Fan Identities in the Furry Fandom

Jessica Ruth Austin

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781501375422
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Sozialwissenschaften
• Subtopic: Medienwissenschaften

Although definition can vary, to be a Furry, a person identifies with an animal as part of their personality; this can be on a mystical/religious level or a psychological level. In modern Western society having a spirit animal or animal identity can sometimes be framed as social deviance rather than religious or totemic diversity. Jessica Ruth Austin investigates how Furries use the online space to create a 'Furry identity'. She argues that for highly identified Furries, posthumanism is an appropriate framework to use. For less identified Furries, who are more akin to fans, fan studies literature is used to conceptualise their identity construction. This book argues that the Furries are not a homogenous group and with varying levels of identification within the fandom, so shows that negative media representations of the Furry Fandom have wrongly pathologized the Furries as deviants as opposed to fans.

1 Introduction: The Furry Fandom

Furry fandom is a recent phenomenon, but anthropomorphism is an instinct hard-wired into the human mind: the desire to see animals on a more equal footing with people. It’s existed since the beginning of time in prehistoric cave paintings, ancient gods and tribal rituals. It lives on today – not just in the sports mascots and cartoon characters we see everywhere, but in stage plays, art galleries, serious literature, performance art – and among furry fans who bring their make-believe characters to life digitally, on paper, or in the carefully crafted fursuits they wear to become the animals of their imagination.

– Strike (2017)

Who are the Furries?

The subject of this book centres on the members of the Furry Fandom, known colloquially as the Furries. There is currently little peer-reviewed research on the Furry Fandom outside of the research group, International Anthropomorphic Research Project (IARP), who have focused much of their research on the fandom. In their work they describe the group, and individuals within it, as the following:

A Furry is a person who identifies with the Furry Fandom culture. Furry Fandom is the collective name given to individuals who have a distinct interest in anthropomorphic animals such as cartoon characters. 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). Furries rarely, if ever, identify with a nonhuman primate species. Many Furries congregate in cyberspace, enjoy artwork depicting anthropomorphized animals, and attend Furry Fandom conventions. (Gerbasi et al. 2008, 198)

It can be difficult to pinpoint a year in which the Furry Fandom started due to the unusual nature of the fandom itself. Unlike other fandoms it is not based on a TV show or a film franchise. Whereas these types of fandoms are easy to historicize as you can pinpoint the start, such as when people watched the TV pilot for instance, there is no singular cultural touchstone for Furries. However, consensus among Furries themselves seems to suggest that the fandom started in the 1980s; despite not being based on any particular base media text. Furries who have been in the fandom since the 1980s often cite an increase in popularity and exposure beginning in the 1990s (Nyareon 2015, 7). There was, however, a small contingent of what would become part of the Furry Fandom in as early as April 1976. This coincided with the launch of Vootie ‘The fanzine of the Furry Animal Liberation Front’, which ran until February 1983 (Patten 2015, 36). However, the first specific Furry publication was not available until May 1987 and was named FurVersion, but this ceased distribution in November 1990 (ibid.). While the fandom has now spread around the globe, its earliest documentable origins are in the United States. Referring to himself as a prominent ‘Furry historian’, Fred Patten states his belief that the concept of ‘Furry’ originated in earnest from Steve Gallacci’s Albedo Anthropomorphics. This comic strip was being sold at a US science fiction convention in 1980 (Patten 2012).

The internet has helped to facilitate the rapid and mass dissemination of artwork and fiction – previous hard copy magazines and fanzines were previously hard to find for those not already within the fandom. Technological advancements resulted in an increase in communication as Furries used internet services such as Skype to communicate with friends if they are unable to attend Fur Meets (Shoji 2015, 17). Since the 1990s Furry Fandom membership has continued to grow and now Furry conventions are held in several countries over the course of the year.

In the United States there are multiple conventions dedicated to those who are interested in anthropomorphics. Some of the largest conventions include the Midwest Furfest, which in 2017 hosted 8,771 attendees in Illinois and Furry Weekend Atlanta which in 2017 hosted 5,193 attendees in Georgia. The United States still dominates in terms of attendance compared to the rest of the world, but numbers are increasing at conventions in other parts of the globe, most noticeably in Berlin, Germany. From humble beginnings with an attendance of nineteen people in June 1995, Eurofurence has continued to grow in attendance; in 2017, Eurofurence had 2,804 attendees, making it the largest and the longest running Furry convention outside of the United States.¹

As with other fandoms, there have also been several prominent and popular members who have helped shape the fandom into what it is today. In 2008, a ‘Furry Hall of Fame’ was conceived by MiDFur chairman CynWolfe, and several prominent members of the fandom have since been inducted into it. Patten was inducted in 2011 for his work trying to chronicle the fandom history. Also among the inductees was Uncle Kage, who has chaired Anthrocon since 1999, and the Ranting Gryphon, who is an amateur comedian and performer who commonly makes appearances at Furry conventions. There are also several well-known publishers of Furry material, such as Howl Publications. Howl Publications is run by a Furry by the name of Thurston Howl; in 2015, Howl published an anthology with chapters written by prominent members of the fandom about important aspects of the fandom such as costuming and vernacular.

The description given of the Furries by Gerbasi et al. (2008) at the start of this chapter comes from their work titled Furries from A–Z, the first ever peer-reviewed study on Furries, which was conducted at a Furry convention in the United States. They looked to find common denominators (if any) of the ‘stereotypical’ identifiers of being a Furry compared to actual demographics of the Furry population. According to the IARP, an almost universal and identifiable part of being a Furry is the creation of a fursona.² This is a special character drawn by the Furry themselves or commissioned by an artist. The Furry can use this character to identify themselves as a Furry to others in real-life as well as in online spaces by using it as an avatar. These fursonas are comic/animated anthropomorphized animals and come in various colours, shapes and sizes while always being identifiable as a different species to our own. In fact, if you have ever seen a group of people wandering around in very colourful ‘animal-looking’ costumes, you have very likely just seen a Furry and simultaneously their fursona. This is because some Furries are able to make their drawn character into a suit which they can wear out and about. In recent years, it can be suggested that anthropomorphic and anime fandoms have been progressive in eschewing ‘traditional’ ascribed gender roles. When My Little Pony was rebooted to create a new show called My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, the show’s creators were surprised to have found a huge following, not consisting of little girls for whom the show was intended, but men in their twenties (and beyond) as well.³ Lauren Faust (who proposed the reboot to Hasbro) attended BronyCon as a guest speaker:

‘I wanted a respectable show for girls,’ Faust explains. ‘Saying something is “for girls” or “girly” is usually equated with being not worthwhile, being stupid.’ She wanted to change that, but she never expected she’d be so successful. ‘I never dreamed adult men would be into the show,’ she tells the crowd, ‘because I didn’t have any faith that you’d give it a try. Now I know better. It gives me the courage to continue.’ (Wilson 2012)

Christopher Bell noted that when ‘fan-boys attach themselves to cultural properties which were not intended for them, it can be easy to write the fandom off as a sort of ironic statement. But Bronies exhibit much of what could be thought of as neo-sincerity’ (Bell 2013, 9; emphasis in original). Bell believes that the Bronies genuinely enjoy the show, rather than using the show as a platform for trolling or for ironic purposes. There is also a similar notion for the Furries interviewed for this book who often feel that they can be childish within the fandom as they are not ‘allowed’ to do this in the real world. This can be attributed to ‘childishness’ not conforming to traditional male gender stereotypes.

The IARP regard Furries’ use of fursonas as a process of self-authentication, using the species of their chosen fursona to personify certain personality traits that the Furry had, or wished to be perceived as having (Gerbasi et al. 2008, 239). Their research suggests it is uncommon for a Furry to have more than two fursonas at one given time, though this can be subject to change based on species, characteristics and personality (Plante et al. 2015, 13). In social sciences, the concept of authenticity can be argued as when ‘one is true to one’s self’ and thus authenticity is a ‘self-reflective and emotional experience’ (Vannini and Franzese 2008, 1621). In the study of Gerbasi et al., the way that Furries use their fursonas is then a way to experience authenticity in a way that they cannot experience using their own personality or indeed body, in their real lives; the fursona becomes a conduit. There are varying lengths to which Furries self-identify with their fursona, with some Furries considering themselves as not wholly human, that is, ‘a person who is, feels, or believes he/she is in part or whole (non-physically) one or more non-human animals on an integral, personal level’ (Grivell et al. 2014, 115). One such subgroup of the Furry Fandom is a group known as Therians. Some Furries can be Therian in that they also identify as not wholly human. But not all Furries are Therians as they do consider themselves human, which is why in this book they are considered a separate group. In addition, there are Furries who would be considered as Therians under the definition but would not want to identify as such.

There is some conflict within the Therian subgroup as in what way identification with the animal is socially acceptable. This issue is seen between Therians who believe they can ‘shift’ into an animal and Therians who identify as not wholly human on a spiritual or psychological level. Some Therian online forums ban posts expressing the belief in ‘p-shifting’ (physical shifting) from animal to human, for example, in lycanthropy (Robertson 2012, 270). The reason why this tension occurs is because Therians who may only identify with the animal spiritually, think that the Therians who truly believe they can change into an animal give the group a bad name. This is seen in the wider Furry Fandom as well; Furries who consider the fandom as just a hobby rather than an identity/or similar to Therianthropy are at odds as they believe those who are ‘heavily identified’ cause the whole group to be stigmatized by the wider society.

The Furry Fandom is overwhelmingly under the age of 25 with the IARP finding that nearly 75 per cent of self-described Furries are under this age (Plante et al. 2016, 4). This has been the case for many years with Furry fan–run AdjectiveSpecies.com polling for the last several years showing a median age of 19 years.⁴ Although there is nothing inherently wrong with fandoms being ‘young’, there has been evidence in other studies where ‘there is an implication that there are fan spaces in which age is problematic’ (McCudden 2011, 103). There are examples in other fandoms where age can become more of an issue than it appears in the Furry Fandom such as noted by Matt Hills in the Doctor Who fandom (Hills 2014). In my research, however, there was far more concern about inappropriate interactions between older fans and younger ones. There are legitimate concerns as to why interacting with Furries under the age of 18 can cause potential issues (e.g. fandoms can sometimes be concerned about distribution of erotica). Although some fandoms worry about older participants being pushed out. This is uncommon within the Furry Fandom as many older Furries are highly respected. They are often viewed as pioneers within the fandom; it was the older fans who started the conventions that have become popular today. In the glossary provided at the end of this book, ‘grey muzzle’ is used as an affectionate term for older Furries rather than a derogatory one.

The Furry Fandom has traditionally been overwhelmingly white as well. A poll on AdjectiveSpecies.com has seen the white ethnicity sitting around 89 per cent of all Furries polled for the past seven years.⁵ The IARP have repeatedly seen the white ethnicity over-represented in their studies as well; their research has seen a slightly lower proportion of those who self-identify as white ‘with 15–20% of Furries identifying as an ethic minority’ (Plante et al. 2016, 7). Although intra-fandom racism could be a cause for a dominant white demographic, there are few studies on this within the Furry Fandom context, and so to theorize on this would only be conjecture. Despite this, it is important to recognize research on ethnicity within other fandoms that may be applicable to the Furry Fandom when it comes to future study. In fan studies it is often noted that the default stereotype for a fan, and usually a fan boy, is

white, middle-class, male, heterosexual (with perhaps an overlay or geek or nerd identity, identities that are simultaneously embedded in emphasized whiteness, and increasingly certain kinds of class privilege, often displayed by access to higher education, particularly in scientific and technical fields). (Gatson and Reid 2012)

Academics have argued that many fandoms are predominantly white in ethnicity due to many fandoms being a product of capitalism where white men control the product (Stanfill and Condis 2014). Mel Stanfill had also argued that much discourse in fandom studies has focused on ‘whiteness’ in that fans have been constructed as white, heterosexual males (2011, 2018).

In current studies, the Furry Fandom is presented as overwhelmingly male in gender, with my research for this book totalling 90 per cent male respondents. This is consistent with the findings by the IARP (Gerbasi et al. 2008; Plante et al. 2016, 10). This is also comparable to other related fandoms such as anime fandoms, which tend to be predominantly male (ibid.). Although there is data on the male members of the Furry Fandom, there is little data on why women are not more involved in the fandom. Some academics have argued that the over-representation of males within fandoms in general has been due to misogynistic practices. Suzanne Scott discusses t...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-title Page
• Title Page
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• 1 Introduction: The Furry Fandom
• 2 Furries as fans
• 3 The Furry habitus
• 4 Species choice in the Furry Fandom
• 5 Stigmatization in the Furry Fandom
• 6 Pornography in the Furry Fandom
• 7 Conclusion
• Glossary
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index
• Copyright Page