In 2015, 600 out of 6,386 Anthrocon registrants were under 19; last year that number jumped to 891 out of 7,306. Since attendees under 12 don't have to register as long as they're accompanied by a guardian, the true number of young furries in attendance was likely much greater.
The trend reflects what's true among the larger furry community: The subculture is drawing a substantial—and growing—youth cohort. About 33 percent of respondents to the last Furry Poll, the self-designated largest continuing survey of furry fandom, report their age as between 15 and 19. The forum Furry Teens boasts nearly 5,000 members. While Anthrocon isn't the only Furry meetup with under 18 programming, it is the largest and most visible—though there's been a push to incorporate more events for younger furries elsewhere. For instance, Texas Furry Fiesta incorporates family-friendly (e.g., G-rated) events for parents and their children.
Dr. Courtney Plante is a researcher with the International Anthropomorphic Research Project (IARP)—"a multidisciplinary team of scientists studying the furry fandom from a variety of different perspectives," according to their website—and Furscience, the IARP's public information hub with a mission to increase understanding and decrease stigma of the furry fandom. He explains that while ethics standards limit the research IARP can do on furries under 18, they can extrapolate from findings about adult LGBTQ furries. "Data suggests that only 30 percent of furries identify as exclusively or predominantly heterosexual," Dr. Plante said, "numbers that clearly differ from the general population, where nearly 90 percent identify as exclusively or predominantly heterosexual."
The furry community, he noted, provides an especially safe space for young people struggling to find validation and acceptance elsewhere in their lives. "When a person isn't forced to conceal their identity or live in fear of ostracism, they can begin to grow and flourish as a person," he said.
