Furscience

Ever wonder what makes furries tick? Those weird and wonderful folks with their colorful ears, paws, and tails? The people who draw comics, watch cartoons, and write stories about walking, talking animals? Yeah, what’s that all about? Join the Furscience team as we take you on a journey through more than a decade worth of data on the furry fandom. Learn who they are, what they do, and why they do it. Dig into the myths that surround this misunderstood community and let the data do the talking. Whether you’re new to the community or a greymuzzle yourself, know a friend or family member who’s a furry, or simply curious about one of the most interesting fandoms on the planet, you’re sure to learn something new! Because it’s not just science—it’s Furscience!

The International Anthropomorphic Research Project is a group of social scientists conducting research to gain a better understanding of the furry fandom. In the present book we present the main findings from a variety of studies, including more than 10,000 furry participants, over the past five years. The book seeks to answer questions often asked about furries, such as what is a furry? Do furries really think they're animals? Is it true that all furries where fursuits? Whether you've never heard of furries before or you've been a furry for decades, you're sure to learn something from this book.

From a veteran fur comes an immersive entry into the world of furry fandom, with an inside look at an amazing subculture, the timeless human instinct to identify with animals, and color images of furry costumes, art, and conventions. Furs are the creative subculture of people who identify with animals. You can find them at furry conventions, furfests, around the world—tens of thousands of people donning their most elaborate fursuit. In costume, at conventions, with friends or alone, furries unleash the animal within, letting their inner beasts roar and their inner cats purr, aware of the power—and joy—to be found in bringing forward one’s animal side and encouraging others to do the same. In Furry Planet, long-time furry Joe Strike dives deep into this compelling subculture to share its appeal and rewards. Strike and a wealth of interviewees trace the history of the subculture and its various iterations today, in the process covering conventions, media, art, storytelling, community resources, costume creation, and advice for newcomers, and addressing stigmas and misconceptions head on. An unprecedented in-depth guide, Furry Planet is sure to inform and delight the ever-growing furry fandom and anyone who has ever been curious about it. Inside you’ll find: Insight into the natural human impulse to anthropomorphize animals A fascinating history of furry fandom A detailed look at furcons around the world Inspiration for fursuit costume creation Color images of costumes, art, and conventions Much more!

This is an open access book. 2022 International Conference on Sport Science, Education and Social Development(SSESD2022)was held from July 15th to 17th in Kunming China. The objective of SSESD is to promote scientific information interchange by creating a platform to students, researchers, Practitioners, and academicians to present their ongoing researches on diverse themes ranging from Sport Science, Education and Social Development. Under the influence of the current COVID-19 epidemic, people pay more and more attention to physical health, scientific distance education of physical exercise, in the meantime, wisdom education provides a guarantee for people to acquire knowledge. SSESD aims to provide the opportunity for Engineers Academicians, Scientists, Researchers and students to share ideas and knowledge and to network with an international crowd and deliberate the practical challenges encountered and solutions adopted in respective domains worldwide. Thus, organizing committee invites all Industry Professional, delegates and students representing worldwide institutions, Government agencies, and other organizations, to take part in the International Conference on Sport Science, Education and Social Development.

Why are some things cute, and others not? What happens to our brains when we see something cute? And how did cuteness go global, from Hello Kitty to Disney characters? Cuteness is an area where culture and biology get tangled up. Seeing a cute animal triggers some of the most powerful psychological instincts we have - the ones that elicit our care and protection - but there is a deeper story behind the broad appeal of Japanese cats and saccharine greetings cards. Joshua Paul Dale, a pioneer in the burgeoning field of cuteness studies, explains how the cute aesthetic spread around the globe, from pop brands to Lolita fashion, kids' cartoons and the unstoppable rise of Hello Kitty. Irresistible delves into the surprisingly ancient origins of Japan's kawaii culture, and uncovers the cross-cultural pollination of the globalised world. If adorable things really do rewire our brains, it can help answer some of the biggest questions we have about our evolutionary history and the mysterious origins of animal domestication. This is the fascinating cultural history of cuteness, and a revealing look at how our most powerful psychological impulses have remade global style and culture.

Furry fandom—an adult social group interested in anthropomorphic animals in art, literature and culture—has grown since the 1980s to include an estimated 50,000 “furries.” Their largest annual convention drew more than 6,000 attendees in 2015, including 1,000 dressed in “fur suits” or mascot-type animal costumes. Conventions typically include awards, organizations, art, literature and movies, encompassing a wide range of creative pursuits beyond animal costuming. This study of the furry subculture presents a history of the oft-misunderstood group and lists all conventions around the world from 1989 through 2015, including organizers, guests of honor and donations to charity.

Winner of the 2017 Ursa Major Award for Best Non-Fiction Work! Furry fandom is a recent phenomenon, but anthropomorphism is an instinct hard-wired into the human mind: the desire to see animals on a more equal footing with people. It’s existed since the beginning of time in prehistoric cave paintings, ancient gods and tribal rituals. It lives on today—not just in the sports mascots and cartoon characters we see everywhere, but in stage plays, art galleries, serious literature, performance art—and among furry fans who bring their make-believe characters to life digitally, on paper, or in the carefully crafted fursuits they wear to become the animals of their imagination. In Furry Nation, author Joe Strike shares the very human story of the people who created furry fandom, the many forms it takes—from the joyfully public to the deeply personal— and how Furry transformed his own life.

Anime/manga (Japanese animation and comics) have been increasing in popularity worldwide for decades. But despite being a global phenomenon, there’s been surprisingly little psychological research formally studying its devoted fanbase. In this book we aim to do just that with an overview of nearly a decade of research by fan psychologists. Otaku and cosplayers, genre preferences, hentai, parasocial connections, motivation, personality, fanship and fandom, stigma, and well-being – this book looks at all of these topics through a psychological lens. Many of these findings are being presented for the first time, without the jargon and messy statistical analyses, but in plain language so it’s accessible to all readers – fans and curious observers alike!