My involvement with the 'furry fandom' dates back to 1996, when I was 15 and stumbled upon a website that portrayed anthropomorphic art, that is, animal characters that have human characteristics, which could include werewolves, Tony the Tiger, Micky Mouse, etc. My original interest was only in artwork, but soon I found an entire subculture community built around the premise. Hundreds of sites dot the web and boast art, fiction, chat rooms, spirituality forums, news, essays, and even home-grown music. Interestingly, the furry fandom is the only fandom, that I can think of, that produces the things of which it is a fan. People who dabble in these activities, either as creators or consumers, usually self-identify as furries, and typically create their own 'fursona', or anthropomorphic character they may draw, commission other artists to draw, write stories about, or just role-play as in online chat rooms. This is a very important selection for most furries, and some will tell you their connection to their avatar is deep and spiritual -- it's not uncommon to hear "Jerry Springer"-like claims of one being a 'fox in a human body'. Some people simply choose a character they like without much of a spiritual connection at all -- such as in my case, where other furries know me as BlueOtter.
The fandom has had a rather interesting history over the past decade, but spans back at least to the early 1980's in its present form. Finding your attraction to the fandom is a very individual thing, but sooner or later furries connect through an assortment of chat servers, instant messengers, MUCK's (imagine a text-based multiplayer game), and virtual online worlds. Regional and national furry conventions dot the country every year where vendors of furry comics and artists come to sell their wares, discussion panels tackle issues in the fandom, furs dress up in 'fursuits' of their favorite character, and people who have only had a relationship via a keyboard and computer screen meet in person for the first time.
The fandom strings a common thread between people who have interests and preferences that pop culture would consider weird, icky, and the like. So, some furs prefer to primarily associate only with others in the fandom, both for friends and for relationships. While I don't see any benefit of exclusively dating within the fandom (and in fact I try not to as a general rule of thumb), I tend to find people of like mind easier in it. So what describes the average fur? Gay men make up a disproportionately high number of the fandom. My own unscientific estimate would place the mix of demographics as 80% male and 80% bisexual or gay. Probably half of active furs, those that regularly participate in events, are under 25. About half also have some post-secondary education, and about half are consistently employed.
When furs find one another online or IRL (in real life) and decide to partner up in a relationship, it is often referred to as 'finding a mate'. About a quarter of furs are monogamously coupled, with the rest either seeking mates or are in other types of polyandrous or polygamous relationships. I have had a few online relationships which were always long distance. Never meeting the person on the other end of the computer screen, these relationships are tedious to maintain, and eventually I've found you only fall in love with yourself when you are in one. You see what you want to see in someone you can't, and that lends itself to fairy-tale like delusions.
I have met a few people offline, with mixed results. When I was 16, I met a 21 year old furry at his apartment. He wore a dog collar, made barking and whining sounds to emote, and wanted to cuddle. I was quite freaked, and so I never met another one for five years after that. For several years in college I had a rather wonderful phone and online relationship with a young man in California , whom I flew out to visit several times. I eventually relocated across the country, where we had a quite wonderful relationship. Our relationship really wasn't different from the next gay relationship. We didn't bark or whine at each other, and we weren't into collars or fursuits, in fact though we both identified ourselves as furs, we were pretty cynical about the entire furry fandom.
You see, the furry fandom has grown to accommodate a lot of kinks that complicate its original, more innocent nature. Groups of furs meet at conventions to create their own 'fursuit sex' porn. Others, who call themselves babyfurs, dress in diapers and act infantile. Some, who call themselves zoophiles, actually commit sexual acts with animals. Fat furs, akin to 'chub chasers', include morbidly obese furs and those who adore them. While I knew nothing about this when I became interested in the fandom and do not indulge in these practices, such fringe interests have been thrust into the public eye quite a few times in the last few years in mass media, which makes me reluctant these days to identify myself as a furry to nonfurs. Quite honestly, my interest in the fandom has waned somewhat with age. I still enjoy going to conventions and seeing old friends, but with the responsibilities of college and a regular day job, I've lost the free time and interest to keep up with the fiction, listen to all the music, or debate the finer points of furry spirituality. Really, I just stick with the furry fandom for the reason I got involved with it in the first place. If you find me at a furry convention sometime and ask if I'm a furry, I'll tell you:
Hey, I just like the art.
Last Updated: August 13, 2006
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