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what is a furry?
a furry is any person who has an interest in animal characters that act like humans. for example, a popular "furry movie" would be zootopia!
while many furries have fursonas, it is important to note that you do not need a fursona to be a furry.
you can also have a fursona and not be a furry! identifying with the term "furry" is a choice.
lastly, just as in many fandoms and communities, please keep in mind that some furries choose not to associate with the furry fandom, and that some people who associate with the fandom are not furries.
terminology
underlined = a uniquely furry term.not underlined = not a uniquely furry term, but is used in furry spaces.
adoptable/adopt • n. a character or character design made to be sold, given away, or otherwise "adopted".
anthropomorphic • adj. also known as anthro. human-like in appearance, nature, behavior, or otherwise.
antifur • n. also known as a furphobe. a person that hates, dislikes, antagonizes, or otherwise is prejudiced towards furries.
avian • n. also known as an avie or feathery, but be warned that feathery is dated. a subgroup of furry characters and members that is based on anthro birds or feathered original species.
badge • n. a small, usually laminated piece of artwork depicting one's fursona. badges are most often worn at furmeets and furry conventions via a clasp, chain, or other fastener. these can be worn so others can recognize one via their fursona, if they are a well-known furry, but badges may also be worn only for cosmetics.
bipedal • adj. having or walking on two feet.
breaking the magic • v. also known as ruining the magic. (while wearing a fursuit) doing anything to break or ruin third-party viewers' suspension of disbelief. this term has negative connotations.
commission • n. also known as a comm. a paid service, often of a creative nature. without additional context, "commission" is almost always assumed to be short for art commission. v. to pay for such a service.
digitigrade/digigrade • adj. walking or running on the toes as opposed to the entire foot; resembling that of a cat or dog's hind legs.
duct tape dummy • often abbreviated as dtd. a dummy or mannequin created using duct tape for the purpose of providing accurate body measurements for the creation of fursuits and other custom costumes or clothing.
feral • adj. specifically refers to a type of character that is quadrupedal, but is still anthropomorhic in other ways.
furmeet • n. a planned, but casual, in-person furry rendezvous, ranging in size from less than 10 attendees to dozens. fursuits may or may not be worn, and activities may vary from simply hanging out to watching movies or playing games. a furmeet is instead considered a convention if it amasses a considerably large amount of attendees and implements features such as organized programming and the sale of goods.
fursona • n. a portmanteau of furry and persona. can also be shortened to sona. a personalized furry character, mascot, avatar, or alter ego that represents a person in one way or another. while fursonas are a staple of the furry fandom, owning one does not automatically make someone a furry, and one is not required to be considered a furry. avian and scaly fursonas may also be called feathersonas and scalesonas respectively.
fursuit • n. also called a suit. a cosplay of a furry character, typically a fursona. the most commonly recognized style of fursuit is a toony fullsuit, but other noteworthy styles include partials, kemono fursuits, and realistic fursuits. v. to wear a fursuit.
(fursuit) handler • n. also known as a spotter. a person who assists a designated fursuiter navigate during furry conventions, due to the limited vision a fursuit head provides. handlers are often friends or family members.
greymuzzle • n. a respectful term used to refer to an older member of the fandom. greymuzzle originally meant pre-internet furries, but has gained a more flexible definition. depending on who you ask, a greymuzzle could be any member involved in the fandom before 1991, any member over a certain age, or any member who has been in the fandom for certain amount of time.
headless lounge • n. a building, room, or other enclosed area at a furry convention where fursuiters may remove parts of their suit to cool off without worrying about breaking the magic.
murrsuit • n. a type of fursuit used specifically during intercourse.
nonfur • n. a person who is not (does not call themself) a furry; a non-furry.
original character • n. almost always abbreviated to oc. original characters refer to characters created by individuals, rather than characters that come from an existing copyrighted work, such as movies or series.
original species • n. a fictional species, typically created for the purpose of creating ocs or selling them for profit.
plantigrade • adj. walking or running on the entire foot as opposed to the toes; resembling that of a human's legs.
poodle • v. to show skin while fursuiting. because poodling breaks the magic, the term has negative connotations. in recent years, however, it has become more acceptable to poodle.
popufur • n. a portmanteau of popular and furry. refers to a celebrity within the fandom. this term has a negative connotation and is typically only used in a spiteful manner. examples of popufurs would be majira strawberry and pocari roo.
quadrupedal • adj. having or walking on four feet.
scaly • also spelled scalie. a subgroup of furry characters and members that is based on anthro reptiles, fish, and amphibians.
-sona • n. a suffix indicating a character that is personal and acts as a mascot, avatar, or alter ego to its owner. aside from its usage in the terms fursona, feathersona, and scalesona, it is often used when denoting the species of the relevant character, e.g. wolfsona. it can also be used as a standalone term.
sparkle- • n. a prefix to signify a character design that has intentionally bright colors, patterns, and hair styles. the suffix for this term is the species of the relevant character. for example, the most popular term utilizing this prefix is sparkledog, which refers only to canine characters.
youngfur • a young furry. youngfur mainly refers to those who are children, but depending on who you ask, this term is also used for any furry under 18.
your character here • n. almost always abbreviated to ych. a type of art commission that consists of a blank, pre-drawn base or sketch to be filled in with the client or customer's character or fursona. ych posts often allow more than one client to have their character inserted into the ych base, so they are a popular form of income for some artists.
yiff • n. slang for furry pornography.
zoomorphic • animal-like in appearance, nature, behavior, or otherwise.
harmful stereotypes
it cannot be stressed enough that the stereotypes below do not accurately describe nor define furries. while some people who associate with the fandom do fulfill these stereotypes, those with illegal or immoral behaviors are exiled by the larger community.
harmful stereotypes
it cannot be stressed enough that the stereotypes below do not accurately describe nor define furries. while some people who associate with the fandom do fulfill these stereotypes, those with illegal or immoral behaviors are exiled by the larger community.
"furries think they're animals."
this is a very common misconception. we are very often mistaken for therians, a type of otherkin who partially or wholely identify as animals. learn more about therians and otherkin here.
harmful stereotypes
it cannot be stressed enough that the stereotypes below do not accurately describe nor define furries. while some people who associate with the fandom do fulfill these stereotypes, those with illegal or immoral behaviors are exiled by the larger community.
"fursuits are..."
● "...something that all furries have."
actually, fursuiters don't even make up half of the fandom! fursuits are very expensive, not to mention the number of furries that don't even want a fursuit!
● "...worn all the time or very often."
it depends on the person, but fursuits are typically only worn for events such as photoshoots or conventions. they can be worn in leisure time as well, but nobody wears one all the time. wearing one all the time would be very unhygienic.
● "...made using real fur."
the overwhelming majority of fursuits are made using faux fur. fursuits made from real fur do exist, but are typically frowned upon for ethical/moral reasons.
● "...used for sex."
while the purpose of fursuits is not sexual, specially made fursuits called murrsuits are used for sexual acts and gratification. however, when one says "fursuit", they will typically always mean a sfw suit, and not a murrsuit. murrsuits are not worn in public, and it is a very small percentage of furries who actually own one, so while murrsuits are indeed unique to furries, they are not and will never be a prominent feature of the fandom.
harmful stereotypes
it cannot be stressed enough that the stereotypes below do not accurately describe nor define furries. while some people who associate with the fandom do fulfill these stereotypes, those with illegal or immoral behaviors are exiled by the larger community.
"all furries are lgbtq+."
while they are less common, straight and cisgender furries do exist, and they deserve to be seen just as much as their lgbtq+ peers. <3
harmful stereotypes
it cannot be stressed enough that the stereotypes below do not accurately describe nor define furries. while some people who associate with the fandom do fulfill these stereotypes, those with illegal or immoral behaviors are exiled by the larger community.
"furries are just social outcasts."
studies show that even before identifying with the term, furries were more likely than their non-furry peers to have been socially awkward or even victims of bullying, especially in childhood. this is often attributed to the commonality of geeky interests among the fandom: computer science, video games, board games, and more. if this defines a "social outcast" to you, then yes, furries are "social outcasts". however, there's a good chance you've spoken to a furry without knowing. we are completely ordinary people, we just happen to have an uncommon and heavily stigmatized hobby. think of us as whatever you'd like, but if you choose to harass or bully us for being different, then we're not the problem, you are.
harmful stereotypes
it cannot be stressed enough that the stereotypes below do not accurately describe nor define furries. while some people who associate with the fandom do fulfill these stereotypes, those with illegal or immoral behaviors are exiled by the larger community.
"being a furry isn't a choice."
it is absolutely a choice to identify with the term furry and use it for yourself. it is, indeed, a choice, to associate with the fandom. furries are not oppressed, and to insist being a furry isn't a choice is extremely insulting to those who ACTUALLY face systemic oppression for things they cannot control.
harmful stereotypes
it cannot be stressed enough that the stereotypes below do not accurately describe nor define furries. while some people who associate with the fandom do fulfill these stereotypes, those with illegal or immoral behaviors are exiled by the larger community.
"being a furry is a kink/fetish."
possibly the biggest calumniation of our community is that we are sexual deviants who have sex in animal costumes for some sick, zoophilic fetish we have. this could not be further from the truth. in and of itself, the fandom is not sexual. being a furry is not a fetish, a kink, or a "sex thing". if that were the case, it would have been written in what is a furry?. as for the zoophilia remarks, the topic of yiff is debated in furry spaces due to the large variety of dubious content that can unfortunately be consumed without consequence. the general consensus among the fandom is that if animalistic features play a dominant role in the content, it will be considered problematic at best and zoophilic at worst. what many who make these claims do not know (aside from what a furry actually is) is that the furry fandom is largely composed of minors, some even being under 13, effectively making these stereotypes arguably the most harmful claims against furries.
resources
furry discord servers • communities created by and for furries on discord!
upcoming events • a wikifur page with upcoming furry events, such as conventions! (wikifur itself is also a good resource!)
free resources for furries • this post from runesfurryblog lists tons of resources for new furries!
r/furryartschool • a subreddit for learning how to draw furries!
