Furry fandom
Encyclopedia
Furry fandom is a fandom
for fictional anthropomorphic
animal characters with human personalities and characteristics. Examples of anthropomorphic attributes include exhibiting human intelligence and facial expressions, the ability to speak, walk on two legs, and wear clothes. Furry fandom is also used to refer to the community of people who gather on the Internet and at conventions
.
, the concept of furry originated at a science fiction convention
in 1980, 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
and comics
conventions.
The specific term furry fandom was being used in fanzine
s 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 mammal
ian anthropomorphic characters." 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. To distinguish these personae from seriously depicted animal characters, such as Lassie
or Old Yeller
, cartoon animals are referred to as funny animal
s, 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. 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 1990, and virtual environments such as MUCKs
also became popular places on the Internet for fans to meet and communicate.
The furry fandom is male-dominated, with surveys reporting around 80% male respondents.
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 to 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.
, and this demand is met by other fans who produce a wide range of materials in both amateur and professional capacities. Most furries believe that visual art, conventions, literature, and online communities are strongly important to the fandom.
s, and small press
book
s, as well as sculpture, textile art, fiction, music
, and photography. While most of this fan-created art is distributed through nonprofessional media, such as personal websites, some is published in anthologies
, by Amateur Press Associations
, or in APAzines
.
s 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, while another, Kevin and Kell
by Bill Holbrook
, has been awarded both a Web Cartoonists' Choice Award
and an Ursa Major Award.
s called fursuit
s, which are worn for fun or to participate in parades, convention masquerades
, dances, or fund-raising charity events (as entertainers). Fursuits range from designs featuring simple construction and resembling sport
s mascot
s to those with more sophisticated features that include 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. 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.
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.
, trance
or dance
in nature, since these are the genres generally played during furry convention dances. However, a growing number of classical and alternative musicians submit their works online to sites such as Fur Affinity, Last.fm
and Bandcamp
.
A small number of furry centered filmmaking companies exist to serve video needs within the community, usually focussing around convention media. A large proportion of these filmmakers work or study in media production as a profession. The majority of furry videos found on sites such as YouTube
are amateur videos of furry "meets" (regionalised one or two day social gatherings) or conventions. Many animators, whether amateur or professional, create short films or flash animations no more than several seconds long to showcase their skills.
in MUD
s, on internet forum
s, or on electronic mailing list
s. A variety of species are employed as the basis of these personas, although many furries (for example over 60% of those surveyed in 2007) choose to identify themselves with carnivora
ns. The longest-running online furry role-playing environment is FurryMUCK
, although it has been eclipsed in the area of text-mode role-playing by Tapestries MUCK
. 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
.
Role-playing also takes place offline, with petting, hugging and "scritching" (light scratching and grooming) common between friends at social gatherings. Fursuits or furry accessories are sometimes used to enhance the experience.
and Europe
. The world's largest furry convention, Anthrocon
, held annually in Pittsburgh in June, is estimated to contribute approximately $3 million to the city's economy each year. Another convention, Further Confusion
, held in San Jose
each January, closely follows Anthrocon in scale and attendance. US$470,000 was raised in conventions for charity from 2000–9. 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.
FurNet and Anthrochat, form a key part of furry fandom. Newsgroups, while popular from the mid-1990s to 2005, have largely been replaced by topic-specific forums, mailing lists and LiveJournal
communities.
In their 2007 survey, Gerbasi et al. examined what it meant to be a furry, and proposed a topology in which to categorise different "types" of furries. The largest group — 38% of those surveyed — described their interest in furry fandom predominately as a "route to socializing with others who share common interests such as anthropomorphic art and costumes." However they also identified furries who saw themselves as "other than human", and/or who desired to become more like the furry species which they identified with.
. The term "yiff" is most commonly used to indicate sexual activity or sexual material within the fandom—this applies to sexual activity and interaction within the subculture whether online (in the form of cybersex) or offline.
According to a study, 19–25% of the fandom members report homosexuality, 37–48% bisexuality, 30–51% heterosexual, and 3–8% other forms of alternative sexual relationships. In 2002 about 2% stated an interest in zoophilia
, and less than 1% an interest in plushophilia
. Initial figures were collected by David J. Rust in 1997, but further research has been conducted to update these findings. Of the furry fans that reported being in a relationship (approximately half of the surveyed population), 76% were in a relationship with another member of furry fandom.
, Vanity Fair
, and the syndicated sex column "Savage Love
" focused mainly on the sexual aspect of furry fandom. Fictional portrayals of furry fandom have appeared on television shows such as ER
, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
, The Drew Carey Show
, Sex2K on MTV
, Entourage
, 1000 Ways to Die
, and 30 Rock
. Most furry fans claim that these media portrayals are misconceptions, while the recent coverage focuses on debunking myths and stereotypes that have come to be associated with the furry fandom. 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", 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. 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 awards given in the field of anthropomorphism.
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. 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. 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".
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. Furry fans' belief that they will be portrayed as "mainly obsessed with sex" has led to mistrust of the media and social research
ers.
Fandom
Fandom is a term used to refer to a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of sympathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest...
for fictional anthropomorphic
Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s...
animal characters with human personalities and characteristics. Examples of anthropomorphic attributes include exhibiting human intelligence and facial expressions, the ability to speak, walk on two legs, and wear clothes. Furry fandom is also used to refer to the community of people who gather on the Internet and at conventions
Furry convention
A furry convention is a formal gathering of members of the furry fandom — people who are interested in the concept of fictional non-human characters with human characteristics. These conventions provide a place for fans to meet, exchange ideas, transact business and engage in entertainment and...
.
History
According to fandom historian Fred PattenFred Patten
Frederick Walter Patten is known for his work as a historian in the science fiction, anime, manga, and furry fandoms, where he has gained great distinction through a substantial contribution to both print and online books, magazines, and other media....
, the concept of furry originated at a science fiction convention
Science fiction convention
Science fiction conventions are gatherings of fans of various forms of speculative fiction including science fiction and fantasy. Historically, science fiction conventions had focused primarily on literature, but the purview of many extends to such other avenues of expression as movies and...
in 1980, when a character drawing from Steve Gallacci’s Albedo Anthropomorphics
Albedo Anthropomorphics
Albedo Anthropomorphics, or Albedo for short, was a furry comic book anthology series which was credited with starting the furry comic book subgenre that featured sophisticated stories with funny animals primarily intended for an adult audience...
started a discussion of anthropomorphic characters in science fiction novels. This led to the formation of a discussion group that met at science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
and comics
Comics
Comics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...
conventions.
The specific term furry fandom was being used in fanzine
Fanzine
A fanzine is a nonprofessional and nonofficial publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon for the pleasure of others who share their interest...
s 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 mammal
Mammal
Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...
ian anthropomorphic characters." However, fans consider the origins of furry fandom to be much earlier, with fictional works such as Kimba, The White Lion
Kimba the White Lion
, known in the United States as Kimba the White Lion, is an anime series from the 1960s. Created by Osamu Tezuka and based on his manga of the same title which began publication in 1950, it was the first color animated television series created in Japan. The manga was first published in serialized...
released in 1965, Richard Adams'
Richard Adams
Richard Adams was a non-conforming English Presbyterian divine, known as author of sermons and other theological writings.-Life:...
novel Watership Down
Watership Down
Watership Down is a classic heroic fantasy novel, written by English author Richard Adams, about a small group of rabbits. Although the animals in the story live in their natural environment, they are anthropomorphised, possessing their own culture, language , proverbs, poetry, and mythology...
, published in 1972 (and its 1978 film adaptation
Watership Down (film)
Watership Down is a 1978 English adventure drama animated film written, produced and directed by Martin Rosen and based on the book by Richard Adams. It was financed by a consortium of British financial institutions...
), as well as Disney's Robin Hood
Robin Hood (1973 film)
Robin Hood is an 1973 American animated film produced by the Walt Disney Productions, first released in the United States on November 8, 1973...
as oft-cited examples. To distinguish these personae from seriously depicted animal characters, such as Lassie
Lassie
Lassie is a fictional collie dog character created by Eric Knight in a short story expanded to novel length called Lassie Come-Home. Published in 1940, the novel was filmed by MGM in 1943 as Lassie Come Home with a dog named Pal playing Lassie. Pal then appeared with the stage name "Lassie" in six...
or Old Yeller
Old Yeller
Old Yeller is a 1956 children's novel by Fred Gipson, which received a Newbery Honor in 1957. It was illustrated by Carl Burger. The title is taken from the name of the big yellow dog who is the center of the book's story...
, cartoon animals are referred to as funny animal
Funny animal
Funny animal is a cartooning term for the genre of comics and animated cartoons in which the main characters are humanoid or talking animals, with anthropomorphic personality traits. The characters themselves may also be called funny animals...
s, 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. 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 1990, and virtual environments such as MUCKs
TinyMUCK
TinyMUCK or, more broadly, a MUCK, is a type of user-extendable online text-based role-playing game, designed for role playing and social interaction...
also became popular places on the Internet for fans to meet and communicate.
The furry fandom is male-dominated, with surveys reporting around 80% male respondents.
Inspiration
Allegorical novels (including works of both science fictionScience fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
and fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
) and cartoons featuring anthropomorphic animals are often cited as the earliest inspiration for the fandom. A survey conducted in 2007 suggested that, when compared to 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.
Activities
Furry fans are eager for more material than is available from mainstream publishersPublishing
Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information—the activity of making information available to the general public...
, and this demand is met by other fans who produce a wide range of materials in both amateur and professional capacities. Most furries believe that visual art, conventions, literature, and online communities are strongly important to the fandom.
Art and literature
Furry artists, writers, and publishers produce a prolific amount of drawings, paintings, stories, comic books, fanzines, puppetPuppet
A puppet is an inanimate object or representational figure animated or manipulated by an entertainer, who is called a puppeteer. It is used in puppetry, a play or a presentation that is a very ancient form of theatre....
s, and small press
Small press
Small press is a term often used to describe publishers with annual sales below a certain level. Commonly, in the United States, this is set at $50 million, after returns and discounts...
book
Book
A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
s, as well as sculpture, textile art, fiction, music
Filk music
Filk is a musical culture, genre, and community tied to science fiction/fantasy fandom and a type of fan labor. The genre has been active since the early 1950s, and played primarily since the mid-1970s. The term predates 1955.-Definitions:As the Interfilk What Is Filk page demonstrates, there is...
, and photography. While most of this fan-created art is distributed through nonprofessional media, such as personal websites, some is published in anthologies
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
, by Amateur Press Associations
Amateur press association
An amateur press association is a group of people who produce individual pages or magazines that are sent to a Central Mailer for collation and distribution to all members of the group.-Organisation:...
, or in APAzines
Fanzine
A fanzine is a nonprofessional and nonofficial publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon for the pleasure of others who share their interest...
.
Webcomics
There are several webcomicWebcomic
Webcomics, online comics, or Internet comics are comics published on a website. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers or often in self-published books....
s 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
T.H.E. Fox
T.H.E. Fox is a furry comic strip by Joe Ekaitis which ran from 1986 to 1998. It is among the earliest online comics, predating Where the Buffalo Roam by over five years. T.H.E...
, was first published on CompuServe
CompuServe
CompuServe was the first major commercial online service in the United States. It dominated the field during the 1980s and remained a major player through the mid-1990s, when it was sidelined by the rise of services such as AOL with monthly subscriptions rather than hourly rates...
in 1986, predating the World Wide Web
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
by several years, while another, Kevin and Kell
Kevin and Kell
Kevin and Kell is a furry comedy webcomic strip by syndicated cartoonist Bill Holbrook. The strip began on September 3, 1995. It is one of the oldest continuously running webcomics....
by Bill Holbrook
Bill Holbrook
Bill Holbrook is an American comic strip & webcomic writer and artist. Born in Los Angeles in 1958, Holbrook grew up in Huntsville, Alabama, and began drawing at an early age....
, has been awarded both a Web Cartoonists' Choice Award
Web Cartoonists' Choice Awards
The Web Cartoonists' Choice Awards are annual awards in which online cartoonists nominate and select outstanding webcomics. The awards have been held since 2001, were featured in a The New York Times column on webcomics in 2005, and have been mentioned as a tool for librarians.The WCCA represent a...
and an Ursa Major Award.
Crafts
Fans with craft skills create their own plush toys, sometimes referred to as plushies, and also build elaborate costumeCostume
The term costume can refer to wardrobe and dress in general, or to the distinctive style of dress of a particular people, class, or period. Costume may also refer to the artistic arrangement of accessories in a picture, statue, poem, or play, appropriate to the time, place, or other circumstances...
s called fursuit
Fursuit
Fursuits are animal costumes made from various materials. They range from simple tails and ears to full costumes cooled by battery-powered fans. Fursuits can be worn for personal enjoyment, work or charity....
s, which are worn for fun or to participate in parades, convention masquerades
Masquerade ball
A masquerade ball is an event which the participants attend in costume wearing a mask. - History :...
, dances, or fund-raising charity events (as entertainers). Fursuits range from designs featuring simple construction and resembling sport
Sport
A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...
s mascot
Mascot
The term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...
s to those with more sophisticated features that include moving jaw mechanisms, animatronic
Audio-Animatronics
Audio-Animatronics is the registered trademark for a form of robotics created by Walt Disney Imagineering for shows and attractions at Disney theme parks, and subsequently expanded on and used by other companies. The robots move and make noise, generally in speech or song...
parts, prosthetic makeup
Prosthetic makeup
Prosthetic makeup is the process of using prosthetic sculpting, molding and casting techniques to create advanced cosmetic effects...
, and other features. Fursuits range in price from $500, for mascot-like designs, to an upwards of $10,000 for models incorporating animatronics. 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.
Furry fans also pursue puppetry
Puppeteer
A puppeteer is a person who manipulates an inanimate object, such as a puppet, in real time to create the illusion of life. The puppeteer may be visible to or hidden from the audience. A puppeteer can operate a puppet indirectly by the use of strings, rods, wires, electronics or directly by his or...
, recording videos and performing live shows such as Rapid T. Rabbit and Friends
Rapid T. Rabbit and Friends
Rapid T. Rabbit and Friends is a children's puppet show that is cablecast weekly on cable TV in New York City since February 21, 1983. The show runs on the Public-access television cable TV channels on the Manhattan Neighborhood Network, Queens Public TV and airs right before the Funday PawPet Show...
and the Funday PawPet Show
Funday PawPet Show
Funday PawPet Show is an Internet show that is cast by puppet characters. It was created by Randy "Yappy" Fox in November 1999 and is broadcast over the Internet on Sunday nights from 16:00 to 20:00 EST from his home in Kissimmee, Florida. Before November 25, 2007 the show aired from 19:00 to 23:00...
, and create furry accessories
Fashion accessory
Fashion accessories are decorative items that supplement and complement clothes, such as jewelery, gloves, handbags, hats, belts, scarves, wigs, watches, sunglasses, pins, stockings, bow ties, hand fans, leg warmers, leggings, neckties, suspenders, and tights....
, such as ears or tails.
Music and film
Less prominent but still of note is the growing presence of musicians, composers, vocalists and filmmakers within the furry community. Although music especially is hard to define as "furry" apart from regular music, the general perception is that furry music is technoTechno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
, trance
Trance music
Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that developed in the 1990s.:251 It is generally characterized by a tempo of between 125 and 150 bpm,:252 repeating melodic synthesizer phrases, and a musical form that builds up and breaks down throughout a track...
or dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
in nature, since these are the genres generally played during furry convention dances. However, a growing number of classical and alternative musicians submit their works online to sites such as Fur Affinity, Last.fm
Last.fm
Last.fm is a music website, founded in the United Kingdom in 2002. It has claimed 30 million active users in March 2009. On 30 May 2007, CBS Interactive acquired Last.fm for UK£140m ....
and Bandcamp
Bandcamp
Bandcamp is an online music store, as well as a platform for artist promotion, that caters mainly for independent artists. Artists on Bandcamp have a customizable microsite with the albums they upload. All tracks can be played for free on the website and some artists offer free music downloads...
.
A small number of furry centered filmmaking companies exist to serve video needs within the community, usually focussing around convention media. A large proportion of these filmmakers work or study in media production as a profession. The majority of furry videos found on sites such as YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
are amateur videos of furry "meets" (regionalised one or two day social gatherings) or conventions. Many animators, whether amateur or professional, create short films or flash animations no more than several seconds long to showcase their skills.
Role-playing
Anthropomorphic animal characters created by furry fans, known as fursonas, are used for role-playingRole-playing
Role-playing refers to the changing of one's behaviour to assume a role, either unconsciously to fill a social role, or consciously to act out an adopted role...
in MUD
MUD
A MUD , pronounced , is a multiplayer real-time virtual world, with the term usually referring to text-based instances of these. MUDs combine elements of role-playing games, hack and slash, player versus player, interactive fiction, and online chat...
s, on internet forum
Internet forum
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived...
s, or on electronic mailing list
Electronic mailing list
An electronic mailing list is a special usage of email that allows for widespread distribution of information to many Internet users. It is similar to a traditional mailing list — a list of names and addresses — as might be kept by an organization for sending publications to...
s. A variety of species are employed as the basis of these personas, although many furries (for example over 60% of those surveyed in 2007) choose to identify themselves with carnivora
Carnivora
The diverse order Carnivora |Latin]] carō "flesh", + vorāre "to devour") includes over 260 species of placental mammals. Its members are formally referred to as carnivorans, while the word "carnivore" can refer to any meat-eating animal...
ns. The longest-running online furry role-playing environment is FurryMUCK
FurryMUCK
FurryMUCK is one of the oldest and largest non-combat MUD-style games in existence. It was founded in 1990 as an online gathering place for furry fans to meet and socialize in a virtual role-playing environment...
, although it has been eclipsed in the area of text-mode role-playing by Tapestries MUCK
Tapestries MUCK
Tapestries MUCK is an adults-only social and roleplaying MUCK popular within the furry fandom. The overall theme of the game is a world of anthropomorphic animal characters who may participate in BDSM and sex freely in the public areas of the game world...
. Another popular online furry social game is called Furcadia
Furcadia
Furcadia is a MMOSG/MMORPG or graphical MUD, set in a fantasy world inhabited by anthropomorphic creatures. The game is based on user-created content, socializing and free-form roleplaying...
, created by Dragon's Eye Productions
Dragon's Eye Productions
Dragon's Eye Productions, Inc. is a PC game developer and publisher based in Round Rock, Texas.-History:It has released two online games, the graphical MUD DragonSpires in 1994 and the MMOSG Furcadia in 1996. Dragon's Eye Productions continues to develop Furcadia.Founded by Dr...
. There are also several furry-themed areas and communities in the virtual world
Virtual world
A virtual world is an online community that takes the form of a computer-based simulated environment through which users can interact with one another and use and create objects. The term has become largely synonymous with interactive 3D virtual environments, where the users take the form of...
Second Life
Second Life
Second Life is an online virtual world developed by Linden Lab. It was launched on June 23, 2003. A number of free client programs, or Viewers, enable Second Life users, called Residents, to interact with each other through avatars...
.
Role-playing also takes place offline, with petting, hugging and "scritching" (light scratching and grooming) common between friends at social gatherings. Fursuits or furry accessories are sometimes used to enhance the experience.
Conventions
Sufficient interest and membership has enabled the creation of many furry conventions in North AmericaNorth America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. The world's largest furry convention, Anthrocon
Anthrocon
Anthrocon is the world's largest furry convention, taking place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania each June or July. Its focus is on furries: fictional anthropomorphic animal characters in art and literature...
, held annually in Pittsburgh in June, is estimated to contribute approximately $3 million to the city's economy each year. Another convention, Further Confusion
Further Confusion
Further Confusion, or Furcon, is an annual furry convention held in San Jose, California each January, celebrating the anthropomorphics genre or furry fandom, including charitable benefits, educational seminars, art shows, panels and general social activities...
, held in San Jose
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
each January, closely follows Anthrocon in scale and attendance. US$470,000 was raised in conventions for charity from 2000–9. The first known furry convention, ConFurence
ConFurence
ConFurence was the first exclusively furry convention, held annually in southern California from 1989 to 2003. The large furry presence at the BayCon science fiction conventions instigated Mark Merlino and Rod O'Riley to throw "furry parties" at Westercon, Baycon, and other west coast sci-fi...
, is no longer held; Califur has replaced it, as both conventions were based in Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
. A University of California, Davis
University of California, Davis
The University of California, Davis is a public teaching and research university established in 1905 and located in Davis, California, USA. Spanning over , the campus is the largest within the University of California system and third largest by enrollment...
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 Fur Affinity and Art Spots, art community websites; FurNation and Furocity hosting and community websites; and WikiFur, a collaborative furry wiki. These, with the IRC networksInternet Relay Chat
Internet Relay Chat is a protocol for real-time Internet text messaging or synchronous conferencing. It is mainly designed for group communication in discussion forums, called channels, but also allows one-to-one communication via private message as well as chat and data transfer, including file...
FurNet and Anthrochat, form a key part of furry fandom. Newsgroups, while popular from the mid-1990s to 2005, have largely been replaced by topic-specific forums, mailing lists and LiveJournal
LiveJournal
LiveJournal is a virtual community where Internet users can keep a blog, journal or diary. LiveJournal is also the name of the free and open source server software that was designed to run the LiveJournal virtual community....
communities.
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. The Usenet newsgroup alt.lifestyle.furry 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."In their 2007 survey, Gerbasi et al. examined what it meant to be a furry, and proposed a topology in which to categorise different "types" of furries. The largest group — 38% of those surveyed — described their interest in furry fandom predominately as a "route to socializing with others who share common interests such as anthropomorphic art and costumes." However they also identified furries who saw themselves as "other than human", and/or who desired to become more like the furry species which they identified with.
Sexual aspects
In one survey, 33% of furries surveyed online answered that they had a "significant sexual interest in furry" and another 46% stated they had 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. Differing approaches to sexuality have been a source of controversy and conflict in furry fandom. Examples of sexual aspects within furry fandom include erotic art and furry-themed cybersexCybersex
Cybersex, also called computer sex, Internet sex, netsex, mudsex, TinySex and, colloquially, cybering, is a virtual sex encounter in which two or more persons connected remotely via computer network send each other sexually explicit messages describing a sexual experience...
. The term "yiff" is most commonly used to indicate sexual activity or sexual material within the fandom—this applies to sexual activity and interaction within the subculture whether online (in the form of cybersex) or offline.
According to a study, 19–25% of the fandom members report homosexuality, 37–48% bisexuality, 30–51% heterosexual, and 3–8% other forms of alternative sexual relationships. In 2002 about 2% stated an interest in zoophilia
Zoophilia
Zoophilia, from the Greek ζῷον and φιλία is the practice of sex between humans and non-human animals , or a preference or fixation on such practice...
, and less than 1% an interest in plushophilia
Plushophile
Plushophilia is a paraphilia involving stuffed animals. Plushophiles are sometimes called plushies, although this term can also refer to non-sexual stuffed animal enthusiasts, and to stuffed animals in general....
. Initial figures were collected by David J. Rust in 1997, but further research has been conducted to update these findings. Of the furry fans that reported being in a relationship (approximately half of the surveyed population), 76% were in a relationship with another member of furry fandom.
Public perception and media coverage
Early portrayal of the furries in magazines such as LoadedLoaded (magazine)
Loaded, first published in 1994, is a British magazine for men that is considered to be the "original lads' mag". Its motto is "For men who should know better".-History:...
, Vanity Fair
Vanity Fair (magazine)
Vanity Fair is a magazine of pop culture, fashion, and current affairs published by Condé Nast. The present Vanity Fair has been published since 1983 and there have been editions for four European countries as well as the U.S. edition. This revived the title which had ceased publication in 1935...
, and the syndicated sex column "Savage Love
Savage Love
Savage Love is a syndicated sex-advice column by Dan Savage. The column appears weekly in several dozen newspapers, mainly free newspapers in the US and Canada, but also newspapers in Europe and Asia...
" focused mainly on the sexual aspect of furry fandom. Fictional portrayals of furry fandom have appeared on television shows such as ER
ER (TV series)
ER is an American medical drama television series created by novelist Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994 to April 2, 2009. It was produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Entertainment, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is an American crime drama television series, which premiered on CBS on October 6, 2000. The show was created by Anthony E. Zuiker and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer...
, The Drew Carey Show
The Drew Carey Show
The Drew Carey Show is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from 1995 to 2004. The show was set in Cleveland, Ohio, and revolved around the retail office and home life of "everyman" Drew Carey, a fictionalized version of the actor....
, Sex2K on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
, Entourage
Entourage (TV series)
Entourage is an American comedy-drama television series that premiered on HBO on July 18, 2004 and concluded on September 11, 2011, after eight seasons...
, 1000 Ways to Die
1000 Ways to Die
1000 Ways to Die is a docufiction anthology television series that premiered on May 14, 2008 on Spike. The program recreates unusual supposed deaths and debunked urban legends and includes interviews with experts who describe the science behind each death...
, and 30 Rock
30 Rock
30 Rock is an American television comedy series created by Tina Fey that airs on NBC. The series is loosely based on Fey's experiences as head writer for Saturday Night Live...
. Most furry fans claim that these media portrayals are misconceptions, while the recent coverage focuses on debunking myths and stereotypes that have come to be associated with the furry fandom. 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", and that the furry convention was about "people talking and drawing animals and comic-book characters in sketchbooks." In October 2007, a Hartford Advocate
Advocate Weekly Newspapers
The Advocate Weekly Newspapers are four free weekly alternative newspapers in central Connecticut and western Massachusetts, published by New Mass. Media Inc., a subsidiary of the Chicago-based Tribune Company....
reporter attended FurFright 2007
Furry convention
A furry convention is a formal gathering of members of the furry fandom — people who are interested in the concept of fictional non-human characters with human characteristics. These conventions provide a place for fans to meet, exchange ideas, transact business and engage in entertainment and...
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. Recent coverage of the furry fandom has been more balanced. According to Ian Wolf, a 2009 article from the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
entitled "Who are the furries?" was the first piece of journalism to be nominated for an Ursa Major Award, the main awards given in the field of anthropomorphism.
Milwaukee Brewers
Milwaukee Brewers
The Milwaukee Brewers are a professional baseball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, currently playing in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
broadcaster Jim Powell
Jim Powell (sportscaster)
Jim Powell is an American radio and television sportscaster, currently employed with Major League Baseball's Atlanta Braves after 13 seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers.A native of Roswell, Georgia, Powell was educated at the University of Georgia...
was sharing a hotel with Anthrocon 2007 attendees a day before the convention and reported a negative opinion of the furries. 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. Dr. Samuel Conway
Samuel Conway
Samuel C. Conway is an American researcher in the pharmaceutical, biomedical and agrochemical fields of organic chemistry. He has a Ph.D...
, 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".
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. Furry fans' belief that they will be portrayed as "mainly obsessed with sex" has led to mistrust of the media and social research
Social research
Social research refers to research conducted by social scientists. Social research methods may be divided into two broad categories:* Quantitative designs approach social phenomena through quantifiable evidence, and often rely on statistical analysis of many cases to create valid and reliable...
ers.
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 (Archive.orgInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
mirror)
External links
- General audience and adult furry websites at the Open Directory ProjectOpen Directory ProjectThe Open Directory Project , also known as Dmoz , is a multilingual open content directory of World Wide Web links. It is owned by Netscape but it is constructed and maintained by a community of volunteer editors.ODP uses a hierarchical ontology scheme for organizing site listings...