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.
Sure ? All ages are welcome in the fandom. If you're a fan of furry art and you feel comfortable calling yourself a furry, then congratulations: you meet my definition of one.
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).
Among their findings were that the average adult furry is between 23 and 27 years of age, with more than 75% of furries reporting being 25 years of age or younger, and 88% of adult furries being under the age of 30.
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.
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.
Across several studies, furries were shown to be no more likely than non-furries to experience anxiety in their day-to-day lives,1 and were diagnosed with anxiety disorders at a rate no higher than the general population (6.1%.)
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.
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.
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.
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.
Be as involved in your child's furry activities as you would be with their other interests, hobbies, and activities. Check out their art. Appreciate their sewing projects. These types of creative outlets can be a great way to have a conversation with your child about their interests in the furry fandom.
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.
Being a furry is just as normal (and abnormal) as everything else is. This does not mean this is a bad thing (people blatantly misconcept furries as sexual), it's just a little different than what “normal” (if normal is even an androgymous term anymore) of what we usually see on a day to day basis.
Across samples, the majority of furries have been consistently been found to self-identify as White, with approximately 15-20% of furries identifying as a member of an ethnic minority.
The Löwenmensch figurine, discovered in Hohlenstein-Stadel, Germany. Currently, the oldest known piece of anthropomorphic art in the world, carbon-dated to be approximately 35-40,000 years old. Anthropomorphism (from the Greek ánthrōpos, lit. "human", and morphē, lit.
The future of furries
Plante estimates the fandom is between 100,000 and 1 million people — and growing. “I don't think it will ever become mainstream, because it's an unusual hobby to have.
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.
The furry fandom was created in the late 1980's and is a hobby that people worldwide have in common; there is even a community of them here in Sacramento.
It is also worth noting that other orientations, such as asexuality, emerged as fairly prominent in the fandom, with about 1 in 11 furries identifying as such.
Fear of fur: An abnormal and persistent fear of fur is called doraphobia. Sufferers of this fear avoid fur-bearing animals such as dogs, cats, foxes, beavers and rabbits because fur is repulsive to them.
Anthrozoophobia is the fear of furries.
The furry subculture is a descendant of science fiction, fantasy, and comic fandom, and the term is said to have been coined at a 1970s science fiction conference to describe an anthropomorphic strand of fantasy art.