I would disagree with the final statement in that, what I see as the "roots" of furry: Animal Farm, Watership Down, Lady and the Tramp, Robin Hood, Lion King, Sonic the Hedgehog, My Little Pony etc, etc, or many of the mainstream gateways that people find out they enjoy anthroporphic animals are not LGBT expression.
Though, on the same token, maybe for some youngers it is the LGBT expression that is the roots, for me it was not though, I've been in the fandom for 10+ years. Do I consume media that isn't straight? Sure.
And at the opposite end, for those even older than me, it could have been things like old Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny, funny animal comics. Or that fandom social gatherings started at Sci Fi conventions that it's the sci-fi genre that is the furry "root".
Some have even gone so far as to go to the Egyptian times, but of course it wasn't called furry and there wasn't a recorded "fandom" per say, so that's debatable.
However to say if LGBT expression ceased to exist that the furry fandom would be completely erraticated is a major stretch. It'd be like saying Republicans wouldn't exist without religion. It may seem as if religion is a prominent part of their culture, however I do know of secular Republicans. I was friends with one at one point in time, he was another roo fur.
I would disagree with the final statement in that, what I see as the "roots" of furry: Animal Farm, Watership Down, Lady and the Tramp, Robin Hood, Lion King, Sonic the Hedgehog, My Little Pony etc, etc, or many of the mainstream gateways that people find out they enjoy anthroporphic animals are not LGBT expression.
Though, on the same token, maybe for some youngers it is the LGBT expression that is the roots, for me it was not though, I've been in the fandom for 10+ years. Do I consume media that isn't straight? Sure.
And at the opposite end, for those even older than me, it could have been things like old Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny, funny animal comics. Or that fandom social gatherings started at Sci Fi conventions that it's the sci-fi genre that is the furry "root".
Some have even gone so far as to go to the Egyptian times, but of course it wasn't called furry and there wasn't a recorded "fandom" per say, so that's debatable.
However to say if LGBT expression ceased to exist that the furry fandom would be completely erraticated is a major stretch. It'd be like saying Republicans wouldn't exist without religion. It may seem as if religion is a prominent part of their culture, however I do know of secular Republicans. I was friends with one at one point in time, he was another roo fur.
I can't blame you for thinking it's the root of a the furry tree, but it's probably more accurate to call it a bough. Or one could just say it's a major subset of the furry network (because tree structures are becoming an outdated way of looking at natural orders).