[Commlist] CFP: 'Being Furry': furry studies conference

*Being Furry: Rotterdam, October 2024*
*In association with the Otterdam Furry Arts Festival (Rotterdam, the 
Netherlands)*

Furries, loosely defined as fans of anthropomorphised animals and 
zoomorphic humans, have arguably existed since the 1970s. Yet, these 
remain an under-researched group. This could be due to academia viewing 
the fandom as “unworthy” of study (Roberts, 2015) the historically 
negative depiction of the fandom resulting in an aversion to being 
studied (Leshner, et al., 2018; Plante, et al., 2017), or any of a 
myriad of other reasons.

The most well-known efforts to study furries come from the International 
Anthropomorphic Research Project (2016; 2023), however many unique 
perspectives on the fandom are missing or unheard. Furthermore, those 
studying the furry fandom are largely disconnected from each other and 
lack a focal point.

This conference, the first of its kind, aims to bring together academics 
and furries from different fields and viewpoints. In doing so, this 
conference is the first step to formalising a field of ‘furry studies’ 
that explores and examines this creative community. Therefore, this 
conference marks the beginning of legitimising the field as a valid site 
for contemporary research, and to promote global and cross-field 
collaboration among furry scholars and those invested in this community.

The conference is part of the Otterdam Furry Arts Festival, a public 
event celebrating furry culture and art occurring in Rotterdam in 
October 2024. We encourage the wider furry community to take part as 
well as researchers, and we look forward to the insights this diverse 
audience will bring. Information about tickets for this event will 
follow shortly after the venue has been confirmed.

*Theme: “Being Furry”*
For the first furry studies conference, the theme, ”Being Furry”, will 
allow for a variety of proposals and act as a strong basis for the 
field's inception. The conference aims to inspire discussion, especially 
given that ‘if you ask ten furries to define what furry is, you’ll end 
up with eleven different answers’ (Plante, 2023).

Rather than deciding on a concrete definition of “what a furry is” with 
this conference, our point of provocation is “What is Furry”? Here are 
some topics to start your thinking. This list is by no means exhaustive, 
and we encourage proposals about “Being Furry” that go beyond these 
suggestions:

  *
    Furry history: furry media, conventions, or activities.
  *
    Examinations of the fursona: physical ephemera, psychological
    attachment, aesthetics of costuming and fursuiting, species
    prevalence or attachment.
  *
    Furry identity: furries and queerness, the relationships between
    furries and wider LGBTQIA2S+ communities, neurodiversity in the
    fandom, experiences of BIPOC within the community.
  *
    Sex and the furry fandom: sex positivity, kink culture, NSFW
    practice and artwork.
  *
    Furry economies: artistic output, “suspiciously wealthy furries”,
    furries’ charity work, the relationships between furry and ‘big
    media’ outputs such as Disney films.

We encourage the submission of proposals for academic papers, short 
workshops, practitioner-based activities, best-practice showcases, and 
pre-formed panels. We welcome established academics at all stages of 
their careers, and warmly embrace independent scholars. We also 
encourage submissions from non-academic furries and welcome other 
presentation formats such as photographic essays, alternative 
presentation styles, etc.

Further details can be found on the Otterdam Furry Arts Festival 
website: https://otterdam.art/ <https://otterdam.art/>

*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 10 June 2024. All 
submissions will be double-reviewed by a panel of researchers who are 
actively involved in furry fandom. You will be notified of the panel's 
decision on 1 July 2024. Please ensure that all submissions (if 
primarily written) are in PDF format.

Submissions must also contain

 1.
    Name of author(s)
 2.
    Affiliation of author(s), if applicable
 3.
    Email address of author(s)
 4.
    Title of proposal
 5.
    A short biography of each author (up to 150 words)
 6.
    References, if applicable

All proposals must be submitted via email to 
(submissions /at/ furrystudies.org) with “Furry Studies – Otterdam 2024” in the 
subject line.

*Ethos*
This event is designed to build connections between those researching 
furries, providing an inclusive trans-disciplinary research and 
publishing space. Though based physically in Rotterdam, the conference 
will be a hybrid event with online modes of participation, to allow for 
proceedings to be as accessible as possible.

The official language of the conference, in which all submissions and 
eventual contributions are expected to be presented, is English. 
Selected papers will be developed for publication in a special issue of 
/Popular Communication/ focused on furry studies.

*Organising Committee*
Reuben Mount (Vanguard Husky), College of English and Media, Birmingham 
City University, England UK
Rhys Jones, School of Culture and Communication, Swansea University, 
Wales UK
Tom Geller (Jack Newhorse), Stichting Otterdam, Rotterdam, Netherlands

*Informal Enquiries*
(hello /at/ furrystudies.org)



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