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Furry fandom

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File:Shanda12.JPG
Shanda the Panda #12, an example of a furry comic

Furry fandom is an artistic and literary genre that celebrates the humanization of animals, specifically in cartoons and comics.

The furry genre is a metagenre based on the idea of fantasy animal characters, ratherMembers of the furry fandom, known as furry fans, furries, or furs, particularly enjoy media that includes fictional [[anthropomorphism|anthropomorphic, the ability to speak, walking on two legs, and wearing clothing.

Since the mid-1980s, furry fans have referred to any anthropomorphic animal character as a furry. Other terms for these types of characters are funnyanimal, or kemono in Japan.

The furry community has grown rapidly with the advent of the Internet. Content created by furry fans on the World Wide Web covers a wide range of interests, including fantasy, philosophy, sex, politics, religion and lifestyle. Some fans consider coverage of their activities by the ]Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). to be sensational, as it tends to focus on fetishistic aspects of the fandom.

History and Inspiration

File:Uybook11.jpg
Cover for Usagi Yojimbo, book 11

The term "furry" is said to have come into existence at a science fiction convention in the late 1970s. At that time the term was used to describe one specific genre of fantasy art. The fandom for furry characters traces its organization back to a science fiction convention in 1980,

The most common term used by , in Japan there is a genre called kemono, a tangentially related but independent genre with different cultural associations.

There are dozens of webcomics based on animal characters. Many are created by furry fans and, as such, may be referred to as "[[List of furry comics|furry comicsanimal comic.

Fan creations

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Furry fans are eager for more material than is available from mainstream publishers. The demand is filled by fellow fans—amateur to professional artists, writers, and publishers who produce drawings, paintings, stories, independent comic books, fanzines, websitemasquerades, dances, or fund-raising charity events (as entertainers). While many fursuits look like sports mascots, some fursuits go beyond that and include moving jaw mechanisms, animatronics, prosthetic makeup, or other frills.

Art and writing

Many furry fans participate in the arts, becoming amateur—and sometimes professional—illustrators, comic strip authors, painters, sculptors, writers, musicians, and craft artists. Primarily, the fandom produces hand- or computer-drawn artwork, although there are many pieces, stories, filk music pieces, and even photographs.

While the bulk of these fan-created pieces of art are distributed through nonprofessional media such as personal web sites and via email, some publish their works in press association|Amateur Press Associations, or APAzines. A few have mainstream, professional credits to their names.

Role playing characters ("Fursonas")

Some furry fans create anthropomorphic animal characters in order to engage in role-playing sessions on the Internet; these characters may be used in MUDs,more popular than FurryMUCK. There are also several furry-themed areas and communities in the Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game Second Life.

Conventions

Group of fursuiters posing with an admirer during WorldCon 2002.

Sufficient membership and interest has allowed for the creation of many annual furry conventions in North America and Europe, the largest being Anthr in Pittsburgh in July In 2005, 18 such conventions took place around the world. The first known furry convention, ConFurence, is no longer held. (Califur has replaced it, since both conventions were/are based in southern California.)

Many conventions feature an auction or for various charitable beneficiaries over its seven-year history, and Anthrocon has donated more than $66,000 to animal-related charities since 1997.

Furry lifestylers

The phrase furry lifestyler is used to describe an individual with beliefs similar to those of animal related religions and philosophies, such as [[the reincarnation of an animal spirit Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). The term may be used pejoratively, as a joke, or merely as a descriptor.

Media coverage

Portrayal of the furry fandom in the mainstream media is rare but several shows and magazines have featured furries in some way. Some members of the furry community feel these focus too much on the sexual aspect of the furry subculture. Examples include articles and columns in Vanity Fair and Loaded magazines, the syndicated sex column Savage Love, and dramatized fiction or documentaries portrayed o />, The Drew Carey Show , and MTV's Sex2K. More recent news stories have noted that "despite their wild image from Vanity Fair, MTV and CSI, furry conventions aren't about kinky sex between weirdos gussied up in foxy costumes,", but instead about "people talking and drawing animals and comic-book characters in sketchbooks."

Although various articles have linked the furry fandom to sexual fetishes, such as bestiality and plushophilia, some furry interest in a certain genre of art. They do not think of furry fandom as being any different from other fandoms, such as anime, which also have erotic sub-genres and sexually oriented role play, but are not judged as a whole because of them.

Though the sexual controversy tends to capture the greatest amount of attention, furry entertainment of a non-sexual nature that is suitable for all audiences continues to be produced in great abundance by the fandom.

Due to the notoriety the furry fandom has gotten for the erotic content produced by a number of artists, some furries have asked that sexual content be limited, or created to spotlight art of a less controversial nature. Furry conventions also have established guidelines of conduct that restrict sexually explicit material and behavior to appropriate areas and situations.

Criticisms

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The anti furry movement is made up of hateful persecution of an oppressed minority group, thus it has picked up the terms "fursecution".

Members of the anti-furry movement may come from outside the fandom or they may be disenchanted former members. Some may belong to similar fandoms, such as anime, and may pick on furries knowing that furry fans occasionally respond in a heated manner. Others may honestly hate the fandom for one reason or another.

Some anti-furries may go behave . Some make negative comments about furry fans on sites or forums. Websites like Something Awful or Portal of Evil often poke fun at the furry community. Ridiculing also exists on blogs like the Live Journal community Fursecution.

Furries who are dissatisfied with certain community up to ridicule. They may even join anti-furries in their condemnation of certain aspects of the fandom and with them at things they also find funny.

See also

References

  1. Kurutz, Daveen Rae (June 17, 2006). "It's a furry weekend". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved 2006-06-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. Definition of metagenre
  3. Staeger, Rob (July 26, 2001). "Invasion of the Furries". The Wayne Suburban. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ Belser, Ann (June 18, 2006). "All about 'furry fandom' at confab". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2006-06-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. [http://www.arclight.net/~yarf/YARF discussion of anthropomorphic characters in science fiction novels, spawning a discussion group that met at various science fiction and comics conventions. Over the next several years, a gradually increasing number of “furry fans” developed fanzines and eventually began to have gatherings at house parties. By 1987 enough interest had been generated for the first furry convention. As the internet became more accessible, it became the most popular means for furry fans to keep in touch and share their artistic efforts. This gained the fandom higherit began to grow rapidly. Examples of the types of animal characters that typically inspire furry fans are represented by the titles below.
    From cartoons
    Roger Rabbit, The Angry Beavers, Rocko's Modern Life, Bugs Bunny, Mickey Mouse, Wile E. Coyote
    From animated feature films
    Disney's Robin Hood, My Neighbor Totoro, The Secret of NIMH, Bagi, Madagascar
    From TV
    Father of the Pride, Kimba the White Lion, Disney's Rescue Rangers, SWAT Kats
    From comics
    Usagi Yojimbo, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Omaha the Cat Dancer, Shanda The Panda, Albedo Anthropomorphics, Maus
    From novels
    Richard Adams' Watership Down, Andre Norton's Breed to Come, Brian Jacques' Redwall series, Architect of Sleep, S. Andrew Swann's Moreau series
    From games ]], Sonic the Hedgehog series, Jazz Jackrabbit series, Conker's Bad Fur Day
    From webcomics
    Many members of the fandom have also cited as inspiration the historical usage of anthropomorphic animals in world mythology, including but not limited to [[Greek html|title=Furries! Introduction to the Furry Fandom|accessdate=2006-06-30|author="dmuth"|date=January 15, 2006|publisher=Claws-and-Paws.com}}
  6. Cooksey, David (June 16, 2006). "Furries Descend On Pittsburgh". KDKA-TV. Retrieved 2006-06-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. http://www.arclight.net/yarf/YARF_Chronology.html
  8. http://www.anthroarts.org/activities.html
  9. http://www.anthrocon.org/charity
  10. Cite error: The named reference VanityFair was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. The Drew Carey Show - Furry Episode, article on Wikifur
  12. MTV's Sex2K Fursuit Video
  13. The Works", Pittsburgh City Paper, 2/2/2006
  14. "Animal Passions: The furries come to town — and our correspondent tails along", Pittsburgh City Paper, 6/29/2006

Further reading

  • Craig Hilton: Furry— An Insider's View from the Outside, parts 1 & 2, South Fur Lands #2 & #3, 1995, 1996

External links

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Information

Art

  • Yerf — A furry art archive with restrictions on quality and mature subject matter
  • VCL — A mostly-unrestricted archive of furry art and fiction
  • Transfur — A filterable transformation artwork site including furry themes
  • deviantART Traditional Media Drawings (Anthros) — An anthropomorphic art subsection of the enormous deviantART repository; also see the corresponding section in Digital Art
  • Fur Affinity — A deviantART style website for anthromorphic art, music, and literature
  • Rabbit Valley — A furry comics and art website

Other

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