When you hear the term \u2018furries,\u2019 it’s likely images of adults dressed in giant animal costumes come to mind.<\/p>\n
But, there is much more to the fandom than wearing anthropomorphic outfits \u2013 and, despite their often negative portrayal, experts say nearly a decade of research shows that furries are \u2018no different than anyone else.\u2019<\/p>\n
In a blog post for Psychology Today<\/a>, social psychologist Dr. Courtney Plante explains that the furry fandom can tell us a lot about human psychology, as studies have linked the behaviour to a need to belong, and desire for a distinct sense of self.<\/p>\n
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When you hear the term \u2018furries,\u2019 it’s likely images of adults dressed in giant animal costumes come to mind. But, experts say there\u2019s much more to the fandom than wearing anthropomorphic outfits<\/p>\n
According to FurScience<\/a>, the furry fandom encompasses much more than just the \u2018therians\u2019 \u2013 or, people who feel as though they\u2019re spiritually connected to animals.<\/p>\n
Furries represent fans of media featuring anthropomorphic animals, and may include artists, writers, gamers, and role players.<\/p>\n
Most create a \u2018fursona,\u2019 or anthropomorphized animal character for themselves, to interact with the community.<\/p>\n
The demographics:<\/span><\/p>\n Plante has studied the furry community for years, and in that time, he\u2019s co-founded the International Anthropomorphic Research Project and authored the book FurScience!.<\/p>\n And, Plante even has his own \u2018fursona\u2019 named Nuka.<\/p>\n Furries have long been associated with the idea of \u2018people who think they\u2019re animals,\u2019 and \u2018weird\u2019 fur fetishes, Plante explains.<\/p>\n But, these are just some of the many misconceptions.<\/p>\n According to the expert, furries are fans of media that features anthropomorphic animals, and this can manifest in all sorts of ways, from artwork to performances.<\/p>\n The research has shown that only about 20 percent of furries dress up to express themselves \u2013 and, the expert says this often has nothing to do with sex.<\/p>\n \u2018As with other fan communities (e.g., video game conbention attendees, anime cosplayers, sports fans who wear their team\u2019s jersey), such costuming is rarely done for the purpose of sexual gratification, and is almost always done as a form of self-expression or performance,\u2019 Plante writes.<\/p>\n According to Plante, inclusivity plays a major role in the furry fandom.<\/p>\n It\u2019s largely composed of white males in their teens to mid-twenties, but has high LGBTQ demographics compared to general population.<\/p>\n With furries, Plante explains, the idea of moral inclusion often tends to extend to animals, making them far less likely to support animal testing and other similar practices.<\/p>\n According to the expert, furries are fans of media that features anthropomorphic animals, and this can manifest in all sorts of ways, from artwork to performances<\/p>\n Furries have long been associated with the idea of \u2018people who think they\u2019re animals,\u2019 and \u2018weird\u2019 fur fetishes, Plante explains. But, these are just some of the many misconceptions<\/p>\n And, as most create a \u2018fursona\u2019 to interact within the community, they can often shift their self-concept to reflect an idealized version of themselves.<\/p>\n This can lead to self-validation, among other positive feelings.<\/p>\n \u2018Given the fantasy-themed nature of the furry fandom, individual furries are free to create representations of themselves unbounded by reality,\u2019 Plante explains.<\/p>\n \u2018As such, they can reconceptualize themselves with regard to age, gender, personality, or physical characteristics.\u2019<\/p>\n According to the expert, the community also offers a place for people to feel as though they belong \u2013 especially as many in the fandom have reported higher than average childhood bullying.<\/p>\n As most create a \u2018fursona\u2019 to interact within the community, they often shift their self-concept to reflect an idealized version of themselves, the expert says. This can lead to self-validation, among other positive feelings<\/p>\n This sense of community could be a critical part of their psychological health, Plante explains.<\/p>\n \u2018For most furries, the fandom is about more than just indulging a child-like fantasy every once in a while,\u2019 Plante writes.<\/p>\n \u2018It is about forging lifelong friendships and building a social support network in a community who will not judge them for having unconventional interests.<\/p>\n \u2018So while most of us would look at a person who watches cartoons or costumes as an anthropomorphic dog and ask \u201cwhat\u2019s wrong with that person?\u201d, the data suggest that these very same fantasy-themed activities are a fundamental part of that person\u2019s psychological well-being.\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When you hear the term \u2018furries,\u2019 it’s likely images of adults dressed in giant animal costumes come to mind. But, there is much more to the fandom than wearing anthropomorphic outfits \u2013 and, despite their often negative portrayal, experts say nearly a decade of research shows that furries are \u2018no different than anyone else.\u2019 In Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-191683","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191683","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=191683"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191683\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=191683"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=191683"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=191683"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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