A furry is a person who is interested in or creates fictional anthropomorphic animal characters who have human traits. This group of people make up the furry fandom. Furry characters (called fursonas, especially when referring to someone's personal furry characters) can walk on two legs or talk. Another word for a "furry character" is an anthropomorphic character, which means a character which has some human features.
Many different stories have furry characters. Fairy tales and mythology often have animal characters who talk or do other human things. Books, comics, children's books, video games, and toys can have furry characters too. Some of the most popular cartoon characters are furries: Bugs Bunny, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Disney's Robin Hood, and Scooby-Doo.
Sometimes, people draw porn of furry characters to fit their sexual interests. Quite a few people believe this represents a large part of the furry fandom, and it gains significant news attention.
Furry traits
To be a furry character, an animal needs to look or act like a human in some way. Here are some of the ways: Talking Showing their feelings like humans do, by smiling and frowning Walking on two legs Wearing clothes Living in houses or working at jobs It's also important to say here that there's also "feral" sections of the fandom. They focus more on the animal aspects of the character, and most feral furry characters don't talk or do many human activities.
Not all of these features have to be on a furry character for it to be a furry character. Some furry characters can be thought of as "fursonas" without walking on their hind legs or having jobs.
A character does not need to have fur to be a furry. A lizard or bird character that has these features could also be a furry, although they may also be called a "scalie" or an "avian".
Furry characters in art
Humans are good at reading human body language, but less good at reading animal body language. Art showing animals smiling or frowning like humans makes it easier for humans to know how the character is feeling.
Because humans have been around animals for a long time, humans expect certain animals to act certain ways. Art that gives humans animal traits tells people what to expect from those characters. For example, many cultures see foxes as clever, so many people will assume a fox furry character is clever.
Fairy tales and mythology
For thousands of years, people have told stories and made art with furry characters. Egyptian mythology has many gods who are part animal and part human. Roman mythology has a story about a minotaur, which is part bull and part human. The werewolf of European mythology is part wolf and part human.
Cartoons and video games
Many cartoons have furry characters. Examples include:
Looney Tunes, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Kung Fu Panda, and My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic.
Many video games also have furry characters. A few examples:
Jak and Daxter, Ratchet and Clank, Crash Bandicoot, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Star Fox.
Furry fandom
In the modern day, people from all around the world make up the furry fandom. Many of them meet and talk to each other the Internet, but they also meet in real life. Furry websites like FurAffinity and DeviantArt let people share pictures, stories, music, games, and animations that have furry characters.
Fursonas and role-play
Furries often make up a "fursona", or anthropomorphic animal character to represent themselves in the fandom. Often, but not always, the fursona's species is that person's favorite animal. These people sometimes talk to each other role playing as their fursonas. Role-playing isn't exclusive to furries, but it is a big part of the community. These role-plays usually happen over instant messaging or forums, but sometimes happen in real life.
Furry conventions
Furries sometimes meet at conventions to talk about their favorite characters, buy art, make friends, and show off their fursuits. These meetings may also have music, dancing, and parties. Conventions are usually held in large hotels, so there is enough room for hundreds or even thousands of people.
The largest furry conventions are Anthrocon, Midwest FurFest, Further Confusion, RainFurrest, Furry Weekend Atlanta, and Eurofurence. Many others happen all around the world each year.
Fursuits and other costumes
Some furries dress up in "fursuits", which are cosplay costumes that look like ones fursona. Fake fur is used to make these costumes, so they can be many different colors. Some fursuits look very much like real animals; other fursuits look like cartoon characters or legendary creatures.