Do You Consider Yourself a Furry?

[Amazee Dayzee]

Just be glad you don't have to constantly worry about your arm pits. XD

[Dogglar]

I mean, because I read a comic with anthropomorphic characters, does that not make me a furry by definition? But I also don't really partake in any of the communities aside from only this one, so, what is the answer xd

[Amazee Dayzee]

Maybe this community will end up opening doors to other communities for you.

[Obbl]

Our definition has always boiled down to: do you find that having furry characters improves your enjoyment of a work in general, and then we add on: feel free to identify as furry or not based on whatever you feel

[Dogglar]

I suppose the fear I have is not being able to talk about it, because I can never see myself confessing to it to my family. Then again, why keep secrets? Then again, my friends and family don't exactly understand it, so...I'm at a fork in the road. Either choice will have a lasting impact on my lifestyle, and I don't know what to do. Perhaps it's not time to choose, though.

I also try to remind myself that it's really not that big of a deal, because in my mind I'd say "I barely even classify, it'll be fine." I tend to forget that statement though. I don't know. I suppose this is the best medium I have at this time.

[Obbl]

Yeah, no, furry can impact your life as much or as little as you want. There's nothing to commit to, it's just a matter of what your tastes are. Some people like sci-fi, some people like steampunk, some people like shonen manga, some people like furry, and some weirdos would like to see all of them combined. We don't judge
And separately from that, if you want to be a part of the larger furry community, you can decide how much and in what ways you feel like getting involved. Some people just like the aesthetic but don't really know anyone else in the community, others like to go to conventions, others enjoy fursuiting, some roleplay, some create, everyone enjoys.
So quit overthinking it. If you consider yourself to be furry, you're a furry. Then you can do with that what you will

[Dogglar]

You're right. Just having one of those moments where you feel paranoid and impending doom.

jk that last part's a lil edgy but you get the idea

[Wortge]

"Coming out as a furry" is such an absurd concept. It's a fandom, not a sexual orientation. That's like talking about coming out as a Star Wars fan or as someone interested in football.

Keep in mind the overwhelming majority of people have no idea what a "furry" is. They'd react to the concept of meeting people wearing expensive mascot suits with something ranging from fascination to confusion, and the barrage of "furry hate" you find in the "deeper" parts of the Internet is mostly introverted meme-addicted teenagers obsessed with "Cringe culture" who would never say anything to your face.

This is all coming from a complete non-furry, by the way. In fact, I remember even avoiding watching some cartoons as a kid because I was grossed out by the concept of making animals look more human, as if it was some kind of sacrilege. Of course that just meant I was very drawn towards media with non-anthro animal characters instead.

[Amazee Dayzee]

I can see why some people would then turn against other furries and deny it because they were very disturbed by that sort of thing in media though I had no problem with it.

[Sleet]

"Coming out as a furry" is such an absurd concept. It's a fandom, not a sexual orientation. That's like talking about coming out as a Star Wars fan or as someone interested in football.

Keep in mind the overwhelming majority of people have no idea what a "furry" is. They'd react to the concept of meeting people wearing expensive mascot suits with something ranging from fascination to confusion, and the barrage of "furry hate" you find in the "deeper" parts of the Internet is mostly introverted meme-addicted teenagers obsessed with "Cringe culture" who would never say anything to your face.

This guy's got it down. If you act like it's a dark secret people will treat it like a dark secret.

[JayBarker]

I consider myself a furry in mostly every way possible.

[Harry Johnathan]

No, not really. I'm really not a fan of most furry media (most of it comes across either as too cutesy, edgy or downright fetishy) and some people in the community make me scream out to God for another flood (thankfully, they're just a vocal minority. Also, you're all amazing.). I mostly like Housepets for the comedic aspects (although Rick is VERY good at blending drama into the mix, he's a very flexible storyteller). In many ways it feels like a saturday morning cartoon flipped on it's head. To be perfectly honest, the extended Cosmic Game arc was a slog to get through, and King's romance with Bailey was... problematic, to say the least, though eventually I just accepted it and any arc involving the pups is adorable. I honestly thought the early strips were the funniest, though the current arc with Marion and Lois has been interesting mainly for how bonkers it gets at times.

[Amazee Dayzee]

Something tells me its about to get a lot more bonkers.

[Flammifleure]

I am definitely a furry, and I consider myself to have been all my though I only discovered the term in my... late teens, i think. And more recently, after separating the concepts of "furry" and "therian", I realised that I am less interested in furry media than i originally thought thought. I'm more a fan of high fantasy, particularly the Tolkienesque variety. But having anthro/animal characters is definitely a plus.

[Amazee Dayzee]

What exactly is a therian and how does it differ from being a furry?

[Hlaoroo]

Therians are people that actually identify as an animal spiritually or psychologically, or that believe they are an animal trapped in human form.

Furries, on the other paw, just play at being animals.

That said, there is some overlap between the two communities.

[Amazee Dayzee]

Oh I see that now. Yeah that makes sense. By that I mean when I googled it the definition that it gave me pretty much called them humans which obviously I know they are but what else are they?

[Hlaoroo]

That's up to the individual therian. Just like furries, they can identify with whichever animal they choose.

[OrWasIt.EXE]

Eyup, all seven of us really. Casey has a fursona and everything. Matt (who ALSO has a fursona or two), Blake, Legosi, Wolf and Freddy meanwhile are even non-human.

The closest to not being a furry is Arc, but they're fine being called a furry.


Update: Casey no longer identifies as human and we have a new member in the form of Foxy who is also non-human. So the only human is Arc.

[Amazee Dayzee]

If they are fine being called a furry then maybe they secretly might be a furry then.

[Flammifleure]

Oops, I feel like I missed my own party. Sorry!

What exactly is a therian and how does it differ from being a furry?

Though it is pretty much what Hlaoroo said. Furries I agree are people who have a an interest in furry art; therians consider ourselves to be an animal in some way. In my case, I'm a fox; I would also consider myself to be fully human. So for me it's a "both-and" situation, though not all therians feel the same way i think.

[Amazee Dayzee]

So if I am getting this right, you feel like you are both a human and a fox then?