„Fursuit Friday“ is a social media campaign by fursuit enthusiasts. Under the hashtag #FursuitFriday, they posted pictures and videos of themselves and others in fursuits on fridays.
What is „Fursuit Friday?“ #FursuitFriday, meaning, definition, explanation
„Fursuit Friday“ is not centrally organized. Its origin is the idea in the mid-2010s. Here, some fans started using the hashtag #FursuitFriday. Over time, the hashtag reached more and more attention, so that more and more people knew about the action and more and more people could and can participate.
The term „Fursuit Friday“ is an alliteration. Both words have the same first letter. Alliterations are usually better remembered and stay better in the head.
The word „Fursuit Friday“ is very much in the spirit of other social media days that are mostly alliterations. Examples: Motivation Monday, Throwback Thursday and Follow Friday.
On Instagram, the hashtag #FursuitFriday has now been used over 290,000 times. On TikTok, the hashtag #fursuitfriday has been used over 125 million times. (Both as of June 2023)
What is a Furry? Meaning, characteristics, explanation, definition
Furry refers to a subculture whose followers are interested in humanized animals. The term comes from English and means something like furry, covered with fur or furry and in the original literal sense refers to animal creatures.
Many Furry fans dress up as animals and see this as simply a hobby. The interest in this arises neither from erotic fantasies nor zoophilic inclinations, as some reports claim. Rather, Furry devotees meet to exchange ideas about their favorite Furry characters, for example, and to show off their costumes, most of which they have made themselves.
The Furry animals depicted walk on two legs, possess human characteristics, and can speak. A particularly elaborate Furry costume is the fursuit. This is a full body suit completely covered in fur that is especially popular at large gatherings like the Furry conventions.
Origins of the Furry movement
The ancient Greeks called the humanization of mythical creatures and animals, as well as gods, antromorphism.
As early as the 1970s, the first furry movement, called Furry Fandom, emerged in the United States. At the end of the 80s, the first Furry meeting called „Confurence O“ took place in California. In the mid-90s, the Furry trend spread to Europe with the first Furry conventions. The Furry movement also enjoys a large following in Japan.
Even today, followers of the Furry movement from all over the world meet either virtually on the Internet or also at conventions with face-to-face meetings where fans present their costumes. In most cases, the Furry characters presented represent those of their performers. This is referred to as fursona.
Furry community on the Internet
There are many online Furry forums where fans can network and exchange ideas. Smartphone apps such as Furry Amino exist as additional contact tools. You can also quickly find like-minded people on the SoFurry and Fur Affinity websites. There is even a subreddit on the Reddit platform, which can be found under r/furry. In German-speaking countries, Happy Furry and Furbase are the best-known forums.