While some factors were more common (e.g., the internet, a feeling inside, exposure to artwork) or far less common (e.g., having a pet, another fandom), it seems that there are a myriad of forces that spark furries' interests, and that no one factor “causes” furries to be furries.
While stereotypical images of furries in media depict them as socially awkward people, research suggests furries are simply expressing passion for a hobby and interacting with others who share that interest. For others, their reason for joining the fandom is to fulfill a sense of belonging.
It can be described as a fandom, as an entertainment, as a way to have relationships with others. Some incorporate aspects of their Fursona into everyday life, some don't. As an umbrella term, no single description of Furry life describes all who use the word. Being Furry is not a disorder or a mental illness.
In the broadest sense, a furry is someone with an interest in anthropomorphized animals — that is, animals who have been given human characteristics, like an ability to talk or walk on their hind legs.
We asked furries to choose from a list of estimates about the size of the furry fandom (ranging from 1 in 1 million people to 1 in 10 people). On average, furries estimated that the prevalence of furries in the population was between 1 in 2,500 and 1 in 5,000 people, or about 1.4 – 2.8 million furries worldwide.
Furries are people who create anthropomorphic identities, often called fursonas, and it is estimated there are several thousand in Australia.
Should I be worried that my child is a furry? Based on our research, we find no more reason to be concerned that your child is a furry than you would be if they were in the Star Wars fandom or the Sherlock Holmes fandom. Fandoms often have in common things like discussion groups, costumes, and public events.
According to fandom historian Fred Patten, the concept of furry originated at a science fiction convention in 1980, when a character drawing from Steve Gallacci's Albedo Anthropomorphics started a discussion of anthropomorphic characters in science fiction novels.
OwO, also stylized as owo, as a furry term, is a chat emoticon and meme used in furry text-based conversation and roleplay, normally with a sexual connotation, sometimes as a trolling term. The two Os represent wide and open eyes, and the w represents a cutesy anime-styled mouth.
According to the Anthropomorphic Research Project, the most common fursona species are wolves, foxes, dogs, red pandas, mustelids, marsupials, big cats, and dragons. Less common are rodents, rabbits, reptiles, birds, cows, goats, cetaceans and horses. Furries rarely identify with nonhuman primates.
uwu is often used to denote cuteness, happiness, or tenderness. Excessive usage of the emoticon can also have the intended effect of annoying its recipient. The emoticon has been popular in the furry fandom.
Similarly, furries were no more likely to experience depression than non-furries or members of other fandoms,3 Furries were also no more likely to have been diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (9.2%,)4 to have been prescribed psychotropic medication (37.3%,)5, or to have been diagnosed with a ...
Furries experience stigma due in part to the visually unique nature of furries in conjunction with incendiary, sensationalist media portrayals (e.g., CSI: Fur and Loathing in Las Vegas; 1000 Ways to Die; Vanity Fair etc.)
Youth come to the Furry fandom as a means of finding their way and their people. This fandom becomes a safe harbor to explore who they are and what they want. The support they receive in the fandom allows them to grow in new ways.
Like most trends, the popularity of the fandom can largely be attributed to digital culture; the mainstreaming of so-called geek culture also may play a role. The anime fandom, for instance, has some overlap with the furry community, and many stumble on the fandom by searching for fan art in general.
This subgenre of language is known as furspeech, a term coined by furry community member and writer Wanderer Wolf, who defined it as the rewording of basic common words through the substitution of vowels and key symbols.
"UwU" can also be used to signify relaxation; as a way to flirt; "same"; "cool"; to be condescending; smug, or when you can't think of a response but don't want to be rude and not say anything. In the furry community, it can also be considered foreplay.
Uwu is connected to kaomoji, a type of Japanese emoticon which incorporates special characters used in Japanese writing. Kaomoji are considered kawaii, or “cute,” and often draw on anime and manga. Uwu is likely a simplified form of such kaomoji as (o・ω・o).
The most common furry characters on MUCKs and in furry art are the ones that are about half-half. They generally have the anatomy of a human being, but with paws, animal heads with muzzles, tails and fur. Most every one of these animal features can be varied towards either end of the scale.
It's not legal to discriminate against furries based on whether they are male or are female, but being a furry is itself a protected class.
Anybody of any age can be a furry, and I've seen furries far younger than 13 at furry conventions (always accompanied by parents, of course).
Don't be obvious, but ask them their opinions on furries. If they ask why you ask, you say, “I'm just curious, I don't know what I think about all of it”. Be smooth about it, if they don't seem to be cool with it, then you should avoid telling them.
10% to 15% of furries identify their felt age as being under the age of 18, while comparatively fewer identify a subjective age older than 40.
Average = 28.30 years (SD: 8.65) – As we've found in prior studies, furries tend to be fairly young as a group (with the usual caveat that we are unable to study participants under the age of 18).