Why do people become furries?

I searched through old threads and didn't really find an answer as to WHY people do this.

What is the appeal to you? Why did you choose this over a human AV? Did you join SL knowing that you were going to be a furry or did you choose it later? Is that your only persona? Do humans interact with you? Do you go to human areas or stay in furry areas only?

And I know this is pure conjecture: What are the likely demographics and psychographics of most people who become a furry?

Thanks for your time.

I spend about 70% to 80% of my time in SL as a furry - usually an anthro female fox with three tails (Also called a Kitsune). The rest of the time I am a Human. I can be a normal Human all the time. In SL, I can be something different, and I like that. Even my Human form in SL is something different than how I appear in real life.

I was into furry fandom long before I came to SL. I like the art, the stories, and other things about furry stuff. I loved cartoons with anthro animal characters in them when I was growing up. I mean, who doesn't like Bugs Bunny? As an adult, I discovered stories, comics and art that portrayed anthro animals doing more adult behaviors, and I liked a lot of that as well. I even learned to draw anthro characters myself, and have sold a little of my own artwork to other furry fans.

"Furry" can mean anyone from an innocent grade school kid who likes anthro animal cartoons like Bugs Bunny, to adults into very adult stuff that is much too racy to discuss in these forums. It is not accurate to portray all furries as any one stereotype, any more than it is to apply one set of descriptions to every resident of San Francisco or Chicago. The fandom is a very diverse group, and each person has their own personal reasons for "being furry".

My Partner in SL and a lot of my friends are furries, and we do roleplay and have fun with each other. Sometimes I might have a Human avatar on when I am with my furry friends, but usually if I am going to be with them, I wear a furry form.

I came to SL knowing before I ever created the account that my main form would be as an anthro vixen. That character had already been active in text-based roleplaying, with some of the same group of friends, for several years before I came to SL.

On the other hand, there are some sims I go to where furries are not appreciated, and a furry form also tends to be more subject to lag. So if I am just shopping or exploring, I may well do that as a Human.

I like animals - especially dogs, wolves and foxes. I like Asian mythology and legends. Being a Kitsune or a fox or a wolf in SL is fun for me, like playing "Lets Pretend" as a child, and being a cowgirl, or an astronaut, or a fairy princess, or a pirate.

Because they want to. Here's one back (fair's fair) - why do you care?

My husband and I (he is my partner in SL too) spend our time as humans and as furries (Tinies) mixing and matching as we feel it. Sometimes I am in human form and he is a Tiny or the opposite.

We love animals but were not aware of furry world before SL...I don't know if we could be considered furries...we don't do RP or any cyber in either form...we just hangout together.

The Tinies are just so well made and when you are exploring SL as a Tiny, people ignore you completely so you are free to just check things out. We find the cute factor very appealing. Also, in our Tiny form we can go pretty well anywhere...people aren't negative to us probably because we are so small and harmless looking...and did I say cute?

In our human form, we have many friends but in our Tiny world it is pretty much just each other...2 little black cats exploring a huge world.

It is very freeing to have a non human avatar and I would recommend it to everyone as an alternative Avatar. It is a whole other way to explore SL.

And just to say that I have noticed that a lot of the best scriptors and gadgeteers in SL are furries...I am furry positive myself...always glad to see them when I'm at an event or club...wish they mingled more in the human metaverse. There are some very smart and talented residents in the furry micro-nation it seems.

I'm not a furry myself but I think that the above post (my particular quote was just to give a reference to who's post I was talking about) sums it up very well.




Some of the best architects as well, probably because many of the people who have the imagination to be a furry have a great amount of imagination for other things as well.

Mr AckAck in another thread has already posted his strong distaste for furries engaging in virtual / cyber sex with each other or with "human" avs.

This seems a thread designed for future trolling.



I think the answer is they like being furries, so they are furries. Second Life has this wonderful thing called freedom.

Those furries on the other end of the screen are people and arent that much different than anyone else.

I think Ceera summed it up very succinctly, so there's not much I can add. As she said we're an extremely diverse group; ask 100 folks why they became furs and you'll get 100 different answers. We all have our own reasons for being part of the fandom; mine are much the same as Ceera's--I like the art, the stories, and most of all the people. I've met a lot of wonderful people hanging out at FurNation and other furry spots and made many strong friendships, although I have almost as many human friends as furry friends.

I like to explore all over SL not just the popular furry sims, although some places are definitely less than fur-friendly. When I was new to SL I was griefed by humans so much that I almost quit. However I did a quick search and found FurNation and haven't looked back.

I have to say I do get tired of being asked this question, though. Why did you decide to be a human av (assuming you are) with all the possibilities open to you in SL? I never know if these types of questions are sincere curiousity or trolling....I'll assume you're sincere and won't break out my sarcasm canon...

Before trying SL, I had no idea people did this. I love animals myself, but I've never considered becoming a fantasy animal in RL or elsewhere. So, I was surprised to find myself in a world of multi-humanoidesque species. And since people choose who they are here, I had to ask what motivates others to become furry. I don't mean to be rude, just curious.

Because people are curious about the furry culture in SL. I know I am, and I appreciated reading the responses. It provides me with more insight into a subculture within SL that I don't have much experience or contact with.

Thanks for your answers, everyone. I am enjoying reading them.

Lord, I met the most ADORABLE tiny bunny the other day. She lives on a friend's land in a "hutch" right out of a Beatrix Potter illustration. Very polite, well dressed and we had a pleasant conversation over a watercress sandwich (had to resist the urge to type "/pets Miss Bunny" )

As a "non-furry", I LIKE having furries and tinies about. They add to the magic of SL.

I swap between "regular human" and my furry avi depending on how I feel at the time - but I don't feel "closely identified" to my furry avi, any more than I do my Giant Donut one. I tend to break out the furry when I'm feeling cute or playful (and I've got an adorable Arctic Fox Tiny for when I just want to be hugged or petted).

I thought I recognized Mr. Ackland's name from another thread. I doubt he really wants to know anything of furry culture as it appears he's already made up his mind. Here's what he had to say in the voice chat coming to SL thread:



So he holds us furs in the same stead as pedophiles, griefers and land swindlers. Um, ok...Guess my original granting the benefit of the doubt was misplaced.

/327/05/169189/4.html#post1428083

I'd have to agree with you on that even though I try to assume good faith wherever possible but I don't believe in coincidences when it comes to forum posts so close together.

Yes - If this were a sincere request for information - in light of the recent comments by the OP - I would have expected the original question to include an apology first.

I realize this sounds cynical - But I have to call them like I see them.

Because hedgehog avatars are way cooler than human avatars. Way, way cooler.

I'm not generally thought of as a furry but I'm a little rabbit sometimes. Why? Because it's fun.

If there is ever an Important Meeting on the grid about, oh, whatever, I prefer to be a soft, cuddly bunny with big eyes.

Trying to extract a hardscrabble deal from a cottontail really puts everything into perspective fast.

* * * * *

Demographically, I'm a white collar suburban parent in my 40's.



Psychographically, it's a bit of a story.


The Early Years.

I was exposed to anthropomorphic cartoons daily, at an extremely tender age and for many many hours at a stretch. It was either this, or imagery of Lyndon Johnson and the Vietnam war.

The juxtaposition became a sort of Clockwork Orange style conditioning. Human characters such as Elmer Fudd or Yosemite Sam were gun-toting, angry caricatures of everything I found wrong with the grown up world.

It extended to my immediate, childhood world as well. As a child I personally identified with Scooby Do a lot more than Shaggy, Freddie, Daphne or Thelma.

Those human characters seemed to be archetypes of my older sibling's high school friends, all of whom I could not stand. Back off the precocious five-year-old, oh hateful adolescent miscreants! It's not my fault I can spell better than you...

So I moved on to darker things. I took great joy as the Roadrunner so cleverly foiled every one of the Coyote's assaults with unfathomable violence.

Schadenfreude in anthropomorphic form washed through my malleable, impressionable soul.

But the hidden message was this: The Coyote is immortal.


Growing Up.

Years went by, and for a while, my path wandered elsewhere. I went outside. I was exposed to John Denver music. I saw the Brady Bunch on TV (a separate pathology not within the scope of this story). But ultimately none of this mattered.

The breakthrough moment for me, I think, was in 1988.

I deeply identified with Roger in "Who framed Roger Rabbit" especially in the context of his relationship vis-a-vis Jessica Rabbit. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessica_Rabbit

By 1992, one screening of "Cool World" blurred my distinction between what was real and what was 'toon forever.

While not furry per se, you can see how such imagery can unhinge meatspace forever, in a dark theatre while I was hyped on Mountain Dew and red liquorice: http://www.wicked-vision.com/images_rvk/c/CoolWorld_bild8.jpg

It didn't help matters that I saw this movie on a date, further entangling other *cough* experiences with the imagery.



Epiphany.

Finally it all came together one dark and stormy night in 2003.

Unkempt and unshaven, trapped at home, isolated from human contact in the wee hours of the morning, I discovered a world called Second Life.

Suddenly, it was all too clear. The frame of the monitor fell away completely; distant, another world. The sun was shining. There were others like me.

Well, that's my personal story, and you can take it for all the truth that it's meant to be.

Indeed... I wonder if it's intolerant to be intolerant of people who are intolerant

SO MUCH INTOLERANCE, IT BURNS

And yes, I kow that wasn't necessary but I was trying to prove a point, which point though I can't remember.


Edit: I changed the font size from +4 to +2 since +4 really is overkill and +2 still gets the point across.

This person might genuinely be wondering what the appeal of being furry is, aside from the sex thing. So, viewing Ack Ack with a little caution, I'd say take the question at face value. I'm not a furry myself, and I have to admit I have wondered about the appeal.

Reading Mr Ack's post quoted above, I have to wonder why he is even in SL since it seems so much of it is offensive or annoying to him.

I'll take the question at face value, and apologize for jumping on AckAck in the other thread. I'm not a furry myself, but I think the anthropomorphic avatars are among the most creative things in SL. Some of them are just spectacularly well done. As someone mentioned earlier in the thread, the tinies especially are cuteness incarnate and remain one of my very favorite SL creations or all time. I can't say I understand really hardcore furry fandom or the appeal of yiffing, but then I can say exactly the same thing about countless things that people find entertaining, like golf, or most sports, or Texas holdem, or Paris Hilton, or (I could go on forever). I just love creativity in all its forms and there's a wealth of it in SL's furry community. To the original question, why do people roleplay vampires or robots or anything else? It's just fun and liberating to play at being something other than what you are. As I've gotten older I find I'm no longer very good at suspending disbelief enough to enjoy roleplay and I truly admire people who can. I think that, contrary to the belief that there's something wrong with furries, there's something right with them. They still know how to play while many of us lose that ability over time. I simply never tire of seeing well made and extremely creative anthro avatars.

I assumed the thread was started as trolling, but that doesn't mean it can't be turned around and be educational for others -- there are plenty of readers beyond the original poster, whether we know who they are or not.

My character is a human mage and sometimes shapeshifts into animal form; that was established long before I came to SL. In fact, I've been too busy with other things to even get my furry avatars in order yet, though I've been keeping an eye out for avs I might want to use. However, I am human and those forms are illusions, tools to achieve a particular purpose. If I'm wearing a panther shape, I can assume a much different attitude toward the world than I can when looking like a pretty woman. The world will react to me differently, and I can interact with it differently. I don't consider myself furry, though, and I'm not part of furry fandom.

However, I am very disappointed that furry fandom seems to be segregated to the extent that it is in SL. I'm always hesitant about whether I'm welcome in furry areas while in human form, but frankly I'd rather hang out with furries than humans. Your choice of av says something about your imagination, your culture, and your mindset. Of course, there will be jerks in both groups, but on average, just by participating in the fandom, a furry has already shown they probably have more in common with me than your average mainstream human av does. There's a huge furry overlap with the creative geeky alternative communities, so if I meet a furry, I'm going to assume they're a creative geeky alternative type until they give me reason to believe otherwise, whereas if I meet a non-garbed human, I'm going to assume they're a mindless mainstream sheep until they give me reason to believe otherwise.

Plus, I just automatically trust furries more than I do humans. Relatively few animal species commit crimes of passion or greed; you don't see wolves killing their own kind just for the heck of it. So, yeah, trust a wolf or a human? I'll pick the wolf every time.

Maybe it's because they were introduced to walking talking animals as kids.

http://play.toontown.com

When I see a furry I usually just see them as something like bugs bunny or daffy duck. I've never really seen much of furry culture apart from drawings on some websites but to me its just saturday morning cartoons come to life. And I'm sure that there are probably a lot of people who see it that way too.

Come on, people! The real reason to become a furry?

<wait for it>

Because you get more tail.

Thank you very much. I'll be here 'til Thursday. Don't forget to tip your Linden.

*giggle*

Naw, that's the reason to be a Kitsune as a furry! We have two to nine tails each!

(I have three, and my SL Partner has NINE!)