Yes, We’re Talking About Furries… No, We’re Not Talking About Your Pets

A cat, a dog, and a frog walk into a convention on two legs. No, this is not the beginning of some strange joke my dad would say at the dinner table, this is the reality for a group of people who call themselves Furries. For many outsiders, the Furries are a group of animal fetish mascots who are to be avoided, but they are indeed much more than that (Herzog, 2017). So, what exactly does it mean to be a Furry? Hal Herzog explains that Furries are fans of anthropomorphic animals (i.e., animals that have human characteristics) in the same way someone can be a Star Trek fan (Herzog, 2017). Now that we have somewhat of an understanding as to “what” a Furry is, let’s look at “who” these people are, and how misguided the general population is about the Furry community.

The Furry population is comprised of mainly young white males who identify strongly with the LGBTQ+ community (Reysen et al., 2019). Hsu (2019) conducted a survey of over 300 male Furries to gain some insight on the small community. In this study, 99% of the sample reported being somewhat motivated by sexual desires. This is fairly consistent with how media portray the Furry population (Hsu & Bailey, 2019). This study discusses the topic of Erotic Target Identity Inversion (ETII), being sexually aroused by the fantasy of being the same as what sexually arouses you (Hsu & Bailey, 2019). For example, if I was sexually aroused by fire hydrants and had an ETII, then I would also be sexually aroused when dressing up as a fire hydrant, or even when fantasizing about being a fire hydrant. This may sound strange to those who do not subscribe to this type of sexual arousal, but at the end of the day, one’s sexuality is one’s sexuality, and it isn’t anything to be afraid of or discriminated for, unless it causes harm to you or those around you.

There is also something to be noted about the personalities of Furries with and without their fursuits (animal costume). To be a true Furry, one must create their Fursona, their animal counterpart. A Furries fursona is an idealized, confident, and more attractive version of their everyday human self (Reysen et al., 2019). When rating themselves on the Big Five personality traits, someone with a fursona will tend to rate their furry self higher than their human self (Reysen et al., 2019).

So why is there such a stigma towards the Furry community? A common misconception about Furries is that they believe they are actually animals that enjoy having sex with other animals (Herzog, 2017). While it is true that sexual desire is involved for many Furries, this does not mean they partake in bestiality (i.e., the practice of people having sex with animals) or believe they are actually animals (Herzog, 2017). As discussed earlier, this is a fandom, like dressing up as your favourite anime character to Comicon. If someone sees a mall Santa, I am fairly confident that they do not think the mall Santa believes he is really Santa Claus. The same can be said for Furries, but this misconception is probably rooted in the fact that being a furry is more of a lifestyle than a job (Reysen et al., 2019). As for the bestiality component, Furries enjoy anthropomorphic animals, not real animals, and sexualizing objects that are not commonly sexualized is common for some people—just think about shoe fetishes. In fact, one of the first Furries is quoted as saying, "Everything created by human beings has some degree of what people think is attractive — and attractive is a big, broad unquantifiable word — however you define that" (Patterson, 2018).

The Furry community is still very understudied and even though it may be hard to fully understand the overall phenomenon, one thing is certain, they are more “normal” than many people may think. Furries are a very interesting community who are very accepting and non-judgemental (Herzog, 2017), and it might serve all people well to adopt this approach when meeting others who may have different interests than their own.  

Michael Rosenberg, Psychology BAH/4th year, Queen's University.

References:

Herzog, H. (2017, July 24). What's the Deal with "Furries?". Retrieved November 5, 2019, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/animals-and-us/201707/what-s-the-deal-furries.

Hsu, K. J., & Bailey, M. (2019, February 26). The “Furry” Phenomenon: Characterizing Sexual   Orientation, Sexual Motivation, and Erotic Target Identity Inversions in Male Furries.    Retrieved November 5, 2019, from https://link-springer.com.proxy.queensu.ca/article/10.1007/s10508-018-1303-7.

Patterson, T. (2018, November 14). Inside the misunderstood culture of furries. Retrieved from  https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/14/us/furries-culture/index.html).

Reysen, S., Plante, C. N., Roberts, S. E., & Gerbasi, K. C. (2019, October 14). My Animal Self: The Importance of Preserving Fantasy-Themed Identity Uniqueness. Retrieved  November 5, 2019, from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15283488.2019.1676245.

How is physical distancing due to COVID-19 shaping our sexual and intimate lives?

We happen to be living in an unprecedented time due to COVID-19 and the resulting physical distancing guidelines in order to “flatten the curve” and keep ourselves—and others—safe from this novel virus. Some of the effects of physical distancing can already be seen on a large scale. Take the (mostly negative) effects on the economy, for example. But not all of the impact is negative—just think about the positive environmental effects of having less cars on the road. Although no one can really predict with absolute certainty what large- or small-scale changes will occur in the longer-term future, it is pretty certain that some of these impending changes will be unanticipated—and hopefully, generally positive (we are being optimistic!). Our fingers are crossed…

In SexLab, we are interested in examining the effects of physical distancing on a smaller but important (to us, and hopefully to many of you!) scale: sexuality and relationships. We have heard so many stories from people having to make hard decisions about with whom to self-isolate, and some of these (so far) have happy—and some have not-so-happy—narratives. Some people are becoming uber creative with their sole partner in terms of carving out priority time to keep their “flame” stoked, whereas others in monogamous relationships report feeling like sex and intimacy are not a priority because their energy is being used to “get by” and “survive” each day. Indeed, the effects of physical distancing can amplify vulnerabilities and disparities for many people. Even those who are not “just getting by” may feel an immense weight of having to play multiple roles each day, all day long, with homeschooling kids, preparing meals, fitting their remote work in somehow, etc. to the point that “alone time” is even more rare than it was pre-physical distancing. Many of these people are not even sure what desire for sex, or intimacy, is any more. On the other hand, some people in long-distance relationships have been engaging in imaginative, remote scenarios in order to make up for the lack of possible in-person time together. Everyone seems to be dealing with their sexuality within physical isolation in different ways, and these ways may change over time and shape what our sexuality looks like post-physical distancing.

In addition, some people have been struggling with how to renegotiate their sexuality in many ways. For some people whose sexuality was framed (in the pre-COVID era) largely on casual sex with multiple partners—or even within consensually non-monogamous relationships in which partners do not share a household—adaptations may need to be made in this new world where monogamy seems to be the “safest” choice and guidelines are stating that the safest sex to have is with yourself or someone in your household. Indeed, all of the supporting structures for meeting potential partners are closed, “hooking up” seems to be almost impossible these days, and visiting others—even important others—is discouraged.

How are people faring in terms of their adjustment (or resistance) to the physical distancing guidelines? What factors predict how satisfied people are with their sexuality? Has masturbation become a key activity and how does pornography play into our sexuality these days? How are people renegotiating their sexuality? We have launched a study to examine all of these, and other, questions. It involves answering numerous questions about sexuality, masturbation, pornography use, and COVID over time. Please check out this link for this survey and help us gain crucial information about the effects of a pandemic on sexuality.

Dr. Caroline Pukall, PhD.

SexLab Director