I’ve mostly heard it as a term of personal identity, not explicitly outward to a fandom. As in, “you’re furry if you identify as one,” and that’s about it. That’s about where I stand, as I’ve been furry before I even had a word for it as a little kid, and also have never concerned myself with “the fandom” really.
I’m not even sure what that entails; I communicate with other folks who identify as furry, but not really to discuss some centralized culture like I would in something like a show or sport fandom. I make and appreciate art by folks who do—and don’t—identify as furry, but that doesn’t feel like participating in fandom either. To me it feels akin to saying I’m in the bisexual fandom or something; it doesn’t feel right even though I identify as it.
That’s fair. Maybe that’s closer to how I feel, as well, now that you say it that way - but the underlying point still stands: furries are people, not characters.
Absolutely, that part I totally agree with! In the context of fiction, the only furry character that makes sense is a someone you write that identifies as a furry.
![[REUP FROM REDDIT] OK, guys. Let's settle on this debate once and for all. Where do you draw the line on what a furry is?](https://thelemmy.club/pictrs/image/369af45c-7083-4a38-9b06-3d184db9b70d.png){kind=link}
I’ve mostly heard it as a term of personal identity, not explicitly outward to a fandom. As in, “you’re furry if you identify as one,” and that’s about it. That’s about where I stand, as I’ve been furry before I even had a word for it as a little kid, and also have never concerned myself with “the fandom” really.
I’m not even sure what that entails; I communicate with other folks who identify as furry, but not really to discuss some centralized culture like I would in something like a show or sport fandom. I make and appreciate art by folks who do—and don’t—identify as furry, but that doesn’t feel like participating in fandom either. To me it feels akin to saying I’m in the bisexual fandom or something; it doesn’t feel right even though I identify as it.
That’s fair. Maybe that’s closer to how I feel, as well, now that you say it that way - but the underlying point still stands: furries are people, not characters.
Absolutely, that part I totally agree with! In the context of fiction, the only furry character that makes sense is a someone you write that identifies as a furry.