Who are Furries?
For the entire length of recorded human history, some people always had a fascination with anthropomorphic animals, assigning human traits, emotions, and expressions to the Earth's other living species. Anthrophic art predates all human artifacts and civilization as evidenced by the Löwenmensch statue discovered in a German cave dating back to 35,000-40,000 B.C.E. Throughout history anthropomorphic animals have been used as images of gods, in fables and folklore, including Native American creation stories, ancient and modern literature, and even during periods when animal art was rare, like Cornelius Saftleven's hundreds of animal paintings during the 17th century Dutch Renaissance.
After Mark "Sylys Sable" Merlino fell in love with Bambi, finding it the only film that captivated him as a 6-year-old child, he set out to find more people like him who also had a similar fascination with Anthropomorphic artwork. Throughout his efforts to gather cartoonists and fans, he helped develop the modern Anime and Furry fandoms by co-founding the Cartoon Fantasy Organization in Los Angelos, California in 1977. The group split and formed two distinct fandoms in 1989: the Anime fandom, and Furries. Since then, the Furry Fandom has attracted many LGBTQ college students, kids, and adult animation fans, including members of the art and tech industry and some of the most fascinating people you will ever find.
According to Furscience, over 80% of the Furry Fandom are LGBTQIA, with 80% either receiving an official diagnosis or believing to be neurodivergent (primarily Autism and ADHD). Such people are drawn to the big facial expressions or bold colors which are much clearer and easier to read, and live out their fantasies. For some, it is a way to express their innermost desires - a longing for childhood, replacing bad memories with good ones in safe and accepting communities. For others, it's a way to meet people of similar interest and understanding, particularly fan groups, STEM groups, artists, and musicians. Some Furries use the Fandom as a coping mechanism to process genuine trauma and abuse they've faced in their life with others who shared similar experiences. For so many creators the Furry Fandom is a place to make an income selling artwork and goods that cater to the community. And this community is global, with over 40 countries around the world hosting Furry conventions, even in remote mountaintop villages in China. With the modern internet and virtual reality, Furries can meet each other and feel closer together from virtually any location on Earth. It is impossible to quickly summarize a group that's so diverse any summary would shortchange who Furries genuinely are.
It's no surprise the stigma Furries received throughout history. Homophobia and media sensationalization of sex through the 1980s and mid 2000s, particularly the Vanity Fair article Pleasures of The Fur in 2001, ignored the sci-fi fans and incredible artists in this Fandom and focused explicitly on the underground sex scene, skewering public perception of the entire community. The CSI episode Fur and Loathing pushed those views to an audience of 27 million on primetime television. As Furries recluded themselves over fear of ridicule, media outreach over the next decade tended to be very inaccurate and in very poor taste. Even within this Fandom various subcultures and groups are highly ostracized, reflecting the intolerance amplified in the world today. This intolerance threatens the livelihoods of so many misunderstood people, and misconceptions often amplify those unusual characteristics and bias reality.
Moms of Furries shared the story of their daughter, diagnosed with autism, facing tremendous difficulties making friends, and recluding herself to her room. Fearing she would never be able to socialize, and believing the fandom to be an adult-only space, they were worried when she said she wanted to attend a local Furry convention. They were shocked to find not only was she making friends and being vocal, but in fact had many friends, dressed up in animal costumes, and had a great time. In 2016 Syrian refugees escaping the Syrian Civil War were housed in the same hotel as Vancoufur. There was concern the clash between a highly conservative Islamic culture against the LGBTQ community would not mix well. But, according to parents, their children enjoyed the colorful fursuiters, believing they were on a Disney vacation. Having escaped a warzone, refugees saw Furries as a sign of better things to come. Furries sometimes live in remote areas of the world where they often face discrimination from society due to their neurodivergence, sexuality, or stranger and more adult interests. But many incredible people find friends, economic support, and even lifelong partners through this Fandom.
Today, the Furry Fandom meets in various spaces online and VR, at live meetups in-person and conventions. Some conventions, like Anthrocon, are highly integral to the economic revenue of their host cities and receive heavy support. While Furries continue to be ostracized by the media and subcultures get misconstrued internally, through podcasts like What The Fur, research through Furscience, documentaries like The Fandom, and educational spaces like the Virtual Furry Museum, more and more people are learning the truth about our Fandom and the many people it's helping. And through incredibly popular spaces like Anthrocon in Pittsburgh, Furality virtual conventions in VRChat, and positive media coverage through Youtubers, streamers, and historians, the image of the Furry Fandom gets a modern facelift as people shed the sensationalism of adult sex communities from the 1990s and come to more clearly see the many ways this fandom helps people, and the many people this Fandom serves.