The Furry Club at WSU gave a presentation titled “Furry 101” going over the basics of the fandom, on Oct. 21 at the Center for Undergraduate Education.
“A furry is a person who has an interest in anthropomorphic animals or animals with human traits,” President Ellie Ballensky (they/them) said. “The fandom now is massive. There are millions and millions of fans all over the world.”
This was the third meeting of the semester, they said. There was a small get together for the first meeting and the second meeting vote on the cabinet positions. They are hoping to hold meetings every other week.
Ballensky said they have been part of the fandom for 13 years but only really got into it about two years ago. They first found the club through a Discord server they were a member of.
“This is the third year of the club, but it really got going last year and then it started going again this year. Before then it wasn’t really official yet but it was around,” Ballensky said. “I posted a lot of my furry art [in the Discord] and one of my friends … were like, ‘Hey, did you know there’s a furry club?’ and I was like, ‘No, I had no idea there was a furry club.’ They gave me a link to the Discord and after that they had the very first official meeting, so I went to the very first official meeting and I’ve been at every single meeting since then.”
Vice President Braden Rebelez (any pronouns) said they have been a member of the fandom for about 11 years and a member of the club for about two.
“The former president and [Ellie] were tabling last summer. It was the beginning of my freshman year,” Rebelez said. “I saw this bright pink and green fursuit and I was like, ‘I’m a furry, I have stickers on my water bottle. Why not?’ So I go over and interact for a little bit … and the rest is history. I’ve tried to immerse myself as much as I can and it’s been nothing but a net positive on my life.”
Being part of the fandom requires nothing more than wanting to be part of it, Ballensky said. While many people create fursonas and buy fursuits, they are not necessary to be a member.
Rebelez said a fursona can be both a fictional character created by the person or an extension of their own personality.
“I know in my case and in many other people’s case, my fursona is me but if there were no negatives. The best version of me, because that’s the thing with being human, it’s a condition. There will always be factors, either out of your control or in your control, whether you like it or not, that are just, albeit somewhat negative,” Rebelez said. “Everyone’s somewhat self-conscious about something, so [it’s] giving yourself a chance to kind of be someone who doesn’t have the burden of being self-conscious. Just being your character. It’s nothing more than pure escapism for a lot of people.”
Some members of the fandom have encountered people who are rude or not accepting of them. Ballensky said they have learned to ignore those who are against them.
“I used to be really self-conscious about it and be like, ‘Oh, people hate me,’ but honestly, I do this for myself, I do this to have fun, I don’t care what people that are being negative think and I shouldn’t care about someone who’s just spreading hate,” they said. “I care more about what my friends think … So I get a lot of joy out of it, so how I get over the hate is I just be like, ‘Well, I’m having fun. If they’re hating then that’s them.’ So that’s their problem, not mine.”
Despite the people who are rude, one of the positives of being in the fandom is finding people who are accepting and excited to see them. Ballensky said one of their favorite parts about being in the fandom is running into people who are not necessarily in the fandom but know about furries and are excited to see them.
“It’s a really galvanizing feeling. I deserve that, and not in a selfish way, but everyone deserves to feel loved and represented and I think that’s the best thing,” Rebelez said.
Sophomore finance major Marissa Williams said she attended the furry club last year. The community is a big part of what makes the club a special place.
“Everybody’s really nice. It’s a really welcoming space and I feel really comfortable when I’m here,” Williams said. “The furry club has a lot of people who might not have the most comfortable time making friends and I think having a nice environment where everyone’s super welcoming is super fun.”
Williams said a few of the events the club has held in the past have included a Super Bowl party earlier this year, an Easter party and a potluck. They also try to organize convention trips together.
Melissa Torres (she/they), fourth-year animal science pre-veterinary major, said she has been a member of the club for about a year.
“I’ve always kind of been interested in the fandom because of the art community because there’s a lot of very talented artists, but I didn’t start becoming active in the fandom until a year and a half ago,” Torres said. “Having interacted with the fandom and going to a convention I really have come to appreciate the community. There’s a lot of kind people and a lot of diversity in the fandom.”
Torres said the diversity of the fandom has helped her feel more comfortable accepting her sexuality and learning about other communities, particularly the LGBTQ community.
The club is hoping to increase awareness in the future, Ballensky said. They hope to start putting up posters and tabling soon. While there are people who are negative toward them, they think the fandom has had a positive impact on the people involved.
“Without the furry fandom, I definitely wouldn’t have as many things as I have now. I wouldn’t have my current job, I wouldn’t have my current partner. I wouldn’t have a lot of the things I hold near and dear to my heart,” Rebelez said. “It’s definitely the embodiment of ‘treat people how you want to be treated and they’ll treat you the same way.’ If you treat people with sort of a harsh and critical attitude then you’re going to get the same thing back. If you approach it with even just a little bit less of an open mind then you might come around to it.”
