The term ‘furry’ is used to describe “A person who identifies with and enjoys sometimes dressing as anthropomorphic animals or creatures,” according to Merriam-Webster.

According to Dictionary.com, the ‘furry fandom’ has been around for decades, dating back to the early 80s, when the term was first used to describe fans of human-like animal characters.

A common mistake made is confusing a furry for a therian, which is a personal identity, rather than a fandom.

“A therian is a person who identifies with an animal spiritually or psychologically,” said freshman Ace Sample. “Basically, you identify with an animal every way but physically.”

Therians and furries have a few similarities, one being they both take part in wearing costumes or masks if the individual chooses, but the communities are not to be considered identical, according to Sample.

“Furries wear masks because they want to bring their [character] to life. Therians wear masks because it brings them close to their theriotype,” he said.

Due to genral ignorance regarding the differences of the district communities, therians and furries are often subject to hate. Senior Ethan Huff said the lack of education could be the cause of bullying.

“I can try to correct people all I want, but usually they don’t listen,” Huff said. “They just don’t want to learn.”

Huff said the lack of education on the topics commonly lead to dangerous misconceptions about both communities that generate more hate towards furries and therians.

According to Junior Peter Armstrong, it is dangerous to group furries and therians together, as well as with other groups, because there are a lot of generalizations made about the groups.

“They’re different groups and they shouldn’t be treated like they’re so taboo,” Armstrong said. “There’s a lot of confusion between furries and therians and zoophiles (people who feel attraction to animals). Furries and therians heavily reject that.”

Both Sample and Armstrong said most furry hate stems from misconceptions about the communities and their relations to zoophiles, which is discouraged by furries and therians.

According to Sample, finding others within the furry community and therian community can sometimes be difficult because of bullying.

“There aren’t a lot of people who like to be upfront about it … you have to keep it a secret or else you could get bullied,” he said. “But there are a lot of online forums for people within the community so there are a couple of ways to make friends.”

Huff said the easiest way to find safe spaces for furries and therians is all online, where the foundation is strongest. Apps such as Discord, Instagram and Tumblr have places for furries and therians to meet other people with the same interests.

Huff said that in general, people are not usually accepting when it comes to the furry community and therian community, and it is important for their voices to be heard and for incorrect information to be corrected.

Armstrong agreed that there is too much hate circulating in the community, and no one should hide their passions.

“If people want to wear ears or a tail just for fun, I think they should go for it,” Armstrong said. “They’re not hurting anyone.”