The Furry Fandom

Post Reply New Topic

We get topics on this subject every once in a while, but I've never made one. As it continues to become more important in my life(outside of the internet), I'd like to personally see to the creation of a decent thread on the subject of the fandom. Because I'll be giving a thorough examination of the subculture, I hope to ward off the debates that tend to surrounding the fandom and it's people.

Just what is the Furry Fandom? It is for the most part a collection of nerdy people that appreciate talking animals and anthropomorphic(human-like) animals. This can stem from an existing appreciation of animals, an existing obsession with media featuring such creatures, an affinity for drawing such creatures, or it can tie into spirituality. These are the basic descriptions of a furry and as such, I'm not covering everyone. Because our interests are a little bit more specific than being into Fantasy or Sci-fi, material that interests us is harder to find. As such, furries tend to create their own content. They draw art of their own characters, write stories, draw comics, and make costumes. We're fans of each other in the furry fandom and that's part of its appeal to me. It's smaller than other similarly broad nerd/geek subculutres and people tend to be a lot friendlier to each other.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--CtJTGSfdw&feature=relmfu[/youtube]

Fursuits are the most recognizable aspect of the fandom. Fursuits are intricate costumes designed to emulate an animal of choice. It's a bit like a mascot costume, but with more in the way of detail. The act of fursuiting is essentially the furry permutation of cosplaying. That being said, fursuits are some of the more difficult costumes to wear as they can get really hot. As a Handler(a person that watches over people when they cosplay at public events), I can tell you that fursuiters get incredibly exhausted very quickly in those suits and that the amount of sweat they secrete is unbelievable. That being said, most furries don't have a fursuit, either because they don't have the money to commision one or because they don't want to try to make one themselves.
Here's a video of mine featuring a fursuiter at a convention I went to last week. (Strong Language on my part :3)
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0PA9YQ4xXI&feature=related[/youtube]
And another video featuring two friends of mine in their suits.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qa7Om6PsR7Y&feature=channel_video_title[/youtube]

The fandom is infamous on the internet, and definitely not in a good way. The biggest factor behind the hatred centered on furries lies in the fact that, like other nerdy subcultures, the furry fandom has its own genre of Adult material called Yiff(actually the catch-all term for anything sexual in the furry fandom including the act itself). Obviously, the controversy was sparked by the fact that this material rides the fine line between a fetish and full on zoophilia. Most furries do look at yiff, but from what I can tell, are attracted to anthropomorphism rather than being full-on zoophiles. In fact, zoophiles are discriminated against even if they don't practice. If furries kept quiet about yiff, they wouldn't be as hated, but a lot of furries openly talk about their fetishes and advertise their preferences. It's not that pervertedness is more common in the fandom than it is among the general populace, it's just that the Furries that are rather sexual are more up front about it than the average person. The anime sub-culture has the same problem, but because their preferences are more mainstream, no one tells them off for it. Furries are also discriminated against because furries tend to be percieved as incredibly childish, socially ret*d, and obnoxious. All of this can be true about furries, especially those who are rather young.

As for me, I've been in the fandom since mid-May. My Fursona is a Dilophosaur/random Canine Biologist named Clark Forrester. I've gone to one convention and many events with Furries over the past few months, and I'm loving it. I feel like I've found my niche because I really do fit in among all these people. So, yeah. I guess that ends my little presentation thingie.

Er... well, I wouldn't call myself a fully-fledged furry, as I don't dress up in fursuits and the like (though it does look kinda fun xD), but I do have a "fursona" and am a fan of anthropomorphic animals and anthro art.

@Sparx : exactly the same.

I'm not a furry but I don't judge it. I'd be more into milder stuff like a person with kitty or doggie ears.

Like I said, you don't have to have a suit or want a suit for that matter to be a furry. I'm currently building mine though. It's really hard.

Because I'm a vid-wh*re, here's some more of the videos I took at the convention I attended last week. I'm not really stressed around furries for some reason. I feel more at ease in an environment in which they're present. I never really felt self-conscious and you can tell by the way I talk to everybody and how I don't mind breaking into dance(unfortunately while I'm filming).
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFrXUuBkE98&feature=channel_video_title[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ejy46QnQnWo&feature=relmfu[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9PaR1YWBOs&feature=relmfu[/youtube]

Last edited by ShenLong on 07 Nov 2011, 11:38 am, edited 2 times in total.

I'm kind of on the fence about furries. I realise that not all furries are fetishists/weirdos (OP is a personal friend of mine, and is far from being a pervert, and is a pretty damn awesome guy) but if the fandom ever wants to get rid of its reputation it's going to need to make some huge changes. For example, bad furries (the ones who are hyper sexual about it) shouldn't be tolerated, and kicked out and treated like the perverts they are. Also, furries should stop treating it like a lifestyle. Wanna know why? because nobody is going to want to associate with someone who answers the phone with woof, wears a collar in public, or growls at people when they piss them off, ok?! The fandom needs to be more like it originally was, just a simple interest in cartoon animals and anthropomorphism. Theres nothing perverted or strange about that! I love talking animals and anthropomorphic characters, they're awesome. I'm a full on fan of FiM, Regular Show, Catdog, Cow & Chicken and other cartoons.

I am against haters, because there are some genuine people in the fandom, however most of the fandom is filled with sickening porn that makes me fear for humanity. The fandom needs improving, and people like OP are trying to make it better, which is a very honourable thing to do (in my opinion at least.)

JUDGE THE PERSON!
NOT THE LABEL!

Just because a furry is into porn doesn't mean they're evil. It's when this takes precedence over everything. I only dislike furries that are furries only for the sexual reasons. Everyone else is fine by me. I've met a lot of people by now and they're actually quite intelligent compared to the average member of the Otaku and Gaming fandoms so, I'm not complaining. sure, they might be pervier and I may disapprove, but who cares. They aren't hurting anyone. I haven't gone rogue, I've just opened up. And also, Uncle Kage once noted that many early furry conventions did cater to fetishists and were advertised in fetish magazines and newsletters. The fetish thing has been around for a long time.

Another thing you mentioned about the fandom is the weird behaviour(CANADA!! !! !!). I have friends who wear collars. However, this is only for identification purposes at conventions and gatherings. It's to either let people know that you are a furry and even better, to let them know your name. Tails and badges can be used for the same purpose. Barking and howling is annoying, yes, but you get used to it. The Furry fandom is a sub-culture, not a lifestyle. I'm kind of iffy about people who think otherwise. I'm always open to make friends and I'm very accepting of all furries. I learned that being overly judgemental gets in the way of effectively making friends and connections in this fandom, so I just keep quiet.

Necro-bumping.

I went to a furry house party and a furmeet recently and I've made a lot of new friends.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNtuC9An ... ideo_title

A friend drew my fursona quite a few times at the furmeet including a group doodle of 5 of us local furries.


[img][800:720]http://i563.photobucket.com/albums/ss72/BaiShenLong/391154_317058158323200_100000570562673_1167660_2085977484_n.jpg[/img]

I used to be a furry when I really liked Sid from Flushed Away. I've eventually moved onto other things. I still have Sid on my nigh dresser. :O)

i wouldn't say I am one but I do find it kind of fascinating even including the pervert side of it. It can be just another kink along with BDSM or any other weird thing people are into. I figure some want to dress in leather gear or some would rather dress in fur.

I also really appreciate Fursuiting as a craft and it intrigues me whenever I see people create really good high quality costumes.

Personally, I'm kinda creeped out by it. But to each their own.
I'm just creeped out by any costume with a mask. I don't like not being able to see someone's face.

We don't all costume. Of the 30 or so furries in my town,only like 5 have suits. Of course, a friend and I are in the process of making our own suits. My friend just started and I'm about to finish.

I don't know much about this as a culture, except for an episode of CSI, wherein there was some definite snickering. Also, they were called 'Plushies'. I don't think from what Shen Long has said, that this compares to BDSM. If something hurts, if something can scare you, if something can leave marks, even permanent scars, in one well-known case , it's just wrong. These people seem to just want to pretend to be animals, seems to me to be pretty G- rated and creative....Sylkat

Well, I don't know. I'm not exactly into the furry fandom, and some Internet subcultures I have bumped into stigmatize furries, but personally, I see furries as fascinating, though it is sometimes sickening that some furries are doing things that are disturbing at best. I've seen some furries in anime conventions I used to attend, and I admire their efforts as much I admire cosplay (I'm more of a cosplayer, though).

There should be an option for "Ummmm.... Kindaaaa??".


Before I knew anything at all about furries, I was dressing as a rabbit and spent quite a lot of money on the mask I am wearing in my avatar (not saying how much ), I nearly bought a full size rabbit suit too, and drew a few pictures and imagined myself in various scenarios (nothing sexual) and I still like to do this sort of thing, but I'm not bothered about the "Furry" label or the culture.

So, maybe you could say I am an Accidental Indy Freelance Mild Furry.

I like drawing anthro animals. That's about as far as it goes.