Furries don’t feel like they fit into mainstream culture, so the fandom provides a place for them to bond over comic books, science fiction, art, and video games. It’s not exactly the scene that comes to mind when most people picture a furry convention.īeing a furry has more to do with community than it does with sex. I realized that he was the girl’s loving father. I can’t think of another time when a group of strangers was so inclusive.Īs I was leaving the convention that evening, I saw a male furry kneel down so that a little girl could kiss him on the snout. None of the other furries playing seemed to mind me spontaneously joining their game. One furry showed me his hand and explained the rules so I could follow along. And they all happily obliged my request to chat about the furry fandom, which is what they call their community.Īt one point, I entered a room where a group was playing a card game. They were mostly young, either teenaged or in their early 20s, male, and identifying as gay or transgender. Once I worked up the nerve to speak with them, they were all friendly and welcoming, offering hugs and agreeing to have their photo taken. If you think it’s hard to approach a potential mate at a bar, just imagine going up to a 7-foot-tall dragon at a furry convention.īut these weren’t sex-crazed perverts. So last year I trekked to Furnal Equinox, the largest furry convention in Canada, with more than 900 furries in attendance.Īs I entered the convention center, I was surrounded by fursuits of every color and animal hybrid imaginable: foxes, dogs, wolves, and lions, to name a few. As an academic, I was surprised to find that no one had studied the phenomenon. The few opposing opinions floating around the blogosphere come from furries themselves. A perusal of Google supports the idea that furries-people who are interested in human-like animals or creatures, and sometimes dress up in costumes accordingly-are somehow psychologically messed up or sexually deviant. Anytime I tell someone about my interest, the response is almost always, “What’s wrong with them?” I know what you’re thinking: Those people must be freaks. How could you not be intrigued by the idea of people putting on animal costumes to have sex? Furry culture has fascinated me since I first encountered it several years ago.