What Is "furry?"

[Ford Freak]

I keep seeing stuff about someone being furry. I have not been able to find out exactly what this is all about. I know it is something that can be AB/DL related. I also assume it has something to do with animals. What is the connection between AB/DL and animals though? The first time I saw something about this was in an AB/DL test.

[Valentine]

Anthropomorphic animals, and anthropomorphic baby animals. wikipedia furry

[restlessfox]

a person who is both an adult baby or diaper lover and a furry and practices them both together is known as a babyfur, usually they like to view themselves as a young animal usually wearing diapers but some just wear a diaper under their fursuit.

wearing a diaper under a fursuit doesn't necessarily make you a babyfur, some just do it for the convenience of it because it takes so long to take their suit off or if they have to wear it for prolonged periods of time. some fursuits are designed to have a waterbottle built into the mask along with a fan to cool the wearer off, it's a common practice to have air holes around the seams and down the body and legs for additional ventilation, these are disguised by the fur covering them and are usually unnoticeable.

wearing those suits can get pretty hot and uncomfortable, and when you sweat it can ruin your fursuit, and since the average fursuit costs around $2000 this is something you really want to avoid.

some people have coustom made fursuits that can get pretty pricey, i'm guessing they can get to around $5000 or more depending on the meterials you use to construct it and if you build it yourself or have a professional do it for you.

incase you couldn't tell i used to be a furry.

[SoCalGav]

Its interesting this topic came up, I've always kinda known what it is but I still can't fully understand it or even how a person could develop this type of fetish. Not bashing here, in fact I think the baby fur drawings are kinda hot, its just hard for me to "get it". Any body have a link to an article explaining the psychology?

[Incomplete Dude]

As far as I can tell, it's a desire to have characteristics they currently lack. Plus, fur is nice, soft, cuddly and dare I say... babyish. Perhaps it's just the more socially acceptable AB-ish form of self-expression.

[nappyloon]

Thank you Restless fox for that very clear explanation of something that has also been puzzling me since joining DD.

[restlessfox]

you're welcome nappyloon.

socalgav, for most being a furry isn't a fetish, it's more of a personality thing. those who view their totem as a wolf are more prone to being the leader of their group or have a strong sense of community, those who view themselves as a squirrel usually like to enjoy life and love being outdoors around other people, those who view their inner animal as a cat or raccoon are usually mischievious and a bit solitary.

in ancient cultures and a few modern tribes still use cerimonial masks in the form of animals and spirits, the furry community is a sort of modern representation of that animalistic urge that is present in most.

there's a few different ways to pick which animal you are, there's always the favorite animal thing which seems to be the most common.

there is the method of taking inventory of you most prominent personality traits and through extensive research finding which animal you most closely emulate.

another method is to go into the wild often to see which animals approach you the most often and by which ones are afraid, curious, aggressive, or friendly you know which group you fall into.

some believe that they are reincarnated from either one or many animals in past lives, these people tend to be a bit eccentric and are usually the hardcore furries.

there is also the ever present spiritual totem, when people discover which animal is their guiding spirit through dreams, astral projection, or certain native american rituals they believe that since imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that they are honoring their totem by dressing up like it.

my method was a combination of these, as a young child a fox would visit me in my dreams and at that time i didn't even know what it was, i still get dreams where that welcome visitor is either watching me from a distance or running along side me so that's part of the spirit guide category, a fox also approached me in the wild while i was camping and i got a sense of calm and connection when that happened so that falls into the nature category.

i haven't always had the fox as my animal, when i was in gradeschool i was obsessed with penguins and would always draw them on my homework, sometimes with human heads i guess that falls into the favorite animal category.

after the penguin i most identified with a squirrel, i would always enjoy sitting in my grandma's backyard to watch them scamper around and have a good time, to tell you the truth i was jealous of their endless energy and all the fun they were having.

then in middle school it was the sloth, i don't know why but i just liked the way they would just relax all day, maybe because that was a stressful time of my life.

that's when i started having the dreams with the fox in them more frequently, that's also when i discovered the furry fandom on the internet(it was a few years after i discovered dpf and the other diaper sites.) and since i had always enjoyed cartoons with animals doing things like people and since i had always wanted to own a animal suit i got interested and became a furry.

yes there are people who view it as a fetish like the people who are always drawing or looking at yiff but just like in this community there's people who get sexual gratification out of it, and there's people who just do it because they like to and they like the ability to be something else every once in a while. i'm sure you can relate to that, with this community we like to act a different age, with their community they like to act like a different species.

9 times out of 10 when you see someone in a fursuit like a maskot, the chuckee cheeze guy, or even hospital workers they're a furry, they're the people who like to make other people happy by putting on a show under the disguise of a animal suit to make others happy.

i hope this has been informative to you, like with this community if people just took the time to listen to what it's really about and keep an open mind they would see that there's nothing weird about it, there may be some weird people within communities like this but that in no way reflects on the community as a whole.

[Ford Freak]

Thanks for all the information. Now I understand it a lot better. I never did think furry was weird although I never could make form an opinion on it since I wasn't sure what it was.

[Morv]

For no particular reason, here is an analogy describing, among other things, a more dictionary definition of the word furry:

"Furry" is to "Fur" what "Hairy" is to "Hair."

(Someone was talking about the GREs the other day.)

[restlessfox]

i don't know why but your post just made me laugh hysterically morv, i guess i'm just weird like that.

[diaperedpuppy]

Not unlike trying to explain 'DL' or 'AB' - 'furry- takes some doing

And I'm not the right wolfpuppy to tell you, there's plenty of websites to do that.

Take a look at one of our biggest gatherings / convention - called Anthrocon. Over 2,500 people gather, to act like their animal side, wear tails, have fun, dress up etc etc.

http://www.anthrocon.org/

Maybe this poem will help you all

A poem by Croc O'Dile of TigerMUCK which captures a bit of what it is to be furry.

If the true meaning of furry you wish to understand

You must think in terms of paw and not hand

You must release your mentality from society's cage

For furry prefurs no race, sex, persuasion or age

You must sort through the hype and the exploitation

Because to be furry needs no justification

It is to reach out and embrace the unknown

To be surrounded by friends and yet still be alone

It is not a gimmick or a political movement

It's nothing so pretentious as a method of improvement

It's only to seek solace in the presence of friends

For when one is furry, the search never ends

It is sometimes to be controlled by one's emotions

It is to often be unsure of depths of devotion

It is the sweet pain of impossible dreams

It is never quite as close or as far as it seems

It is feelings being known without words being spoken

It is the inevitable occasional heart being broken

It is the type of love that now seems cliche

It's experience gained from having learned the hard way

It's a smurgle, a fuzzle, a rumble or purr

It's scales and whiskers and tails and fur

It's what we are, not outside but within

It's the binding force that makes us all kin

It's a howl in greeting to friends held dear

It's a bristling growl when confronted by fear

It's a friendly lick or scritch to show that we care

It's a deep understanding, a compassion that's rare

If what it is to be furry you still don't comprehend

Then consider this advice, my curious friend

If you're willing to respect that which you don't understand

Then come take my paw and I'll take your hand.

-- Croc O'Dile w/help from Tony DeMatio - 6/95

Diaperedpuppy