What is a furry? It's different than cosplay, steampunk, animalia

If you dress and behave like an animal, does that make you a furry?

No, but there are aspects that are similar (see below).

The topic came up recently during a meeting about Brevard Public Schools' dress code policy, in which school board members talked more about the trend of dressing and behaving like an animal than about other aspects of classroom couture.

Cat ears? Dog tails? Brevard School Board is likely to ban furry attire in updated dress code

Theme for Burning Man 2023? Animalia, which celebrates the animal world and our place in it. (Some thought it would attract furries)

It's not something that's "overwhelmingly" causing an issue within the district, Russell Bruhn, BPS spokesperson, told FLORIDA TODAY.

"I'm not saying kids aren't kids, and then they poke fun at each other or team up to have fun, but as far as a widespread issue, that has not been the case as far as we know," Bruhn said.

Here are some things to know about furries and furry fandom.

What is a furry?

Furries are anthropomorphic enthusiasts − in short, furries, furs or fursuiters, according to those in the furry community. Think of people dressed up like giant stuffed animals. Bugs Bunny or Daffy Duck, popular cartoon characters that walk and talk like humans, are often cited as examples of anthropomorphic.

The topic of furries, while new to the Brevard School Board, is one that's been discussed during the past few years in educational and political arenas.

Attire can range from accessories as simple as animal ears, tails or shirts to elaborate costumes. Some people create a "fursona," or an animal persona they dress up as with "distinct personalities, histories, relationships and attitudes," according to Furscience.

For some kids, the practice is a fun hobby or a way to cope with feeling like they don't fit in.

That one time furries gave kids a happy Christmas at a Shriners holiday party

What is furry fandom?

Furry fandom refers to being a fan of the furry community. Another way to say furry fandom? Fanboying or fangirling about furries.

What's the difference between furries and cosplay?

Cosplay, which is short for "costume play," generally involves people creating costumes about pre-existing characters, characters seen in film or comic books. With a lot of furry characters, they are original, much like steampunk.

Florida is a popular state for cosplay conventions, most notably MegaCon in Orlando, which hosts celebrities from science-fiction movies and TV shows and attracts guests and vendors interested in "Star Wars," "Star Trek," "Harry Potter" and anything Marvel.

What's the difference between furries and Animalia?

Furries and Animalia do have one thing in common: animals. However, they are two separate things.

According to Merriam-Webster, "Animalia" means one of the basic groups of living things that comprises either all the animals or all the multicellular animals. Think "animal kingdom."

In a March story in the Reno Gazette Journal, a USA TODAY Network newspaper, previewing Burning Man, furries came up.

Burning Man announced the 2023 theme in October: Animalia. The initial reaction from online commenters was that the theme would attract a lot of furries — people who have an interest in or dress up as anthropomorphic animal characters — to be in attendance at this year's event, which will be at the Black Rock Desert in Pershing County, Nevada (about two hours north of Reno) from Aug. 27-Sept. 4.

According to the Gazette Journal story: "This year’s Burning Man theme will celebrate the animal world and our place in it — animals real and imagined, mythic and remembered — and explore the curious mental constructs that allow us to believe that imagined animals are real, real animals are imagined, and that somehow, despite all evidence to the contrary, mankind is somehow not part of the animal kingdom," wrote Stuart Mangrum, director of Burning Man Project's Philosophical Center.

Do you have to dress up in costume to be a furry?

"The furry fandom encompasses musicians, writers, artists, cartoonists, sculptors and people who really just want to read comics and stories about these things," John Cole, co-founder of Megaplex, told FLORIDA TODAY in a 2017 story. Only about 20 percent of furries have costumes, he added, like fans of cosplay or comic book conventions. "The ones who don't necessarily want to costume, they go to conventions," Cole said. "Not all furries are fursuiters, and some fursuiters aren't really furries. Some are just people who like to perform."

MegaCon, Megaplex, furry conventions and other cosplay events are great opportunities for people-watching or learning about the furry fandom.

What could be considered furry accessories?

Some fur costumes feature a mask, tail and street clothes. Furry accessories range from cat ears, similar to the headbands that Ariana Grande made popular in her early days as a pop singer, to headbands that have bunny ears (popular around Easter and Halloween).

Contributing: Brett McGinness, Reno Gazette Journal

Sangalang is a lead digital producer for USA TODAY Network-Florida. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram at @byjensangalang. Support local journalism. Consider subscribing to a Florida newspaper.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Furries explained: You don't have to be in animal costume to be a fan