View source for Community:Furry culture in VRChat

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'''Furry culture''' is prevalent in the VRChat community. Furry [[avatars]], or furries, are defined as animals or animal-like creatures with anthropomorphic (human-like) or humanoid traits such as speech, intelligence, and/or bipedal body structure. In addition to avatars, the term''''' '<nowiki/>'''furry'<nowiki/>'' is also used to refer to people who may identify with said avatars, in some way.

==Overview==
The furry fandom is inspired by several types of media from around the world involving anthropomorphic animals, such as written works, video games, and animation mediums such as [[Community:Anime culture in VRChat|Japanese animation]] (anime). People often find themselves joining the furry community through shared interest in certain media.

A unique characteristic within furry subculture, is the creation and identification of original characters and avatars that may represent their creator, or likeness. These characters are typically referred to as a ''fursona'' (a portmanteau of ''furry'' and ''persona'', often shortened to simply '''sona''). However, not all furry characters are used as a personal fursona<ref>[https://furscience.com/research-findings/fursonas/3-4-fursona-origin/ '3.4 Fursona Origin'] on Furscience, published by the International Anthropomorphic Research Project (IARP); retrieved September 12, 2024</ref>; some may simply be characters designed for original fictional works of their own right. They can each have potentially different personality traits or interests, depending on their purpose.

Furries are more likely to identify with [[Community:LGBT culture in VRChat|LGBT]], non-binary or genderqueer identities<ref>[https://furscience.com/research-findings/demographics/1-3-sex-and-gender/ '1.3 Sex, Gender, and Gender Identity'] on Furscience, published by the International Anthropomorphic Research Project (IARP); retrieved September 12, 2024</ref>, or express their fursona with similar orientations<ref>[https://furscience.com/research-findings/fursonas/3-6-fursona-gender/ '3.6 Fursona Gender'] on Furscience, published by the International Anthropomorphic Research Project (IARP); retrieved September 12, 2024</ref><ref>[https://furscience.com/research-findings/fursonas/3-7-fursona-orientation/ '3.7 Fursona Orientation'] on Furscience, published by the International Anthropomorphic Research Project (IARP); retrieved September 12, 2024</ref>. A fraction of the community, who refer to themselves as ''therians''<ref>[https://furscience.com/research-findings/therians/7-1-prevalence/ '7.1 Prevalence of Therians'] on Furscience, published by the International Anthropomorphic Research Project (IARP); retrieved September 12, 2024</ref> or ''otherkin'' among furries, may spiritually identify closer as non-human, choosing to instead identify as their desired species. 

==History ==

==== In human history ====
Anthropomorphism has been recorded in human expression for thousands of years. One of the earliest examples for this, is the pre-historic [[wikipedia:Lion-man|Lion-man]]<ref>http://www.loewenmensch.de/lion_man.html</ref> figurine, created about 40,000 years ago. Cave paintings throughout time, display interaction between animals and humans. Mythological Egyptian and Greek gods, goddesses and creatures, such as Anubis, Ra, Proteus, or the Minotaur are fables involving human-like bipedal creatures from ancient times, passed down for generations.

==== Early furry fandom ====
Modern art and literature containing anthropomorphic animals have been expressed by humans over the past few centuries, however, the biggest influences for the early furry fandom are 20th century science fiction, and animation. Notable examples of this are Kimba The White Lion, Albedo's Anthropomorphics, and Disney movies such as Robin Hood (1977), and Pete's Dragon.

[[File:Sylys Sable - Furality 2000.jpg|thumb|right|The late Mark Merlino (a.k.a. "Sylys Sable"), attending Furality 2000 in VRChat.]]
People in the early furry fandom had an overlapping interest with science fiction, and Japanese animation. Niche parties were held at science fiction conventions in the late 1970s, which eventually led to the creation of the "Cartoon/Fantasy Organization" in 1977 by the late Mark Merlino<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWGfMxoMc5Y Furality 2000 - History of the Furry Fandom], featuring Mark Merlino, on YouTube; retrieved September 18, 2024</ref> and Fred Patten<ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Patten Fred Patten] on Wikipedia; retrieved September 18, 2024</ref>.

==== Conventions ====
By 1988, the first organized ''furry convention'' was held in California, USA as "Confurence" Zero<ref>[https://confurence.com/about/ Confurence's official About page]; retrieved September 18, 2024</ref><ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ConFurence Confurence] on Wikipedia; retrieved Septmeber 18, 2024</ref>. Furry conventions are in-person congregations of furries, and furry fans to meet friends, cosplay, host and attend panels, and exchange art and merchandise with vendors. Most furry conventions sponsor a charity, and host community-run events and panels throughout the duration of a convention.

Throughout the 1990s, and continuing beyond today, more furry conventions began to organize. Many conventions are held yearly, with notable mentions being venues such as Anthrocon<ref>[https://www.anthrocon.org/about/ Anthrocon's About page]; retrieved September 18, 2024</ref>, Midwest FurFest<ref>[https://www.midwestfurryfandom.org/ Midwest Furry Fandom's About page]; retrieved September 18, 2024</ref>, Megaplex<ref>[https://megaplexcon.org/about Megaplex's About page]; retrieved September 18, 2024</ref>, and Further Confusion<ref>[https://furtherconfusion.org/about/ Further Confusion's About page]; retrieved September 18, 2024</ref> in the United States; Eurofurence<ref>[https://www.eurofurence.org/ Eurofurence's website]; retrieved September 18, 2024</ref>, and NordicFuzzCon<ref>[https://nordicfuzzcon.org/about/nordicfuzzcon/who-are-we NordicFuzzCon's About page]; retrieved September 18, 2024</ref> in Europe; Japan Meeting of Furries (JMOF)<ref>[https://www.jmof.jp/en/team Japan Meeting of Furries' About page]; retrieved September 18, 2024</ref>, Kemoket<ref>[https://skypalette.jp/kemoket/qa.html (In Japanese) Kemoket's Q&A page]; retrieved September 18, 2024</ref>, and Infurnity<ref>[https://www.infurnity.com/en/about-en/ Infurnity's About page]; retrieved September 18, 2024</ref> in Asia.

Many of these conventions temporarily held online iterations of their venues within VRChat, as an alternative way to attend the convention, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Japan Meeting of Furries was the first<ref>[https://x.com/JMoF_PR/status/1208375616602460161 JMoF実行委員会's post on X] about VR JMoF, dated December 21, 2019; retrieved September 18, 2024</ref> organization to hold a furry convention in VRChat. During the pandemic, a brand new convention dubbed [[Community:Furality Online Xperience|Furality Online Xperience]]<ref>[https://furality.org/about Furality's About page]; retrieved September 18, 2024</ref> (FOX) would be hosted natively in VRChat, without any previous in-person venues. Furality would eventually become a sponsored<ref>[https://bsky.app/profile/vrchat.com/post/3ktuzo5rq232n VRChat's post about Furality] on Bluesky; retrieved September 18, 2024</ref> event by VRChat, Inc.

==== Online ====
Furries have communicated online via primitive bulletin board systems (BBS) forums in the 1970s and 1980s; boards such as FurNet which echoed FidoNet protocol, created one of the first dedicated online communities for furries.

In the 1990s, online servers, such as text-based FurryMUCK<ref>[http://www.furrymuck.com/ FurryMUCK official website]</ref> began in 1990 as a roleplay community for furries. Video games such as Furcadia<ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Furcadia Furcadia] on Wikipedia; retrieved September 18, 2024</ref><ref>[https://cms.furcadia.com/help/welcome Welcome to Furcadia!] on Furcadia's official website; retrieved September 18, 2024</ref>, a graphical MUD, was launched in 1996. There were also newsgroups and Usenet message boards that began in this decade, like alt.fan.furry and alt.lifestyle.furry.

Second Life is a online virtual world that pre-dates VRChat, and was used (and is still used) by members of the furry fandom. Like VRChat, furries are able to create and share avatars in 3D, but with Second Life's engine, and multiple limitations<ref>[https://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Limits#Avatar Avatar Limitations] on Second Life Wiki; retrieved September 18, 2024</ref>.

==== In VRChat ====
<!--I'm wondering if I should keep this header, or if it's irrelevant, given the next heading is "Furries and VRChat" ~DAG-XR (09/18/2024)-->

Since most furries are not 3D modelers, texture artists or Unity developers, members of the community who have any combination of these skills (commonly referred to as ''artists'' or ''creators'') have taken on the task of building readily available [[Avatar Base|avatar bases]]. These are typically distributed on online stores such as [https://gumroad.com/ Gumroad] where these creators are able to distribute their work directly to users.

The bases typically come with source files necessary to customize the avatar, including the models, textures and ready-to-use Unity prefabs or scenes, where all the user has to do is log into the [[VRChat SDK]] and click upload to have a functioning avatar, which can then be further customized. These avatar bases provide an easy way for furries to create a VR representation of their characters more easily, lowering the barrier of entry.

==Furries and VRChat==

VRChat allows for a way for furries to create their fursona, and furry avatars using the [[VRChat SDK]]. The platform provides users with several anthropomorphic and kemonomimi avatars, featured in the [[Public Avatars|public avatar row]], as well as community created [[:Category:Furry avatars|furry avatars]].

====Featured "furry" public avatars ====
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
|+ style="min-width: max-content" | Public Avatar row  
|-
!Avatar Name!!Author name!!Link
|-
|A-Cat||Asio_JPN||{{VRC link|https://vrchat.com/home/avatar/avtr_8bfc8674-1c72-4f38-9c46-3c8a5d3cfc10|A-Cat}}
|-
|Alex||WalGesicht||{{VRC link|https://vrchat.com/home/avatar/avtr_22dcb538-be74-4836-aaf3-33ed3ba3913e|Alex}}
|-
| Atena||GabSith||{{VRC link|https://vrchat.com/home/avatar/avtr_a2b4025f-3eab-45dd-92a7-4307a9f3db3e|Atena}}
|-
|Bestboi Chibi||Bestbois||{{VRC link|https://vrchat.com/home/avatar/avtr_8385a57a-af69-4193-9db1-fc42f5a5ef6e|Bestboi Chibi Public}}
|-
|ccoogoo||シーレ／crepix||{{VRC link|https://vrchat.com/home/avatar/avtr_04781c71-6684-4938-a7a6-48353d1bf7fa|ccoogoo}}
|-
|[Protogen]Kuro||Furriest ||{{VRC link|https://vrchat.com/home/avatar/avtr_faf40a9f-ce39-4ff2-a069-223797ba11af|[Protogen]Kuro}}
|-
|Cube Kitty||SylviaCrisp||{{VRC link|https://vrchat.com/home/avatar/avtr_aa6c3da4-30b4-4b13-a5b5-93dae3eb673c|Cube Kitty}}
|-
|Cyberwolf||Gambit||{{VRC link|https://vrchat.com/home/avatar/avtr_efe54bff-0836-473b-928c-a19db29f5908|Cyberwolf}}
|-
| Darcy||Jorror||{{VRC link|https://vrchat.com/home/avatar/avtr_d9eae9f3-6a1f-4be4-b939-53320f2e1454|Darcy}}
|-
|Finny||Olivian||{{VRC link|https://vrchat.com/home/avatar/avtr_8e5d1fe0-44b3-4f7f-abc4-ec4b62288be0|Finny}}
|-
|Freakhound||Ghost Cabbit||{{VRC link|https://vrchat.com/home/avatar/avtr_8fa2bf67-380a-40c1-a3d6-c782afce65bc|Freakhound}}
|-
|Little Griffin|| Estefanoida||{{VRC link|https://vrchat.com/home/avatar/avtr_d28ff481-5d01-45ce-ae14-54c61ce6892e|Little Griffin}}
|-
|Lunar Lizzy||it's moe||{{VRC link|https://vrchat.com/home/avatar/avtr_7d899f19-e1ed-4011-bbac-339e7ea1c233|Lunar Lizzy}}
|-
|Meownyrn Catbot Public||FrostKittyPaw||{{VRC link|https://vrchat.com/home/avatar/avtr_a77c1302-0813-4d5b-a07e-aa75b52ab5dd|Meownyrn Catbot Public}} 
|-
|Mururu ||kuroneko_tsuki||{{VRC link|https://vrchat.com/home/avatar/avtr_cc110e10-142d-4cce-80a6-992c4cdefa0b|Mururu}}
|-
|Pupbot||Widget365||{{VRC link|https://vrchat.com/home/avatar/avtr_7d735b2d-31d1-41aa-9d35-f9683bb0a8ce|Pupbot}}
|-
|Rex the Raptor||Zab||{{VRC link|https://vrchat.com/home/avatar/avtr_e4f4c5fe-cb84-4b61-8ee7-c35f89a73495|Rex the Raptor}}
|-
|Robocoon|| ぶろ⁄blo||{{VRC link|https://vrchat.com/home/avatar/avtr_4fc72a98-9f44-4354-bc9a-e2abf53d6661|Robocoon}}
|-
|Robodog||Bob_irl||{{VRC link|https://vrchat.com/home/avatar/avtr_be1abe85-137e-4053-897d-e9de4f4936e6|Robodog}}
|-
|sania3․0||alt_tamaki||{{VRC link|https://vrchat.com/home/avatar/avtr_5f2b783e-dd6c-490b-b52d-fe3240fc5f60|sania3․0}}
|-
|Simple Fox*||cellomonster||[https://github.com/trev3d/vrcfox GitHub link]
|-
|Space Kitty||MonAmiral||{{VRC link|https://vrchat.com/home/avatar/avtr_d4706a70-1be0-4233-af3a-00dc90c791fd|Space Kitty}}
|-
|Teenage Boomer The Dino|| Dangleberry||{{VRC link|https://vrchat.com/home/avatar/avtr_7af25ae5-fcbe-41d8-b1ae-315812a0d40a|Teenage Boomer The Dino}}
|-
|The Awtter VRChat||Shade the Bat||{{VRC link|https://vrchat.com/home/avatar/avtr_d474fbff-1cfa-47c0-be52-cdf688a936d4|The Awtter}}
|-
|The Professional||Bāph||{{VRC link|https://vrchat.com/home/avatar/avtr_047c01c7-e958-4e59-8099-86316479fd9a|The Professional}}
|-
|Tigerbee||Tokyozilla||{{VRC link|https://vrchat.com/home/avatar/avtr_1579c4b6-d647-4ded-a5c2-b78b9c6ea686|Tigerbee}}
|-
|Xperiment||speedbuiz||{{VRC link|https://vrchat.com/home/avatar/avtr_7f56f978-1fc0-42fb-bb37-635738ceee92|Xperiment}}
|-
|VRCat Animatronic||Slorg||{{VRC link|https://vrchat.com/home/avatar/avtr_a7d31a84-1cd4-48ca-b7fa-9ca9e9c9a455|VRCat Animatronic}}
|}
<nowiki>* This avatar was once on the Public avatars row, but was removed by the author.</nowiki>

==VRChat's animal mascots==
VRChat has a [[VRCat|cat]] mascot, and later, created a [[Rat]] mascot, named VRRat. While these mascots are more animal-like, they are shown to speak. VRCat also has an animatronic form that is bipedal.

==See also==

==References==

[[Category:Stubs]]
[[Category:Needs images]]
[[Category:Culture]]

<references />