I am a Furry

Now, some of you probably read that and said “What the hell is a furry?”, and some others of you probably went “Oh god, one of THOSE”.

I am writing to address both of these groups. If you’re not in one of these groups, read along anyway, this shit is gold (and educational to boot!).

Furries have been given a bad rep by just about every other outcast community out there. Even the people that other nerds and geeks look down on, look down on furries. I’ve told people that I LARP, and they give me the hairy eyeball, but even a LARPer can belittle and trash talk a Furry (Nerd hierarchies are just as complex and volatile as any other group). The internet is no help. If you go type Furry into a search engine, you’ll most likely come up with porn or weirdos in costumes doing ridiculous things.

So, What is a furry? A furry is a person who feels an affinity for a particular animal, and expresses that as part of their personality. That’s it. That’s the whole of what makes you a furry. Sure there’s lots of other stuff that might go along with it, but if you want to know what makes someone a furry, check out the bold sentence above.

In one way, this affinity is nothing new. Animal totemism has been around as long as people have lived. Even without the spiritual or ritual aspects, people have taken animal names as titles in “advanced” cultures. Think about Richard the Lion Heart, or in fiction, Zorro (the Fox). These people (Or the people who dubbed them such) felt that an animal title said something about themselves, and it certainly added to their mystique.

Now to modern day furries. The people who make up the furry community are mostly romantic, mercurial individuals who are in touch with something ineffable within themselves. Sound familiar? That’s right, they’re artists! Out of the fifty or so furries I know, about thirty five of them are artists, and more non furry artists hang with the furry crowd because of its warmth and acceptance.

“But what about the costumes?”
Sure, okay. Let’s get there. A lot of furries dress up in costume, or assume their animal guise, as it were. Some even go so far as to saying that when they are in their “Fur Suit” they are in their real skin. Is that so different from the old adage “The clothes make the man”? I know people (myself included) who don’t feel confident unless they’re well dressed.

“Yeah but they have sex in those costumes!”
If you seriously think this, I’m going to roll my eyes at you. How many people do you think have sex in tuxes and ballgowns, or uniforms, or even simple lingerie? Yes, some people have sex in fur suits, and so what? It’s not the reason most people dress up, nor is it any of anyone’s business except the people involved.

“Aren’t all furries gay?”
Furries tend to be friendly, even cuddly. They tend to include anyone who wants to be included, and they tend not to judge other people. This inclusivity is probably the reason that so much of the furry community is sexually open or homosexual. They aren’t judged for it like in the rest of the world. But no, not all furries are gay, and not all are even bisexual. I know many straight furries and a few asexual furries as well.

Furries include the straight, the gay, the socially awkward, the socially ept, the fat, the skinny, and just about anyone else who wants to come hang out, so long as they, too, can get along.

Furries are, by and large, better at keeping the golden rule than most Christians I know.

Thanks for reading,


-Step.