Introduction

Before you can join our wonderful community, guests and future members, be sure to read this all the way through! If you have any questions, most may be found within the beginning sections of the site. Before we begin, you may be thinking:

an·thro·po·mor·phic adj \ˌan(t)-thrə-pə-ˈmȯr-fik\
1: described or thought of as having a human form or human attributes
2: ascribing human characteristics to nonhuman things

Wikipedia defines 'anthropomorphism' as:
...any attribution of human characteristics (or characteristics assumed to belong only to humans) to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s. Examples include animals and plants and forces of nature such as winds, rain or the sun depicted as creatures with human motivations, and/or the abilities to reason and converse. The term derives from the combination of the Greek ἄνθρωπος (ánthrōpos), "human" and μορφή (morphē), "shape" or "form".

As a literary device, anthropomorphism is strongly associated with art and storytelling where it has ancient roots. Most cultures possess a long-standing fable tradition with anthropomorphised animals as characters that can stand as commonly recognized types of human behavior. In contrast to this, such religious doctrines as the Christian Great Chain of Being propound the opposite, anthropocentric belief that animals, plants and non-living things, unlike humans, lack spiritual and mental attributes, immortal souls, and anything other than relatively limited awareness.

On our site, we focus on anthropomorphic animals, often called 'furries' or 'funny animals'. These are not shapeshifters or were-creatures. They are simply walking, talking animals with many human characteristics. Think of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Fantastic Mr. Fox, or other similar cartoons and media. As well as ferals, humans, and shape-shifters. But we shall get to that in more depth later on!