One possible reason from many is that it’s fun to not be human because humans aren’t so great to each other. Look into the link between autism and identifying as non-human (there are multiple ways of doing so).
Signed, an autistic being who does not feel emotionally attached to being a human, but is not a furry.
Furries are people who enjoy dressing up as or creating characters based on anthropomorphic animals, which are animals that have human-like traits such as walking on two legs, talking, or wearing clothes. These characters might be foxes, wolves, cats, or any other animal but with a personality or appearance that feels human-like.
Some furries create artwork, write stories, or role-play as these characters online, while others might dress up in costumes called “fursuits” to bring their characters to life in the real world. It’s a hobby and a community that’s mostly about creativity, imagination, and expressing yourself through these animal characters.
Is this a community, is this a sexual thing?
It can be either or both. I think for the most part it is community though. For some it starts as one and then expands into the other. For me it really is a lot about self discovery & self expression, SFW & NSFW, and makes me feel more connected to the world.
No, European here with quite some insight. I think the map in the other post is slightly misleading, as bigger countries like the US have more conventions than smaller countries is kind of obvious.
If you have more questions, feel free to ask 😊 I will do my best to offer my perspective on this.
ofc. Furries are crestive people who enjoy art/litterature/etc. about anthromorphic animals(like werewolves!). A lot of us have our own characters/personas that we create as a avatar of ourselves or to express our creativity and aspects of our identity on a character. This is called a fursona. Now since the only criteria is to enjoy anthromorphic animals(aka furries) there is a lot of range. A lot of us enjoy dressing up as our characters on furcons like people who dress up as their favorite character at comicon. And this interest in furries/anthromorphic amimals/werewolfesque characters can be sexual too for a lot of people. (of course this doesn’t have to be) It is just a very big welcoming community of creatives and fans of anthromorphic characters. Hope this helps
counterpoint, America is big, has atrocious public transport, and though furries that can afford suits can probably also afford flights, there’s plenty who cannot afford either, or just pick one
We need some data on the poor furries who can’t afford cons. Back in high school it was just a matter of sticking a fluffy tail to the back of your pants
from the stories I hear about commissions for art and suits, I’d agree. but then again, it’s probably also like mountaineering, either you live like a bum out of your van, or you organize expesive ass trips to far away mountains
Am not a furry, and would also love an explanation. I mean, I ain’t knocking whatever it is that gets someone through this world. It can be a very hard, very cruel place, and it dressing up as a electric blue armadillo makes someone happy, and allows them to find people they vibe with, I’m super happy for them. But dagnabbit, I’d really love to understand it. Haha
Also, I know 2 Australian furries and 1 swiss furry, so I’m guessing not an American thing.
That was my thought process. “what’s the coolest animal/color combo?” Obviously electric blue armadillo. It’s like a little knight in armor, but electric blue, and looks deceptively cuddly
Yes. Though you can do it yourself, a lot of furries go to conventions, frequent social media forums and bulletin boards. Just like you would with any other hobby or lifestyle.
is this a sexual thing
Sometimes but not always. The sexual part is a subculture that is part of the larger furry culture.
I don’t know if there’s any statistics on how large that subculture is either in raw numbers or percentage of all furries, but as an outsider who’s picked up info here and there, my guesstimate would be that it’s probably a small minority 🤷
Is it an American thing?
Already answered by someone else, but may as well include it here: nope. It’s a worldwide thing.
Being openly a furry is probably much more prevalent in culturally liberal (in the original sense of the word rather than the political one) countries than ones that strictly enforce specific cultural norms. And Japan, probably 🤷
Can someone ELI5 me the whole furry thing? Is this a community, is this a sexual thing? Is it an American thing?
One possible reason from many is that it’s fun to not be human because humans aren’t so great to each other. Look into the link between autism and identifying as non-human (there are multiple ways of doing so).
Signed, an autistic being who does not feel emotionally attached to being a human, but is not a furry.
Furries are people who enjoy dressing up as or creating characters based on anthropomorphic animals, which are animals that have human-like traits such as walking on two legs, talking, or wearing clothes. These characters might be foxes, wolves, cats, or any other animal but with a personality or appearance that feels human-like.
Some furries create artwork, write stories, or role-play as these characters online, while others might dress up in costumes called “fursuits” to bring their characters to life in the real world. It’s a hobby and a community that’s mostly about creativity, imagination, and expressing yourself through these animal characters.
It can be either or both. I think for the most part it is community though. For some it starts as one and then expands into the other. For me it really is a lot about self discovery & self expression, SFW & NSFW, and makes me feel more connected to the world.
Or to put it in mature comic form: https://www.ohjoysextoy.com/furry/
No, European here with quite some insight. I think the map in the other post is slightly misleading, as bigger countries like the US have more conventions than smaller countries is kind of obvious.
If you have more questions, feel free to ask 😊 I will do my best to offer my perspective on this.
ofc. Furries are crestive people who enjoy art/litterature/etc. about anthromorphic animals(like werewolves!). A lot of us have our own characters/personas that we create as a avatar of ourselves or to express our creativity and aspects of our identity on a character. This is called a fursona. Now since the only criteria is to enjoy anthromorphic animals(aka furries) there is a lot of range. A lot of us enjoy dressing up as our characters on furcons like people who dress up as their favorite character at comicon. And this interest in furries/anthromorphic amimals/werewolfesque characters can be sexual too for a lot of people. (of course this doesn’t have to be) It is just a very big welcoming community of creatives and fans of anthromorphic characters. Hope this helps
re “is it an american thing,” someone else will have to field the rest of your question
counterpoint, America is big, has atrocious public transport, and though furries that can afford suits can probably also afford flights, there’s plenty who cannot afford either, or just pick one
It’s for the safety of IT departments everywhere that furries’ need for travel is limited
There could also maybe be $50,000 worth of fursuits there too
🤘 Lol, double or triple it. 😅
Compare with a GDP per capita map. I’m not an economist, but it appears furries are wealth 📈
We need some data on the poor furries who can’t afford cons. Back in high school it was just a matter of sticking a fluffy tail to the back of your pants
from the stories I hear about commissions for art and suits, I’d agree. but then again, it’s probably also like mountaineering, either you live like a bum out of your van, or you organize expesive ass trips to far away mountains
Am not a furry, and would also love an explanation. I mean, I ain’t knocking whatever it is that gets someone through this world. It can be a very hard, very cruel place, and it dressing up as a electric blue armadillo makes someone happy, and allows them to find people they vibe with, I’m super happy for them. But dagnabbit, I’d really love to understand it. Haha
Also, I know 2 Australian furries and 1 swiss furry, so I’m guessing not an American thing.
I approve of an electric blue armadillo fursona. Would probably look pretty cool actually
That was my thought process. “what’s the coolest animal/color combo?” Obviously electric blue armadillo. It’s like a little knight in armor, but electric blue, and looks deceptively cuddly
Believe it or not this is exactly how most furries make their fursona
There are explanations now btw
Thank you!
💜 np
Yes. Though you can do it yourself, a lot of furries go to conventions, frequent social media forums and bulletin boards. Just like you would with any other hobby or lifestyle.
Sometimes but not always. The sexual part is a subculture that is part of the larger furry culture.
I don’t know if there’s any statistics on how large that subculture is either in raw numbers or percentage of all furries, but as an outsider who’s picked up info here and there, my guesstimate would be that it’s probably a small minority 🤷
Already answered by someone else, but may as well include it here: nope. It’s a worldwide thing.
Being openly a furry is probably much more prevalent in culturally liberal (in the original sense of the word rather than the political one) countries than ones that strictly enforce specific cultural norms. And Japan, probably 🤷