furries

A world-wide subculture that has received some unfair criticism from the common person. This subculture involves the use of anthropomorphic animals of either a mammalian, reptilian or avian variety. Some furries will call themselves "scalies" or "avians" rather than furries to make that distinction. One of the reasons that this subculture is so often misunderstood is because there are so many subcultures within this subculture. 1. Fursuiters (those who like to dress up) 2. Otherkin (those who believe that they aren't human in spirit) 3. Furries (those who like to roleplay, draw, or write stories about furries) 4. Furverts (Or: Furry Fetishists. This, in turn, can be divided into many more subcultures, all grouped by specific fetishes, like feet, macros, and other fetishes) 5. Trans-species (Those who physically alter their body to resemble their respective animal's) The majority of furries interact in one or two virtual environments: Furcadia (which caters specifically to furries) and Second Life (which is famous for furries, but caters to everyone). Known for being very social creatures, it's not uncommon to see a furry make friends with many other furries. Social stigma, however, makes it harder for those who are "openly furry" to socialize with those who have a negative opinion about it. That is not to say, however, that this subculture is undeserving of some of its criticism. Of all the strangest fetishes that exist in this planet, they are only made stranger by this subculture. Suffice it to say, the author has seen some pretty disturbing things; things that cannot be mentioned here. However, the majority of furries (and even furverts) exist outside of this disturbing minority and are happily content.