Furry fandom
The furry fandom is a subculture defined by an interest in anthropomorphic animal characters. Members of the fandom, known as furries, create their own characters in the form of fursonas and fursuits, engaging with fellow furries on the internet and at furry conventions. Some examples of anthropomorphic attributes include exhibiting complex emotions, human intelligence or human facial expressions, speaking, walking on two legs, and wearing clothes, though the term itself is defined simply as attributing human characteristics to non-humans, and all of these attributes are not necessary. For instance, any non-human character that is depicted as feeling complex emotions can be considered anthropomorphic, regardless of whether it speaks or walks upright.
While some furries engage in the subculture primarily through sexual activities, many portrayals of furries' sexuality are characterized as exaggerated and associated with a negative perception. Stigma against furries has led to individuals hiding their furry identity from friends, family, or coworkers. The furry fandom is largely male-dominated, but a significant portion of the fandom identifies as transgender or otherwise outside the gender binary.
Terms for the fandom originated in the 1980s, though portrayal of anthropomorphic animals had existed previously in culture and literature. Socialization between members of the furry fandom grew through the development of the Internet, and the first furry conventions started through the efforts of artists and anthropomorphic animal fans at science fiction conventions in the 1980s, at which time highly anthropomorphized characters were known mainly as funny animals. Furry conventions have since grown to host thousands of attendees, and in some cases provide significant positive economic impact and charity proceeds.
History
The first works uniquely associated with the furry fandom were created in 1976, when cartoonists Ken Fletcher and Reed Waller 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. Vootie was at first distributed only through local conventions and Ken's contacts, but grew a small following over the next several years. The publication ran for 37 issues from 1976 to 1983 and was succeeded by the amateur press association Rowrbrazzle, which was active from 1984 onwards.According to fandom historian and editor of Rowrbrazzle Fred Patten, 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 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". Prior to this point, these anthropomorphic animals were generally referred to as funny animals, a term used in comics since at least the 1870s. 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". Some 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's novel Watership Down, published in 1972, and Disney's Robin Hood being oft-cited examples.
Mark Merlino and Rod O'Riley are credited with starting the first room parties for furry socialization that evolved into the later concept of furry conventions. Mark had held screenings of cartoons featuring anthropomorphic animals since 1977, and in 1985 at Westercon, Mark and Rod held a themed room party where Looney Tunes episodes and Animalympics were shown. The event was a success, and the two continued to hold similar parties at different conventions. At the following year's Westercon, the event was branded as a "furry party", and such events soon took off at different science fiction and fantasy conventions. By 1989, there was sufficient interest to stage the first furry convention, Confurence 0, which was held at the Holiday Inn Bristol Plaza in Costa Mesa, California. Once the Internet became accessible to the general population in the 1990s, it 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 communicate. As of 2023, the most popular furry website has become FurAffinity, an art sharing website and forum. The messaging program Telegram is the preeminent way furries communicate with each other, and social media sites like Twitter, Discord, and Reddit remain popular sites in the furry fandom.
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 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.While cartoons and other media are common routes that lead to interest in the furry fandom, by far the most common source of exposure to furries is the internet. This is contrasted with sports fans, who are generally more likely to become fans due to the influence of friends or family. Some furries have expressed a feeling that they were always a part of the fandom, but did not know it until they were exposed to others in the community; others discover the fandom through research into media or ancient mythology, through happenstance, introduction by a friend or significant other, online role-playing, or pornography. Individuals remain in the fandom for various reasons, but the most prominent motivation among those surveyed is a sense of belonging in the fan community.
Activities and interests
According to a survey from 2008, most furries believe that visual art, conventions, literature, and online communities are strongly important to the fandom. While the most straightforward interest of furries remains the anthropomorphic characters themselves, artwork, paraphernalia, conventions and furry events remain strong interests within the fandom in subsequent surveys.Crafts
Fans with craft skills create plush toys and also build elaborate costumes called fursuits, which are worn for fun or to participate in parades, convention masquerades, dances, or fund-raising charity events. 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. Complete fursuits typically range in price from about $1000 for a simple design to upwards of $6,600 for models incorporating digitigrade legs, which require additional padding and sculpting. Some fans may also wear "partial" suits consisting simply of ears and a tail, or a head, paws, and a tail. Surveys from the late 2000s indicated that about 80% of furries do not own a full fursuit, but later surveys from 2016 to 2020 found that the number of fursuit owners ranged from one-quarter to one-third of those surveyed. 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 of being able to afford to buy a fursuit if they can afford convention travel expenses.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.
Role-playing
Anthropomorphic animal characters created by furry fans, known as fursonas, are used for role-playing in MUDs, on internet forums, or electronic mailing lists. A variety of species are employed as the basis of these personas, although many furry fans choose to identify themselves with carnivorans. The longest-running online furry role-playing environment is FurryMUCK, which was established in 1990. Another popular online furry social game is called Furcadia, a long-running massively multiplayer online role-playing game that has been continously updated from 1996 to 2016. Other games that can be used as online chatrooms, such as VRChat, have been used to facilitate furry role-playing.Conventions
Sufficient interest and membership have enabled the creation of many furry conventions worldwide. A furry convention is an event where fans get together to buy and sell artwork, participate in workshops or panels, wear costumes, and socialize. Anthrocon, in 2008, was the largest furry convention at the time, with more than 5,861 attendees. It was estimated to have generated approximately $3 million for Pittsburgh's economy that year. Another convention, Further Confusion, held in San Jose each January, closely follows Anthrocon in scale and attendance. $470,000 was raised by conventions for charity from 2000 to 2009. As of December 2022, Midwest FurFest is the world's largest furry convention. It had a self-reported 2025 attendance of 16,925. Despite its size, which is attributed to the nearby O'Hare International Airport allowing attendees easy access from around the world, the convention is noted to have little economic impact to the surrounding Rosemont, Illinois area compared to that of Anthrocon in its native Pittsburgh.The first known furry convention, ConFurence, is no longer held; Califur replaced it in 2004, 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.