Furry
Furry is a colloquial term used to indicate a particular category of fictional anthropomorphic animal. Put simply, a furry is a funny animal taken "seriously" for the benefit of an adult audience. Usage of the term furry is limited almost exclusively to members of furry fandom or other cultural groups aware of furry fandom; it is not widely used in mainstream circles. The term furry is also sometimes used to refer to a furry fan.Within the accepted usage of "furry", Roger Rabbit, Bugs Bunny, and Mickey Mouse are "funny animals": they are anthropomorphic, mostly behave like people, and can be considered to be the cartoon equivalents of character actors. In addition, Usagi Yojimbo, Omaha the Cat Dancer, and the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are furries (even though turtles don't have fur). They are generally more "realistic" in appearance than the funny animals and behave more like hybrids of humans and animals. They are sapient "people" as much as any well-limned fictional characters, but they aren't presented as animals for laughs. For example, the rabbit characters in Richard Adams' novel Watership Down are sentient and talk to each other, but their behaviour and psychology is very closely derived from that observed in real-life rabbits. Other furries are not so closely tied to their animal characteristics, but a degree of serious consideration is almost always given to this aspect of their characterisation. Andre Norton's Breed to Come, Brian Jacques' Redwall series, and Steven Boyett's The Architect of Sleep are other examples of novels featuring furries, as is Paul Kidd's Fangs of K'aath, which has been cited as a source of inspiration for many people to create furry works.
The terms morph or anthro (both contractions of anthropomorph) are also used for furries. The name of the animal the furry is based on is often prepended, for example rabbitmorph or lionmorph, to provide a more specific description. Morphic rabbit or morphic lion are yet other ways to describe such creatures. The base animal is not necessarily limited only to those animals with fur: sometimes more specific terms such as "scaley" and "feathery" are also used when dealing with animals possessed of the corresponding skin (or plumage) type.
Furry creatures are often found in games, especially role-playing games and computer games. Examples include the race of humanoid ducks found in the role-playing game RuneQuest, the feline-humanoid race (known as the "Vah Shir") found in the MMORPG EverQuest, and the races found in the Sonic the Hedgehog series of video games.
Much furry interest centers on artistic representations, often cartoon-like, of furry creatures; Yerf and the Velar Central Library are two such online repositories of furry art. Amateur and professional artists ply their wares online, by mail order, and at furry fandom conventions. In 2003, Anthrocon's art show tallied sales of almost $50,000, about 25% of which was for erotic or pornographic images, which are colloquially termed yiff or spooge. Further Confusion's art show in 2003 and 2004 exceeded $60,000 in sales, with one piece going for $10,000 in the 2004 auction.
Comics creator Steve Gallacci is believed by some to have popularised this usage of "furry" through his association with some science fiction and comics conventions and the small-press "funny animals" APAzine Rowrbrazzle.
The place of sexuality in furry fandom is debated. Some furry works are erotic or pornographic, and some furrys feel that their identity as furry is a part of their sexuality. There are discussion forums, online communities, and online art galleries devoted to erotic furry artwork. Criticisms of the furry community often focus on the perceived amount of sexual content, and critics may view furryness as a fetish. Other members of the furry community do not feel that their furryness is related to their sexuality, and are uninterested in sexualized furry works.
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