Karl Marx, a 19th CE political economist, has described fetishism as “the religion of sensuous appetites”. Fetishism entails providing godly attributes to inanimate things and makes their importance above human existence.
This is done by the worshiper in the belief that natural characteristics of inanimate things will gratify their own desires. Borrowing from this concept, this article will delve into a particular fetish commodity known as “furry sexual”.
Ultimate Guide on Furry Sexual
What does Furry Sexual mean?
Imagine going to a costume party for your childhood desires of cosplay or participating in fancy dress competitions in high schools or even your excitement for the upcoming Halloween.
The external appearance in all these cases remains the same but what makes them different is the underlying reasons.
We used to dress as superman as a child because we were interested in comics, however now we dress as superman maybe because we are sexually aroused by those over-the top red undies.
Is being a furry just a sexual fetish?
Popular media as well as culture portrays furries as sexually motivated. However, what is often overlooked is that they might be actually motivated by an erotic target identity inversion (ETII).
ETII essentially means that you are sexually aroused by being the same kind of individual or furry animal with whom you are sexually attracted. . After a survey of 334 male furries,
It was identified that 99% of them had sexual motivations. It was also noticed that both sexual attraction to furry animals and sexual arousal by the same were universal reasons for furry fetish.
Furries are often stigmatized and discriminated as people having sexual motivations. This lack of empirically motivated characterizations harms not only the individual who desire to be a furry but also puts the whole furry community under the tag of ‘sexual fetishes’.
A 2007 survey by International Anthropomorphic Research Project revealed that only 26.4% possessed a furry-suit. This confirms the proposition that some furries engage in this activity temporarily and only for the sake of fun.
Courtney Plante, PhD, professor of psychology at Bishop's University and co-founder and lead data analyst for Fur Science is also of the same view that “Furries are fans, just like anyone else.
They’re fans of “films, stories, and artwork that feature animals [that] walk, talk, and do human things.” Hence, supporting the furry-fandom is just like wearing a slytherin scarf for the simple reason that you love the Harry Potter series.
What is Fursona?
Fursona is derived from two words- persona and furry. To clarify this definition further, Fursona refers to the personality of the human being who chooses to look like his favorite anthropomorphic animals or animals endowed with human qualities.
Some of the most popular characters include Bugs Bunny, Sonic the Hedgehog, Pokemon, Aurora and so on.
Fursonas can be based on an animal ranging from simple ones like cat, dog, reptile, bird, wild animal to even unusual and exotic animals from our mythical stories that we used to read in childhood.
What all of them share is that they all should walk upright, just like normal humans, and they should have a cartoon-like appearance.
Furries depict their fursona through a variety of means. These can include the mechanisms of art, writing, online identities, or even your favorite activity of designing your own ‘fursuits’.
Fursuits are elaborate costumes ranging from full costumes or partial ones,simply depicting ears, tail, heads, gloves of any individual animal. We all have a character transformation when our inner designer finds expression through our fursuits.
What kind of people are furries?
Popular media has flourished a biased appearance of any ordinary furry as white male. A 2012 study by International Anthropomorphic Research Project highlights that 79.2 to 85.7 percent of furries at conventions were male, just like 78.3 to 84.6 percent of online furries. A 2014 study revealed that 90% of respondents identified as white.
In terms of religion, the majority of them were atheist (44.36 %) or agnostic (9.47 %); 23.19% identify as Christian, 3.94 % as Pagan, 1.91 % as Wiccan, and 13.72 % as "other."
If we see the age-wise demographics of furries, a 2012 study estimates that convention attendees were a bit older (24 to 27.1) on average than online furries (23 to 25.6). But in general the group skewed towards the younger generation.
In terms of sexual orientation, empirical evidence suggests that one-third of fursonas identify as heterosexuals. Moreover, it is 5 times more likely that any fursona belongs to the LGBTQ+ community, thus making them highly popular in the third gender world.
But just like LGBTQ+ had to fight their stigma of abnormality, fursonas have to do the same with their labels of ‘sexual motivations’ by popular media.
There are some other kinds of furries as well. Plante’s studies highlight that one in three furries don’t think of themselves as completely human.
They feel a spiritual connection with their furry fetish. On the other hand, the majority of fursonas think that they are complete human beings with furry attractions.
Additionally, a survey by International Anthropomorphic Research Project also highlights that about 50% respondents considers bronies as a sub-group of furrydom while 22% denies any connection at all.
Bronies share their interest in ‘furry-themed avatar’ with furries but they refer exclusively to people who are fans of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.
Another kind of furry highlighted by Plante’s research is related to bullying. His survey revealed that Sixty-two percent of furries were bullied from age 11 to 18, while 48.3 percent say they were bullied between the ages of 4 and 10.
What do Furry do actually?
A usual Furry character can do a range of things which don’t form an exhaustive list. Some of these are mentioned below-
How to Explore Furry sex?
If you want to explore more into the mysteries of furry world and furry sex, you have come to the right place. Furry community provides a thriving place to explore your feelings about furry sex in a number of ways. Some of these ways are mentioned below-
Few facts or myths about furries:
They are not socially awkward or dysfunctional
Plante argues, “Whenever we see someone acting in an unusual way, we have an innate need to try and understand why they’re doing that”.
People often associate the furry fetish of furries as a “species identity disorder” modeled after “gender identity disorder” used in the case of LGBTQ.
While the media portrays them as socially awkward,it should be known that they are just like normal beings who are displaying their passion for a hobby. Plante’s studies also confirm that furries are mentally healthy without any psychoticism in behavior.
They are not sexual deviants
The myth about their deviancy floats in the air a lot. However, it should come to light that only 15-20 percent actually owns a fur-suit, thus denying the proposition that they are crazy about collecting fur-suits.
Moreover, just like car enthusiasts hang up posters of women with their favorite car models. Furries like star trek fans eroticize Captain Kirk and Doctor Spock. Labeling non-furry sexual fetish as normal while furries as sexual deviants doesn’t provide a strong case.
Anyone can start anytime
There is no age, religion, career, sex, colour, gender barriers to starting out as a furry. If you think that your 20s were the right time and you are too old for all these things now, you are wrong my friend.
The Internet has expanded the age criteria and offers you a lot of options to find your comfortable group of people. With this, you can gradually build up your connections and even attend comic cons together.
Mostly it starts online
If you are interested to be a part of the fandom, the internet provides a simple and low-stake way to join in. Furries find their tribes within the gaming community or by messaging the fans of their favorite character on social media.
After these initial communications, they move forward to explore their furry fetish by exchanging numbers, regular meet-ups or even attending the conventions together.
After all, who doesn’t like the company of people who are into the same thing as you are? This also provides a way for introverts to engage in platonic or romantic relationships. It is one of the best way to enhance the interaction
Hence, furries are the portrayal of your fetishes, whether sexual or non-sexual. Whatever may be the reason for this fetish, it should not be seen as problematic to the existence of a particular community.
Neither should they be made feel less about their desires as fantasies have a unique way of expression for everyone. If fantasies are showcased in an effective way then it will be good for everyone!