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Home , Furry fandom, Fursona (fandom), The Fandom

Fur and Loathing:

Dispelling Sgmazing Misconcepons About Sexuality in the Furry

Dr. Courtney “Nuka” Plante 2017 AltSex NYC Conference

Internaonal Anthropomorphic Research Project (IARP) Study Descripon Sample Size Other Notes 2011 Internaonal Online Furry Survey I 4,338 furries 69 Countries 2011 Furry Fiesta Survey 219 furries 2011 & Internaonal Online Furry Survey II 1,761 furries 41 countries

2012 Furry Fiesta & Internaonal Online Furry Survey III 951 furries

2012 Anthrocon & General Populaon Control Survey 1,065 furries Included 802 non-furries

2013 Furry Fiesta & Online Furry Survey IV 455 furries 2013 Anthrocon Survey 820 furries 2013 Online Survey 369 furries 2014 Furry Fiesta Survey 246 furries Included 3 focus groups Included 901 con-going fans, 2014 3-Fandom Survey 1,059 furries 2,283 online anime fans, 511 (Furries, Anime Fans, Fans) fantasy sport fans Included 25 arsts and 120 2015 Furry Fiesta Survey & Experiment 245 furries undergraduate students 2015 Anthrocon Survey 979 furries Included 69 arsts 2016 Furry Fiesta Survey 313 furries 2016 Anthrocon Survey 1,203 furries Online Fantasy Study 455 furries Furry Longitudinal Survey 680 furries Entering 5th year

Common Beliefs about Furries

• It’s a sex thing

• It’s a besality / thing

• It’s a porn / fesh thing

• It’s delusion / dysfuncon The Plan:

• What furries are

• What furries aren’t

• Implicaons Our Working Definion:

1. Fans of media featuring anthropomorphic animal characters

2. Interest sufficient that the person self-idenfies with it.

3. This interest informs others about their behavior / personality. Furry Media? Furry: A Parcipatory Fandom

• Decentralized fandom

• Many content creators!

• Graphical art • 60%+ of furries

• Wring • 50%+ of furries Fandom Acvies

Group % of Furries Gamer 66.4% Sci-Fi 47.8% Anime Fan 41.8% Brony 20.1% Musician 13.4% Fandom Acvies

• In-person meet-ups:

• Half aend a con / year

• 1 in 3 aend local meets

• Predominantly online:

• 80% frequent forums

• 80% use IM programs Why join ?

Fandom Movaon: Belongingness 5.5 5 4.5 4 3.5 3 2.5

Belongingness (1-7) 2 1.5 1 Furry Con Anime Online Anime Con Sport Fans Sample How Furry Manifests: Fursonas

• Anthropomorphic animal avatar

• How you interact with other furries

• Name, species, personality, history

• Not idenfying AS an animal (Therian) How Furry Manifests: Fursonas How Furry Manifests:

• 13% own a full fursuit • 18.5% own a paral

• Does not indicate fanship!

• Most popular items owned: • Tails – 48% • Collars – 37% • Furry clothing – 34% • Ears – 27% • Paws – 26% • Wings – 2% Demographics: Age

Proporon of Parcipants by Age (Years) in Sample W11 20.00% 18.00% 18-21 = 53.7% 22-25 = 24.1% 16.00% 26-30 = 13% 31+ = 9.2% 14.00% 12.00% 10.00% 8.00%

Percent of Sample 6.00% 4.00% 2.00% 0.00% 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41+ Parcipant Age (Years) “Greymuzzles”: 42.8 Years old Demographics: Ethnicity

Percent of Fandom Idenfying as "White" 90.0% 80.0% 70.0% 60.0% 50.0% 40.0% 30.0%

Percent of Sample 20.0% 10.0% 0.0% Furry Con Anime Online Anime Con Sport Fans Sample Demographics: Polical Orientaon

Polical Orientaon of Furries 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15%

Percent of Sample 10% 5% 0%

Orientaon (1-7) Demographics: Sex / Gender

Category (Choose all that apply) % of Furries

Sex: Male 72.4 Sex: Female 27.4 Sex: Intersex 0.2 Gender Identy: Masculine 67.1 Gender Identy: Feminine 23.3 Genderqueer/Non-Binary 10.0 Demographics: Sex / Gender

Transgender Parcipants by Sample 3%

2%

1% Percent of Sample

0% Furry Con Anime Online Anime Con Sport Fans Sample What we’ve learned so far…

• Furries are a predominantly young, white, male fan group

• Fans of media featuring anthropomorphic animals

• Interest manifests in a variety of ways: • Viewing / creang content • Buying merchandise • Costuming • Convenons / online interacon The Plan:

• What furries are

• What furries aren’t

• Implicaons Misconcepon: Fursuit Fesh Misconcepon: Fursuit Fesh

• Fewer than 20% own one!

• Rarely sexual: • Cost • Physically demanding • Not the funcon

• Fursuits are typically for public self-expression Misconcepon: Zoophilia

• 13.9% of furries

• General public? 10-15%

• Not the same as besality

• Aracon, not acon

• Heavily sgmazed among furries (e.g., ethics)

• Furry = “Anthro” animals Alvarez & Freinhar, 1991 Misconcepon: Furries as a Fesh • Not kink-shaming!

• Fan group; Including sex in the definion makes lile sense

• Gamer = “Video game fesh”?

• Existence of porn =/= fesh Not a Fesh: Movaon

What played the biggest role in you becoming involved in furry? 80 70 60 50 40 30 # of Responses 20 10 0 Not a Fesh: Pornography

• Arsts: Only 17.6% draw primarily eroc art Not a Fesh: Pornography

Porn as a Reason for Being Furry 35.00% 30.00% 25.00% 20.00% 15.00% 10.00% 5.00% 0.00% Percent of Sample Strongly 2 3 4 5 6 Strongly Disagree Agree 7 1 Agreement Not a Fesh: Acceptance

• “Furry” is not a fesh

• But that doesn’t mean the fandom is closed-minded!

• VERY sex-posive, inclusive

• Hundreds of subgroups within the fandom

• Openness makes sense: Liberal ideology Misconcepon: Dysfuncon

• No more likely to be diagnosed with depression, anxiety, ADHD, etc…

• Not delusion / dissociaon

6 5.5 • Vivid / immersive fantasy 5 4.5 4 Furries • No reality blurring 3.5 Non-Furries 3 2.5 2 Healthy Pathological Misconcepons: So What? Misconcepons: Bullying

• Furries report being bullied more than non-furries:

• Especially age 11-18

• 62% (vs. 40%, p <.001)

• Physically and verbally Misconcepons: Bullying

Expected Disapproval from Society (1-7 Scale) 4

3.5

3

2.5

2

1.5

1 Furries Online Anime A-Kon Sport Fans Misconcepons: Bullying

Tell Others about your Fan Identy (1-7 Scale) 5

4.5

4

3.5

3 Furries Online Anime A-Kon Sport Fans The Point? • Not harmless misconcepons

• Be accurate when talking about furries

• Not just academically honest

• Reduces sgma and bullying

• Aacking an already- vulnerable group The Plan:

• What furries are

• What furries aren’t

• Implicaons Furries and Acceptance

Sexual Orientaon - Heterosexual 100.00% 90.00% 80.00% 70.00% 60.00% 50.00% 40.00% 30.00% Percent of Sample 20.00% 10.00% 0.00% Furry Con Anime Online Anime Con Sport Fans Sample Furries and Acceptance

Sexual Orientaon - Bisexual 12.00%

10.00%

8.00%

6.00%

4.00% Percent of Sample 2.00%

0.00% Furry Con Anime Online Anime Con Sport Fans Sample Furries and Acceptance

Sexual Orientaon - Homosexual 12.00%

10.00%

8.00%

6.00%

4.00% Percent of Sample 2.00%

0.00% Furry Con Anime Online Anime Con Sport Fans Sample Furries and Acceptance

Sexual Orientaon - Asexual 6.00%

5.00%

4.00%

3.00%

2.00% Percent of Sample 1.00%

0.00% Furry Con Anime Online Anime Con Sport Fans Sample Furries and Acceptance

• Nearly 80% of gay furries find their partner in the fandom

• Transgender persons tend to feel safe and like themselves here

• In short: Furry is a safe haven for LGBTQIA and other minority groups

• Lile interest in ostracizing or othering Future Research

• Social support in LGBTQIA communies

• Specifically, recreaon- focused

• Percepons of feshes / kinks within and outside fandom

• Funcon of fantasy and play in sexual identy formaon More Informaon

• FurryResearch.org

• FurScience.com

• Contact Nuka: [email protected] Shameless Self-Promoon

www.Furscience.com

Interest Origins

Origins of Furry Interest 7

6

5

4

3

2

1 Contributed to Furry Interests (1-7)

Influence Demographics: Religion

Religious Affiliaon of Furries

Chrisan Other 23.5% 26.2% Satanist 0.9% Deist 1.1% Atheist 16.8% Jewish Pagan / 1.2% Wiccan Agnosc Buddhist 11.0% 16.8% 2.4% Not a Fesh: Pornography

• Pornography exists in the fandom: • 96% of males view it (17% exclusively furry) • 78% of females view it (2.2% exclusively furry)

• Arsts: Only 17.6% draw primarily eroc art Misconcepon: Furry as a Fesh

• Summarizing the point:

• Sexual content is prevalent in the furry media

• Not a defining feature of most furries’ interest

• What you’d expect from a fandom, not a fesh Furries and Acceptance

Sexual Orientaon of Furry by Sample 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% Percent of Sample 20% 10% 0%

Non-Furries Sexual Orientaon Furries and Acceptance

Sexual Orientaon of Furry by Sample 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% Percent of Sample 20% 10% 0%

Non-Furries

Sexual Orientaon Furries

“Other”: 15.0%; 20% also idenfy as polyamorous Fandom Issues: Gender

Genderqueer Item Men Women Non-Binary I can be myself 5.97a 5.83a 5.71a Gender never comes up with furries 5.22a 5.07a 4.81a Feel I don’t belong 2.43a 2.47a 2.68a I feel safe with furries 5.56a 5.38a 5.46a • Place of inclusion, acceptance

• Social support network