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Furry
Textbook denotation: a person with an interest in anthropomorphic animals.
Connotation: murry-purry yiff-yaff.
Reflection: as one myself, I'd say that furries aren't completely represented when they spoken about. They're a group that is somewhat unknown to many because they've heard the extremes and don't hear a word besides that. It's true that some are sexual deviants, but it's also a very accepting group because the criteria for being a furry isn't clear--not to say that there even is any criteria besides liking animals. With a huge demographic like that, it's difficult to label anyone that identifies as a furry with a single idea. Misunderstanding is the greatest downfall here; the weirdos that exist in the fandom are generally the same people who are spreading the definition of the term. They're certainly targeted at public events with news crews that are nearby; I'm looking at you, creepy guy from Anthrocon '09 WTAE coverage!
What I personally find interesting about anthro(pomorphic)s is that they seem to carry with them some sort of personality trait that humans have assigned. For example, we see rats as sly thieves (which makes it all the more interesting that
Slade from Shining Force II is a thief). It also gives characters license to embark upon ideas that normal people would find just plain awkward.
Fantastic Mr. Fox is one of my favorite movies because the characters all act in a completely human fashion--even dress that way. But they always have some sort of impulse or mannerism that makes them animals.
Surely, furries have a reason to like the characters in MLP:FiM. Perhaps they like it for its actual content of the series itself, rather than the memes that result. 'Cause I've gotten good laughs from the raw content of the episodes so far.
I don't know how exactly "brony" is defined, whether it's as simple as being a fan of the series for its writing/presentation or being a fan of the memes that it produces. I enjoy both, so I guess that makes me some sort of furry-brony: "furny."
But I know some will cringe at the idea of a weird "sub-culture" encroaching upon their little guilty pleasure. >:3