Anthropomorphism, What is It Really?

By; Mr. David R. Dorrycott

Fair warning. This is the opinion of the writer. It is in no way intended to change,

modify or reinforce your opinion regarding this subject.

The short truth, it is what you want it to be.

Anthropomorphism is defined by Webster as;

1: The representation or conception of Deity under a human form, or with human attributes and affections.

            2: The doctrine which attributes to animals mental faculties of the same nature as those of man.

                                                                              1943 New Twentieth Century Edition.

As I read this, section two, which is the section that we are referring too here, is giving animals intelligence. No matter their final physical form. Here though is where the problem comes in. You see, within the community of those serious about Anthropomorphism (Anthro’s for short please), or the courser term ‘Furry’ if you will, the definition of what an Anthropomorphism truly looks like differs as much as Washington politics.

Examples of this are obvious in the entertainment community. For example, the books REDWALL, THE FOX WOMAN, MRS. FRISBY AND THE RATS OF NIMH, CATFANTASTIC and FUZZY SAPIENS all show Anthropomorphism in different styles. In movies we have everything from THE SECRET OF NIMH, FIVAL GOES WEST, THE LAND BEFORE TIME, FERN GULLY and JONATHIAN LIVINGSTON SEAGULL to observe. While Disney and others have released everything from TAILSPIN, DEPUTY DOG, BUCKY O’HARE, FLIP THE FROG, TEENAGE MUTANT TURTLES and KRAZY CAT.

In every case, the only thing that these works had in common were intelligent animals. This is not to say that humans are not intelligent animals, only that in this case humans do not apply. In fact, in a number of works intelligent simians are not permitted.

Anthro’s are not limited to fur bearing creatures, but they are not plants. Thus a Sponge is an animal, while a daffodil is not. Oddly, an insect is classified as an animal as are reptiles. What Anthro’s seem to try to remain true to is this. An Anthro is an animal that has the potential to evolve intelligence. Most tend to focus on fur bearing animals, while one is known to use the cockroach as his ‘totem.’

Therefore you have a pretty wide range of creatures to work with.

“But What Does An Anthro Look Like?”

There is the sixty-four dollar question. Tell you what. Avoiding the recently discovered and now probably (but not yet proven) extent ‘Hobbit’ Homo floresiensis, the closest cousin to humans today is Chimpanzees. Think about it. How much do we really look like them?

Still, there are those who claim an Anthro must look as much like their base stock as possible. For Uplifted characters this is probably true. For evolved characters, no more so than humans are like Chimpanzees. It’s both a nature and a science thing. Still there is no hard and fast rule. A creature with cat ears and a tail, yet otherwise human looking is just as much an Anthro as Fival or Mrs. Frisby. Or even Kermit the frog.

Thus, the choice is completely up to you. Do you want your character to walk on their feet (Plantigrade) or toes (Digitigrade.) Do you prefer a long, medium or short muzzle. Fully furred, only the places humans are furred, or as furless as Mr. Scott Thomas’s Rita Roswell. Animalistic or civilized. These are the choices we all make for every one of the characters that we create.

PAWS HANDS FURSON PERSON???

People have hands, unintelligent animals have paws. Its your call how your characters refer to their hands. It is after all, simply a descriptive word. Hands have fingers, paws generally have claws. Perhaps we should call hands with fingers and claws Haws, or Pands. Likewise the use overuse of the word of ‘fur’ instead of He/Her/Male/Female. The call is up to you. Personally, I have found ‘Politically Correct’ anthro stories where even the word sex (in ALL its connotations) is replaced by yiff (a derogatory word created by furry fans) to be boring and cumbersome. Still that is my feeling. You may do as you wish.

How Anthro Looking;

Today we have fallen into the “One to Ten” scale. “So, on a scale of one to ten, how is your pain today?” This is simply too narrow a scale for any serious question really, and when was the last time your pain fell into that scale anyway? For myself, I use a scale of zero to one hundred. So let us use a scale like that for Anthro’s here.

            Zero:    Completely animal. No intelligence, no changes. Major, the USAF guard dog for example.

            Fifty:     An equal mix of human and animal traces, physical looks and abilities.

            One Hundred:  You. I, most anyone on the planet today.

My characters tend to wander around the mid-eighties. Meaning that at night or in the mist, at a short distance they can be mistaken for human. Sometimes my characters have tails, most often not. All but one are Plantigrade, and that being Nikki. Your characters can be anywhere on that scale. What I have found though is that once you chose a point, you tend to stay there.

So, in answer to the above question: What is an Anthro? The answer is still simply “Whatever you want.”

Just do not try to force your likes upon anyone else, because they will most likely ignore you, or shove their likes onto you. You know that you wouldn’t like that, so what makes you think anyone else would like it. If you do not agree with another persons depiction of an Anthro, keep it to yourself. They really do not give a damn. Its what they see Anthro’s as, and they really do not care one whit what you see anthro’s as.

Finally, if a story makes you think that it could be set in the Human universe just as easily as the Anthro universe, then the writer has done their job. It is not a creators responsibility to keep shoving species in your face. If you cannot remember that Sabrina is a skunk and Zig-Zag an... um... Zig-Zag, for at least a page, then the problem is in your head. Not the writers work.

Always remember what your mother taught you. “Play nice.” Now go skritch you itch.