No, you don’t understand furry, animal fantasy, anthropomorphism, or general language as well as you seem to think - and making presumptions about the momentum behind my statements isn’t helping.
That’s THE definition. Furry culture extends back further than the current internet. If we ignore historical examples of human-animal mixes such as the Egyptian gods, the modern furry culture dates back to the 70s. When the term “Funny Animal” was used, before it evolved to “Furry.” Comics were the main medium, but artists also drew regular images. Print newsletters also existed.
As someone who’s familiar with the furry subculture before it became the internet’s punching bag, I have to laugh at how some younger kids today try to redefine something to fit their own comfort level. “Oh no, I’m not a furry. You have to fap to animals to be a furry!”
Sorry, doesn’t work like that. Since the subculture’s inception, the definition has always been the same. It’s like trying to say you’re not really a (member of your home country) unless you’re really patriotic and wave flags around and stuff. Nope, simply being born there (to legal citizens) makes you a member of your country.
Already are. The definition of a furry is someone who is a fan of anthropomorphic animal characters. And the definition of anthropomorphic is anything given human-like qualities. Speech, human-like emotions and intelligence? Those are what makes something anthropomorphic (not the later secondary definition of “stands on two legs and is roughly human-shaped.”)
This encompasses pretty much every cartoon that has featured talking animals, ever. You liked Mickey Mouse or the TMNT as a kid? Congrats, you’re a furry.
So that makes people who like MLP furries, too.
The problem is when they can’t accept that and freak out over it.
