University of Tennessee, Knoxville has furry club providing space for members with different 'fursonas'
'I want people to know who are furries to know that they can share their ideas with other furries in a safe environment,' the club president said.
Being a furry 'allows you to explore gender, sexuality and all aspects of identity through a character, in a way, but also through yourself,' said one club member.
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, has a “UTK Furries” Club to provide a “safe environment” for students who like to dress up as animals.
Club President Tegan Flynn, who helped found the club in the winter semester, told the University of Tennessee student paper The Daily Beacon that club members adopt “fursonas” from “different aspects and different animals.”
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Flynn told Campus Reform that the club’s goal is “to create a fun and safe environment for people who are or [who] support furries to share their ideas freely without the fear of prosecution.”
Flynn added that furries “are largely misunderstood with a large amount of stereotypes and false information about them,” and continued: “I want people to know who are furries to know that they can share their ideas with other furries in a safe environment. In short, I want to impact the campus by letting people that we are absolutely here and happy to be here.”
The club’s Discord page shows that it contains more than 90 members who either identify as or support furries.
Jack Maloney, a University of Tennessee, Knoxville student, spoke to The Daily Beacon about the club and his motivation for joining, saying: “People are extremely cutthroat when it comes to anything related to furry stuff . . . There is plenty of reason to be afraid of coming out to certain people about it. There is still plenty of hate.”
He added that identifying as a furry “allows you to explore gender, sexuality and all aspects of identity through a character, in a way, but also through yourself.”
The furry club’s constitution states that, if the club is ever disbanded, “all remaining funds will be donated to UTKGaymerz,” a group at the university “for queer folk and allies who enjoy video games and meeting like minded individuals.”
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Not everyone agrees with the mission of the furry club, however.
One freshman at the university admitted her concern, telling Campus Reform: “Safe spaces are important but things like [the furry club] seem so unnecessary. Hating furries would be extreme, but they make me and my peers uncomfortable to an extent when we see them. Not necessarily because of the ears or the tails, but because of how they behave in public in general. My college isn’t only about them.”
Campus Reform has contacted the University of Tennessee, Knoxville for comment. This story will be updated accordingly.
