Why use anthropomorphic characters? The question comes up frequently in discussions about furry fiction and why those of us who write it make the choices we do. Why not just write about humans? Or if you have to use nonhuman characters, why not make them aliens? What's the difference? Why do they have to be animals?

The answers to those questions vary widely depending on the author and on the individual story. I believe, though, that there is something unique and potentially very powerful about stories involving anthro animal characters. Simply put, animals are the aliens with whom we share our world. We have changed and grown alongside them. We have hunted them, made pets of them, revered them, and driven them to extinction, and along the way, they have been part of our culture, from ancient legends to modern sports mascots. Because of this shared journey, making a character a fox, a tiger, or a dog carries different connotations than making them a creature from another world or making them something that, on the surface, appears more human. And when we bring human and furry characters into the same setting, we're able to draw on that legacy of symbolism to tell a variety of stories. Some use the human/furry motif for social commentary on issues of race, gender, religion, orientation, or class. Others explore questions of our responsibility toward what we cause or create. And often, woven in with these is the question of where the line between human and animal is drawn, or whether it exists at all.

In explaining the impulse behind furry fiction (and indeed, behind the furry fandom in general) we tend to invoke that long heritage of using animal characters in human religion, legend, and storytelling. I'm sure this can come off sounding somewhat pretentious and self-aggrandizing to outside readers--put a fox in jeans, and suddenly furry writers are on the same level as Aesop or Orwell or the ancient Egyptians. In the end, though, we're simply following in a tradition grounded in human nature. Anyone who has ever been to a zoo, watched backyard wildlife, or shared their home with a pet has, at some time, looked into those other-eyes and wondered what was happening behind them. As scientists continue research into animal behavior, intelligence, and even emotions, that line between human and animal grows less and less distinct, and we continually find ourselves challenged by both the fears and hopes of what that blurred distinction means for animals and for ourselves. Furry fiction can explore those fears and hopes in a specific, direct way that simply isn't possible with stories about aliens, vampires, faeries, and other fantastic creatures.

We who write these stories give animals voices and culture because we see ourselves reflected in them and can't help wondering what they might see in us. Animals, as Henry Beston wrote, are "gifted with extensions of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear. They are not brethren, they are not underlings; they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendour and travail of the Earth."

In the stories that follow, you will meet ambassadors from those other nations. Whether the experience is inspiring, humorous, poignant, or disturbing, we invite you to see yourself through their eyes.

(c) 2010 Renee Carter Hall ("Poetigress") May not be reprinted or redistributed without written permission.