# Is there a psychological explanation for furries?



## Askari_Nari (Jul 13, 2011)

Obviously I mean the ones with the whole sexual aspect, not the ones without it. I've read explanations for scat, vore, incest, rape, etc. fetishes, but I've never read anything about furries. I personally don't think that explanations for bestiality apply, since the whole cartoon anthropomorphic aspect to the fetish should make it more independent of a fetish when compared to zoophilia. Google searches haven't yielded any results so far, so if you know anything I'd be interested to hear it.


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## Lobar (Jul 13, 2011)

Is there a reason there can't be psychological explanations for a _non_sexual affinity for anthropomorphic animals, or are you just wanting to have a "What's going on with those people" conversation rather than a "What's going on with us?"

In any case, people have been sexualizing absolutely anything and everything since, in all likelihood, before man was ever even sentient.  Anthropomorphic animals are both a) prominent in human culture and b) capable, in concept, of having sexual relationships, so it's not exactly surprising that furry porn exists.


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## Evan of Phrygia (Jul 13, 2011)

i personally dont see a need in explaining it. i agree with above poster on this.


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## anero (Jul 13, 2011)

it's a fetish
stop overanalyzing it


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## Askari_Nari (Jul 13, 2011)

I'd understand if there wasn't any explanation (other than what's been posted in this thread), but my family and friends keep asking me about it like I'd know and it would be nice to be able to say something other than I don't know.


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## Tycho (Jul 13, 2011)

There are nearly as many psychological explanations for furries as there are furries themselves.  I think "escapism" sums it all up pretty well, though.  People wanting to be things that they can't, to do things that they probably never will, to be places they can't go.


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## greaseyote (Jul 13, 2011)

OP, there are people who have a sexual attraction to Santa Claus. How do you explain that?

I think furries are pretty easy to explain. Anthromorphic animals are commonly found in video games, movies, etc., and not only do the characters have human traits, they often have the traits of humans that are considered to be attractive or cute. Spice it up with a lot of material that plays on different people's sexual curiosity or fantasies and you have the furry fandom.


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## Fat Bunny (Jul 13, 2011)

Probably something like those early psychological studies they did on babies -- you know, where they got the kids to be scared of cotton balls and stuff?  Except...instead of getting scared, the kid just got really excited.


------
Love,
theFatBunny.com


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## Commiecomrade (Jul 13, 2011)

Fat Bunny said:


> ------
> Love,
> theFatBunny.com



You don't need to keep posting that. If you go to your profile, you can add a signature. I don't mean any malice, just advice.

Back on topic, my question is "Why?" What good does it serve to have any sort of psychological explanation? What entails such findings?


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## CAThulu (Jul 13, 2011)

Some questions just shouldn't be asked, IMO.   Do you really want to know why someone is into scat?   That particular fetish isn't only found in extrem furry fetish art, btw.  It's common in mainstream porn as well.


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## Heimdal (Jul 13, 2011)

I think this may explain it.


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## Heliophobic (Jul 13, 2011)

I believe bestiality is sexual interaction with a _nonconsensual_ species. Though, it being a different species doesn't make it zoophilia by default. Anthros are depicted as consensual as humans. They're really just humans with a tail and fur.


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## Lobar (Jul 13, 2011)

No one batted an eye when Captain Kirk slept with half the galaxy on _Star Trek_, though of course aliens are different species too.  And now if you go to an ST convention, I'm sure you'll find plenty of Klingon porn.  Furry porn is about on the same level as this, I think.  It's just that the animal features are a more obvious cue to the species difference, and that they're borrowed from known Things-You-Shouldn't-Fuck.  Thus, it gets more severe reactions.


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## Dysta (Jul 13, 2011)

What about this, put it simpler of your question. Do you think about a point when seeing it?

You see furries, but you don't* think about* "how furry works" instead of *seeking out* of it. Believe me, you won't find a thing.


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## Armaetus (Jul 13, 2011)

It's a hobby, I'll leave it at that.


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## Hakar Kerarmor (Jul 13, 2011)

I'd like to hear the psychological explanation for liking to eat chocolate.


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## Heimdal (Jul 13, 2011)

Hakar Kerarmor said:


> I'd like to hear the psychological explanation for liking to eat chocolate.


 
Fear of no chocolate.


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## Fenrari (Jul 13, 2011)

I'd personally like to think that the premise behind the whole furry sexual fetish is that within every person is a facet that isn't 100% human. As a child this facet imagines that he/she/it/they are an animal aspect of some variety. As we continue to grow and our views of the world change and evolve, this facet changes and evolves with us.


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## Kellie Gator (Jul 13, 2011)

Glaice said:


> It's a hobby, I'll leave it at that.





Hakar Kerarmor said:


> I'd like to hear the psychological explanation for liking to eat chocolate.


 If you two could read you'd know that this thread is about the sexual aspect of the fandom.

I'm afraid I don't have a good theory to this, myself. Maybe it's got something to do with how you were raised? I watched cartoons and played videogames with talking animal people all the time back in the day.


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## Xenke (Jul 13, 2011)

Threads like these make me sad.

They all read the same to me. They all read as "can someone come up with a reason for X that's out of my control so I can't be held responsible for my preferences?"

Just own up to the fact that you choose to like furry.


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## Genumix (Jul 13, 2011)

I agree with Tycho on this one.  As for one explanation:  I know somebody who is more or less a zoophile, but they're extremely ethical.  They believe that having sex with an animal that can't give concrete consent, especially if that animal is under their care, is just too morally nebulous.  Then they found the furry fandom and basically started focusing on furry stuff, because it's a way for them to pretty much fulfill their desires in an ethically acceptable way.  Maybe there are other furries who are instinctively opposed to zoophilia, but they still had some elements of it?  and they found anthros?


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## Onnes (Jul 13, 2011)

Once you accept the fact that furry fandom exists and is highly escapist in nature, the sexual aspects explain themselves. You've successfully avoided the actually interesting questions about why there are furries in the first place and the nature of escapism in the fandom, instead choosing to focus on the blindingly obvious.


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## Sar (Jul 13, 2011)

*Is there a psychological explanation for this thread?

*You are overthinking the ideas of fetishes. There need be no explanation. 

Would you need to explain to someone why you prefer Pepsi over Coke? No, Some people just like it.

You should all see where i'm going with this...


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## Heliophobic (Jul 13, 2011)

Glaice said:


> It's a hobby, I'll leave it at that.


 
OP means the fetish.


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## furnandox (Jul 13, 2011)

Actually, Genumix, that would imply that people like yiff because of latent zoophilic desires. For me this is not the case, I never had those kinds of fantasies. I like yiff because it has a certain style or quality (I cant explain it) that cant be found in any other pr0n. I dont really consider that a fetish. It's another genre of porn: There's regular porn, Hentai, Rule 34, and Yiff.


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## Heimdal (Jul 13, 2011)

Sarukai said:


> Would you need to explain to someone why you prefer Pepsi over Coke? No, Some people just like it.



This is incorrect, because Coke is way better than Pepsi! :V


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## Genumix (Jul 13, 2011)

furnandox said:


> Actually, Genumix, that would imply that people like yiff because of latent zoophilic desires. For me this is not the case, I never had those kinds of fantasies. I like yiff because it has a certain style or quality (I cant explain it) that cant be found in any other pr0n. I dont really consider that a fetish. It's another genre of porn: There's regular porn, Hentai, Rule 34, and Yiff.


 
By agreeing with Tycho, I meant to say that there are a plethora of reasons for people being furry.  Everybody has their own reason, which may be conscious or subconscious.  I am, in fact, guessing that it's completely possible that latent zoophilic desires are an explanation for *some* furries.  The psychology for something as weird as furries could be any number of things, because anthropomorphic animals play a large role in many people's childhoods, as do animals.  And you can't exactly make a conscious decision about why your personality is the way it is.  Psychology is intensely complicated, so a hard and fast answer will most likely never be available.


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## Tycho (Jul 13, 2011)

Genumix said:


> Psychology is intensely complicated, so a hard and fast answer will most likely never be available.


 
You could always default to "BECAUSE YOU TOUCH YOURSELF AT NIGHT!" when pressed with these kinds of questions.  The end result is more or less the same, albeit it comes about in fewer steps.  Shortcuts are great.


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## Genumix (Jul 13, 2011)

Tycho said:


> You could always default to "BECAUSE YOU TOUCH YOURSELF AT NIGHT!" when pressed with these kinds of questions.  The end result is more or less the same, albeit it comes about in fewer steps.  Shortcuts are great.


 
Sheer poetry. XD


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## dietrc70 (Jul 14, 2011)

There was an interesting discussion on this topic a few years ago.

http://forums.furaffinity.net/threads/22995-If-Sigmund-Freud-described-furries...

Here are some possibilities I thought of.

1. A furry might be sexually frustrated vis a vis humans and be drawn to the more straightforward mating practices of animals. Since overt bestiality is unacceptable to the ego/superego, this desire is sublimated to yiff and furry porn. Humanized animals also permit elaborate romantic fantasies that would not be possible with real animals.

2. Expression of Thantos (the death-instinct) that instead of being expressed through depression and suicidal feelings, is sublimated to a desire to transform into or live as a non-human being, or a fascination with such transformations in art and fiction.

3. A realistic animal persona might allow a furry to express violent and/or sexual fantasies in an amoral animal world while avoiding guilty feelings. (i.e. So and so was messing with my mate, so I killed him and fed him to my young. Hey, I'm a wolf. That's how the world works.)

4. A furry who felt alienated from society or subject to discrimination might express his feelings as a fantasy of being a different species from others around him, or he might imagine a world where many different species could live together in harmony.

That's all I can think of right now.


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## Mentova (Jul 14, 2011)

Armchair psychology is the best psychology.


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## Sar (Jul 14, 2011)

Heimdal said:


> This is incorrect, because Coke is way better than Pepsi! :V


 Touche.


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## Cud (Jul 14, 2011)

Because furries have a greater chance of fucking an imagined anthro fox than a real human being.


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## Hakar Kerarmor (Jul 14, 2011)

Kellie Gator said:


> If you two could read you'd know that this thread is about the sexual aspect of the fandom.


 
Reading is against my religion.


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## Dysta (Jul 14, 2011)

Hakar Kerarmor said:


> Reading is against my religion.


 
Yet reading is also adapted by curiosity.


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## Calemeyr (Jul 16, 2011)

Furry is caused by manchild-ism.
Other parts of the fandom (leaning towards the batshit-crazy otherkin and lifestylers) are the result of a compensation for a feeling of insignifigance, or trying to get back at bullies with your dragon magic. Lol I'm a dragon! I'm going to breath fire on all you bullies!
This is why these people never lead successful lives. They don't know how to live in the real world. Tragedy, ain't it?


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## Volkodav (Jul 16, 2011)

Yeah it's called assburgers or autism
seeing as though like 99% of furries claim to have it


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## Calemeyr (Jul 16, 2011)

There's a good way to tell if they do have asscheeseburgers syndrome or not. If they like dog cocks, believe that they _are _anthropomorphic animals--or non-human animals in general, wear yiffsuits, cry "fursecution" ever, like plushies too much, are into the fetishes, or have _ever_ drawn a sonic OC, they have asscheeseburger's. So Clayton, you're right to assume 99% of furries claim to have it.


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## Volkodav (Jul 16, 2011)

1dynamofox1 said:


> There's a good way to tell if they do have asscheeseburgers syndrome or not. If they like dog cocks, believe that they _are _anthropomorphic animals--or non-human animals in general, wear yiffsuits, cry "fursecution" ever, like plushies too much, are into the fetishes, or have _ever_ drawn a sonic OC, they have asscheeseburger's. So Clayton, you're right to assume 99% of furries claim to have it.


 
You need to add on "if they're baby/diaperfurs"


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## Fenno (Jul 16, 2011)

Honestly, I think furry fetishism (the sex bits) is really normal and easily explained. I'm going to add a disclaimer: this only applies to anthros, not zoophiles, nor people who like feral art (not sure what that is called). If something is the form of a human, humans are attracted to it. There is nothing else in the natural world that looks like us; we only mate with ourselves. Human forms. Would a person of Caucasian descent mate with a person of asian descent? Vice-versa? Of course, because they are both human in form. They have different facial features and skin color, but the are distinguishably human. Anthros have different colors and facial features and what have you, but they are still human to our brain. Having a furry fetish is just like having an asian fetish or something; a certain variation of internment is pleasing to the portions of your brain responsible for cognition of potential sexual partners. It's very natural.


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## Hakar Kerarmor (Jul 16, 2011)

1dynamofox1 said:


> There's a good way to tell if they do have asscheeseburgers syndrome or not. If they like dog cocks, believe that they _are _anthropomorphic animals--or non-human animals in general, wear yiffsuits, cry "fursecution" ever, like plushies too much, are into the fetishes, or have _ever_ drawn a sonic OC, they have asscheeseburger's. So Clayton, you're right to assume 99% of furries claim to have it.


 
Congratulations on being diagnosed with assburgers.


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## Volkodav (Jul 16, 2011)

Hakar Kerarmor said:


> Congratulations on being diagnosed with assburgers.


 
How


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## Calemeyr (Jul 16, 2011)

We pretty much established every furry has aspergers.

Now, can anyone explain Na'vi-kin?


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## Tycho (Jul 16, 2011)

1dynamofox1 said:


> We pretty much established every furry has aspergers.
> 
> Now, can anyone explain Na'vi-kin?


 
probably has something to do with white guilt over the whole Native American thing


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## HeroHoxha (Jul 17, 2011)

A more pessimistic theory I have heard is that it's a mixture of a poor self-image and low self-esteem and an idealized childhood. Maybe you were picked on as a kid and thrown into some steretypical clique against your will (being a "nerd" or a "spaz"). You aren't happy with your current state and wish to escape to a place where you can be comfortable with yourself and your sexuality. Maybe as a child, you spent a lot of time watching tv and playing video games that feature anthro characters, admiring how you wish you could be one of them and live in their world as a form of escape. Thinking about it creates a sort of euphoria or relaxed mood. Over time, this can develop into a sexual fetish as you notice the attractiveness of anthro characters.

Of course, this is just one theory I have heard of. It was written by some guy in Mississippi I think. The source can be found on wikipedia somewhere. I'm just too lazy to go searching for it.


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## Fenno (Jul 17, 2011)

I actually would like to probe deeper into that; I've done some searching, and I do not believe that I found what you are talking. Forgive me for sounding uncouth, but I kindly request "the sauce."

There is hearsay that many, if not most, furries come from a background of abuse, trauma, or physchological stress. This is something I am wont to probe into as well. Has there ever been a discussion of such a theory on this site?


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## Hakar Kerarmor (Jul 17, 2011)

1dynamofox1 said:


> Now, can anyone explain Na'vi-kin?


 
Extreme brain damage?


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## Genumix (Jul 17, 2011)

Fenno said:


> I actually would like to probe deeper into that; I've done some searching, and I do not believe that I found what you are talking. Forgive me for sounding uncouth, but I kindly request "the sauce."
> 
> There is hearsay that many, if not most, furries come from a background of abuse, trauma, or physchological stress. This is something I am wont to probe into as well. Has there ever been a discussion of such a theory on this site?


 
I hypothesize that, for those furries who fall into the category HeroHoxha described, the reason for becoming interested specifically in anthro-animals would have something to do with certain qualities of animal life that are appealing to somebody in need of an escapist outlet.  Animals are not bound by societal restrictions and normal responsibilities.  Most people believe they don't have a care in the world, living freely and without limits.  Anthros may, in the mind of an emotionally damaged person, embody these qualities as well.  Furries are thus a great combination of a necessary difference from a hurt person's compromised circumstances and elements of humanity, which make them identifiable as phantastic friends.


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## Fenno (Jul 17, 2011)

But that's a mixed bag. Most anthros speak and live in some sort of society; it is the freaks who are worry free and unbound by convention. I think it possibly has more to do with aesthetics than anything. Frankly, furries are typically more expressive than people, especially with ears and such.


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## Volkodav (Jul 17, 2011)

Fenno said:


> But that's a mixed bag. Most anthros speak and live in some sort of society; it is the freaks who are worry free and unbound by convention. I think it possibly has more to do with aesthetics than anything. Frankly, furries are typically more expressive than people, especially with ears and such.


 Who are you replying to?
I realize you're new, so I should tell you that you should click "Reply With Quote" in the bottom-right corner of a post. It gets confusing when people reply but don't quote the reply they're.. replying to

ahaha


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## Fenno (Jul 17, 2011)

I was replying to Genumix, and in every forum I have ever visited, quoting the person before you is considered a breach of netiquette. Not criticizing you, of course, but if my post was directly after another, and they seem to be speaking to the same topic, then I most likely was replying to the penultimate post.


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## Genumix (Jul 17, 2011)

Fenno:  In trying to analyze the psychological reasons for being a furry, one has to take into account the way the brain processes the different components of an anthropomorphic animal.  On a conscious level, there is an abstract understanding that anthros would, in their fictitious universe, have a society in which they are organized.  On a subconscious and more basic level of cognitive processing, there are many conceptual associations that people typically make with animals.  Because an interest in furries is generally considered to be an unintentional, subconsciously driven affinity, it would follow that subconscious associations with the components of a furry are more relevant.  I think non-furry artists who use anthropomorphic animals as characters are likely interested in the expressive qualities of animal features, as an artist's choice to portray anthros is a conscious one.

Aesthetics are subjective, and understanding of what is aesthetically appealing varies from person to person.  So, while it makes sense to say that furries find anthros aesthetically appealing, I believe that there must be a lower level psychological explanation as to why normal people and furries have different perceptions of the anthro aesthetic.


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