How many furries in the world

Ella Collins was 16 when she first encountered the world of furries after a friend invited her to a BBQ. Furries are people who create anthropomorphic identities, often called fursonas, and it is estimated there are several thousand in Australia.

As a subculture, however, the world of furries is something of a mystery to many, as it's rarely encountered in everyday life. But, as hundreds of furries prepare for the national furry convention on the Gold Coast in just over six weeks' time, devotees explain that it's not just about dressing up as animals.

The psychological benefits of creating a fursona can be life-changing, they say — a statement recently supported by international research into the phenomenon. Sharon Roberts, an associate professor of social development studies at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, says the furry world is growing in popularity because it is a safe, welcoming and non-judgemental community.

The IARP was partly formed to investigate some of the claims and perceptions around the furry community after a Vanity Fair article called Pleasure of the Fur and an episode of TV series CSI called Fur and Loathing painted a largely depraved and highly sexualised picture of furries. She said only "about 20 to 25 per cent of furries have fur suits", some of which cost thousands of dollars and are custom-made.

Ms Collins, who lives in Melbourne, says her character Pocket, who she describes as being "a deer crossed with a bird", has changed her life. For Felix, the experience of going out in public while in costume can be quite stressful. Now, however, Felix finds the experience of "suiting up" an empowering one.

Felix taught themselves to make costumes, and now has several characters, all with their own personalities and characteristics, right down to the way they stand and move. Participants were thus furries from all over the world, completing the survey online, and participants at Anthrocon who we recruited through the simple method of "walking through the line-ups and offering people a chance to do the survey as something to do.

Our sample consisted of 1, furries and non-furries. A number of new items were included in the survey this year, based on questions and feedback from furries regarding the kinds of issues they were interested to know more about and based on various psychological theories being tested by the researchers.

These were in addition to many of our usual questions. In sum, the survey consisted of nearly questions. It would be prohibitively long and tiresome to go over the results of each of these questions individually, and so below are some of the more interesting summaries of the data which has thus far been analyzed.

As always, if you have any questions or want clarification, please contact us see link on the sidebar. Please note that all collected information is presented here in aggregate summarzied form, and there is absolutely NO identifying information in the data. We have no way of tracing responses back to the original participant this is an anonymous survey. Additionally, any unique responses e. Q2: Where did the furries in your sample come from?

Q3: How old is the average furry? Q4: What is the ethnic breakdown of the furry fandom? Q5: What is the sex breakdown of the furry fandom? Q6: What is the gender breakdown of the furry fandom? Q7: Sexual orientation in the fandom: Are furries gay, straight, bisexual, or something else?

Q8: Furry sexuality: Behaviour, attraction, and love: the same thing? Q9: Are furries mostly single or in relationships? Q What kind of families do furries come from? Q What kind of education does the average furry have? Q How long has the average furry been a furry for? Q How much of your sample was furry? Q Is there a difference between a "furry" and a "furry fan"? Q Is furry something you are, or something you do? Q How many furries own fursuits?

Q How did furries come to associate with the furry community? Q What "makes" furries "furry"? Q What are furries like, personality-wise? Q How many fursonas has the average furry had? Q Do furries choose predator or prey species? Q What exactly is "furry culture"? Q What are the attitudes of furries towards various furry subcultures? Q What interests do furries have? Q How close do furries feel to the furry community? Q How big is the furry fandom?

Q How do furries interact with one another? Anthrocon and Summer Online Working Paper. Courtney Plante, Jun 12, , AM. Furry Statistics Q How "furry" is the average furry? Species Questions Q How many fursonas has the average furry had? Furry Community Q What exactly is "furry culture"? Furry Well-Being Q Are furries maladjusted or well-adjusted? Wikifur, local furry forums, Flayrah, Furry News Network, etc As in previous surveys, the vast majority of our participants came from the United States.

However, there were a number of participants from all over the world, making our survey an international one. It should be noted that although our sample drew quite heavily from North America, there are a number of reasons for this, including the sample being partially drawn from an American furry convention, and the fact that the survey was only in English, which likely excluded a significant number of furries from the international community. While it is true that the furry community is a young and vibrant community, it is also true that the community is a very diverse one, with furries of all ages attending conventions and participating online and at local furmeets.

As has been in the case in our previous surveys, the majority of participants in our survey self-identify as white.

There are, nonetheless, a multitude of racial and ethnic groups within the furry fandom, as seen below. It should again be noted that, given the North American nature of this sample, it is unsurprising that the majority of participants were white.

Strike explains it this way: "When they put on the fur suit and they become somebody else, it is very liberating. You've sort of left behind that human person with all those inhibitions and problems. You become this kind of free spirit. You become somebody else who you're not the rest of the time.

The fandom tends to be shy, Plante says. Costumes make it easier to socialize "without fear of being judged. Bottom line: Research shows that for the most part, they may be more "normal" than you think. The future looks bright for the furry fandom. Plante estimates the fandom is between , and 1 million people — and growing. But I think as time goes on, it will be normalized in the way 'Star Trek' and 'Star Wars' fans became normalized, in the way 'Lord of the Rings' fans became normalized.

If normalization does come via movies, Stansfield hopes technology will pave the way for it by making it cheaper and easier for furries to make Hollywood-quality films. There are 'furries' of all ages. Posted: Nov 15, AM. Related Content There are 'furries' of all ages Anxious?

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