History of (Draft version 0.75 by Dronon, February 2020)

Pre‐fandom influences:

Human‐animal imagery is everywhere in the history of mankind, with each culture assigning different meanings to it. Popular in storytelling and used for symbolic purposes, we project human characteristics onto animals, using them as an abstract mirror of ourselves. Some past examples are:

Prehistory: The Lion‐man of the Hohlenstein Stadel (a mammoth tusk carving from 40,000 B.C.) Early civilization: Fantastic creatures in most mythologies (Greek, etc.) Medieval period: The Reynard cycle, Journey to the West. Modern literature: Alice in Wonderland, Black Beauty, Jungle Book, Island of Dr. Moreau, Peter Rabbit, White Fang, Wind in the Willows, Winnie‐the‐Pooh, Stuart Little, Chronicles of Narnia, Charlotte's Web, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh, Watership Down, Redwall, Animorphs, Erin Hunter's Warrior Cats.

Although animal characters are occasionally used for social, political and counter‐cultural purposes (Animal Farm, Pogo, Fritz the Cat), by the 1970s most people think funny animals are for kids. Still, their frequent use in books, advertisements and animation creates an early interest for many furry fans.

Mid‐70s to early 80s (Proto‐fandom):

In Minnesota, Ken Fletcher and Reed Waller create Vootie, a fanzine (fan magazine) for comics. In California, Mark Merlino and (two founders of North America's first anime club) are also interested in animal cartoons. They all gradually make contact with like‐minded fans. After they meet an artist named Steve Gallacci at a science‐fiction convention, conventions become a place where they frequently meet to talk about animals in SF and .

Early 80s to 1990 (Start of ; the comics and fanzine wave):

In 1984, a fanzine called is created to replace Vootie. Furry room parties become a regular event at SF conventions around the west coast. Local computer message boards (BBSes) appear, mostly known to computer geeks and their friends. The success of the TMNT comic book leads to a surge of self‐published indie comics, and buyers are willing to try stories outside the superhero genre. Furry comics include Steve Gallacci's Albedo, as well as Omaha the Cat Dancer, , Fusion, Critters, The Dreamery, and Xanadu. A police seizure of mature comic books (including Omaha) leads to the creation of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. Disney starts making new TV cartoons with animal characters.

By the end of the 1980s there are a lot of furry fanzines, general and mature. Furry artists share their sketchbook art with other fans by trading photocopies. Ed Zolna starts a mail‐order catalogue. Most people don't have a ; some artists draw animal caricatures of themselves, and tabletop gamers create furry RPG characters. Everyone knows each other by their real names. After negative encounters with furry‐haters at BayCon, Mark Merlino and Rod O'Riley start the first , ConFurence Zero, in 1989. 65 people attend out of the 90 who registered.

1 Early‐ to mid‐90s (The Internet wave):

Furry computer message boards start communicating long‐distance (FurNet), and the most‐used forum is alt.fan.furry (on Usenet). Real‐time chat becomes possible on IRC and on FurryMuck (a text‐only virtual world/MMO). These are obscure things at the time, but they bring even more computer geeks and IT people into the fandom. FurryMuck popularizes a lot of early furry jargon (yiff, scritch, etc.) and the wolf/fox rivalry. The users commission artwork of their online characters, which helps them identify one another at ConFurence. This is the start of furry con badges, and also of early fursonas. The Internet wave of the fandom is when fans start knowing each other by their online names.

The comics distribution market is struggling; soon there will be only one major North American distributor left (Diamond). Furry fanzines are still being published, but start to vanish as Internet technology improves. Local BBSes are replaced by furry e‐mail lists, but these are tricky to find because the Web's early search engines suck, at least until 1997 when Google shows up.

Furry art is now mostly acquired from sketchbooks, from prints being sold at ConFurence, and from Ed Zolna's catalog. Photocopying becomes less common as the Internet grows and image scanners become available. An early online art site in the fandom is an FTP archive called Tezuka. Drama over artwork being re‐used without permission creates paranoia about art piracy. Mature furry art is fairly tame and low‐key, but suggestive pin‐up art is everywhere. An unwelcome article in Wired magazine mentions FurryMuck as a place to have online sex.

The fandom grows large enough that sub‐groups form around more specific themes: military, macro/micro, plush, transformation, etc. Robert King starts an e‐mail list for fursuiters. Saturday morning TV cartoons die out, and are replaced by new cartoon‐friendly television networks. More cartoons are being written for adult audiences. Disney comes out with The Lion King, TaleSpin, and Gargoyles. The first Sonic the Hedgehog game appears. Charity fund‐raising begins at ConFurence.

On the east coast, the shrinking of the dealer's room at PhilCon means that several SF, anime and furry dealers are unable to get tables. It's perceived as (but actually isn't) a personal snub. In response, in 1994 a second furry convention is created, Furtasticon (later ConFurence East). In 1995, CF has an attendance of 700, and CFE has 450.

Mid‐ to late‐1990s (Internet growth, gay/lifestyler waves, online schisms):

Online art sites thrive as scanners become affordable; there are furry‐only sites such as Furnation, VCL, Yerf, Orlando, Tigerden, and furry‐friendly sites such as Side 7 and Elfwood. The MMORPG appears. Few long‐running furry comics survive ‐ there's Gold , Furrlough, Genus, and the occasional mini‐series such as Associated Student Bodies. Fanzines and BBSes are now mostly gone.

After being repeatedly insulted on the alt.fan.furry (AFF) message board when trying to discuss more personal, spiritual or sexual topics, a group of plush fans create an alternative board called alt.lifestyle.furry (ALF). This creates an artificial hobby‐vs‐lifestyle split in the fandom. While AFF argues about what "furry" means (usually an interest in art or animation), ALF takes the attitude that "furry" is whatever you say it is, and forbids personal attacks; that no interpretation of furry is better than another. A new set of Usenet‐like message boards starts up (fur.*, aka Furrynet).

During the second half of the 1990s, gay and bi furry fans become the majority. There's no single, clear reason for it. Gay pride makes a huge amount of progress in the 1990s, the Internet gives people a

2 sense of anonymity, and furry fandom already has a relaxed attitude towards mature content. The fandom is pretty non‐judgmental towards gay nerds, describing itself as open and accepting, so some fans become very open about themselves. However, when zoo interests are brought up, they're rejected by most of the fandom.

A group of furry hobbyists become angry at what they view as detrimental, possibly reputation‐ destroying behavior in the fandom. Calling themselves the "Burned Furs", they write several insulting essays and a manifesto, hoping to stir up the fandom and kick anyone they don't like out of it. Instead they're treated as elitist jerks, and the movement fails.

However, the resulting online flamewar goes on for three years. Lots of people in the fandom have moderate or mixed opinions, are ok with mature content (even if they don't agree about all of it), and are likewise concerned about behavior. Now that the topic is out in the open, they want to have a serious discussion, but it keeps collapsing into a shouting match between the Burned Furs and their polar opposites. Those in the middle are caught between two groups whose more opinionated members won't concede, compromise or back down. Everyone gets sick of the constant debates. For years afterwards, the fandom emphasizes building a more positive atmosphere.

In 1997, rumors after ConFurence 8 describe increasingly over‐the‐top behavior. In the next couple of years, several new furry cons appear. ConFurence gradually loses momentum, mainly from changing its date and moving much farther south. Other factors include the collapse of the dot‐com economic bubble, a new con chair, and general drama about how ConFurence is being run. Although its later spiritual successor is CaliFur in 2004, the local con that rises to replace it is in 1999.

On the east coast, ConFurence East dies and is replaced by in 1997. First held in Albany, New York, it will later move south (after Kage becomes con chair) and even gets the same hotel that PhilCon had used. The Dorsai Irregulars begin to help run security.

Meanwhile, at a Chicago convention called Duckcon, the growing number of furry fans is causing resentment among some of the science‐fiction attendees, so the furry part splits off and becomes Midwest FurFest in 2000. New furry cons also appear in Canada and Germany. By 2000, there are at least 9 furry cons; Anthrocon is the largest at 1059, but has yet to break CF 9's record of 1250 people. Some cons raise money for charity with pet/slave auctions, but after the backlash against behavior in the fandom, this is largely abandoned. Charity auctions switch to raising money from donated items.

Fursuiting becomes increasingly popular; Further Confusion is the first con to have an entire track of panels dedicated to it. The first parade is at Anthrocon 1997, so that dealers stuck behind their tables in the dealer's room will be able to see all the walk by. Puppetry becomes a new interest in the fandom ‐ a surprisingly late development, considering how many furry fans grew up watching The Muppet Show. eventually produces the most complex puppet shows. A parallel fandom has developed in Japan (kemono). Dances are now typical events at furry cons, fueled in part by the growing popularity of rave culture.

The term "fursona" doesn't appear in the fandom until the early 2000s. However, in the late 1990s fans are sometimes using the term "personal furry" to refer to their characters. Some people type a series of acronyms and symbols when they post messages online, the "Furry Code", an abbreviated way of describing your personality and characteristics.

3 2000‐2009 (New social networks, trolling, and the media):

The Burned Fur flamewars finally end in 2001, and no one wants to discuss fandom‐related issues at all, to avoid any more in‐fighting. Negative criticism is taboo, heavily discouraged and shouted down, even if it's making legitimate points. A "Furry Peace" movement is joined by many ex‐ALF members, bringing the message board's tolerant policies into the greater fandom. Their philosophy includes "Responsibility ‐ to think what effect your actions will have on others". This is adopted by many of the fans who are becoming staff at the new cons. However, the elimination of the Burned Furs from the fandom doesn't resolve the concerns about behavior. Some adopt a bold, do‐whatever‐you‐like attitude. As the fandom's tolerances are tested, cons begin banning people, though this is rare.

Blogging becomes popular. The AFF and ALF message boards are largely abandoned; AFF because of constant flamewars; ALF because of inane role‐playing. Online furry discussion forums in general have trouble keeping their momentum going, like on the newly‐created Yahoo Groups. There is, however, more geographical cohesion among furry fans. Web‐based message boards are now sophisticated enough that furry fans can use them to organize their local events. On the down side, the fandom has no quick, central means of communicating with itself.

Sensationalist media coverage increases, focusing on the adult side of the fandom: Loaded magazine (1998), Vanity Fair, ER (2001), MTV's Sex2K (2002), the "Fur and Loathing" episode of CSI (2003), etc. Furry cons adopt very strict media policies. Online trolling becomes popular, with entire websites devoted to it (Portal of Evil, Something Awful, etc.), and furry fans are a frequent target.

Due to the fandom's taboo against criticizing itself, and no central communication, it's difficult to fight back. The fandom has no public relations strategy – it's all in the hands of outsiders: trolls and the media, who either want to exploit the fandom or make fun of it, perpetuating the least flattering stereotypes. Kage, Anthrocon's new chair, takes public relations very seriously and holds panels on how to deal with the media. Charity auctions are given more emphasis across the fandom.

The fandom's online art sites are having problems, closing down or becoming too slow and antiquated. After the SheezyArt site changes its rules in 2005, furry artists are running out of hosting options, so FurAffinity is created and ends up with most of the fandom's online art. Some artists move onto ArtSpots and DeviantArt, where an Anthro art category is added in 2006. Other new venues where fans can express themselves are on Second Life (2003) and on YouTube (2005). Fursonas are now a well‐ established part of the fandom.

Furry art piracy flares up again as online peer‐to‐peer file‐sharing becomes easier. Many furry artists are creating digital art as well as using traditional media. Commissioning art of fursonas helps drive the fandom's economy, along with con badge art, online user icons, Second Life avatars, etc. As the number of furry cons increase, artists start saving their better work for the art shows of the three largest cons: Midwest FurFest, Further Confusion, and Anthrocon. A fan bids $10,000 for a painting at FC 2004.

Most fursuiters commission other furry fans to make their , rather than building their own. Furry cons now have a "Headless lounge". contests are replaced with a fursuit parade. For main stage acts, cons experiment with talent shows, sketches, storytelling and stand‐up comedy. Digital cameras become increasingly affordable, leading to more con photos appearing on the Web.

The fandom grows further! By 2009 there are at least 30 conventions. Most of them are small (only 10 have over 500 people), and now they're all over the world: England, Australia, Japan, Russia, Brazil, and other places. Anthrocon is the largest, with over 3700 people.

4 Pokemon and Digimon become popular. Furbid and Furbuy are set up as online auction sites. Creative groups emerge that are based around things other than drawing art (such as writing, costuming and music). The Ironclaw and World Tree tabletop RPG systems are released. The Ursa Major Awards and its Recommended List are created, to help people find furry things they might not have heard about. The fandom is large enough to support online stores, with sites such as FurPlanet, Rabbit Valley and Sofawolf Press, who publish Kyell Gold's first novel, Volle, in 2005.

Online become really popular, allowing artists to showcase their work without newspaper syndication. For several years, the Web Cartoonists' Choice Awards includes an "Anthropomorphic Comic" category. Geekiness becomes more socially acceptable, thanks to active, creative fan communities on the Internet, and the success of movies based on comic book superheroes.

2009‐2019 (Current trends):

Online trolling of furry fans is still happening, but isn't as widespread as before. There's been a growing sense of discretion among some furry fans when talking with people outside of the fandom, but not all feel this way. Fursuiters love to interact with the public! has become popular across all fandoms, and there's been more inter‐fandom camaraderie and respect. The media is treating furry fandom less like a freakshow and more like other fandoms, as being entertainingly quirky. (Vice magazine has been particularly supportive.) The fandom has become able to criticize itself again. Unlike the early 2000s, it's possible to make constructive complaints with less fear of being shunned.

Since 2006, an academic research team (FurScience) has been surveying the fandom. The fandom's age demographics have shifted. In the 1980s and 90s, most furry fans were over 20 years old, but since then, ages have been drifting down gradually. Now, about 50% of furry fans are under age 20, and about 40% are aged 20 to 29. The fandom is about 85% Caucasian and 72% male. Gay/bi fans are about 70% of the fandom. On the mature side of things, babyfurs have had a cold reception since the early 2000s; this attitude is diminishing, but very slowly. In recent years there has been a little more pup play, and, in parallel with changes in social attitudes outside of the fandom, more fans have been experimenting with gender identity.

Many younger furry fans worry about getting a negative reaction if they tell people about the fandom; a leftover influence from trolls and the media, and not knowing what an online search might bring up. On the positive side, the fandom's community has become very supportive in helping new fans establish a sense of personal identity. Most furry fans now have a fursona, and because people want to feel unique, a lot of the newer fursonas are hybrid creatures, or have unusual and vibrant coloration patterns. At conventions, there's usually a panel called "So this is your first furry convention". Some larger cons are able to provide sign‐language interpreters for their main shows. Fursuit dance competitions are now a typical con event, and there are more musical acts.

The Furry Convention Leadership Roundtable is created in 2010. MFF 2014 is disrupted by a release of chlorine powder in a stairwell. From 2015 to 2017, two conventions are lost due to behavior problems, and a third due to conflicts with alt‐right fans (an ongoing test of the fandom's tolerances, with backlash against haters). By the end of 2019, there are around 50 furry cons with over 300 people, half of which have over 1000 (MFF and AC each get around 10,000). Booking hotel rooms has been getting increasingly difficult, as rooms can sell out vey quickly.

5 From 2014‐2019, the fandom raises over $3 million for charitable causes, a third of that in 2019 alone. in particular gets a big economic boost each summer from Anthrocon, and its fursuit parade has been extended outdoors for the general public. Some cons experiment with abandoning their parade, making other arrangements for fursuit photos.

FurAffinity is currently the most popular art site, despite years of drama about its management. Weasyl (in 2012) and others have appeared as alternatives. The fandom's size is now large enough that it's a lot more difficult to pay for (and administrate) any large online art‐hosting service. In early 2015, FA is purchased by IMVU ‐ this is the first time an external, non‐furry commercial entity has made a major financial investment in the fandom. Furry fans are communicating very actively across online social networks: Facebook, Telegram, Twitter, Discord, etc. Gaming has become a popular group activity, both tabletop and online.

The art shows at furry cons gradually shrink due to digital sales. "Your Character Here" commissions become popular. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic fan art begins inundating the fandom in 2010. 's Digger comic wins a in 2012. Print‐on‐demand services and e‐books make self‐publishing furry fiction much easier. Video productions by furry fans gradually become more elaborate. The Funday Pawpet Show, that started in 1999, broadcasts its 750th episode. Furry podcasts become more numerous. Kickstarter and other sites allow independent creators to secure crowd‐ sourced funding in advance. The fandom is excited when Disney's Zootopia is released. Furry fans in some cities are booking local nightclubs for events.

How will the fandom evolve from here? Time will tell – Add more to it! If you see something good online, share the link with other fans, so that more people will find out about it. If you feel creative, express yourself through art, writing, costuming, music, or anything else. If you don't think you're talented enough, go to furry meet‐ups, be part of the group energy, and just have fun. Finally, if you see artwork, a story or a fursuit that cheers you up – send the person a quick note and tell them. It can really make someone's day better! (And if you can afford it, buy stuff)

For more furry resources, check out any of these:

Culturally F'd (YouTube channel about the many aspects of furry) furry.today (Videos) flayrah.com (News, reviews and links) dogpatch.press (News, reviews, interviews, social issues)

Furry Nation (A book by Joe Strike) furscience.com (Social survey results) twooldfurryfans.com (Furry history from a Californian angle) .com (The ConFurence Archive) ursamajorawards.org/ReadList.htm (Annual list of furry media; compare the literary Cóyotl and Leo Awards)

Podcasts (mature content): furcast.fm furwhatitsworth.com

A huge amount of thanks to Fred Patten, WikiFur, and everyone else who's helped with this history project!

6