[Commlist] cfp - Furry Studies 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.

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 30th June 2025 
(extended). 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 18th July 2025 (extended). 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 on our website - https://furrystudies.org

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

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