Fursuits can cost thousands of pounds from shops
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By Denise Winterman
BBC News Magazine
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A court case where the two defendants met on a "furry" website has put the spotlight in this little-known world. So what is a furry? Lenya looks adorable, with lots of glossy white fur, black paws, a shiny pink nose and cute little pointed ears. But Lenya is also a 48-year-old computer network administrator called Marshall Woods, who likes motor racing, visiting museums and reading crime novels in his spare time.
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DEFINITIONS
Anthropomorphism: Attribution of human traits to an animal
Zoomorphism: Attribution of animal traits to a human
Source: K.Gerbasi
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Mr Woods is what is known as a furry and Lenya is a "fursona" he has created, which he described as a "sort of space weasel". As part of getting into character he wears a handmade, full-size fursuit. Furry Fandom, furrydom, furdom - it's called many things - has momentarily found itself in the spotlight in the UK, due to a court case where the two defendants met on a furry website. It is a largely unknown scene and participants have been happy to keep it that way, feeling they are often misunderstood. So what is a furry? No standard definition exists but generally furries are people who have a fascination with anthropomorphic animals. These are animals that are given human traits, like walking and talking. They can be anything from cartoons characters like Bugs Bunny to computer game personalities like Pokemon. The scene has its own art, animation, comic books and literature, but activities are largely conducted online - where furries adopt "fursonas" for role playing. But for some it is about meeting other furries in person. Groups around the world meet regularly and there are conventions in the US, UK, Germany, Mexico, France, Russia and Brazil. Petting and scratching Furries say the scene is about creativity, freedom and community; being who you want to be among like-minded people. "You get to choose what and who you are. Imagination is OK, no matter what your age," says Mark Merlino, a founding member of the furry culture in the US and known as Sylys Sable on the scene.
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COMMON FURRY IDENTITIES
Wolf
Fox
Lion
Tiger
Folf (Fox/Wolf)
Cabbit (Cat/Rabbit)
Source: K Gerbasi
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But, inevitably perhaps, there's a sexual element too. In a recent court case in the UK, two men who met on a furry website, and shared sexual role-playing fantasies, were convicted of plotting to kill one of the pair's adoptive parents. Christopher Monks, from Lancashire, and Shaun Skarnes, from Cheshire, were found guilty of meticulously preparing the killings via the internet. They are currently awaiting sentence. Furries will not thank the pair for casting their hobby in a negative light, and tend to argue the sexual side is hugely overplayed. "I think the problem is that sex sells," says Ian Wolf (his furry pseudonym), who is editor of the British furry news website, FurteanTimes.com. "It is not surprising that less scrupulous journalists like to print stories about people having sex dressed as foxes." Some furries assume animal traits - known as zoomorphism - and indentify strongly with certain species. This can range from adopting an online persona to wearing a tail or full-sized fur suits like Mr Woods. Exhilarating "Fursuiters", as they are called, bemoan society's inhibitions and look admiring at the animal kingdom where creatures have more freedom to be expressive. Touching, petting, hugging and "skritching" (lightly scratching and grooming) is common at social gatherings. And most do not remove their costumes in public areas, to prevent breaking the illusion. "There's a magic moment when you put a costume on and see yourself in the mirror," says Mr Woods. "It's simultaneously disorienting and exhilarating. You actually do feel that you've changed for just a moment."
Some identify with certain animals
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Anthrozoologist, Kathy Gerbasi, who studies human-animal interactions and furries, has witnessed furry interaction first-hand. "People say that being in a fur suit allows you to do things you might not otherwise do, like dance in public, clown around, give people a hug," she says. She argues furries are just taking something that most of us do a few steps further. "I think most humans grow up interested in animals. We grow up with teddy bears, pets, Mickey Mouse, etc. Animals surround us in advertisements, nature, stories and fables. "Humans tend to anthropomorphise as a way of understanding and interpreting the world around us. Furries just take this interest a bit further than most people." But a small minority take it further still - believing they are animals trapped in human bodies, or consider themselves to be part animal. A study by Ms Gerbasi at one furry convention found about a quarter of the participants did not consider themselves 100% human. She is currently researching this in relation to gender identity disorder, when people feel they are the wrong sex and trapped in the wrong body. She says currently unpublished data supports the hypothesis that there are similarities. She is calling it species identity disorder. 'Mystified' Feeling you are part-animal is unusual, she admits, although "for most, the furry fandom is a hobby and like Star Trek fans or such". Of course, there's nothing new about people donning animal costumes for a spot of fun. But Furryism, as a pursuit in its own right, grew out of science fiction and comic book conventions in the 1980s, says furry historian Fred Patten.
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FURRY GLOSSARY
Fursona - furry persona
Plushie - person who loves cuddly toys
Fleshie - a non furry
Fursuiters - People who dress in animal costumes
Yiff - furry porn
Skritching - scratching and grooming
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Small room parties were held at such events in the UK and US for fans of animated cartoons with animal characters. But it really came of age with the internet in the 1990s and today is an internet community first and foremost, says Mr Merlino. Conventions are held around the world and some have attracted have up to 3,000 furries. In the UK the scene is very active, says Mr Wolf. There are locals groups and two annual conventions, in London and Manchester, with another planned for Inverness. For a long time it was a male-dominated scene, but many more women are now involved. "There are still way more male furries than female ones, but the number of girls is growing slowly," says furry artist TaniDaReal (her furry pseudonym), a 29-year-old media designer from Germany. 'Mystified' "On art galleries, I'd say the gender ratio is pretty balanced. A lot of the furry artists are female." Very little research has been done on the furry world. This is probably because many behavioural scientists are not really aware of their existence, says Ms Gerbasi.
The Lenya costume was handmade
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"When I presented an interactive session at an identity conference in 2007 people were mystified," she says. "If you tell people about furries they often think you are kidding or making it up. Also, due to bad publicity, furries have not been cooperative about being studied." Furries argue it is the persistent misconceptions about them that keeps the scene private. "The big misconception is that most furries are mainly obsessed with sex," says Mr Wolf. "While there is pornography in the fandom - 'yiff' as it is known - it is only a small part." So what do they say when someone thinks being a furry is weird? "I would say that we are just free thinkers who let our minds expand to create these weird and wonderful characters," says Mr Wolf. | 
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