History
From WikiFur, the furry encyclopedia.
Furry fandom is a popular cultural phenomenon and a community of people who are interested in aspects of animals and animal/human beings in art, literature, visual media and/or as the basis for a personal philosophy and/or lifestyle.
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[edit] Before the fandom
The genre itself may be as old as civilization. Anthropomorphic animal characters are found in the art of many ancient cultures. Anthropomorphic characters from Egyptian mythology continue to this day to be a source of inspiration to furry artists. The earliest example of furry literature commonly cited by furry fans is Aesop's Fables, which date to around 500 BC.[1] Furry characters then continued to proliferate through the ages in the form of folk tales, many of which are a common part of our modern culture.
[edit] The rise of anthropomorphic animals usage
It is not until the 1800’s that more specifically documented examples of the furry genre can be chronicled. And they are seen appearing in a variety of different forms of entertainment. These include the earliest author credited animal related fairytales by Hans Christian Andersen in 1836, the poem The Owl And The Pussycat by Edward Lear in 1871, Lewis Carroll’s fantasy novel Alice's Adventures In Wonderland in 1865, Tchaikovsky’s ballet Swan Lake in 1875, Beatrix Potter’s illustrated children’s books in 1890, Rudyard Kipling’s collection of talking animal stories The Jungle Book in 1894, H. G. Wells’ 1896 novel The Island Of Doctor Moreau was the first appearance of intelligent animals in science fiction, and the first appearance of anthropomorphic animals in comic strips was James Swinnerton’s The Little Tigers in 1895.
Depictions of anthropomorphic animals was firmly established by the start of the 20th century. Since then it has enjoyed many ups and downs in terms of popularity and acceptability among adults. Particularly in the early 20th century, fantasy animal characters were an object of fascination to children and adults alike, appearing in almost every conceivable type of entertainment and establishing themselves as a major marketing tool, not only of consumer products, but of political ideas. This was best demonstrated In 1945 by George Orwell’s Animal Farm.
In the later half of the 20th century, general attitudes towards animal related fantasy changed. Cartoons and literature focused most of their animal related efforts on the children’s entertainment market, inspiring many to believe that cartoons and animal stories were strictly for kids. Though this does not seem to have prevented adults from continuing to enjoy the antics of funny animals in the comic strips.
Since then, the mainstream entertainment industry has continued to create many works with anthropomorphic animals which are mostly directed at children, while the furry community has steadily grown on the internet providing entertainment for audiences of all ages.
[edit] Formation of the furry fandom
Many agree that furry fandom had its origins in funny animal fandom, which has existed since at least the 1940s. In the 1980s, a group of fans interested in animal characters in comics and stories was forming around other organized fan activities. Room parties at science fiction conventions (furry parties), meetings of the C/FO, and APA collating parties (for funny animal and cartooning APAs, such as Vootie and Rowrbrazzle). Fans kept in contact with each other on computer BBSs (Bulletin Board Systems) like the Tiger's Den, StormGate Aerie and Kyim's Scratching Post; and in the early 1990s through on-line chat environments (e.g. GEnie, CompuServe, Prodigy and Delphi). APAs and fanzine "wars" became popular, with mail-in art and comic contributions collated and distributed to all members.
[edit] Furry fandom timeline
In the earlier days of the fandom, furry fans used to gather mostly at science fiction, fantasy, and comic conventions before the furry parties broke out into full-fledged furry conventions.
[edit] 1960s
In the late 60’s the beginnings of a backlash against this could be seen. The pop culture of the late sixties and early 70’s used funny animal imagery in many creative works meant for adults. The Beatles wearing fursuits on the cover of Magical Mystery Tour and the advent of Robert Crumb’s Fritz the Cat showed that many creative people saw more use for animal characters than children’s entertainment.
[edit] 1970s
In 1976, Furry Folk also became the name of a popular line of animal puppets.[2] From that time, the term “Furry” has gradually gained popularity as an alternative to the term “Funny Animals,” as it does not carry a connotation of humor, and it is inclusive of all fantasy animals, not just the ones that walk upright and wear clothes. The term has today reached such prominent use that it is not unheard of for reviewers to refer to the characters in such films as Over The Hedge as “Furries.” [3]
The term “Funny Animals” soon spread beyond comic strips and into the realm of illustrated children's books. Authors such as Palmer Cox, Laura Rountree Smith and Neil Wayne Northey not only referred to their anthropomorphic characters as “Funny Animals,” they also referred to them collectively as “the furry folk” and “furry friends.” [4]
The term “Furry” has since remained in the background of animal related fantasy. Particularly in the English folk culture scene. As late as 1978, bands like Genesis and Jethro Tull were still using this furry folk terminology to refer to anthropomorphic animals in their songs.[5]
Serious animal literature soon began to appear that proved to have surprising appeal for adults. Richard Adams’ Watership Down and Richard Bach’s Jonathan Livingston Seagull topped the best seller list in the early 70’s.
In the late 70’s, attitudes began to change again. Fantasy in general began to enjoy more respect among adult audiences, eventually becoming a major entertainment market in which there was considerable room for furry elements, such as the Ewoks and Wookiees of Star Wars, and the mythical creatures in Piers Anthony novels.
[edit] 1980s
The fandom for furry characters traces its organization back to a science fiction convention in 1980,[6] when a drawing of a character from Steve Gallacci’s Albedo started a discussion of anthropomorphic characters in science fiction novels, spawning a discussion group that met at various science fiction and comics conventions.
In 1980, at the World Science Fiction Convention in Boston, Massachusetts, an Erma Felna painting by Steve Gallacci was entered in the art show. The funny animal artwork in an otherwise realistic setting drew attention among fans showing a common interest in science fiction and fantasy about intelligent animals. This led to an informal series of gatherings at Worldcons and Westercons, which eventually branched into a club centered around Rowrbrazzle to organize more "formal" furry parties.
1982 saw the release of four all ages furry films - The Secret Of NIMH, The Flight Of Dragons, The Last Unicorn and The Plague Dogs. While the fantasy novel market soon began producing such titles as Alan Dean Foster’s Spellsinger series, Brian Jacques’ Redwall and Tad Williams’ Tailchaser’s Song. And the independent comics market produced titles as varied as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Albedo, Usagi Yojimbo, Cutey Bunny, Critters and Omaha The Cat Dancer.
Over the next several years, a gradually increasing number of “furry fans” developed fanzines and eventually began to have gatherings at house parties. By 1987 enough interest had been generated for the first furry convention.
As the internet became more accessible, it became the most popular means for furry fans to keep in touch and share their artistic efforts. This gained the fandom higher visibility and it began to grow rapidly.
Virtual environments, such as MUCKs, soon became the most popular places on the net for furry fans to meet and communicate. One of the oldest and largest MUCKs in existence is FurryMUCK. One of the newest virtual environments to attract furry fans is Second Life.
Near the beginning of the 80’s, the furry genre enjoyed the first explosion of popularity it had seen since the 1930’s. Furry characters littered the animation world as well as toy stores. But there was also adult furry entertainment.
In 1985, at the San Diego Comic Convention, Judy Niver (one of the founders of the C/FO), hosted a party in her room at the Hotel San Diego. The Rowrbrazzle APA group was also having a party in the same hotel, and there was much overlap in attendance. After that party at Comic Con, it became a tradition to have at least one furry party during the convention. In more recent years, the Comic Con party has been called CritterConDiego and Califur Diego.
Also, at the 1985 Westercon Science Fiction Convention in Sacramento, California, Mark Merlino and Rod O'Riley hosted a room party in Sheldon and Tony Linker's room. Most room parties at sci-fi and fantasy cons have a theme, so the party was called The Prancing Skiltaire party, named after Mark's apartment. The show Animalympics was screened, along with some Warner Bros. short cartoons, and collections of furry artwork and short stories were on display. Several visitors to the party were very interested in the videos and the art. Some showed sketchbooks and collections of their furry art. Their party at the 1986 Westercon in San Diego, CA, was the first to be openly called a furry party. After the success of these parties, Mark and Rod began hosting similar events at conventions all over California.
In 1989, Mark Merlino and Rod O'Riley decided to expand on the furry party concept and host the first prototype furry convention, ConFurence Zero. ConFurence continued to be the premier international gathering place of furry fans, until other independent furry-themed conventions were organized.
[edit] 1990s
By the start of the 90’s, the furry genre was finally starting to gain recognition as a unique segment of the arts with a specifically adult aged fandom that products could be marketed to. But this idea was not readily understood or accepted. And, as the fantasy boom of the 80’s began to subside, the promoters of the new furry market were driven underground, where they found companionship with another fledgling market, anime.
On the U.S. east coast, furry fans were gathering at the New York chapter of the C/FO, founded by Ken Sample and friends. Ray Rooney and Major Matt Mason hosted parties in their suite at Philcon in Philadelphia for several years. Philcon eventually hosted the first major Furry art show and dealer's room. In 1994, Trish Ny organized Furtasticon, a prototype east coast furry convention at the Holiday Inn, next to the Adam's Mark hotel, Philcon's venue. Trish went on to found ConFurence East in 1995.
In 1996, at the World Science Fiction Convention in Anaheim, California, the Furry Fandom Lounge was organized by the ConFurence committee as five-day furry programming track. The general Worldcon program schedule publicized the furry parties, panels, and exhibits which even included a glass-encased "History of Furry Fandom" display by David Bliss.
In 1997, Anthrocon is first held in Albany, New York and goes on to become the largest furry convention to date.
In 1999, at the North American Science Fiction Convention in Anaheim, California, the Furry Fandom Lounge reflected on 15 years of fandom. That year also saw the launch of Further Confusion in the Bay Area of San Francisco, CA, which eventually becomes the second largest furry convention in the world.
[edit] 2000s
Today, those furry fans who have discovered the large concentration of fellow fans on the net have joined with them to create the virtual society that is the collective furry community. Other furry fans, particularly the computer illiterate, remain isolated in their interest with little to no awareness that there is an organized community for fans of the furry genre.
Furry conventions have exploded in the 2000's decade, with over 30 cons starting up, so far. In comparison, the 90's saw 13 cons, all but two of them after 1995.[7]
In 2003, Dr. Samuel Conway (also known as Uncle Kage of Anthrocon) was a guest of honor at the I-CON science fiction and fantasy convention in Stony Brook, New York. His renowned story hour has since become a fixture of the convention through recent years.
In 2006, at the North American Science Fiction Convention in SeaTac, Washington, the Stalking Cat was one of the notable program participants.
At the 2006 Westercon in San Diego, a 20th anniversary furry party was held.
At the 2006 World Science Fiction Convention in Anaheim, California, the Furry Fandom Lounge returned under the organization of Rod O'Riley of the Califur group. The programming track included a furry artist reception and panels ranging from fursuiting basics to the new world of furry webcomics.
[edit] The Internet
The first usenet newsgroups began to appear in the early 1990s. alt.fan.furry was created in late 1990, and eventually spawned a number of additional newsgroups, such as alt.lifestyle.furry which was created in 1996. Furrynet, an unofficial usenet hierarchy of fur.* newsgroups, was created in the late 1990s. In 2000, there was an unsuccessful attempt to create rec.arts.furry, which would have brought furry fandom into the primary usenet hierarchy.
By 1992, furry fans could participate in on-line social role-playing environments for free, if they had access to the Internet. MUCKs, Mushes and MOOs were created by furry fans for furry fans and hosted at educational and commercial sites. With the dawn of the World Wide Web, furry fans found their Mecca, with personal web sites, art and writing archives and forums providing a way for furry fans to communicate and share their interests internationally. Yerf and YiffCo and VCL and other art archives soon dominated the art scene.
In the late 1990's, David J. Rust (aka Sylvan), attempted to document the internal social dynamics and trends within Furry fandom. While originally intended to be a fan film documentary, the research he conducted from 1996 - 1997 was eventually collated into The Sociology of Furry Fandom, a Subculture Study, the first academic study of furry sociology.
[edit] Small press publishers
[edit] References
- ↑ Furries - description of the fandom with reference to Aesop’s Fables.
- ↑ Furry Folk Puppets - example of the term Furry gaining popularity in the 70's.
- ↑ Critters Offer Consumer Retorts - review in which the characters in Over The Hedge are referred to as furries.
- ↑ Neil Wayne Northey's Paddletail - example of early 20th century literature with the term Furry Folk highlighted throughout.
- ↑ The Mouse Police Never Sleeps 1978 Jethro Tull lyrics with Furry Folk highlighted.
- ↑ Yarf Chronology Of Furry Fandom
- ↑ WikiFur: Convention
[edit] External links
| History is part of the furry History series |
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| Timelines: Internet coverage | Media coverage | art exchange communities | furry camping events | furry conventions | Lion King multiplayer worlds | furry web hosts and galleries |
| Ancient mythology: Egypt | Greece | Japan |
| See also: funny animal fandom | small press publications |
