It is also worth noting that other orientations, such as asexuality, emerged as fairly prominent in the fandom, with about 1 in 11 furries identifying as such. When participants were able to chose labels, bisexuality emerged as the most frequent sexual orientation, with only about 20% of furries self-identifying as heterosexual. In prior studies, heterosexuality, while never a majority, was always the most commonly chosen option. In a recent study, we moved from a traditional 7-point Kinsey scale to a simple, categorical approach, giving participants several options to choose from.
1 The result of this change was illuminating. Recognizing that for many people sexual orientation is complex and difficult to plot on a single dimension, we have over time provided additional options (i.e., asexual, pansexual), or changed the way we presented the question to allow more nuanced responses.
In a number of studies we’ve asked participants to indicate their sexual orientation.