Furries: It’s Never Really Been About the Sex…or Gays

AMATEUR

April 17, 2024
HANK ORSO

When you say "furry" to many people who've heard the term, most think of something like this:

Or like this:

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A post shared by Reverb Husky (@reverbthehusky)

When in actuality it's more like this:

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A post shared by ❤︎︎ ❤︎︎ (@marrzfox)

And most definitely this:

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A post shared by Them (@them)

When I was asked to write a post about Furries I was expecting in my Wikipedia search and online to find only depictions and descriptions of crazy costumed sex, hedonistic hotel orgies of like-minded anthropomorphized animal lovers letting loose on each other like the little people hired to play Oz's Munchkins on their off-set days. What I found, at least in the hard facts, was a surprising amount of mundane, almost boringly creative art lovers with a history that goes back to the late seventies and origins in early Disney films!

Most media depictions and responses to Furries have been incorrectly distorted and slanted toward the salacious, with references and coverage in everything from Vanity Fair to The Simpsons. And it's this misrepresentation of kink-centered deviants that Furries would love to see go away. They simply love animal art, really. Many in the Furry fandom trace the history back to underground comics of the seventies, specifically Omaha the Cat Dancer which, granted, was specifically adult in nature, influenced by Ralph Bakshi's raunchy Fritz the Cat film.

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A post shared by @omaha_the_cat_dancer

Such artwork of anthropomorphized animalia has garnered such respect in the mainstream that you can see the above-depicted collection drew the attention of writers like Neil Gaiman. Of course, you only have to go to any Disney film to find inspiration. The original Robin Hood with its handsome fox lead should give you a clue as to where this all really started! Others look to Japan's Jungle Emperor (Kimba the White Lion) series from the fifties, and Richard Adams's classic novel Watership Down and its film adaptation as creative sources. Wherever you might look, the love of comics, cartoons, sci-fi and fantasy all roll into a cuddly love of animals from childhood, and stem forward into adulthood. This is where many believe their Furry lifestyle originates.

If you're a Furry you're most likely White, male, liberal-progressive, and straight. Yes, straight! Or at least mostly straight-identifying. In addition, less than 40% of responders to a survey report that sexual activity and attractiveness regarding fellow Furries is central or important in their lifestyle. That being said, 96% of male Furries also reported that of the porn they consume, most of it is Furry porn. So yeah, while it's predominantly a creative outlet and lifestyle for most, the guys are definitely out to get their yiff on!

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A post shared by Pip (@pip_wusky)

But for most, it's about the artwork, the community building of like minds, sharing their creative passions, and being true to themselves. A science fiction convention in 1980 spawned the first time "furry" was used in relation to artwork, with the term quickly being bandied about in the early 80s in fanzines. By 1989 there was enough interest for the first convention called ConFurence, in Costa Mesa, CA. Now, the largest convention is Midwest Furfest drawing 10-15K attendees to suburban Chicago. There's also Pitsburgh's Anthrocon and San Jose's Further Confusion. And for many Furries, the feeling they get from such gatherings looks kinda like this:

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A post shared by Timber (@timber_shep)

But I do hope they also get a bit of this:

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A post shared by Jags Red Panda (@jagsyredpanda)

JUST DON'T CALL THEM CUTE! (No, seriously, it's a thing.)

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A post shared by Flurry the Fusky (@flurrythedumbdog)

They might paw each other a bit, but they really gather online and in person to share their art, their homemade costumes, their fanfic literature, and just hang out and have some silly fun.

Okay, I promise, next time yer boy Hank here will give you the salacious side of Furries, the Pup culture!

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