The Furry Fandom has always had its share of misconceptions. Despite this, many still find the furries interesting. In this article, let’s unravel the most common — and yes, embarrassing — questions about the Furrydom!

 

 

What Exactly Is a Furry?

In a more general sense, a furry is an enthusiast of anthropomorphic animals. Anthropomorphic is the fancy word for an animal with human characteristics and/or behaviors.

These animals are either:

• Real, such as puppies, rabbits, and cows
• From myths, such as dragons, nine-tail foxes, and unicorns
• From pop culture such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Nick Wilde from Zootopia, and Kimba the White Lion
• Original creations like the Primagens and Protogens

A furry’s animal of choice can also be a mix of all of the above.

What Is a Fursona?

A fursona is a furry’s exclusive, alternative persona that he uses when engaging with the Furry Fandom. It’s like the furry’s avatar or “theme,” involving carefully chosen features, characteristics, and attributes he presents to other furries.

Don’t confuse fursona with fursuits. A fursona is simply the personality of the furry’s character. Most furries don’t or can’t invest in expensive fur or petsuits and are thus limited to roleplaying their fursona in a virtual space like forums or private channels.

Is Furry Just a Sexual Fetish?

No, being a furry is not just a sexual fetish. Popular culture often misrepresents the Furry Fandom and its nuances. The media, specifically, has highlighted its sexual aspect that skewed other’s perception of the Furrydom.

Even today, the general public automatically assumes being a furry means one has an unusual taste in sexual exploits. Some even have the notion that being a furry means you want to engage in sexual relations with animals. This is not true. Being a furry doesn’t mean one is interested in Beastiality or non-human sexual activities.

Some become furries because it arouses them sexually. But not everyone who interacts with the Furry Fandom does so for sexual gratification. Most join the community to express themselves by showing off their creative prowess via innovative fursuits or participating in roleplay. Some even make it a hobby and even find it therapeutic as it offers an escape from everyday life pressure.

Is Furry a Gender?

No, furry isn’t a gender or sexuality. Someone can identify as a furry simply because they enjoy engaging with anthropomorphic characters.

Since we’re already on the subject, let me note that the Furry Fandom is also not a part of the LGBTQ+ community, as a furry’s focus doesn’t center around their attraction to a specific sexual orientation.

What Do Furry Fans Do Other Than Sexual Fetish?

The Furry Fandom is a community that continues to thrive thanks to its members. These members, to keep the community alive, have their own part to fulfill.

As I previously mentioned, some furries do have a sexual fetish for anthropomorphic characters, but they are a minority in the fandom. Most furry fans exist online and share their contributions through the World Wide Web. There are many reasons why many furries can’t attend furry conventions, such as the location, requirements (some require wearing a fursuit), and schedule constraints.

Generally, furry cons are led by volunteers who organize the event. You can expect booths offering various services and products. These booths may offer furry stickers, blueprints (for costume design), free drawing sessions, etc.

Common furry activities observed outside of conventions are:

• Cosplaying their fursona and posting vids or pictures of it to the community. This is relatively easier than attending conventions, as taking photos doesn’t require a full fursuit.
• Writing scripts for planned furry roleplay scene/s or impromptu furry roleplay
• Writing fan fiction about furry personas, either original characters (OC) or collaborating with a fellow furry
• Creating OCs for the fandom; it can be reserved for the furry’s enjoyment (Close species) or to share with others (Open species)
• Drawing arts to manufacture a virtual presentation of an OC fursona or already existing Original species
• Producing video games with furry characters
• Elaborating furry lore and discussing conspiracies within the furry universe
• Sewing fursuits, either for their own fursona or as commissioned by a fellow furry
• Posting tutorials on all things furry — creating a fursona background, how to make furry heads, etc.
• Hosting websites or channels catering to the furry community
• Moderating discussions in forums/groups to maintain respect and integrity within the fandom

The Furrydom is just like any fandom out there. Each member differs in what area of the fandom they want to focus on, but all work together to keep the community from being simply forgotten.

Are Furries Animals?

No. Furries do not identify as animals. The term “furry” can refer to two things. It’s either the human who’s very enthusiastic about anthropomorphic animals or the fursona he created. Furries are not animals; their characters (fursona) are based on anthropomorphic animals. For instance, if I cosplay as Tinkerbell, I don’t automatically become a fairy.

However, there are some who identify as furries and think they are animals. This condition is a type of dysphoria called “Species Identity Disorder,” where one perceives they are of a non-human species but feels “trapped” in a human body. It’s modeled after Gender Identity Disorder, where a man/woman transitions to be a transman/transwoman to be their true selves.

Who Can Be a Furry?

Anyone can be a furry! The Furry Fandom is one of the most accepting communities that doesn’t discriminate based on anything. The only requirement is that you are passionate about anthropomorphic characters or interested in creative characters with both animal-like and human-like attributes.

The Furrydom won’t also demand you to show or introduce yourself to other furries. There is no expectation for you to prove yourself a furry. You can simply draw furry characters and stay anonymous, or even just talk with other members in discussion forums.

Why the Fursuit?

Fursuits or petsuits are the main costumes of furries. Often, fursuits are worn in furry meetups or conventions to fully present one’s fusona.

An overall fursuit, especially those made with high-quality materials and customized to a furry’s preferences, is expensive. Made-to-order fursuits’ price starts at $5,600, but you can make your own at a cheaper price depending on your skills and patience. There are many tutorials you can follow online to assist you if you decide to try your hand at a DIY fursuit.

Note, however, that fursuits are not a requirement to attend furry cons or any furry meeting. Many furries show up with a furry head or helmet, with a completely human appearance from the neck down. Due to impractical (and realistic) reasons, others appear with only a headband of animal ears or clothing with animal prints.

How Can You Find Furries Nearby?

FurScience revealed that there are around 1.4 to 2.8 million furries globally. Since this study was done in 2011, surely, there will be more furries in 2024. Still, compared to the 8.1 billion human population, furries are considered a minority.

And so, it’s unsurprising that there are not many furry meetups when furries are scattered all across the Earth. There are only conventions if there’s a high count of furries in the area. Here’s a fan fact: Based on the “Heat Map of Furries Worldwide,” created by Reddit user direwoof, many furies reside in Germany. However, most furry conventions are held in the USA, with the Midwest FurFest having an attendance of at least 15,000 furries.

The next best thing to find nearby furries is, of course, through social networking sites. Set your social media accounts to immediately get posts with relevant hashtags to the Furrydom, such as #Furry or #Furries. Through their comment section, you can also follow furry creators to meet like-minded enthusiasts. Reddit has r/furry, and DeviantArt is filled with furry art as well.

Other big furry websites are:

• FurAffinity
• Furry Network
• Inkbunny
• SoFurry
• Weasyl
• Fur Amino

What Are the Risks?

Being a furry is supposed to be a fun experience. You do it to temporarily escape the demands of reality and other social expectations. When done the right way, there are no risks in being in the Furry Fandom.

But we can’t ignore that some may take their being a furry to extreme levels. Being a furry only bears dangers when it affects your “normal” life. For instance, if you get too caught up in attending furry cons that you ignore spending time with your family, then it’s time to reevaluate your priorities.

Another usual cause for distress for some furries is being discovered by judgmental relatives or colleagues. They may be ostracized and berated. Eventually, the isolation may affect their personal life and careers.

All these risks are avoidable if you keep a healthy involvement with the Furrydom. Know your life priorities, plan around those priorities, and enjoy being a furry for self-exploration and as a creative outlet for self-expression.