Furry in the World; The World in Furry
Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, WA / Online
31st October 2025

Furries, loosely defined as fans of anthropomorphised animals and zoomorphic humans, have arguably been around since the 1970s. They comprise a significant arts and social movement, the furry fandom (or simply “furry”). And yet this community remains under-researched and under-discussed. This could be due to academia viewing furry as “unworthy” of study (Roberts, 2015); the community’s aversion to being studied because of negative media depictions (Leshner, et al., 2018; Plante, et al., 2017); or myriad other reasons.

The most well-known efforts to study furries come from the International Anthropomorphic Research Project (2016; 2023). However, many unique perspectives on furry, such as the comprehensive work accomplished by recent junior scholars across various fields (Dunn, 2022), are missing, decentered, or unheard in dominant scholarly discussions on furry. Furthermore, those studying furries and the furry fandom are largely disconnected from each other globally and the field of this research lacks a focal point.

This conference, following on from 2024’s inaugural conference, aims to bring together academics and furries from different fields, practices, and backgrounds. In doing so, Furry Studies 2025 is continuing to formalise and legitimise ‘Furry Studies’ as an open and inclusive field for research. It further aims to promote global and cross-field collaboration among furry scholars and those invested in this fascinating and diverse community.

We encourage both academic researchers and the wider furry community to take part in Furry Studies 2025, and we look forward to the insights this diverse audience will bring. Information about tickets for this event will follow shortly.

Theme: Furry in the World; The World in Furry

The theme of the first Furry Studies conference was “Being Furry”, which allowed for a variety of proposals and acted as a strong basis for the field’s inception. The conference aimed to inspire discussions around what it means to be furry, especially given that ‘if you ask ten furries to define what furry is, you’ll end up with eleven different answers’ (Plante, 2023). It resulted in a series of unique and in-depth discussions of furry by academics, practitioners, and the wider furry community.

For the second year, we turn the focus outward from the previous core provocation of “What is Furry?” to where furry sits within the world from cultural, social, and political perspectives. For example, furry is becoming more visible than ever resulting in the attention of governing bodies in the United States where state representatives are attempting to pass bills into law that limit furry art and expression in K-12 schools. While such instances of social and government targeting of furry art and practices are not isolated to the United States or the West, we recognize that furry is global and exists within various sociopolitical contexts that responds to its presence in materially impactful ways. Therefore, inquiry into the very conditions in which furry art and practice take place globally and how furry responds to the world in which it exists is central in expanding critical research on furry and furthering the field of furry studies.

Furthermore, this call for proposals seeks to examine how situating furry in a global context can conversely result in the world being affected by the community. Below are some topics to ground your thinking. This list is by no means exhaustive, and we encourage proposals about “Furry in the World; The World in Furry” that go beyond these suggestions:

* Global, regional, and local furry communities: the furry fandom all over the world, centering underrepresented voices and communities in furry.
* Furry organisations: organisers creating spaces to serve their communities, building kinship, and raising villages.
* Furry in the arts: furry interpretations of anthropomorphic animation and other media, both as consumers and creators.
* Furry professionalism: The growth of furry-centered and -identified businesses, associations, and careers.
* Furry as atavistic: influence of folklore and history on furry, creation of folklore through hybrid or new fursona species.
* Furry in the media: representation of the furry fandom in mainstream media, reflections on zine culture in fandom, influence of media on furry / furry on the media (for example, Disneyfication).
* Sex, sexuality, and furry: adult aspects in furry performance, practice and expression.
Furry worldbuilding: the creative reimagining of society, culture, people, and social norms through the lenses of fictional and semi-fictional worlds.
* Creative furry works: examining how artists, musicians, performers, designers, writers and creative furries of all trades have shaped furry and the world around them
Furry and the state: exploring current political movements and narratives in government that attempt to target furry and its impact on individual furries and the larger furry community.
* Race and racism in furry: examining race in furry such as racialized narratives in furry across its history to now and the racialized politics of furry art and furry social spaces such as the furry convention and social media.

We encourage the submission of proposals for academic papers, short workshops, practice-based activities, performances, showcases, and pre-formed panels. We welcome established academics at all stages of their careers and explicitly embrace independent scholars. We also encourage submissions from non-academic furries and welcome other presentation formats such as photographic, audio, and video accounts. The conference will be hybrid and allow remote presentations.

What we’re looking for

Please submit 500-word abstracts and/or proposals for panels, and/or other forms of contribution, by 17:00 UTC on Monday 16th June 2025. All submissions will be peer-reviewed by a panel of researchers from the furry fandom. You will be notified of the panel’s decision on 4th July 2025. Please ensure that all submissions (if primarily written) are in PDF format.

Submissions must contain:
1) Name of author(s)
2) Affiliation of author(s), if applicable
3) Primary contact email
4) Title of proposal
5) Proposal abstract (up to 500 words)
6) A short biography of each author (up to 150 words)
7) References, if applicable

Submit Proposal: https://forms.gle/8BQMbQfZLpP1KNQg9

For inquiries, contact Vanguard / Reuben Mount at vanguard@furrystudies.org or Spaxe / Xavier Ho at spaxe@furrystudies.org.

References
Dunn, K. (2022) “Furry Fandom, Aesthetics, and the Potential in New Objects of Fannish Interest.” In “Fandom Histories,” edited by Philipp Dominik Keidl and Abby S. Waysdorf, special issue, Transformative Works and Cultures, no. 37. https://doi.org/10.3983/twc.2022.2133.

Leshner, C.E., Reysen, S., Plante, C., Chadborn, D., Roberts, S. and Gerbasi, K.C. (2018) “My Group Is Discriminated against, but I’m Not”: Denial of Personal Discrimination in Furry, Brony, Anime, and General Interest Fan Groups, The Phoenix Papers, 4(1), pp.130-142. DOI: 0.17605/OSF.IO/27PZG.

Plante, C., Reysen, S., Roberts, S., and Gerbasi, K. (2016) FurScience! A Summary of Five Years of Research from the International Anthropomorphic Research Project, FurScience: Ontario.

Plante, C.N., Reysen, S., Roberts, S. and Gerbasi, K. (2017) ‘Welcome to the jungle: Content creators and fan entitlement in the furry fandom, Journal of Fandom Studies, 5(1), pp.63-80. DOI: 10.1386/jfs.5.1.63_1.

Plante, C., Reysen, S., Adams, C., Roberts, S., Gerbasi, K. (2023) Furscience: A Decade of Psychological Research on the Furry Fandom, Furscience: Texas.

Roberts, S. (2015) Marginalization of Anthropomorphic Identities: Public Perception, Realities, and “Tails” of being a Furry Researcher, in Thurston Howl (ed.) Furries Among Us: Essays on Furries by the Most Prominent Members of the Fandom, Thurston Howl Publications: Nashville.