FURRY

The term “furry” indicates everything related to anthropomorphic animals, in art, fantasy and mythology. The definition is deliberately generic, as it is almost impossible to summarize in a few words all the many aspects of what in the USA has taken on the dimensions of a real underground cultural movement. The modern furry is linked to a long fable and symbolic tradition, enriched by the themes of scientific / social interest introduced with the spread of science fiction.

The term “furry” in English means “hairy” and expresses in one word both the appearance of anthropomorphic animals (although not all of them have fur) and this feeling of “animality” which I have already mentioned. This term has been applied to anthropomorphic animals with different degrees of anthropomorphization and / or realism: we go from characters who live and behave like real animals, with the only difference that they speak and think like human beings (Bambi, the King Leone, just to cite some well-known examples), to real “animal societies” (as in Omaha, or the well-known Maus), almost always multispecific (exactly as ours has now become multiethnic), where man often does not exist, and in which the characters have assumed an almost human form, in a society that almost always mirrors ours (even if in a fantasy, science fiction or conventional setting…).

The furry fandom, although widespread all over the world, is mostly represented in North America (United States and Canada), in Japan (where the equivalent of furry is “Kemono”) and in Europe especially in Germanic countries (Great Britain , Germany, Sweden). For such a dispersed community, the Internet has acted as a means of contact and cohesion, especially on the part of those who, despite not knowing the existence of such a fandom before, have discovered that they are attracted to it. The “official” birth of furry fandom is often traced back to 1973, the year of the release of Disney’s Robin Hood, the first high-level film starring furries.

Another peculiarity is that furry fandom is mostly supported by a large group of non-professional artists and authors, who constitute the real backbone. As another meaning, “furry” is also of those who, in addition to enjoying furry art and stories, feel themselves a furry, or feel a certain affinity, from multiple points of view, towards one or more animals, assuming their identity or at least the main features. This happens for almost all fans, to have an alter-ego to use in role-playing games, in chat, as a character of drawings or stories.

Generally the preferred species are carnivorous mammals (wolves, skunks, felids, mustelids in general, etc.), rodents and the like (squirrels, rabbits, mice, etc.) and herbivores (horses, deer, various ungulates). In any case, the path that leads to choosing an animal rather than another depends on numerous factors such as an affective / aesthetic factor, a behavioral level (stereotypical), or an empathic / totemistic level (mainly chosen by “lifestylers”).

A particular category, among the furry creatures, is that of the “tauri”, that is creatures similar to the centaurs of Greek mythology, but so to speak “furryzzati”: they are beings that have the lower part of the body on four legs, similar to that of their “natural” version, from which an anthropomorphic bust with arms and an “animal” head is detached, where in the real animal there is the neck. Also in this case very common are the “volpetauri”, but also very popular are the “felitauri”, such as the chakat hermaphrodites created by Bernard Doove. In addition to these, there are no species that do not have their “tauri”: so we have “lupotaurs”, “moffettauri”, “lontratauri”, “equitauri” (in practice horse-headed centaurs), etc.

The Fursuits (so called from the English term “fursuit”, composed of Fur, fur, and Suit, clothes), are costumes in the shape of anthropomorphic animals, often associated with the furry subculture, that some furry fans wear on many occasions and that often they are modeled to resemble their fursona.

Fursuits can be composed of simple tail and ear accessories to become whole costumes that completely cover the body of the person wearing it, complete head, completely masking it as a character (called a fullsuit). Whoever owns and wears a fursuit is called a fursuiter, while the act of wearing and playing a character within the costume is called fursuiting. The fursuits have different costs that vary depending on the materials used, shape, size and also by the company that produces it: usually, the lowest prices are around twenty dollars for the ears alone, while it reaches a maximum of one thousand. or two thousand dollars for a Fullsuit.