It's an interesting first draft, with a lot of useful information that can be hard to find -- Wikipedia has spoiled me for subject headings within articles. A few typos slipped through: it's "Bugs" Bunny, for example. A few of your assertions seem to come out of nowhere: "Furry is unique...in that attractive women are common. (In most fandoms, female members tend to be plain.)" I'd be interested in the facts you're using to back up that statement.

You have the makings of a good Furry primer here (with a little editing), and I hope you're checking the relevant entries on WikiFur and Wikipedia to see what questions previous writers on the meaning of "Furry" and "furries" have left unanswered.

Thanks, Roo! I'll be sure to correct Bugs's name and thanks also for the tip on WikiFur. (I usually find encyclopedias daunting, but I'll make an effort.)

The comment on attractive female members is from my personal observations. I might be biased, (and said so in my very first paragraph), but I've noticed quite a few very well turned-out female furries! SF fandom especially is notable for... well, let's leave it at "plain." (Quite marvelous, unforgettable women, mind you with open smiles and intelligence in their eyes, good friends, but you'd never mistake them for fashion models.) I'll grant you that "unique" might have been an overstatement. If I get further comments about that, I'll alter it. (Peculiar instead, perhaps?)

Nice essay; it's extensive, informative and reasonable, and IMO could be quite useful for introducing people to and explaining the furry fandom.

Thanks, mate! That's what I was aiming for. :) Anything you think I missed, especially in your line of fanac?

No glaring omissions that I can notice; on the subject of why writers get less status than artists in the fandom, two reasons come to mind.

First, reading a story and judging whether it is good or not takes more time and effort than looking at a picture, and fewer people are likely to do it; second, the fandom is very much a visually oriented one.

Very interesting.

A Thought: Maybe there isn't so much as more gay and/or lesbians in the furry fandom as much as more OPENLY gay and/or lesbians becuase the fandom generally is more accepting of people's differences, as opposed to most of society, especially in the USA.

I always held the belief that the Furry fandom, in social structure, is just a microcosm of humanity, with less social "scorn" attached, so people hide themselves less.

You have a point there, Ivan. I know that there are (supposedly) more gay SF fans that average, too. (IMHO, SF and Furry have quite a bit in common.) So it very well might be that its just easier to come out to other furries.

IT'S (sorry)

ehh i knew what you meant ^_^.

its like gay sin the military. The US military will say there are none. The UK army has em. They jsut allow them to say they are. Doesn't mean there are none in the US army

even 7 years a=in the future it makes perfect sense. a great explanation :D

Thanks!

Its a very decent and well made essay but I feel that its missing in VITAL information in regards to debunking stereotypes... for example. how prevalent in mental illness and autism in the fandom and is their a strong correlation or potential cause and effect.

because what really peeves me is that I haven't found evidence for one or the other. what makes it harder to know for sure is not many people are open about their mental health.

unless of course you deliberately omitted it in order to protect your narrative. which makes this essay nothing more than an opinion piece and is woefully lacking in any scientific method.

also. citing sources is a MUST.

I'm not a specialist in those fields, I know very little about them, so I didn't comment on them. The comments I did make were informed by my own experience; I've been a Science Fiction fan for about thirty six years and a Furry for more than twenty years. My observations on the fandom, (above), are literally what I have observed first hand, or else what other Furries have told me. They are, nevertheless, my own (informed) opinions.

If, for some reason, you need a scientifically valid assessment. I recommend Nukakitty's International Anthropomorphic Research Project. I'll warn you, it's not an easy read, despite Nuka's efforts.