Bernstein, Penny, Conway, Samuel, Privitera, Adam, 2008, Furries From A to Z (Anthropomorphism to Zoomorphism),weblink Society & Animals, 16, 197–222, 10.1163/156853008X323376, 3, 2017-03-18,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20180928175726weblink">weblink 2018-09-28, live,

Activities

According to a survey from 2008, most furries believe that visual art, conventions, literature, and online communities are strongly important to the fandom. The furry fandom is male-dominated, with surveys reporting around 80% male respondents.

Crafts

File:GR FC2007 Wicked Creatures Furry Sculptures.jpg|thumb|upright|Sculpture at Further ConfusionFurther ConfusionFans with craft skills create their own plush toys, sometimes referred to as plushies, and also build elaborate costumes called fursuits,BOOK, Riggs, Adam, 2004, Critter Costuming: Making Mascots and Fabricating Fursuits, Ibexa Press, which are worn for fun or to participate in parades, convention masquerades, dances, or fund-raising charity events (as entertainers).NEWS, Alina, Larson,weblink Animal Instincts: Fans of Furry Critters Convene to Help Mankind, Tri-Valley Herald, ANG Newspapers, January 23, 2003, 2009-05-20,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20190921192053weblink">weblink September 21, 2019, live, Fursuits range from designs featuring simple construction resembling some entertainment and sports mascots to those with more sophisticated features such as moving jaw mechanisms, animatronic parts, prosthetic makeup, and other features. Fursuits range in price from $500, for mascot-like designs, to an upwards of $10,000 for models incorporating animatronics.NEWS,weblink Furries Descend On Pittsburgh, KDKA-TV, June 16, 2006, 2006-06-30,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20070126105803weblink">weblink 2007-01-26, While about 80% of furries do not own a full fursuit, often citing their expensive cost as the decisive factor, a majority of them hold positive feelings towards fursuiters and the conventions in which they participate. Some fans may also wear "partial" suits consisting simply of ears and a tail, or a head, paws, and a tail. A much larger proportion of individuals who attend conventions own a full or partial fursuit—45%, according to a survey done at Anthrocon 2018—which has been attributed to convention attendees' generally higher likelihood to be able to afford to buy a fursuit if they can afford convention travel expenses.WEB, 2018, Anthrocon 2018 Study,weblink January 31, 2024, Furscience.com, Furry fans also pursue puppetry, recording videos and performing live shows such as Rapid T. Rabbit and Friends and the Funday PawPet Show, and create furry accessories, such as ears or tails.NEWS, A 'furry' tale for a foxy college student,weblink Irwin, Charles, Watterson, Summer, amp, The Olympian, April 24, 2002, 2008-09-03,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20090911141422weblink">weblink September 11, 2009, live,

Role-playing

{{anchor|Roleplaying}}{{anchor|Role playing}}File:Anthro vixen fullbody front.svg|thumb|upright|Cartoon anthropomorphic vixenvixenAnthropomorphic animal characters created by furry fans, known as fursonas,NEWS, Gaudio, Greg, August 23, 2008, Lions and foxes and cat-dragons walk on two legs in Beach, The Virginian-Pilot,weblink 2008-09-07,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20090211234713weblink">weblink February 11, 2009, live, are used for role-playing in MUDs,WEB, Mitchell, Don, March 23, 1995, From MUDs To Virtual Worlds, Social Computing Group, Microsoft,weblink 2009-11-06,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20090519035523weblink">weblink May 19, 2009, live, on internet forums, or on electronic mailing lists.NEWS, Howells, Shelley, October 1, 2002, Secret lives of strange and furry, The New Zealand Herald, A variety of species are employed as the basis of these personas, although many furry fans (for example over 60% of those surveyed in 2007) choose to identify themselves with carnivorans.JOURNAL, Gerbasi, Kathleen, Paolone, Nicholas, Higner, Justin, Scaletta, Laura, Bernstein, Penny, Conway, Samuel, Privitera, Adam, 2008, Furries From A to Z (Anthropomorphism to Zoomorphism), Society & Animals, 3, 205, WEB,weblink Och, sind die süüüüß!, 2008-09-06, Werner, Christian, Zeit Online Zuender, Zeit Online, de,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20080906005232weblink">weblink 2008-09-06, live, The longest-running online furry role-playing environment is FurryMUCK, which was established in 1990.BOOK, Mulligan, Jessica, Patrovsky, Bridgette, 2003, Developing Online Games: An Insider's Guide,weblink registration, New Riders, 1-59273-000-0, 452, 1990 [...] FurryMUCK opens. It features avatars who are anthropomorphic animals., Many furry fans had their first exposure to the fandom come from multiplayer online role-playing games.JOURNAL, Baldwin, Denis, August 2006, Walk With the Animals: Local furries explain it's not about perversion, furpiles and plush, Ann Arbor Paper, 2, 1,weblink 2007-02-02,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20070204003446weblink">weblink 2007-02-04, Many furs' first introduction to the fandom is through on-line MUCKs or MOOs, such as Furry Muck, the graphic FurCadia, or even through sites that try to poke fun at the fandom, such as Something Awful, or Portal of Evil., {{unreliable source?|date=July 2016}} 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.NEWS, Eyder, Peralta,weblink In Second Life, the World is Yours, Houston Chronicle, May 28, 2006, 2007-08-13,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20071012212447weblink">weblink October 12, 2007, live,

Conventions

File:FurryGamesMidwestFurFest2006GreenReaper.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Furry fans prepare for a race at Midwest FurFestMidwest FurFestSufficient interest and membership has enabled the creation of many furry conventions in North America and Europe. A furry convention is for the fans to get together to buy and sell artwork, participate in workshops, wear costumes, and socialize.WEB,weblink Jorgensen, Karl, What is a furry convention like?, Furry Fandom Infocenter, 2019-09-21,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20190921192054weblink">weblink 2019-09-21, live, Anthrocon, in 2008, the largest furry convention with more than 5,861 attendees,WEB, Anthrocon website official,weblink live,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20140924035637weblink">weblink 2014-09-24, 2014-09-21, Anthrocon, is estimated to have generated approximately $3 million to Pittsburgh's economy that year.NEWS, Adam, Brandolph,weblink Furry convention a $3 million cash cow for city businesses, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, June 28, 2008, 2008-07-04, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20090414201132weblink">weblink April 14, 2009, Another convention, Further Confusion, held in San Jose each January, closely follows Anthrocon in scale and attendance. $470,000 was raised in conventions for charity from 2000 to 2009.WEB, 2009 charity donations down; $470,000 raised this decade,weblink (WikiFur:Flayrah, Flayrah), Parry, Laurence, January 17, 2010, 2010-02-02,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20100121172832weblink">weblink January 21, 2010, live, As of December 2022, Midwest FurFest is the world's largest furry convention.WEB, Sonious (Tantroo McNally), 2017-12-04, Midwest FurFest usurps Anthrocon's record and becomes the world's largest furry convention,weblink 2020-06-13, Flayrah, 2020-12-03,weblink live, NEWS, FurFest: Inside the world's 'largest' furry convention, en-GB,weblink 2023-12-07, NEWS, Thousands attend world's 'largest' furry convention,weblink 2023-12-07, The Irish Times, en, It had a self-reported 2019 attendance of 11,019.WEB, 2020-01-20, Midwest FurFest 2019 Metrics—Thanks to all our attendees for making this possible—We couldn't have done it without you!,weblinkweblink 2022-02-26, limited, 2020-06-13, Midwest FurFest, en, official Facebook account, {{cbignore}}The first known furry convention, ConFurence, is no longer held; Califur has replaced it, as both conventions were based in Southern California. A University of California, Davis survey suggested that about 40% of furries had attended at least one furry convention.

Websites and online communities

The internet contains a multitude of furry websites and online communities, such as art community websites Fur Affinity, Inkbunny, SoFurry and Weasyl; and WikiFur, a collaborative furry wiki.WEB,weblink Animal Passions, Melissa Meinzer, Pittsburgh City Paper, 2006-06-29, 2012-04-08,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20120509194556weblink">weblink 2012-05-09, dead, There are several webcomics featuring animal characters created by or for 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,WEB,weblink Interview with Joe Ekaitis, 2007-01-12, The Commodore 64/128 RoundTable, 1994,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20110112165235weblink">weblink 2011-01-12, live, while another, Kevin and Kell by Bill Holbrook, has been awarded both a Web Cartoonists' Choice Award and an Ursa Major Award.WEB,weblink 2001 Winners and Nominees, Web Cartoonist's Choice Awards, 2001-02-19, 2007-12-04, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20091231152414weblink">weblink 2009-12-31, WEB,weblink Award Winners 2003, Ursa Major Awards, 2007-11-09,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20071109013348weblink">weblink 2007-11-09, live,

Furry lifestyle

{{See also|Shapeshifting|Otherkin}}The phrases furry lifestyle and furry lifestyler first appeared in July 1996 on the newsgroup alt.fan.furry during an ongoing dispute within the online community. The Usenet newsgroup was created to accommodate discussion beyond furry art and literature, and to resolve disputes concerning what should or should not be associated with the fandom; its members quickly adopted the term furry lifestylers, and still consider the fandom and the lifestyle to be separate social entities. They have defined and adopted an alternative meaning of the word furry specific to this group: "a person with an important emotional/spiritual connection with an animal or animals, real, fictional, or symbolic."WEB,weblink alt.lifestyle.furry - Frequently Asked Questions, May 8, 2001, 2006-08-26, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20060821023802weblink">weblink August 21, 2006, In their 2007 survey, Gerbasi et al. examined what it meant to be a furry, and proposed a taxonomy in which to categorise different "types" of furries. The largest group—38% of those surveyed—described their interest in furry fandom predominantly as a "route to socializing with others who share common interests such as anthropomorphic art and costumes."JOURNAL, Gerbasi, Kathleen, Paolone, Nicholas, Higner, Justin, Scaletta, Laura, Bernstein, Penny, Conway, Samuel, Privitera, Adam, 2008, Furries From A to Z (Anthropomorphism to Zoomorphism), Society & Animals, 3, 220, However they also identified furries who saw themselves as "other than human", or who desired to become more like the furry species which they identified with.

Sexual aspects

{{see also|Yiff}}According to four different surveys 14–25% of the fandom members report homosexuality, 37–52% bisexuality, 28–51% heterosexuality, and 3–8% other forms of alternative sexual relationships.WEB,weblink State of the Fandom, June 27, 2008, Furry Research Center, Alex Osaki, March 22, 2015,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20160304223529weblink">weblink March 4, 2016, live, Approximately half of the respondents reported being in a relationship, of which 76% were in a relationship with another member of the furry fandom.WEB,weblink Furry Survey Results, University of California, Davis Department of Psychology, May 5, 2007, 2007-05-05,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20110727123232weblink">weblink July 27, 2011, live, Examples of sexual aspects within the furry fandom include erotic art and furry-themed cybersex.Bardzell, Jeffery, and Shaowen Bardzell. Sex-Interface-Aesthetics: The Docile Avatars and Embodied Pixels of Second Life BDSM. Indiana University, 2005.NEWS,weblink I like dressing up as a bear during sex, The Times, Stuttaford, Thomas, Thomas Stuttaford, Godson, Suzi, Suzi Godson, December 8, 2007, 2007-12-11, London,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20110615180141weblink">weblink June 15, 2011, live, ((WikiFur:I like dressing up as a bear during sex|further details)) The term "(wikt:yiff|yiff)" is sometimes used to indicate sexual activity or sexual material within the fandom—this applies to sexual activity and interaction within the subculture whether in the form of cybersex or offline.NEWS, Melissa, Meinzer,weblink Animal Passions: The furries come to town—and our correspondent tails along, Pittsburgh City Paper, June 29, 2006, 2007-05-25,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20070827170632weblink">weblink August 27, 2007, dead, JOURNAL, Padva, Gilad, 2005, Dreamboys, Meatmen and Werewolves: Visualizing Erotic Identities in All-Male Comic Strips, Sexualities, 8, 5, 587–99, 10.1177/1363460705058395, 143653150, Sexual attraction to furry characters is a polarizing issue. In one survey with 4,300 furry respondents, 37% answered that sexual attraction is important in their furry activities, 38% were ambivalent, and 24% answered that it has little or nothing to do with their furry activities.WEB,weblink International Online Furry Survey: Winter 2011, Gerbasi, 2011, 2012-09-01, etal,weblink 2013-03-08, live, In an earlier online survey, 33% of furry respondents answered that they have a "significant sexual interest in furry", another 46% stated they have a "minor sexual interest in furry", and the remaining 21% stated they have a "non-sexual interest in furry". The survey specifically avoided adult-oriented websites to prevent bias.WEB,weblink The Furry Sociological Survey, 2008, Kyle Evans, 2012-09-01, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20130904201818weblink">weblink 2013-09-04, Another survey at a furry convention in 2013 found that 96.3% of male furry respondents reported viewing furry pornography, compared with 78.3% of female; males estimated 50.9% of all furry art they view is pornographic, compared with 30.7% for females. The respondents to the survey had a slight preference for pornographic furry artwork over non-pornographic artwork. 17.1% of males reported that when they viewed pornography it was exclusively or near-exclusively furry pornography, and only about 5% reported that pornography was the top factor that got them into the fandom.Plante, C. N., Reysen, S., Roberts, S. E., & Gerbasi, K. C. (2013). International Anthropomorphic Research Project: Furry Fiesta 2013 Summary

Public perception and media coverage

Early portrayal of the furries in magazines such as Wired,{{citation|author=Josh Quittner|title=Johnny Manhattan Meets the Furry Muckers|quote=People describe themselves as furry cuddly animals; more times than not, they have furry cuddly animal sex. FurryMuckers like to write long, loving, animal-sexy descriptions of themselves|date=March 1994|magazine=Wired}} Loaded,JOURNAL, Loaded (magazine), Loaded magazine, March 1998, Heavy Petting, Vanity Fair,NEWS, George, Gurley,weblink Pleasures of the fur, Vanity Fair (magazine), Vanity Fair, March 2001, 2011-03-22,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20110301213430weblink">weblink 2011-03-01, live, and the syndicated sex column "Savage Love" focused mainly on the sexual aspect of the furry fandom. Fictional portrayals of the furry fandom have appeared in television shows such as The Simpsons,EPISODE, Flaming Moe, The Simpsons, The Simpsons, Fox Broadcasting Company, 2011-01-16, 22, 11, EPISODE, Do Pizza Bots Dream of Electric Guitars, The Simpsons, The Simpsons, Fox Broadcasting Company, 2021-03-14, 32, 15, ER,EPISODE, Fear of Commitment, ER, ER (TV series), NBC, 2001-03-05, 7, 20, ,EPISODE, Fur and Loathing, Fur and Loathing (CSI episode), CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CBS, 2003-10-30, 4, 5, The Drew Carey Show,EPISODE, Mama Told Me I Should Come, The Drew Carey Show, The Drew Carey Show, American Broadcasting Company, ABC, 2002-10-21, 8, 6, See (WikiFur:The Drew Carey Show|The Drew Carey Show) on WikiFur for more information. Sex2K on MTV,WEB,weblink Sex2K Fursuit Video, MTV, MTV, 2006-08-26,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20110816221526weblink">weblink 2011-08-16, live, Entourage,EPISODE, The Day Fuckers, The Day Fuckers, Entourage, Entourage (U.S. TV series), HBO, July 28, 2007, 4, 7, 1000 Ways to Die,EPISODE, Death Over Easy, 1000 Ways to Die, 1000_Ways_to_Die, Spike (TV channel), Spike, February 8, 2009, 1, 4, Tosh.0,WEB, Jordan, 2011-08-10, Tosh.O Web Redemption: The Larper,weblink Larping, 2010-11-11,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20141129030403weblink">weblink 2014-11-29, dead, NEWS, Markos, 2013-09-05, Kusa the Arctic Fox gets Web Redemption on Comedy Central's Tosh.0,weblink Furry News Network,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20141129021404weblink">weblink 2014-11-29, dead, Check It Out! with Dr. Steve Brule,EPISODE, Animals, Check It Out! with Dr. Steve Brule, Check It Out! with Dr. Steve Brule, Adult Swim, 2012-04-15, 2, 5, and 30 Rock.EPISODE, Emanuelle Goes to Dinosaur Land, 30 Rock, 30 Rock, National Broadcasting Company, NBC, 2010-05-13, 4, 21, Most furry fans claim that these media portrayals are misconceptions,NEWS, Baldwin, Denis, August 2006, Walk With the Animals: Local furries explain it's not about perversion, furpiles and plush,weblink Ann Arbor Paper, 2007-02-02,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20070204003446weblink">weblink 2007-02-04, NEWS, Belser, Ann, June 18, 2006, All about 'furry fandom' at confab,weblink Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 2006-06-30,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20060622075526weblink">weblink June 22, 2006, live, while more recent coverage focuses on addressing the myths and stereotypes that have come to be associated with the furry fandom.NEWS, Togneri, Chris, July 6, 2007, Furries purr over Pittsburgh reception,weblink Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 2007-07-14,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20070712153806weblink">weblink July 12, 2007, dead, 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", that conference attendees were "not having sex more than the rest of us",NEWS, Meinzer, Melissa, February 2, 2006, Fur Ball In The Works,weblink Pittsburgh City Paper, 2007-05-25,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20070828012400weblink">weblink August 28, 2007, dead, and that the furry convention was about "people talking and drawing animals and comic-book characters in sketchbooks." In October 2007, a Hartford Advocate reporter attended FurFright 2007 undercover because of media restrictions. She learned that the restrictions were intended to prevent misinformation, and reported that the scandalous behavior she had expected was not evident.NEWS, Abel, Jennifer, November 1, 2007, Hell Hath No Furries,weblink Hartford Advocate, Advocate Weekly Newspapers, 26 April 2010,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20100426211132weblink">weblink 2010-04-26, dead, Recent coverage of the furry fandom has been more balanced. According to Ian Wolf, a 2009 article from the BBC entitled "Who are the furries?" was the first piece of journalism to be nominated for an Ursa Major Award, the main award given in the field of anthropomorphism.WEB, May 3, 2010, Award Winners 2009,weblink Ursa Major Awards, June 25, 2010,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20100610233710weblink">weblink June 10, 2010, live, WEB, TheChainedWolf, 2010-03-14, Ursa Major Awards 2009: predictions and forlorn hopes,weblink FurteanTimes.com/Flayrah, 2010-11-11,weblink 2020-11-29, live, Milwaukee Brewers broadcaster Jim Powell was sharing a hotel with Anthrocon 2007 attendees a day before the convention and reported a negative opinion of the furries.NEWS, July 6, 2007, The Brewers Meet the Furries,weblink Deadspin, 2007-06-07,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20070710020239weblink">weblink'-belvedere-or-his-stalker/the-brewers-meet-the-furries-275569.php, July 10, 2007, live, Several downtown Pittsburgh businesses welcome furries during the event, with local business owners creating special T-shirts and drawing paw prints in chalk outside their shops to attract attendees.NEWS, Parry, Laurence, July 17, 2007, Anthrocon 2007 draws thousands to Pittsburgh for furry weekend,weblink Wikinews, 2009-11-06,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20090312063339weblink">weblink March 12, 2009, live, Dr. Samuel Conway, CEO of Anthrocon, said that "For the most part, people give us curious stares, but they're good-natured curious stares. We're here to have fun, people have fun having us here, everybody wins".NEWS, June 26, 2008, Furry Convention Creates Wild Scene In Pittsburgh,weblink WPXI News, 2008-07-04,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20081205050919weblink">weblink December 5, 2008, dead, Positive coverage was generated following a furry convention that was held in a Vancouver hotel where a number of Syrian refugees were being temporarily housed. Despite some concerns and warnings by staff that there could be a seriously negative culture clash if the two groups interacted, the refugee children were on the whole delighted to meet the convention goers, especially the ones in fursuits, who seemed like cartoon characters come to life.NEWS, Ferreras, Jesse, March 10, 2016, Syrian Refugees Get Put Up in Same Hotel As Furries. Kids LOVE It.,weblink The Huffington Post, 27 December 2016,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20161227195514weblink">weblink 27 December 2016, live, NEWS, Brennan, Christopher, March 10, 2016, Syrian refugee children dance with furries after being placed in same hotel as VancouFur convention,weblink New York Daily News, 27 December 2016,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20170107000611weblink">weblink 7 January 2017, live, According to Furry survey, about half of furries perceive public reaction to the fandom as negative; less than a fifth stated that the public responded to them more negatively than they did most furries.WEB, Osaki, Alex "Klisoura", Furry Survey,weblink 2008-08-08,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20080915212057weblink">weblink 2008-09-15, live, Furry fans' belief that they will be portrayed as "mainly obsessed with sex" has led to distrust of the media and social researchers.In addition, the fandom has grown to be such a significant demographic that by 2016, the film company Walt Disney Studios marketed their animated feature film Zootopia in pre-release to the fandom to encourage interest in the film, which proved a major critical and commercial success.WEB, Notopoulos, Katie, Proof Disney Is Actually Marketing 'Zootopia' to Furries,weblink Buzzfeed, 2 March 2016, 25 April 2020,weblink 16 February 2021, live, In 2021 and 2022, media coverage in Canada and the United States focused on false rumors about litter boxes in schools being provided for furries, which was part of a cultural backlash amplified by conservative and far-right politicians against transgender accommodations in schools.NEWS, Todd, Dorman, 2020-05-13, School litter box fever will not die in Iowa,weblink The Gazette (Cedar Rapids), The Gazette, 2022-10-06, The solution, obviously, is to take tens of millions of dollars from public schools and give it to private schools, because parents should be scared to send their kids to public schools.,weblink 2022-10-05, live, NEWS, Dalbey, Beth, 2022-09-07, Debunked School Restroom Litter Box Claims Resurface With New Year, Patch.com,weblink 2022-10-05, 2022-10-05,weblink live, WEB, Nolan Brown, Elizabeth, 2022-03-29, No, Schools Aren't Accommodating Students Who Identify as Animals,weblink Reason.com, 2022-09-05,weblink 2022-09-05, live,

Sociological aspects

(File:Otakuthon 2014 (14850728278).jpg|thumb|upright|Some furry fans create and wear costumes called "fursuits" depicting their characters.)The International Anthropomorphic Research Project (IARP), a team of social scientists from various disciplines led by Plante, Reysen, Roberts, and Gerbasi, has been collecting data on the furry fandom using numerous methodologies. Their 2016 publication collects several peer-reviewed and self-published studies into a single volume.BOOK, Gerbasi, Kathleen, Plante, Courtney, Reysen, Stephen, Roberts, Sharon, Howl, Thurston, 2015, The origins of the international anthropomorphic research project, Furries among us: Essays on furries by the most prominent members of the fandom, 102–105, Nashville, TN, Thurston Howl Publications, 978-0990890263, BOOK, Plante, Courtney N., Reysen, Stephen, Roberts, Sharon E., Gerbasi, Kathleen C., 2016, FurScience! A summary of five years of research from the International Anthropomorphic Research Project,weblink Waterloo, Ontario, FurScience, 978-0-9976288-0-7,weblink April 24, 2017, live, Among their findings were that the average adult furry is between 23 and 27 years of age, with more than 75% of furries reporting being 25 years of age or younger, and 88% of adult furries being under the age of 30. Minors were not included in the study for professional ethics reasons. However, IARP estimated that 20% were under the age of 18.{{Rp|4–7}} 67.1% of furries identified themselves as male on the surveys, while 23.3% identified as female. While only 2% of furries identified themselves as transgender, 10% of furries identified themselves as genderqueer/non-binary.{{Rp|pages=10–11}} 83–90% of furries self-identify as White, with small minorities of furries self-identifying as Asian (2–4%), Black (2–3%), and Hispanic (3%).{{Rp|7–10}} 21% of furries consider themselves to be (My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fandom|bronies), 44% consider themselves to be anime fans, and 11% consider themselves sport fans.{{Rp|32–33}} Furries, as a group, are more politically liberal and less religious than the average American or other comparable fan groups such as anime fans,{{Rp|18}} while still containing contentious groups such as neo-Nazis and alt-right activists whose affiliation is partly in jest and partly in earnest.WEB, Kiberd, Roisin, January 12, 2017, Pony Nationalism and the Furred Reich: Inside the Alt-Furry's Online Zoo,weblink Vice Media, January 25, 2017,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20170115085409weblink">weblink January 15, 2017, live, In terms of religious preference, 23.5% of furries self-identified as Christian, 16.8% as atheist, 16.8% as agnostic, 11.0% as Pagan/Wiccan, 2.4% as Buddhist, 1.2% as Jewish, 1.1% as Deist, 0.9% as Satanist, and 26.2% as "other" (including "participants who had their own belief systems, were undecided, refused to answer, or had uncommon belief systems").{{Rp|16}} Approximately 70% of adult furries have either completed, or are currently completing post-secondary education.{{Rp|12}} A Pittsburgh-based researcher has found that up to 15% of furries may have autism spectrum disorder, compared with the about 2% in the general population estimated by the CDC. The 15% figure includes people who may have never received a diagnosis but self-identify as autistic.WEB, Boden, Sarah, July 10, 2019, For Some With Autism, Furry Culture Offers Comfort And Acceptance,weblink 90.5 WESA, June 23, 2023, One of the most universal behaviors in the furry fandom is the creation of a fursona—an anthropomorphic animal representation or avatar. More than 95% of furries have a fursona. Nearly half of furries report that they have only ever had one fursona to represent themselves; relatively few furries have had more than three or four fursonas; in part, this is due to the fact that, for many furries, their fursonas are a personally significant, meaningful representation of their ideal self. The most popular fursona species include wolves, foxes, dogs, large felines, and dragons. Data suggests that there is generally no association between personality traits and different fursona species.{{Rp|50–74}} However, furries report different degrees of personality traits when thinking of themselves in their everyday identity compared with their fan identity.{{Rp|129–133}} Some furries identify as partly non-human: 35% say they do not feel 100% human (compared with 7% of non-furries), and 39% say they would be 0% human if they could (compared with 10% of non-furries).{{Rp|78}}Inclusion and belongingness are central themes in the furry fandom: compared with members of other fandoms such as anime or fantasy sports, furries are significantly more likely to identify with other members of their fan community. On average, half of a furry's friends are also furries themselves.{{Rp|123–133}} Furries rate themselves higher (compared with a comparison community sample of non-furries) on the degree of global awareness (knowledge of the world and felt connections to others in the world), global citizenship identification (psychological connection with global citizens), and environmental sustainability.{{Rp|18}}

See also

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Topics

• Animal roleplay
• Costumed character
• Human–animal hybrid
• Kemonomimi

People

• Samuel Conway
• Dominique McLean

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Documentaries

• A Tail of Identity
• Fursonas
• The Fandom

Related fandoms/subcultures

• (My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fandom|Brony)
• Otaku

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References

{{Reflist}}

Further reading

• Ferreday, Debra. "Becoming deer: Nonhuman drag and online utopias." Feminist Theory 12.2 (2011): 219–225.
• Hilton, Craig. "Furry Fandom—An Insider's View from the Outside", parts 1 & 2. South Fur Lands 2 & 3, 1995, 1996.
• Martin, Watts. weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20080119120254weblink">Mange: the need for criticism in furrydom 1994, 1998 (Internet Archive mirror)
• Morgan, Matt. Creature Comfort: Anthropomorphism, Sexuality and Revitalization in the Furry Fandom. Diss. Mississippi State University, 2008.
• Probyn-Rapsey, Fiona. "Furries and the Limits of Species Identity Disorder: A Response to Gerbasi et al." Society and Animals 19.3 (2011): 294–301.
• Plante, C. N., Reysen, S., Roberts, S.E., & Gerbasi, K. C. (2016). FurScience! A summary of Five Years of Research from the International Anthropomorphic Research Project. Waterloo, Ontario: FurScience.

External links

{{Commons|Furry}}{{Spoken Wikipedia|Furry fandom.ogg|date=2006-06-08}}

• {{Curlie|Society/People/Furry/}}
• {{Curlie|Adult/Arts/Genres/Furry/|Adult furry sites}}

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