Can someone explain Furry Fandom to me?

[Atomic_Alex]

@living_in_hell

I wonder if part of what is so unsettling to people is that you can’t actually see the person in the costume? I know now (largely from reading this thread) that the fully costumed is only part of the larger subculture, but I wonder if that contributes to the widespread reaction?

I had this very conversation with a friend who after some prodding admitted that he found furries disturbing because he couldn’t see their faces, he stated this was closely linked to his long-standing fear of people wearing gasmasks!

[fluiddruid]

@rachelellogram

I didn’t just mean loving relationships, I mean *every *relationship. Oftentimes they can’t hold down friendships, except for other furries.

Cite? I don’t see any evidence that this is more true for furries than any other obsessive fandom.

Furry fandom is just *not *the same as the other fandoms you mentioned. I was struggling to think why, and really I think it comes down to this: furdom is SO broad-based, and almost entirely fan-created. Meaning, Star Trek is a show that was professionally produced. Star Wars is a series of movies. My Little Pony is a cartoon. Astronomy is a real, legitimate science. Train modeling is engineering. But there is no discrete basis that furries can draw from, except for what other furries have independently created.

I’m not sure what you mean by this. Furry fandom definitely has a basis – anthropomorphic animals in modern entertainment is its clearest link, but the use of anthropomorphic and/or talking animals is pretty timeless. Think fairy tales, myths, children’s stories. You could find thousands of examples. Even the sex aspect is far from new – hell, ancient Romans made plenty of questionable art with satyrs having sex with humans and/or animals. (One famous example is from Pompeii, a large statue of a satyr fucking a goat was found.)

The closest fandom to furries (in terms of being SO broad-based) is anime, and even then there is an enormous amount of professionally-produced anime. Basically, all those other fandoms have an air of legitimacy that furry fandom lacks, and I think that’s the thing that really sets furries apart from other fanboys/fangirls.

But there’s thousands of examples of “furry” characters in entertainment – so again I don’t understand the difference you’re trying to establish. Disney and Warner Brothers characters are often, perhaps even mostly, anthropomorphic animals. Many, many childrens’ cartoons of all stripes feature them. Any person in the US could easily rattle off dozens of names of anthropomorphic animal characters they know, whether or not they know that furries exist. They’re absolutely pervasive in modern culture.

Frankly, I think a lot of the “well furries are different” stuff comes down to the fact that A) it’s become a “thing” to hate furries on the Internet, which comes from B) everyone wants to look down on somebody. Hey, I may be a pimply, overweight nerd who lives in his/her parents’ basement, works as a pizza deliveryman, spends 120 hours a week on World of Warcraft, chronically masturbates to incest videos, and likes My Little Ponies… but at least I’m not a furry!

I’m sure, too, that some furries get to where they’re at because they feel maladjusted with humans. It’s easier to relate to paper-thin characters. If only I was a furry wolf, that would be so cool and awesome. But the thing is, that goes for soooooo many fandoms. If only I lived in a world where magic was real. If only I was a vampire. If only I was as loved and respected as my MMORPG character. If only I could really collect Pokemon. If only I lived in a time where I could be on a starship. Whatever. It’s just a fantasy, no more distinct than any other – and yes, people sexualize ALL of those things too – but it seems people need a pariah (and sometimes I think some people also need to be a pariah, and are attracted to fandoms like that).

[Incubus]

Honestly I think the difference with furries is that most of them lack a level of self-awarewness, and these days being furry has become, to them, the equvalent of being gay, in that they develop these persecution complexes about it.