However, researchers at FurScience (also known as the International Anthropomorphic Research Project, or IARP) have found only a slight preference for furry porn over regular human porn within the community only about 5 percent of furries began participating in the fandom due to a furry fetish. “Everything created by human beings has some degree of what people think is attractive - and attractive is a big, broad unquantifiable word - however you define that,” Rod Stansfield, co-founder of the first furry convention ConFurence Zero, said in an interview with CNN. Animal roleplay or petplay is a variant of BDSM practice, of course, but the two communities rarely converge - which is not to deny that the furry kink scene exists. The furry community is easily stereotyped as a deviant kink scene for people interested in roleplaying and dressing up as animals during sex, by people who aren’t familiar with the furry community. Plenty assumed it was a ban of the tag entirely, confusing furries across the fandom. ( Furries are, to put it simply, fans of anthropomorphic creatures.) The tag, like its companions #anthro (which stands for “anthropomorphism”) and #fursona (an alternate, anthropomorphic ego that furries adopt), was a means for “furries” to seek out and promote original artwork of animals with human characteristics, mostly devoid of sexual content. The same day as the guidelines were issued, Tumblr users reported that the “furry” hashtag was completely scrubbed of content. This will now change: On Monday, Tumblr issued a new set of guidelines regarding adult content that will go into effect December 17 in which new and existing posts that include “photos, videos, or GIFs that show real-life human genitals or female-presenting nipples” or “ sex acts” will be removed from the platform, “with the ultimate goal of removing as much of it as can.” (And in true fandom style, there are members who are interested in erotica and pornographic depictions of the things they idolize, like fanfiction where Snape and Hermione get it on.)įurries congregate all across the web, but one of their most prominent meeting spaces has been Tumblr, where they’ve been able to share everything from artwork to pornographic material.
This is why really intense fandom participants tend to be younger. The fandom is a medium of self-expression, helping to stabilize fans’ sense of themselves. People who participate in furry fandom generate and repost art and writing about the things in which they’re emotionally invested popular topics include Sonic the Hedgehog and Zootopia.
A “furry” is not just someone who enjoys dressing up as a cartoon animal - it’s someone who belongs to a community rooted in a love for anthropomorphic characters.