{"id":{"repo_id":"mit","oai_identifier":"oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/127662"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/mit/oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/127662","repository":{"repo_id":"mit","name":"MIT","base_url":"https://dspace.mit.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Fursonas : furries, community, and identity online","abstract":"The furry fandom is a loose-knit online subculture of fans devoted to anthropomorphic animal characters. Furries are not necessarily fans of specific media properties, but instead often create their own media, including the \"fursona,\" an anthropomorphic animal character to represent oneself in the community. Conducting empirical research through interviews, participant observation, auto ethnography, and virtual ethnography, I have sought to understand this aspect of furry identity and sociality through a number of disciplinary lenses. In this thesis, I argue that furry queers fandom through several interrelated processes: severing fandom from textual objects; developing queer sex publics; paving new pathways to queer becoming; and displacing online identity through stylized, affective modes of embodiment. These fan practices, as articulated through the fursona, cohere into a queer worlding of virtual spaces.","abstract_html":"The furry fandom is a loose-knit online subculture of fans devoted to anthropomorphic animal characters. Furries are not necessarily fans of specific media properties, but instead often create their own media, including the "fursona," an anthropomorphic animal character to represent oneself in the community. Conducting empirical research through interviews, participant observation, auto ethnography, and virtual ethnography, I have sought to understand this aspect of furry identity and sociality through a number of disciplinary lenses. In this thesis, I argue that furry queers fandom through several interrelated processes: severing fandom from textual objects; developing queer sex publics; paving new pathways to queer becoming; and displacing online identity through stylized, affective modes of embodiment. These fan practices, as articulated through the fursona, cohere into a queer worlding of virtual spaces.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Silverman, Ben(Benjamin Luke Matanos)"],"institution":"Massachusetts Institute of Technology","degree_name":"Master","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":"Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Comparative Media Studies","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Ian Condry."],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2020,"date_issued":"2020","date_published":"2020","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:22:02Z","subjects":["Comparative Media Studies."],"languages":["eng"],"rights":["MIT theses may be protected by copyright. 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Furries are not necessarily fans of specific media properties, but instead often create their own media, including the \"fursona,\" an anthropomorphic animal character to represent oneself in the community. Conducting empirical research through interviews, participant observation, auto ethnography, and virtual ethnography, I have sought to understand this aspect of furry identity and sociality through a number of disciplinary lenses. In this thesis, I argue that furry queers fandom through several interrelated processes: severing fandom from textual objects; developing queer sex publics; paving new pathways to queer becoming; and displacing online identity through stylized, affective modes of embodiment. These fan practices, as articulated through the fursona, cohere into a queer worlding of virtual spaces."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["S.M. in Comparative Media Studies"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Fursonas : furries, community, and identity online"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Ian Condry."],"dc:contributor.department":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Comparative Media Studies","CMS"],"dc:contributor.other":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Comparative Media Studies."],"dc:creator":["Silverman, Ben(Benjamin Luke Matanos)"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2020-09-21T16:42:10Z"],"dc:date.available":["2020-09-21T16:42:10Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2020"],"dc:description":["Thesis: S.M. in Comparative Media Studies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Comparative Media Studies/Writing, May, 2020","Cataloged from the official PDF of thesis.","Includes bibliographical references (pages 72-75)."],"dc:description.abstract":["The furry fandom is a loose-knit online subculture of fans devoted to anthropomorphic animal characters. Furries are not necessarily fans of specific media properties, but instead often create their own media, including the \"fursona,\" an anthropomorphic animal character to represent oneself in the community. Conducting empirical research through interviews, participant observation, auto ethnography, and virtual ethnography, I have sought to understand this aspect of furry identity and sociality through a number of disciplinary lenses. In this thesis, I argue that furry queers fandom through several interrelated processes: severing fandom from textual objects; developing queer sex publics; paving new pathways to queer becoming; and displacing online identity through stylized, affective modes of embodiment. These fan practices, as articulated through the fursona, cohere into a queer worlding of virtual spaces."],"dc:description.degree":["S.M. in Comparative Media Studies"],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/127662"],"dc:language.iso":["eng"],"dc:publisher":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology"],"dc:rights":["MIT theses may be protected by copyright. Please reuse MIT thesis content according to the MIT Libraries Permissions Policy, which is available through the URL provided."],"dc:rights.uri":["http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582"],"dc:subject":["Comparative Media Studies."],"dc:title":["Fursonas : furries, community, and identity online"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:22:02Z"}