By Elizabeth Shore
Have you ever reached a point where you wanted to just say f**k it, throw away your street clothes and start wearing a coyote costume? And then maybe have wild sex with other like-minded folks, perhaps a fellow coyote or a penguin or even a polar bear? Turns out, lots and lots of people do. I’ll confess, I’m *very* late to this party because until just a few days ago, furry fandom and anthropomorphic delights were as unknown to me as modesty is to Donald Trump. But thank the animal gods above! I’m now hip to the furry fandom and can wile away the hours as I explore my inner bunny. Or bear cub.
For those few out there who, like me, are realizing there’s a gap in your knowledge when it comes to the furry fetish, allow me to enlighten. Wikipedia provides the definition of “furries,” as they’re casually known, as “a subculture interested in fictional anthropomorphic animal characters with human personalities and characteristics.” But that only scratches (or claws!) the surface. Several years ago, Vanity Fair published an in-depth look at those who partake in furry fandom with its focus more heavily on the sexual aspect of the subculture.
According to both a Furry Forum and an article in The Huffington Post, the majority of furry fans are male, as high as 80%. 33% of furries identify as bi-sexual. What brings them together at conventions and fan forum sites is their mutual interest in identifying with, and wanting to be, animals. At conventions furries will don any number of different animal costumes, although the prevalent choice – their “fursona” – is that of a woodland animal – raccoons, foxes, rabbits and the like. The costume can really be any animal you like, and you’re not obligated to wear an entire full body get-up. A furry could, for example, limit himself to just a tail or set of ears. Attendance at a furry convention doesn’t even technically require a costume at all.
So, OK. You’ve chosen your costume, you’ve arrived at the convention, what about the sexy stuff? Hmmmm? To be clear, not every furry goes to a convention to get in touch with his wild side. But for those who do, the draw to animals and animal-related objects is undeniable. As one furry put it in the Vanity Fair article, “If a [high school] mascot walked into a room surrounded by naked women, I’d be thinking about the mascot.”
Several furries also identify themselves as “plushies,” – those who are sexually aroused by stuffed animals. But if you wanna get primal with a fellow furry, it’s best to first learn some lingo. Sexually turned on in furryland isn’t feeling horny, it’s feeling “yiffy.” And “yiffing,” to no surprise, means mating. To get to the yiffy state you might consider jumping in a “fur pile,” which is a bunch of furries affectionately lying atop one another. And yes, according to furry convention-goers, there’s a lot of animal sex going on in furry land.
The furry subculture claims the number in its fandom to be in the tens of thousands. To services those who worship the anthropomorphic arts, there are of course websites, such as SoFurry.com and Furry4Life.org. There’s even a dating website, furrymate.com (“where real relationships begins”) as the place to meet Mr. Right. Or Mr. Squirrel, if you prefer.
Unfortunately, the furries’ largest convention, Anthrocon, has come and gone for this year. But if you are in “fursuit” of a furcon, there are others still to come. Just hop or crawl on over to the CoolFurries website for the low down. Even easier, just click here.