What Is Furry?

Good Question. Furry has never really been able to be defined as one thing or another simply because it means so many different things to so many different pages. This page is planned to show some varying personal definitions of what furry means to these people.

Here is my attempt..

Furry ~ is a fandom based on the anthropomorphising of animals. This being applying human traits to none human animals. Cartoons have been doing this for years, so think Mikey Mouse or Tom and Jerry, and that’s the start (although only the tip of the iceberg) of what furry is a fan base of. The thing is, defining furry is one thing, but actually defining what it means to individuals in the fandom – that’s the difficult part.

First let’s cover the basics. First, to be a fur or furry.. (or avian or scaly etc.) a person would have to have chosen a particular species that he or she either feels most close to, or simply favours above all other animals. Most people have a favourite animal, furries simply take this as a basis and start their creativity going with it.

Once a furry has his or her species, then he or she will choose a name. Yes, i know, my name (Rocky Raccoon) is hardly the most original name in the fandom, but i will right here let you all know it has nothing to do with a famous British band from a few decades ago! The majority of the fandom have particularly creative names, and some have some incredibly unique names which can be unmistakable within furry circles.

The ‘fursona’ that this person will now be will be quite often simply the person’s true personality, though others use this as the perfect moment to work on the things they had always wanted to be. They may be known in their current lives to be quiet, but as their furry self, they can become energetic, hyperactive and incredibly bouncy! Some furs find social interaction difficult, and by simply allowing themselves to take the form of this fursona, it helps them to be more themselves, bringing themselves out so to speak.

So why do Furrys do it? Here is the million dollar question. To be completely honest, almost every furry has their own reason for being in the fandom. For me to definitively say ‘FURRY IS THIS’ would be wrong of me, as furry is as much my definition, as much mine, as it is to every single other furry out there. However, i can from the experience i have had over the last 10 years, at least put some of the points of view across which are shared by some of the furries in the fandom.
First, the standard furry fan, someone who simply has a great liking for all anthropomorphic animals – be them toony, realistic or other. They simply appreciate the artwork, films, magazines or other materials which are around in the world today.

Another reason can be spirituality. Some furries hold the belief that they have the spirit of another animal inside their bodies, or have animal spirits which help guide and protect them. By expressing themselves in whichever way they choose they can get closer to what they feel is the real them.
Animal welfare can factor into things, some of those who have a genuine passion to protect the rights of none human animals join the furry fandom, simply through their care and love for a particular species.

.. So that’s a couple of reasons, but the problem with answering the question is that many furries aren’t entirely sure why they feel drawn to the fandom themselves. The way to see it is simply that for what ever reason, you simply are who you are – and by identifying yourself as a furry, you’re one step on your way to achieving it.

So what do furries get out of this, and what do they do to express themselves? Some furries, like a large number of people in society, love being in the fandom simply because you love finally being able to rebel against normality, you can be different, you can be proud to be different and you’re with a group of people who actually say ‘you know what? that’s okay!’. Another important thing to remember is that Furry is probably one of the most accepting social groups around. Furries consist of Straight, Bi and Homosexual people. For a lot of people who may be too nervous about going to clubs, bars, nightclubs etc, it can be the first time they can openly express themselves, which brings about a whole other dimension for them. Not only can they finally express their sexuality, but they can express their furryness as well! These couple of factors are what i think allow a lot of furries to create strong bonds with each other; brothers, sisters, mates and friends all come from simply being able to be free to express yourself however you may have always wished you could. Its therefore no wonder that many furries almost see the fandom as a kind of family, where people are always happy to offer a helping paw, or a shoulder to cry on should people get into trouble.

Furries express themselves in a variety of different ways. Because around 50% of furries are extremely imaginative and creative, its not difficult to see that many turn their hand to artwork or writing. Others express themselves by making themselves ears, tails or paws to wear while at conventions or meets. Even simply wearing a collar, similar to those you’d buy for your pet can be enough, to give themselves a little individuality that they may have always wanted. And of course you have the fursuiters.

The much criticised fursuiters are, for all you media types out there, I’m sorry to say – NOT for any sexual activities. Once again, similar to those who make or purchase tails, people who wear fursuits are simply going to the fullest they can, and being a suiter myself, the feeling i get when i am in my suit is nothing i had ever felt before. If you can imagine being penned up, always seemingly feeling as if some invisible force was stopping you from really being who you really wanted to me.. who you really were.. and you are suddenly let out.. that is the feeling. Finally i could express myself as i wanted, i could be outgoing and animated! And contrary to what many media type people will have you believe, a large number of fursuiters often do charity work. I myself did campaigning for university, as well as raising money for a local hospice – others have done fund raising for cancer research as well as The Make A Wish Foundation , a charity which helps to bring strength and joy to critically ill children.

So, moving on .. I like to see the people in the furry fandom as almost the perfect cross section of every day society. In the fandom, we have people from all walks of life, doctors, teachers, computer engineers and programmers, bus drivers, call centre representatives, charity and aid workers and even people in senior positions in many companies around the world. In society as a whole, there are those people who go out of their way to be kind and generous to people, and there are those who may commit crime. There are emos, goths, steam punk and a whole range of social groups – and all of these types of people are found in the furry fandom. I’ve always been interested to see how the majority of media shine a light on the minority of the fandom, focusing specifically on sex. The reason they do this? Sex sells. All the media do when they shine a light on this very narrow perspective of furry is to simply shine a light on society as a whole, and to attack furry for this particular trait, would be to simply attack a minor social group which just shows how society is as a whole.. Some of the socially unacceptable things that a furry may or may not have been reported to do, are absolutely practiced far more in numbers by none furs so to judge furry to be something negative simply on the actions a minority within the fandom would be a gravely incorrect verdict..

So to finish, i hope that this has given you a little more to think about when thinking about what exactly furry is, sure, we’re an odd group! And for anyone looking in on us for the first time it probably is a little bit freaky, but we’re people just like the rest of society, we love, we cry and we laugh. We have our flaws and our undesirables – but ultimately we’re no stranger than half the other crazy stuff the rest of society creates! We are Furries, and we’re proud to be different!

If you want to share your definition of furry on this page, write a comment at the bottom of the page, writing your definition clearly, and I’ll review and if its good I’ll put it up here!