Inside the weird world of the ‘furry’ fetish… where people don full animal bodysuits before getting VERY frisky
AROUND quarter of a million people in the US now identify as “furries” – a subculture where members dress up as cartoonish animals, sometimes as a sexual fetish but more often as a fun escape.
In early September, the furry movement made headlines for all the wrong reasons.
Scott Chamberlain, a councilman from Connecticut was forced to resign when it came to light that he was a furry.
His animal of choice: a fox called Gray Muzzle. This revelation was confirmed via Chamberlain’s profile on a website called sofurry.com.
The profile showed a photo of him posing alongside someone in furry garb, and the fact he checked a box on his sofurry.com profile stating that he “tolerates rape,” did not help his situation.
Nevertheless, those in the furry community rallied behind Chamberlain.
Writer and “furry” enthusiast Joe Strike, 67, from the Upper East Side, who has penned a book lifting the lid on the quirky fetish in a new book called Furry Nation, spoke about the councilman’s situation.
He said people who wanted Chamberlain out of his political position got “carried away.”
Joe commented: “I don’t want to call it a lynch mob, but people get upset. I feel sorry for the guy.”
If it’s any consolation to Chamberlain, Furpocalypse, the largest gathering of furries in New England, takes place on October 27-29 in Cromwell Connecticut, 112 miles from Chamberlain’s home base.
Strike, who dresses up as a suave Komodo dragon named Komos — “He wears a dinner jacket, his eyes are hypnotic and his presence is commanding; all that’s missing is a sherry goblet” — will be joining an expected 1,500 attendees at the event.
Strike looks forward to costumed comedy sketches and song parodies along with opportunities to socialise with those of his ilk.
Although his handmade outfit — constructed of felt and foam rubber — is generally too hot to don on a day-to-day basis, he said: “I will wear my costume every opportunity I get — at conventions and on Halloween.”
A minority of furries, he added, dress up a few times a month for gatherings in peoples’ homes and public parks.
Strike estimates that two-thirds of furries are men and that a large number of them come from the IT and technology professions.
The latter somewhat jibes with a study on furries led by Canadian college professor Dr. Kathy Gerbasi and published in the journal Society & Animals.
Gerbasi found that approximately 25 per cent of those surveyed considered themselves less than 100 per cent human and would become zero per cent human if they could.
Strike said that most furries he has encountered grew up with interests in anthropomorphic cartoon characters and now find comfort around others with the same interest.
While it’s commonly believed that sexuality plays a large role in the socialising of furry friends, Strike insisted that only a small number of his comrades engage in sexual acts while dressed in their outfits.
He said: “You don’t have fetish scenes at the conventions, but some people might go back to their rooms for fun.”
Nevertheless, his current boyfriend (Strike is bisexual) met him at a furry event, was attracted to Strike’s outfit and used it for an entreaty.
Strike said: “One day he sent me a text saying, ‘How are you, you sexy ’gator?’
“He’s a walrus, and I don’t find his costume to be a turn-on. But he is quite younger, he called me sexy and I am not complaining.”
Though the idea of people relating to animals and adopting their own beastly characteristics dates back thousands of years, Strike figures that the modern furry movement gained its footing in the early 1990s.
Strike continued: “The Internet began hooking people up and it took off.”
Initially believing that costumes were overkill, Strike had a change of heart three years ago after trying on a friend’s meerkat outfit.
He said: “That’s when I decided to get a suit of my own.”
A designer in Maryland, named Artslave, who specialises in furry wear, created Strike’s outer trapping, which cost $2,100 (£1,578).
He said: “It was worth every penny. I like the eyes that glow and its serpentine tail that wiggles as I walk.”
For the furries who will be gathering in Connecticut this month, pleasures promise to go beyond the physical.
Strike said: “People invent mythologies for themselves, and it is a hell of a lot of fun. You have permission to not be yourself, and it is liberating.”
Outside of his costume, Strike said, “I am easy-going. As Komos, though, I become forceful. It’s a nice vacation for me.”
This story originally appeared on the and has been republished with permission.
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