7.4 Age of Origin

In another section, we found that, on average, furries are in their early twenties and have been in the fandom since their mid-to-late teens.1 Given that the experience of many therians is that a felt connection to animals was a feeling they had inside, rather than an interest that needed to be “discovered” by many furries, we tested the hypothesis that therians would experience an interest in anthropomorphic animal content at a younger age than furries.

On average, therians reported having had an interest in anthropomorphic animals for a significantly larger proportion of their life (34.1%) than furries (29.9%)2 And while the average furry has been a part of the furry fandom for 7.65 years, the average therian has been a furry for significantly longer—8.67 years. Finally, the figure below shows that therians develop an interest in furry content at a significantly younger age than furries (18.3 vs. 19.2). Taken together, the data are in line with therians’ claims that the feelings of identification with animals and associated interest in anthropomorphic content they experience have been a part of them for much of their lives, more so than for furries, who often stumble into their interest.

Age of first identification with furry interest by sample

References

  1. See section 1.1 Age
  2. Furry Fiesta 2012 and International Online Survey III

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