Am I a furry? (It's more likely than you think.)
If you are just hearing of the Furry Fandom for the first time, you may be sorting through a lot of information and varying opinions about the source, purpose, and motivation behind this strange and sometimes uncanny phenomenon.
Simply put, this fandom exists to celebrate fictional characters through creative means - including art, costuming, storytelling, and boundless forms of media. A majority of these characters are anthropomorphic animals, known colloquially as "furries".
While anthropomorphism (the giving of human-like qualities to animals or objects) has been part of the human imagination for as long as time can tell, the seed of the modern Furry Fandom can be attributed greatly to cartoons, movies and comics featuring human-like animals.
Today, people make their own anthropomorphic characters - sometimes representing themselves, a partial identity, or an idealized character that can inspire or comfort them.
People of diverse age groups find joy in sharing artwork of, costuming as, and living vicariously through their personal furry mascots.
The fandom is made up of people from every walk of life and contains many talents and opportunities to make friends, develop socially, and find people who share similar interests. This is a major draw of attending a furry convention such as AnthroExpo, where the fear of judgment is absent and most everyone rallies under one basic rule: everyone deserves to be accepted.
The International Anthropomorphic Research Project (IARP) offers a plethora of information gathered through various surveys and studies at conventions across the globe about the many what's, why’s and who's of the furry fandom. Visit their website for more information: https://furscience.com/
In addition, you can view the official our own 2020 mini documentary which details AnthroExpo's inaugural year below: