Furry fandom
The furry fandom is a subculture interested in anthropomorphic animal characters.[1][2][3] Some examples of anthropomorphic attributes include exhibiting human intelligence and facial expressions, speaking, walking on two legs, and wearing clothes. The term "furry fandom" is also used to refer to the community of people who gather on the Internet and at furry conventions.[4]
History
The furry fandom has its roots in the underground comix movement of the 1970s, a genre of comic books that depict explicit content.[5] In 1976, a pair of cartoonists created the amateur press association Vootie, which was dedicated to animal-focused art. Many of its featured works contained adult themes, such as "Omaha" the Cat Dancer, which contained explicit sex.[6] Vootie grew a small following over the next several years, and its contributors began meeting at science fiction and comics conventions.
According to fandom historian Fred Patten, the concept of furry originated at a science fiction convention in 1980,[7] when a character drawing from Steve Gallacci's Albedo Anthropomorphics started a discussion of anthropomorphic characters in science fiction novels. This led to the formation of a discussion group that met at science fiction conventions and comics conventions.
The specific term furry fandom was being used in fanzines as early as 1983, and had become the standard name for the genre by the mid-1990s, when it was defined as "the organized appreciation and dissemination of art and prose regarding 'Furries', or fictional mammalian anthropomorphic characters".[8] However, fans consider the origins of furry fandom to be much earlier, with fictional works such as Kimba, the White Lion, released in 1965, Richard Adams' novel Watership Down, published in 1972 (and its 1978 film adaptation), as well as Disney's Robin Hood as oft-cited examples.[7] Internet newsgroup discussion in the 1990s created some separation between fans of "funny animal" characters and furry characters, meant to avoid the baggage that was associated with the term "furry".[9]
During the 1980s, furry fans began to publish fanzines, developing a diverse social group that eventually began to schedule social gatherings. By 1989, there was sufficient interest to stage the first furry convention.[10] The convention was called Confurence 0, and it was held at the Holiday Inn Bristol Plaza in Costa Mesa, California.[11] Once the Internet became accessible to the general population in the 1990s, it became the most popular means for furry fans to socialize.[12] The newsgroup alt.fan.furry was created in November 1990, and virtual environments such as MUCKs also became popular places on the internet for fans to meet and communicate.[13]
Inspiration
Allegorical novels, including works of both science fiction and fantasy, and cartoons featuring anthropomorphic animals are often cited as the earliest inspiration for the fandom.[7] A survey conducted in 2007 suggested that, when compared with a non-furry control group, a higher proportion of those self-identifying as furries liked cartoons "a great deal" as children and recalled watching them significantly more often, as well as being more likely to enjoy works of science fiction than those outside of the community.[14]
Public perception and media coverage
Early portrayal of the furries in magazines such as Wired,[52] Loaded,[53] Vanity Fair,[54] and the syndicated sex column "Savage Love" focused mainly on the sexual aspect of the furry fandom. Fictional portrayals of the furry fandom have appeared in television shows such as The Simpsons,[55][56] ER,[57] CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,[58] The Drew Carey Show,[59] Sex2K on MTV,[60] Entourage,[61] 1000 Ways to Die,[62] Tosh.0,[63][64] Check It Out! with Dr. Steve Brule,[65] and 30 Rock.[66] Most furry fans claim that these media portrayals are misconceptions,[67][68] while more recent coverage focuses on addressing the myths and stereotypes that have come to be associated with the furry fandom.[69] A reporter attending Anthrocon 2006 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", that conference attendees were "not having sex more than the rest of us",[70] and that the furry convention was about "people talking and drawing animals and comic-book characters in sketchbooks."[49] In October 2007, a Hartford Advocate reporter attended FurFright 2007 undercover because of media restrictions. She learned that the restrictions were intended to prevent misinformation, and reported that the scandalous behavior she had expected was not evident.[71] Recent coverage of the furry fandom has been more balanced. According to Ian Wolf, a 2009 article from the BBC entitled "Who are the furries?" was the first piece of journalism to be nominated for an Ursa Major Award, the main award given in the field of anthropomorphism.[12][72][73]
Milwaukee Brewers broadcaster Jim Powell was sharing a hotel with Anthrocon 2007 attendees a day before the convention and reported a negative opinion of the furries.[74] Several downtown Pittsburgh businesses welcome furries during the event, with local business owners creating special T-shirts and drawing paw prints in chalk outside their shops to attract attendees.[75] Dr. Samuel Conway, CEO of Anthrocon, said that "For the most part, people give us curious stares, but they're good-natured curious stares. We're here to have fun, people have fun having us here, everybody wins".[76] Positive coverage was generated following a furry convention that was held in a Vancouver hotel where a number of Syrian refugees were being temporarily housed. Despite some concerns and warnings by staff that there could be a seriously negative culture clash if the two groups interacted, the refugee children were on the whole delighted to meet the convention goers, especially the ones in fursuits, who seemed like cartoon characters come to life.[77][78]
According to Furry survey, about half of furries perceive public reaction to the fandom as negative; less than a fifth stated that the public responded to them more negatively than they did most furries.[15] Furry fans' belief that they will be portrayed as "mainly obsessed with sex" has led to distrust of the media and social researchers.[12]
In addition, the fandom has grown to be such a significant demographic that by 2016, the film company Walt Disney Studios marketed their animated feature film Zootopia in pre-release to the fandom to encourage interest in the film, which proved a major critical and commercial success.[79]
In 2021 and 2022, media coverage in Canada and the United States focused on false rumors about litter boxes in schools being provided for furries, which was part of a cultural backlash amplified by conservative and far-right politicians against transgender accommodations in schools.[80][81][82]