The furry community for years, have been bullied and struggling with stigma from society because the majority of society is not educated about furries. It has made lots of the people in the furry community hide their identity from their friends, teachers, and even their family. The term “furry” is often misused, and that has consequently impacted the community negatively. Furries are anthropomorphic (resembling a human) animal enthusiasts, which means they think the character design of animals with human characteristics is cool. The true meaning of being a furry has been distorted and confused, to the point where people don’t even know they are a furry until they read more into what it means. There are two communities that the members of the furry community are often mistaken for, these are therians, and zoophiles. Therians are people who have a strong belief that they are an animal trapped in a human’s body, or they identify as an animal. Therian is short for therianthrope (Theri = Animal, Anthro = human). Zoophiles are people who are sexually attracted to animals. There is a lot of controversy between weather it’s ok to be a zoophile, with a majority of people saying it’s not. Something important to remember is that some therians can be furries, but not all furries are therians, and some zoophiles are furries, but not all furries are zoophiles. The furry community members are often accused of being a zoophile, and it’s made lots of people hate furries because they were educated incorrectly, with role models in their life telling them all furries are zoophiles.

The positive impact the community has on the world is often neglected, as lots of people decide to focus on the negative events that happen in the community. Most of the conventions’ proceeds are donated to charities, a prime example was 2019, when the furry community raised and donated over one million dollars to various charities (according to Flayrah.com,) with 82% of the donated money coming from the conventions that took place in 2019. The furry community also is extremely unique and diverse, with different subcultures relating to the species of animals, representation of different racial groups, and people with ADHD, depression, anxiety, and autism representing a large percentage of the community. This shows how accepting the community is. Unfortunately, with the amount of stigma and hate the community has gotten, fewer and fewer people are identifying as furries.

Now is the time to act because with the new generation, we need to show support to communities who are special, unique, diverse, and do good things for the world. When children are taught something is bad at a young age, they hold onto that for the rest of their lives, until they are convinced by others that they are wrong. Recently in Indiana, my home state, a bill was passed that was reminding schools that they could dress code students for being or acting like a furry (according to Indystar.com). If there is a ban on being a furry in schools, there will be more stigma against furries. If nothing is done, the furry community will grow smaller and smaller, until it vanishes completely. Now is the time to stop the furry hate and embrace the furry community, which is helping the world become a better, happier, and safer place.