What are furries?
What is a hairy?
The answer to that is simple, the term is simple, furries are fans of anthropomorphic animal characters (usually mammals, hence the name furry, as those animals tend to have fur).
Anthropomorphic, in case you didn’t know, is just a big word that means human qualities and characteristics are applied to non-human things. So these characters are basically animals with human characteristics, like they talk, stand on two legs, and have hands like thumbs, etc. Just to give you an example, some popular anthropomorphic animal characters include Bugs Bunny, Mickey Mouse, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Furry characters can often be found in comics, cartoons, video games, and literature.
Anthropomorphic characters have been with us for a long time. During the 1910s, those who worked in that business used the term Funny Animal to describe the human-like animals we see in cartoons and comic books. In fact, animals that can talk have been a staple in humankind’s folklore for as long as we could talk. But the term furry and furry fandom as we see it today is believed to have started around the 1980s.
In 1980, at the NorEasCon II World Science Fiction Convention in Boston, where during an art exhibit, artist Steve Gallacci presents a painting of his character Erma Felna from the comic series Albedo Anthropomorphic, along with the painting Gallacci presented some notes on the use of anthropomorphic intelligence. animals in science fiction and fantasy. This work led to a series of gatherings around Gallacci at other conventions (such as Worldcon and Westercon) during 1980 to 1985, where people discussed anthropomorphic characters in the media and shared artwork. These gatherings laid the foundation for the furry fandom we know today.
In addition to the characters featured in mainstream media, there is a niche market for comics, art, literature, and other products featuring furry animal characters created for and often by fans.
Granted, furries are fans of the talking animal characters you often see in cartoons and comics. It’s not that weird, but I saw something on TV or read an article that made it seem like more than that.
Well yeah, like all things people are fans of, some people take their love to different levels. For example, you have Star Trek fans who just like to watch shows and movies and then there are those who dress up as Klingons or other characters. You see the fans who just like to cheer on their favorite team when they watch a game and then you have those whose identity is centered around that team.
Furry fans are like that. Usually there are people who like art and media products with furry characters. But from that big umbrella group you have other subsets. Those who may like to dress up as animals at conventions can also find those who dress up as characters from movies, video games, anime, and comics. Some even take the furry identity as part of their lifestyle and even take an animal and apply traits from that animal to their everyday life. Some even go to the level of having a spirituality based on an animal that they feel is part of them or is their totem.
Yes, there is even a small percentage of fans who have a sexual fetish for furries and this part of the fandom gets a lot of attention in the media, making it seem like they are the majority of furry fans. The reason why the media pays attention to the sexual parts of the Furry fan community is probably due to the fact that covering that aspect will surely attract more attention due to its shock value.
