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Furry fandom

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File:Shanda12.JPG
Shanda the Panda #12, an example of a furry comic

Furry fandom is a subculture that enjoys the mixture of human and animal attributes in characters, known as anthropomorphism.[1] Some examples of anthropomorphic attributes are: exhibiting human intelligence and facial expressions, the ability to speak, walking on two legs, and wearing clothing. Members of the furry fandom are sometimes known as furry fans, furries, or furs. [2]

The genre of entertainment celebrated by furry fandom is based around the idea of animal characters with human characteristics, rather than any one type of fiction. Any title in any type of media can be considered a part of the furry genre simply by having a fantasy animal character in it, though such characters are most often seen in cartoons, comics, science fiction, allegorical novels, commercials, video games and animated films.[3]

Since the 1980s, people have begun to use the word furries to refer to anthropomorphic characters.[3][4][5] More common terms for such characters are funny animal (used since the 1940s in the comics industry), talking animal, cartoon animal or, in Japan, kemono.

History and inspiration

File:Uybook11.jpg
Cover of Usagi Yojimbo, book 11

The term “Furry” is used to describe talking and anthropomorphic animal characters in fantasy art, literature and other forms of entertainment. The fandom for these characters traces its organization back to a science fiction convention in 1980[6], when a drawing of a character from Steve Gallacci’s Albedo started a discussion of anthropomorphic characters in science fiction novels, spawning a discussion group that met at various science fiction and comics conventions.

However, many individual fans claim the roots of the fandom go back much further. Titles such as Kimba, The White Lion from the mid 1960's, as well as Watership Down and Disney's Robin Hood from the early 1970's appear on many lists of significant events pertaining to the birth of the fandom.[7]

Over the course of the 1980's, a gradually increasing number of furry fans developed fanzines and eventually began to have gatherings at house parties. By 1987 enough interest had been generated for the first furry convention.[8]

As the internet became more accessible, it became the most popular means for furry fans to keep in touch and share their artistic efforts. This gained the fandom higher visibility and it began to grow rapidly. Virtual environments, such as MUCKs, soon became the most popular places on the net for furry fans to meet and communicate. One of the oldest and largest MUCKs in existence is FurryMUCK.[citation needed] One of the newest virtual environments to attract furry fans is Second Life.

Examples of the types of animal characters that typically inspire furry fans are represented by the titles below.

From cartoons
Roger Rabbit, The Angry Beavers, Rocko's Modern Life, Bugs Bunny, Mickey Mouse, Wile E. Coyote,
From animated feature films
Disney's Robin Hood and The Lion King, My Neighbor Totoro, The Secret of NIMH, Bagi, Madagascar
From TV
Father of the Pride, Kimba the White Lion, Disney's Rescue Rangers, SWAT Kats, Road Rovers, Rex the Runt, The Raccoons, Arthur, Hamtaro
From comics
Usagi Yojimbo, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Omaha the Cat Dancer, Shanda The Panda, Albedo Anthropomorphics, Maus, Over the Hedge
From novels
Richard Adams' Watership Down, Andre Norton's Breed to Come, Brian Jacques' Redwall series, Steven Boyett's The Architect of Sleep, S. Andrew Swann's Moreau series
From games
RuneQuest, Lugaru, EverQuest, the Star Fox series, Sly Cooper series, Sonic the Hedgehog series, Jazz Jackrabbit series, Conker's Bad Fur Day, Furcadia
From webcomics
Newshounds, Boomer Express, The Suburban Jungle, Kevin and Kell, Faux Pas, Namir Deiter, Sabrina Online, Dan and Mab's Furry Adventures, VG Cats

Many members of the fandom have also cited as inspiration the historical usage of anthropomorphic animals in world mythology, including but not limited to Greek, Egyptian, Japanese and Native American. Aesop's Fables is also cited on many lists of furry resources.[9]

To set them apart from more seriously-depicted animal characters[10], cartoon animals are sometimes also known as "funny animals," a term that goes back to the early 20th century and seems to have been inspired by the use of animal characters in The Funnies,[citation needed] rather than as a reference to animal comedians. Additionally, in Japan there is a genre called kemono, a tangentially related but independent genre with different cultural associations.

There are dozens of webcomics based on animal characters. Many are created by furry fans and, as such, may be referred to by some as "furry comics." One such comic, T.H.E. Fox, was first published on CompuServe in 1986, predating the Web.[11] However, general comics consumers do not make a distinction between a furry comic and a funny animal comic, as there is no visible difference.

Fan creations

File:Watcher in the woods.Dark Natasha.jpg
An example of furry artwork, by furry artist "Dark Natasha"

Furry fans are eager for more material than is available from mainstream publishers. The demand is filled by fellow fans — amateur to professional artists, writers, crafters and publishers who produce drawings, paintings, stories, independent comic books, fanzines, puppets, websites, and even small press books.

Art and writing

Many furry fans participate in the arts, becoming amateur—and sometimes professional—illustrators, comic strip authors, painters, sculptors, writers, musicians, and craft artists. Primarily, the fandom produces hand- or computer-drawn artwork, although there are many sculptures, fabric pieces, stories, filk music pieces, and even photographs. Some of these works are pornographic.

While the bulk of these fan-created pieces of art are distributed through nonprofessional media such as personal web sites and via email, some publish their works in anthologies, Amateur Press Associations, or APAzines. A few have mainstream, professional credits to their names. Some furry artwork has appeared on commercially available clothing.

Crafts

Fans with craft skills put together their own plush furry toys, sometimes referred to as plushies, or build elaborate costumes called fursuits[12], and are worn for fun or to participate in parades, convention masquerades, dances, or fund-raising charity events (as entertainers)[13]. While many fursuits look like sports mascots, some fursuits go beyond that and include moving jaw mechanisms, animatronics, prosthetic makeup, or other frills, which may cost upwards of $1,000[14]. Others turn to puppetry, recording videos and performing live in similar events.

See also: Funday PawPet Show

Role playing characters ("Fursonas")

Some furry fans create anthropomorphic animal characters in order to engage in role-playing sessions on the Internet; these characters may be used in MUDs, on Internet forums, or on Electronic mailing lists. The oldest extant on-line furry role-playing environment is FurryMUCK, although it was predated by the GE-run BBS, The Beastie Board in which conversation sometimes led to role-play. Another popular online furry social game is called Furcadia, created by Dragon's Eye Productions. There are also several furry-themed areas and communities in the Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game Second Life. [15]

Conventions

Furry fans prepare for a race at Midwest FurFest 2006
Main article: Furry convention

Sufficient membership and interest has allowed for the creation of many annual furry conventions in North America and Europe, the largest being Anthrocon in Pittsburgh in July [16]. Further Confusion, held in San Jose each January, is almost as large. The total attendance figures for furry conventions exceeded 9130 in 2005, a growth of 13% over the previous year. [17] In 2006, over 25 such conventions took place around the world. The first known furry convention, ConFurence [6], is no longer held. (Califur has replaced it, since both conventions were/are based in Southern California.)

Many conventions feature an auction or fundraising event, with the proceeds often going to an animal-related charity. For example, Further Confusion has raised more than $62,000 for various charitable beneficiaries over its eight-year history [18], and Anthrocon has donated more than $66,000 to animal-related charities since 1997. [19] In September 2004, Mephit Furmeet raised over $15,000 for Tiger Haven.[20]

Furry lifestylers

File:Benbear.jpg
Furries appear in varying levels of dress.

The phrase furry lifestyler is used to describe an individual with beliefs similar to those of animal related religions and philosophies, such as Shamanism and Otherkin. Many lifestylers often believe they have a totem animal that watches over them or that they are the reincarnation of an animal spirit.[21]

Some lifestylers also adopt physical attributes of an animal, such as animal-related hair styles, tattoos, and articles of clothing or jewelry. Cases of people like Stalking Cat undergoing extensive body modifications are documented, as shown on the Discovery Channel program Humanimals: Wild Makeovers, but are extremely rare.


The phrases "furry lifestyle" and "furry lifestyler" first appeared in July 1996 on the newsgroup alt.fan.furry during an ongoing dispute within that community. One element within furry fandom believed that any peripheral interest not directly relating to furry art, literature and fantasy should not be directly associated with the fandom, while others believed that the definition of what constituted furry was up to the individual. The dispute was resolved by the creation of the newsgroup alt.lifestyle.furry in August 1996 to accommodate discussion not relating solely to furry cartoons, artwork and literature. Posters to this newsgroup quickly attracted the term "furry lifestylers." [22] The fandom and the lifestyle have been considered separate concepts since that time.[citation needed]

Some other communities, such as the "were" or "therian" communities, share similar beliefs with furry lifestylers but wish to distance themselves from the term “furry,” as they are not necessarily interested in furry fandom or do not wish to have their beliefs trivialized by association with a "cartoon" fandom. [21]

Sex and furry fandom

Differing approaches to sexuality have at times been a source of divisions and controversy in the fandom. There are also a wide range of stereotypes about furries and sex. Protests have been made by members of the furry fandom against what they regard as "distasteful, unrelated, or deviant aspects" of the fandom, in particular by groups such as the "Burned Furs" (a protest group of the 1990's who felt their work and image was being seriously harmed by increased sexual aspects within the Fandom). [23]

Examples of mainstream "adult" aspects within the fandom include erotic furry art, a style sometimes known as yiffy art (from the subculture term "yiff" referring to sexual activity or arousal), and pornographic movies of sexual activities between participants wearing fursuits also exist.

The term furvert (a portmanteau of "furry" and "pervert") specifically refers to the subgroup of the fandom that sexualizes anthropomorphic animal characters.[24] The term may be used pejoratively, as a self-referential joke, or merely as a descriptor.

Many furry conventions make clear that guidelines of conduct exist restricting sexually explicit material and behavior to appropriate areas and situations, since the Fandom includes people of all ages and interests. [25]

Fandom survey

One survey which examined social and sexual attitudes in the Fandom is The Sociology of Furry Fandom by David J. Rust, covering 360 reports (325 in person, 35 online).[26]

Rust states that in regard to sex:

  • Furries "report a rather non-judgemental attitude" to some aspects of sexuality,
  • the Fandom contains a large proportion of people reporting homo- or bisexuality and/or polyamory (or other non-traditional forms of relationship)
    • In the survey, 48% of those surveyed reported bisexuality, 25% were heterosexual, 19% were homosexual, and 8% were uncertain. Also, 2% stated an interest in zoophilia, and less than 1% stated an interest in plushophilia.
  • furries have "a higher tolerance for variety in sexual orientation and activity", and that
  • heterosexual furries "participate in [mixed gender] social body language between members of the same sex without any apparent threat to their sexual identity as a heterosexual"

He cited these as reasons why inaccurate perceptions of furries may arise. However, the accuracy of such statistics comes in to question, for two reasons. Since Rust's survey required respondents to submit a real name and identification, and 90% of the respondents answered in person, the reluctance to truthfully answer some of the questions without anonymity may have caused a statistical bias. Secondly, the rapidly growing size of the fandom quickly renders survey statistics obsolete. This particular survey was based on data compiled in 1997 and 1998, and published in 2002.

Media coverage

Portrayal of the furry fandom in the mainstream media in the past has been rare, but several shows and magazines have featured furries in some way. Some members of the furry community felt these focused too much on the sexual aspect [27] of the fandom. Examples include articles and columns in Vanity Fair[28] and Loaded magazines, the syndicated sex column Savage Love, and dramatized fiction or documentaries portrayed on television shows like ER, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (CSI: Episode #406: Fur and Loathing)[29], The Drew Carey Show [30], and MTV's Sex2K.[31] A recent news story noted that "despite their wild image from Vanity Fair, MTV and CSI, furry conventions aren't about kinky sex between weirdos gussied up in foxy costumes," [32] but instead about "people talking and drawing animals and comic-book characters in sketchbooks." [33]

See also

References

  1. ^ Kurutz, Daveen Rae (June 17, 2006). "It's a furry weekend". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved 2006-06-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ Staeger, Rob (July 26, 2001). "Invasion of the Furries". The Wayne Suburban. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ a b Thomson, Desson (May 19, 2006). "Critters Offer Consumer Retorts in 'Over the Hedge'". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2006-07-19. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ Dagna, Justin (2005). Fera Vita: Pax Draconis. Technicraft.
  5. ^ Tatara, Paul (June 22, 2001). "Furries funny, humans not in 'Dolittle 2'". Retrieved 24-12-2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  6. ^ a b Patten, Fred (February 2, 1999). "Chronology Of Furry Fandom". YARF! The Journal of Applied Anthropomorphics. Retrieved 2006-07-15. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ http://www.arclight.net/~yarf/YARF_Chronology.html
  8. ^ Patten, Fred (2006). Furry! The World's Best Anthropomorphic Fiction. ibooks.
  9. ^ Muth, Douglas (January 15, 2006). "Furries! Introduction to the Furry Fandom". Claws-and-Paws.com. Retrieved 2006-06-30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ Sandler, Kevin S. (1998). Reading the Rabbit: Explorations in Warner Bros. Animation. Rutgers University Press.
  11. ^ The Commodore 64/128 RoundTable. http://cmdrkey.com/cbm/genie/geniefiles/Information/T.H.E.-FOX.TXT. Retrieved 2006-10-26. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help); Unknown parameter |dateyr= ignored (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ Riggs, Adam (2004). Critter Costuming: Making Mascots and Fabricating Fursuits. Ibexa Press.
  13. ^ Larson, Alina (January 23, 2003). "Animal Instincts: Fans of Furry Critters Convene to Help Mankind". Tri-Valley Herald. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ "'Furries' Descend On Golden Triangle". WTAE-TV. June 16, 2006. Retrieved 2006-06-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  15. ^ Peralta, Eyder (May 28, 2006). "In Second Life, the World is Yours". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2006-07-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  16. ^ "Furries Descend On Pittsburgh". KDKA-TV. June 16, 2006. Retrieved 2006-06-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  17. ^ Cooksey, David. "Anthropomorphic Fandom Convention Information Sheet". Retrieved 2006-06-30.
  18. ^ Anthropomorphic Arts and Education. "AAE, Inc. - What we do". Retrieved 2006-08-26.
  19. ^ Brian Harris, Anthrocon charity auction director. "Anthrocon Charity Auction FAQ". Retrieved 2006-08-26.
  20. ^ "Mephit Furmeet website". Retrieved 2005-02-04.
  21. ^ a b Orion Sandstorrm. "Catalogue of nonhuman communities". Retrieved 2006-07-11.
  22. ^ "alt.lifestyle.furry - Frequently Asked Questions". 2001-05-08. Retrieved 2006-08-26.
  23. ^ "Burned Fur - Frequently Asked Questions". Retrieved 2006-08-26.
  24. ^ Katharine Gates. "Deviant Desires: Furverts". Retrieved 2006-08-26.
  25. ^ Dr. Samuel Conway (2006-03-28). "Anthrocon Standards of Conduct". Retrieved 2006-08-26.
  26. ^ David J. Rust (2000-2002, based on data 1997-1998). "The Sociology of Furry Fandom". Retrieved 2006-08-26. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  27. ^ Belser, Ann (June 18, 2006). "All about 'furry fandom' at confab". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2006-06-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  28. ^ "Pleasures of the fur". Vanity Fair.
  29. ^ Video of CSI episode and video of furry scenes from ER's furry episode
  30. ^ The Drew Carey Show on WikiFur, accessed 2006-08-26
  31. ^ MTV. "Sex2K Fursuit Video". Retrieved 2006-08-26.
  32. ^ Meinzer, Melissa (February 2, 2006). "Fur Ball In The Works". Pittsburgh City Paper. Retrieved 2006-06-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  33. ^ Meinzer, Melissa (June 29, 2006). "Animal Passions: The furries come to town — and our correspondent tails along". Pittsburgh City Paper. Retrieved 2006-06-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

Further reading

  • Craig Hilton: Furry Fandom — An Insider's View from the Outside, parts 1 & 2, South Fur Lands #2 & #3, 1995, 1996
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Information

Art

  • Yerf — A furry art archive with restrictions on quality and mature subject matter
  • VCL — A mostly-unrestricted archive of furry art and fiction
  • Fur Affinity — An archive that contains furry art, fiction, poetry and music. Content is restricted until the viewer signs up as a user of Fur Affinity.
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