ELI5

Furries are people who enjoy dressing up as or creating characters based on anthropomorphic animals, which are animals that have human-like traits such as walking on two legs, talking, or wearing clothes. These characters might be foxes, wolves, cats, or any other animal but with a personality or appearance that feels human-like.

Some furries create artwork, write stories, or role-play as these characters online, while others might dress up in costumes called "fursuits" to bring their characters to life in the real world. It’s a hobby and a community that’s mostly about creativity, imagination, and expressing yourself through these animal characters.

Is this a community, is this a sexual thing?

It can be either or both. I think for the most part it is community though. For some it starts as one and then expands into the other. For me it really is a lot about self discovery & self expression, SFW & NSFW, and makes me feel more connected to the world.

Or to put it in mature comic form: https://www.ohjoysextoy.com/furry/

Is it an American thing?

No, European here with quite some insight. I think the map in the other post is slightly misleading, as bigger countries like the US have more conventions than smaller countries is kind of obvious.

If you have more questions, feel free to ask 😊 I will do my best to offer my perspective on this.