Who are Furries?
People have 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 such anthropomorphic figures have been images of gods, characters in fables and folklore, Native American creation stories, and ancient and modern literature. Even when animal art was rare, Cornelius Saftleven's hundreds of animal paintings during the Dutch Renaissance of the 17th century, and the Statue of the god Hermanubis during Rome's Conquest of Greece and Egypt.
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 animals. Throughout his efforts to gather cartoonists and Furry fans, he helped develop the modern Anime and Furry fandoms by co-founding the Cartoon Fantasy Organization in Los Angelos, California, 1977. Due to the lack of adult-oriented animal shows, the group switched focus to anime, the first group to ever record anime on tapes and share those tapes with members. Within a few years chapters spring up all over the country, including Dallas, Memphis, and Detroit. The Cartoon/Fantasy Organization watched plenty of anime and organized viewings in science fiction conventions like Baycon. But the group split and formed two distinct fandoms in 1989: the Anime fandom, and the Furry Fandom. Since then, the Furry Fandom has attracted many LGBTQ college students, kids, and adult fans, including STEM fields and I.T.
According to Furscience, over 80% of the Furry Fandom identifies as 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, their Fursona 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. And while the Fandom does have art, movies, and animation at its core, the community has proven to bring together people who are often the target of harassment and face hardships with misconceptions. For so many creators the Furry Fandom is a place to make an income selling art and goods that cater to the community. And this community has a truly global reach, 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 through the Vanity Fair article Pleasures of The Fur in 2001, ignored the sci-fi fanship base and artists to focus on the underground sex scene, skewering public perception of the entire community. The CSI episode Fur and Loathing pushed those extreme 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, or split among so many tracks. 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.
There are significant hurdles facing the Furry Fandom today. Misconceptions and instigation of harassment inspire many infamous troll groups to continue harassing people who are Neurodivergent and LGBTQ. Peer pressure over censorship of art, people, and entire communities carries forward old stigmas and values that are negligent of the many ways this fandom helps people. This, unfortunately, leads to patterns of repeated harassment, bullying, peer pressure, and dehumanization. Furries who find help and security from the Fandom are seeking, more than anything, comfort and acceptance. The threats we face by providing comfort and acceptance to targetted groups opposed by mainstream audiences continues to be a significant security challenge to the contemporary Furry Fandom, especially as politics continue to divide us.
Today, the Furry Fandom meets in various spaces online, in 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, 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 and positive media coverage, as well as the widespread diversity and growth of the Fandom, the sensationalism can be set aside as more people clearly understand the many ways this fandom helps people, and the many people this Fandom serves.