Why are people furries?
No judgement meant absolutely at all and no hate; this may also be a thing asked commonly but idk. I just want to know what the appeal to being a furry is so I can understand it.
I get its a community, and has many tons of talented people, but why furry? Whats the appeal of fursuits and furry art compared to regular art/such? And why use money and freedom on something like this - obviously it must mean a great deal to people and I just would like to figure out why, as someone who isn’t a furry I find it tough to grasp.
I’d really appreciate honest and straightforward answers, not stuff like: “why do people spend money on premium football tickets” because to be honest I find that kind of hard to grasp as well.
Thank you.
Edit: Im starting to understand a lot better, Thank you very much everyone for the serious responses.
Furry was a foreign concept to me due to all my experiences - I have always been surrounded by judgemental people and the country I come from has very ‘traditional’ people. As a result, even though I came here with the intent of genuinely learning as non-judgemental; I still ended up grouping “furries” outside of the “norm”, I apologize for this.
If anyone finds this post and doesnt understand what being a furry is, heres what I gathered from here, coming from my own viewpoint, as someone who isn’t a furry. Remember that it is simply 1 hobby (you are not ONLY a furry if you are one, like, thats not your ENTIRE identity) and furries are still people, not a foreign concept:
What is a furry? Very simply someone who takes interest (in any way) in anthropomorphic animals
Why anthro? Animals are cute, humanize them for relatability’s sake
Why furry? Many reasons, like in any hobby, although commonly: Amazing community, good people, very many talented people as is in any community (since its normal to be in communities where you group towards a common interest)
Why fursuit? Escapism that symbolizes you are a part of the community or a symbol of how much you care for it, think cosplay.
Why 18+ stuff? Its seemingly a small amount of people, so dont judge the furry community based on it. Although if I were to guess, it’s because the interest towards furry may evolve in this way, think of anime, lots of people like it and then sometimes it will turn into people liking 18+ anime.
These reasons change for every person, but I feel like its a simple and cohesive way to look at it from an outsiders perspective. Please correct me if needed, maybe my ‘tone’ can come across differently than intended to.
Thank you.