Furry, what does it mean ?

[Drake Wingfire]

Well, seeing as a few people have covered the base of "furry is many things and is unique for everyone, thus it can't really be narrowed down to much" it saves me the time of making the exact same post X3

On a personal level of what makes me feel more furry or as a general more in touch with the fandom. Wearing my tail, drawing / porn, hanging with other furs when I get the chance and being on sights like FA and BCfurries. A pretty typical response I would suppose lol

[Neox]

I would have to say that my perspective reveals it to be someone who has an affinity to an animal to the point that they adopt a character to represent themselves by and celebrate it in any number of ways... from fursuiting to simply drawing the depictions of their character and others.  They do not necessarily have to believe that THEY ARE that character, but I think that if you use this character for any manner of escapism (artwork depictions of your character interacting with others, roleplaying, stories involving said character, etc) you may or may not fit into that category.

There are many many factors that could contribute to you being called a furry.  Best thing to do is research the entire genre and decide for yourself whether or not you want to be a part of it; that's what I think truly allows one to determine whether they fit the classification.  It's more of a matter of personal choice, whether or not you WANT to be a part of the furry community.

[JestersKing]

I've thought long on an answer to this question and I think I've finally come up with my piece.

(commence psychobabble)

Homo Sapiens Sapiens is the only animal on the planet with the cognitive faculty to believe that he is not an animal.

We've built a reasoned society around this belief, to the point that we, as people, deem it unacceptable to behave in an animal way. That is, from a more Freudian stand-point: that it is unacceptable to engage in actions that sate the base animal desires that drive us. I believe that the idea of connecting with the animal outside of us is a way to subconsciously connect with the animal inside of us. The creation of an identity built around that connection and the projection of that identity into a society such as the one created by those of us who have done so may thus be seen as a manner of sating the animal instincts we all posses vicariously through the actions, or simple being, of that character.

(end psychobabble)