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Sexual urges are varied and diverse. The truth is, what gets one man hot and bothered may not do a thing for the other man.
Scores of different kinks, fetishes, and indulgences exist, with some being as tame as a little light spanking and as intense as being stretched over a St Andrew’s cross and whipped in public. For some, dressing up and role-playing is what does it for them.
Furries are a subculture or community made up of people who are interested in dressing up as anthropomorphic animal characteristics with human personalities and characteristics. Most of them create their own characters, usually known as a fursona, and design a costume and a personality related to the character. This is the character with which they function within the community. The furry personality can be sexual or non-sexual.
As a sexual kink, furries usually dress up in their costumes and assume their identities to participate in sexual activities such as orgies, sex parties, etc. They may also form groups with other people of similar inclination. Furries include people of different ages, genders, and sexual orientations.
They may congregate according to other attributes they have in common. For example, there can be communities of gay furries, non-binary furries, and even older furries.
The furry movement has its origins in the underground comix movement of the 1970s. Underground comix are a genre of small, usually independent, and self-published comic books which different from the mainstream comics in their inclusion of adult content such as drug use, sex, and violence. One such example, a small press association named Vootie, was created in 1976 by a pair of cartoonists.
Vootie was dedicated to animal-focused art, with many of its features works containing adult themes. One, called “Omaha” the Cat Dancer, contained explicit sex and could be seen as a precursor to furry art.
However, the concept of ‘furry’ by that name seems to have originated at a science fiction convention in 1980. This is according to fandom historian Fred Patten. Allegedly, a character drawing from Steve Gallacci’s Albedo Anthropomorphics started a discussion of anthropomorphic characters in science fiction novels. This led to the creation of a discussion group that met at sci-fi and comics conventions.
The specific term ‘furry fandom’ was being used in fanzines as early as 1983. By the mid-1990s, it had become the standard name for the genre. At that time, it was defined as “the organized appreciation and dissemination of art and prose regarding ‘Furries’, or fictional mammalian anthropomorphic character.
On the other hands fictional works such as Kimba, the White Lion, which came out in 1965; Richard Adams’ Watership Down, which was published in 1972 and adapted into a movie in 1978, and Disney’s Robin Hood, an animation which was released in 1973 and depicted the much -loved gang of Sherwood Forest as anthropomorphic animals, are artistic depictions of gay furries that fans point to indicate that the furry fandom actually began years earlier.
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”. This was because furries at that point had gained a negative stereotype of being obsessed with the sexuality and sexual habits of their characters.
In the 1980s, Rod Stansfield, better known as Rod O’Riley and his partner Mark Merlino — during visits to science fiction conventions — realized the furry fandom was becoming a bigger thing of its own. They even threw furry parties whenever they attended these conventions. In 1989, from January 21-22 to be precise, they organized an “experiment” they called ConFurence Zero at the Holiday Inn Bristol Plaza in Costa Mesa, California: the first known “furry convention and seminar.” The venue was originally meant to be the Red Lion Inn across the street from the eventual venue, but the estimated attendee number of 100 was so small that the hotel declined to host the conference.
Although only 90 people signed up and only 65 people eventually showed up, including only two or three in costume, ConFurence Zero started a movement of sorts. It gave momentum to the fandom, and in later years, gave rise to similar conventions such as Califur, Canada’s VancouFur, Australia’s ConFurgence, Eurofurence, and Anthrocon, which is now held yearly in Pittsburgh. In 2019, Anthrocon, one of the biggest furry conventions in America, drew about 9200 people, including over 2,000 in costumes – called ‘fursuiters -, according to the event website.
From the history of gay furries, it is clear to see that gay people have been integral to the furry movement practically since its inception. They have found great acceptance within its ranks, which is to be expected since it is a community known for being welcoming to all people. Gay furries are simply gay people who are interested in anthropogenic animals.
While fursonas – the characters created by fur are each based on an animal — a dog, cat, reptile, bird, wild animal, or even mythical creature — they walk upright like humans do and often have a cartoon-like appearance.
Furries represent their fursonas through art, writing, online identities, or in the creation of “fursuits,” which are elaborate costumes depicting the individual’s animal. Some fursuits are full costumes that mimic the animal as accurately as possible, while others are partial, including animal ears, tails, or gloves
The furry fandom thrives in the online space, but many individuals also meet locally or nationally to engage with like-minded fans. Each year, furry enthusiasts meet at conferences across the country. At these conferences or conventions, furries can attend panels, events, merchandise booths, etc. They can listen to live music, participate in dance contests, play games, and more.
For those furries more interested in adult activities, certain ‘meets’, usually for smaller groups of people, can be held. Examples of sexual aspects within furry fandom include erotic art and furry-themed cybersex.
In the online space, furries participate in internet forums and chat programs. Whether creating your own fursona, sharing and reading furry content, or chatting with other furries online, the Internet offers new ways to engage with the community. It also offers a level of anonymity, which is vital for creating a safe space within which new and amateur furries can explore their desires.
Roleplaying in particular is a way to explore furry sex online. Furries often roleplay as their fursonas on the internet with fellow furries, whom they meet on forums, group chats, etc on websites and social media. This can be a creative outlet for furries to socialize in a low-stakes environment. For some others, it is useful for sexual discovery. This sexual discovery can take the form of online sex games, exchanging nudes, sex chats, etc
Sexual activity or sexual material within the furry fandom is sometimes called ‘yiff’. This applies to either physical or offline sexual activities. Furry conventions usually regulate the sale of yiff artwork during the period of the conference, in order to curtail the stereotypes that the furry fandom is all about sex. Furry artwork is usually in cartoon or animated form, with the sexual organs and related body parts such as the breasts, buttocks, etc usually drawn in an enlarged and overemphasized style.
The word yiff is usually attached to websites, blogs, etc. that contain furry porn or erotic furry content. These include The Yiff Gallery, a furry porn comics imageboard; r/Yiff, a popular furry porn subreddit; and Yiff Spot, An anonymous erotic roleplay service that matches furries with each other.
Some furries may wear their fursuits to mingle, socialize and go on dates, but will ultimately take them off during sex. Others may wear their fursuits throughout the whole of the wooing process, and will still keep them on when getting hot and heavy in the bedroom. Still others may save their fursuits and even their fursonas for sexual situations only, and may not be gay furries in their everyday life.
Many, but not all, furries strongly identify with or view themselves as one (or more) species of animal other than human. Common furry identities (fursonas) are dragon, feline (cat, lion, tiger), and canine (wolf, fox, domestic dog) species. Some furries create mixed species, such as a folf (fox and wolf) or cabbit (cat and rabbit) and when more on usual ones like the manokit (fox and shark). Furries rarely, if ever, identify with a nonhuman primate species.
A few also identify with non-human, fantastic animals such as the sergal, a fictional alien species that has features reminiscent of a wolf, a rabbit, a shark, etc. among other creatures.
As previously mentioned, some furries dress in costumes while attending furry fandom conventions. Some may also wear a fursuit to go about their everyday lives, though this is a small subset of furries. Fursuits, which are similar to what athletic team mascots wear, are usually made out of fabric, not fur or animal skins. While in a fursuit, a furry walks upright.
Some furries wear human clothing on the fursuit; for example, a tiger diva may wear a little black dress and heels, while a rabbit furry may wear track pants or shorts. Full fursuits may cost up to a hundred dollars and are therefore costly. Furries who are artistically inclined can usually make their own our of materials that can be purchased from most fabric stores. Others usually make do with a partial fursuit that may contain elements such as ears, furry gloves, and tails. These usually cost in the region of thirty dollars.
Fursona character designs usually range from feral to anthro. Feral fursonas are usually more animal-like, and a few of them may walk on all fours, produce sounds similar to the animal they imitate, and even display their mannerisms. Feral furries usually do not wear human clothes. The ones on the anthro side however, are usually extremely anthropomorphic, with even their animal features highly humanized. These are more likely to be seen in human clothing.
Some gay furries choose fursonas that fit their actual personalities. For example, a fox may be chosen for a fursona by a suave, charming, confident man. On the other hand, a shy and mousy male may decide to use his fursona as a form of escapism. He may therefore choose a Wolf or a tiger.
Perhaps you’re reading all these and thinking about how interesting it all sounds. You might even be wondering how to know whether you are a furry. In case you are, here are a few indicators that you should probably take a look into the furry fandom and see whether it’s your tribe. You could be a furry if enjoy being petted like an animal. You could also be one imagine yourself with a ghost tail and ears sometimes, or have fantasies about growing fur, fangs, or a snout. You could also be part of the furry fandom if you find yourself fantasizing how it might feel to live as an animal or in the body of an animal for a while.
If you feel like these describe you perfectly, the furry fandom may just be for you. You don’t have to make a permanent commitment and March at the head of a furry parade during Pride Week, at least not at first. You could start by creating an online fursona. If you’re very particular about staying anonymous, ensure that you don’t use any accounts, or pictures or provide any details that can be used to identify you.
If you’re an artist, you could simply go about creating the fursona using your typical tools. If not, you might just have to write down all the furry attributes you find desirable and then commission a piece from an artist, which you can use as a reference.
Once you’ve created the fursona, you can now begin to explore the fascinating online world of furries. You can start with media like Reddit, Tumblr, and Twitter. These sections are dedicated to gay furries and are often great places to ask practical questions, such as the cost of a fursuit. It’s also great for meeting and connecting with other virtual fursonas and getting ideas on costume designing and decoration, among other things.
If you intend for your fursona to be strictly virtual, then you can just lay back and enjoy your community membership at this point. Slowly but surely, your circle should expand, and you should start forming community bonds.
However, if you intend to attend conventions and meets as your fursona, you may need to plan a physical meet-up. This should ideally take place after several weeks of knowing each other to avoid disagreement due to differences. As your community-building progresses offline, you can move onward to sexual activities and relationships and begin a search for furry conventions and festivals so you can attend a few and meet other like-minded people…
Being a furry may or may not sound like your thing at first, but a deeper look into the community shows that there are many things to recommend, supporting self-expression being one of the most important. If you ever find that you have an inclination towards the furry fandom, experiment with confidence. Who knows what you might find?
