Anthropology Project

[Thornbrier]

Greetings fellow furs. So, for my Anthropology class I am going to have to give a paper/talk about a culture of my choosing. And I am choosing furries. I don't have a problem coming out to my university class about being furry and my prof has already approved of the topic. It won't be due for some time, but I figured I would start collecting sources as soon as possible.

Anyone know any good resources for data on the fandom?

I'm not entirely sure what the project will require yet, but I think we will need interviews as well, so, if that's the case I would also like to know if anyone is willing to participate in an interview about their experience in the fandom. What could be more Furries on Furry than this?

Now, I don't expect you to give information I'm not willing to give, so a little on my background.
 I furst became furry (but didn't realize it and wouldn't admit it) when I was a kid and had a crush on Gadget Hackwrench, Maid Marian, and Kit Cloudkicker. I loved Duck Tales, Tail Spin, Darkwing Duck, and even Condorman (those flight scenes were too few and too short), but I am not a fan of most avian heads, especially ducks. At the age of 7 I 'became' a white tiger while playing hide and seek with classmates in tall grass. When I lunged out at them they ran away in fear (I was going to bite out their throats) and I suppressed my furry side for years. I am now a white tiger Chakat. In addition to avian heads looking weird to me, so do horse heads and bodies. Not a fan of hooves either. I only recently got active in the community after listening to FurCast. I only know one furry IRL, though I have recently become aware there are a few in my area, and I think I spotted one of them at my school.

Nagging question:
I understand why house cats, various dog breeds, and horses are so common (familiarity), and why exotic animals are common (uniqueness), but I don't understand why foxes seem to dominate the fandom. Why are foxes so prevalent in the fandom?

[WhiteStorm]

Foxes are also pretty familiar I would think. Not often domesticated, but they're pretty widely distributed. Plus, if I asked someone who had no idea what a fox was to imagine the combination of a dog and a domestic cat, I'd hardly be surprised if what they came up with seemed distinctly like a fox.

Now, if most of us lived in Africa and South America, you'd probably find a lot of Zorros and Jackals instead...

[Chiscringle]

I know of three surveys:
Old survey - http://www.visi.com/~phantos/furrysoc.html
Done by [A] - http://survey.adjectivespecies.com/
Kathleen Gerbasi, who works at SUNY Niagara and does a survey at AC every year - http://www.scribd.com/doc/3830456/Furries-From-A-to-Z-Anthropomorphism-to-Zoomorphism

[redyoshi49q]

Cursory searching turns up a few results, including this, that you may be interested in.  There's quite a bit more to find through Google (the search terms I used were "furry survey", "furry sociologist", and "furry sociologist anthrocon"; others should turn up additional results).

[DarkDemon]

I think a good way to figure out why Furry's have an interest in this fandom, and why they're furries :3, would be to check out the polls and read about how they word their posts even (Mostly because you can understand a lot about them by their posts). I know a lot of people make stereotypes about EVERYTHING, but you should do something on why people get stereotyped, or maybe why furs choose different types of anthro's and such? I've heard of only three different types; Taur, Feral and Anthro.... Could you post your report-thing when you are finished with it, please? I'd like to read it, it is an interesting topic XD

[Jet]

Lol, I read Anthropology class and thought a class about anthropomorphism. Forgot it meant the study of humans, not fuzzy awesomes.


I can understand wolves being so famous, almost so much as foxes. I don't understand why a fox is so big here though. I find myself attracted to the idea of being a fox, although I went with dogs for all my characters. I mainly like their tails and black stripy thing on the muzzle. Maybe foxes naturally draw human attention? Or maybe foxes are just cuter to humans than other animals? Maybe it could be that most people don't live around foxes. (so it seems unique) Fox seems to be the "default" fursona for most people and they just customize it from there.

As for me, I haven't been furry for too long. Only since last February. After a massive emotional drop into some pretty bad thoughts, I found this site from a suicide video, eventually leading me to finding a group of similar interests. It seems a lot of furries are depressed and/or suicidal and come here to feel accepted. We may not always be seen in good light by outsiders, but the fact is a lot of people become furry and then become happy, not the other way around. Ask me anything you want, though. I was "interviewed" by a friend on my OCD and I liked how his reports came out. I would be glad to give you my insight into the fandom as I see it if so asked.

[redpaw]

I would be happy to do an interview if you needed it. I'm not too sure of any good articles on the fandom, I used to fill in surveys a few years back but they all seemed to introduce bias with the questions they used.

As for why foxes are so prevalent? Well the anthro red fox is pretty much the unofficial mascot of the furry fandom (I was one myself xD). I think this might be due to early exposure in children's literature and because they are a very cute and unique animal. From their striking red coat and bushy tail to the cunning behaviour they often display, foxes are awesome .

[Amy]

I would be delighted to take part in an interview! ^-^


Felines and canines are so common, I think, because we're more familiar with them and their mannerisms. They're the most common pets, so it makes sense that we would relate to them better.

I think a good way to figure out why Furry's have an interest in this fandom, and why they're furries :3, would be to check out the polls and read about how they word their posts even (Mostly because you can understand a lot about them by their posts). I know a lot of people make stereotypes about EVERYTHING, but you should do something on why people get stereotyped, or maybe why furs choose different types of anthro's and such? I've heard of only three different types; Taur, Feral and Anthro.... Could you post your report-thing when you are finished with it, please? I'd like to read it, it is an interesting topic XD

Neko too.

[Kobuk]

I would be delighted to take part in an interview! ^-^


Felines and canines are so common, I think, because we're more familiar with them and their mannerisms. They're the most common pets, so it makes sense that we would relate to them better.

I think a good way to figure out why Furry's have an interest in this fandom, and why they're furries :3, would be to check out the polls and read about how they word their posts even (Mostly because you can understand a lot about them by their posts). I know a lot of people make stereotypes about EVERYTHING, but you should do something on why people get stereotyped, or maybe why furs choose different types of anthro's and such? I've heard of only three different types; Taur, Feral and Anthro.... Could you post your report-thing when you are finished with it, please? I'd like to read it, it is an interesting topic XD

Neko too.

Neko? Look at this thread:
http://forums.furtopia.org/index.php?topic=43790.0

[Thornbrier]

The more I get involved with the fandom the more it surprises me. I didn't expect nearly this type of response.

I figured someone would make the Anthro mistake, I keep laughing about it almost every day I go to class.

All I know about the project so far is that we will need to write a paper (of unknown length, though I suspect from 4 - 6 pages) on any culture we might desire. Our prof gave examples of Jaz culture, Catholic culture, Wrestling culture, and the Star Trek fandom. So I asked if I could do it on the Furry Fandom and he was intrigued. At the end of the class we will each give a quick aural presentation on our paper. I have started drawing up plans to build my own tail to wear during the presentation. This is an Introduction to Anthropology class that just started last week, so I am sure he will want us to use some of the methods we are going to study before its due, and I saw that interviews are on the list of methods we will be talking about soon, so I figure he might want us to use those.

Once I know more about the assignment I will keep you all updated, and I will make my final paper available.

I will keep those of you who volunteered for interviews in mind, thank you muchly.  Now to get the outline of my new steampunk furry story out of my head before I go to sleep.

Oh, and the nagging question was just something that had been plaguing my mind of late, and my IRL furry friend (who is a grey fox) wasn't able to give me a satisfactory answer. You guys have given much more in-depth answers that aren't just "I'm a fox because of Star Fox."

[Jet]

That's another thing. Being furry is almost synonymous with being helpful.

[redpaw]

That's another thing. Being furry is almost synonymous with being helpful.

I've found it more synonymous with being crazy

[Kek]

That's another thing. Being furry is almost synonymous with being helpful.

I've found it more synonymous with being crazy

more likely helpfully crazy!

[Iara Warriorfeather]

Nagging question:
I understand why house cats, various dog breeds, and horses are so common (familiarity), and why exotic animals are common (uniqueness), but I don't understand why foxes seem to dominate the fandom. Why are foxes so prevalent in the fandom?

That's a good question. I have no idea why that is, either. I mean, foxes are cool and all (I fell in love with Tails Prower from the Sonic the Hedgehog video game series years ago), but why they predominate the fandom is beyond me...I'd like to know too!

[Korin S.]

Nagging question:
I understand why house cats, various dog breeds, and horses are so common (familiarity), and why exotic animals are common (uniqueness), but I don't understand why foxes seem to dominate the fandom. Why are foxes so prevalent in the fandom?

That's a good question. I have no idea why that is, either. I mean, foxes are cool and all (I fell in love with Tails Prower from the Sonic the Hedgehog video game series years ago), but why they predominate the fandom is beyond me...I'd like to know too!

I can't give a better answer to this than the causal book/movie/franchise that made me part-fox (Disney's Robin Hood), but this did give me a rather interesting thought.

Not saying that they are, but if most of the foxes are foxes because of a game or a movie or something, then perhaps it's because foxes are all over non-furry media? And the answer to why that is might be easier to reach; foxes are more exotic than domesticated dogs, so of course you'd put one in your story, because it's more interesting and more people would buy it, maybe. Something like that.

Just a thought, of course.

[Gearbox]

I'm guessing most people just find 'em cute, which I can't blame them for.  As for my fox half, well, it was my nickname for years before I was a fur, so when I started getting an interest in the whole thing fox seemed the logical route to take.

Oh, and if you're looking for furs to interview, I'd be happy to oblige.