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| Photo from Anthrocon 2024’s Fursuit Parade |
If you have spent a good amount of time on the internet, you probably have heard of and possibly been confused by people dressed in big animal costumes. The furry fandom is a fandom of people interested in anthropomorphic animals, and this includes anything from creating furry characters to represent themselves (fursonas) to getting custom-made suits and cosplaying as those characters (fursuits) to simply enjoying their existence and wanting to be around others who share that interest.
Like many fandoms on the internet, furries are subjected to a large amount of hate. This hate takes many forms, such as hate comments on social media posts or “cringe compilations” lying around on YouTube, and it is so prevalent that furries are one of the first groups that people think of when hearing the word “cringe”. The reason for this hate is largely due to misconceptions about the fandom that have misconstrued many people’s reasons for being a part of it.
Despite the backlash, sense of community is a big value of the fandom, not only because people who enjoy something that many consider weird will naturally find solace in each other, but also because most of the fandom is part of the LGBTQ+ community (“5.1 Orientation.”), making it a safe space for many . While the fandom has experienced most of its presence and growth online, one of the most notable manifestations of the sense of community are furry conventions. These are large events where hundreds and sometimes thousands of furries come together for a few days to engage in various activities such as presentations, buying and selling art, and even clubbing and dance competitions.
Their very nature as an in-person event lets them stand as a symbol for sense of community. People travel from around the world just to come to these conventions and meet friends they had only previously known online, and this is especially true for bigger conventions such as Anthrocon and Furry Weekend Atlanta which have dedicated pages on their websites for travel advice for international attendees. The panels and presentations at these conventions also encourage fandom members to meet people with other common interests and give them the opportunity to talk about their personal experiences.
Conventions also serve to symbolize self-expression, another big theme of the fandom. They promote the viewing and selling of various forms of art, such as drawings, crafted items, and even premade fursuits. Their events also encourage expression through music and dance. Many conventions also host fursuit parades, where people can walk onto the streets embracing a version of themself that is not limited by their physical appearance but instead their creativity.
2 comments:
I loved reading this essay. I believe it broke my mold of what a “landscape” could be. I love this topic because conventions themselves are not symbolic or have much meaning in and of themselves. It is because the people there foster a community and interact with one another that makes the landscape so impactful. Very well written!!
I agree with Kay's comment about your topic breaking the mold of what we consider landscapes to be-- especially since conventions are temporary pop-ups. When I really think about it, these conventions fit into at least three of the landscape categories. Interestingly, I think that a furry convention could even be considered a landscape of power/exclusion in some ways because of the sheer cost to be able to create a fursuit-- some costing up to nearly $10,000 (according to Google).
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