The opportunity to discuss the following conclusion in open forum is the very reason I joined this group.

As we all know, there are several members of both of the titular groups who outright despise the other group. Logic, however, shows this to be the ultimate fallacy for one reason:

Before you start flaming, behold Logic:
In its purest definition, a Furry is a fan of media featuring anthropomorphic animals.
In its purest definition, a Brony is a fan of My Little Pony, a television series (form of media) featuring a society of talking equines (anthropomorphic animals).

I welcome any counter-arguments anyone wishes to offer.

5425909 By whose definitions are you using? Your own? Are these words in the dictionary, concrete and solid for years to come?

No, they aren't. Not for Brony, not for Furry.

These words are not set in stone. They have no absolute definitions. They are words we IDENTIFY with, not what we ARE. Just because you like, let's say the Lion King, doesn't inherently make you a furry. Why? Because it's simple: you don't identify as one. It's not something physical. That's like saying someone who doesn't like PC culture is a Trumpster. Yes, you can FIND anti-PC culture people among the Trump voters, however, that doesn't mean everyone who doesn't like PC culture is someone who rallies with Trump. They are completely separate ideas.

I DO NOT identify as furry. Are you going to tell me I am a furry because of your definitions? I like My Little Pony. I like media featuring anthropomorphic animals. These are inherently DIFFERENT statements. Just because they share similar stuff, doesn't mean they ARE the same.

Also, Bronies are NOT fans of My Little Pony in many definitions. There are fans of the show who refuse to IDENTIFY with Bronies. I like Star Trek, does that make me a trekkie? No! Not until I pronounce myself as part of this group, I am not a trekkie. It's not something you can just put labels on people.

So my counter argument is that simple definitions based on internet groups cannot be used to straddle people into a large group. Nothing in life is THAT simple.

5425909 I suspect that this is ultimately just a semantic argument about what "furry" means, rather than a fallacy per se.

When people say they hate furries, what they really mean is that they hate people who fit the characteristics of "furry" stereotyped by popular culture (people with sexual kinks and/or social fringes focused on artwork or costumes of anthropomorphic animals to enough of a degree that it makes interactions with people who don't share these interests awkward, uncomfortable, and strained). That's a fairly specific definition of "furry". When you use the very broadly inclusive definition of "furry", by contrast, you're really not talking about the same thing anymore.

That one person is talking about apples and the other is talking about oranges doesn't mean one of them is necessarily wrong. It just means that they're talking about different things.

I think we need to differentiate between the dictionary definition of Furry and the group affiliation of Furry.

By the dictionary, yes, Brony is a subset of Furry.

By the group affiliation, Brony is not the same thing as Furry. Different culture, different cons, different websites, etc.

Example: Roman Catholics are Christians, but Roman Catholics are not the same thing as nonspecific Christians, and a lot of them do not get along.

5425909 I would really like to have a deeply engaging and possibly enriching discussion with you but this topic is...Why and how is this even an issue, actually never mind i probably sound like a grade A ass with horrible grammar, I use a ps4 control to type these messages so I'm always ways like like a hour behind everyone, now I'm sleepy and probably babbalin nonsense so...

Its past ten pm where i am and i think my Afrikaans lessons start at nine am so I'm going to bed.

5425909 Are bronies really that easy to define as furries, though?

Anthropomorphism is a broad term used to describe an attribution of human traits, emotions, or otherwise human-esque components to non-human objects. Granted, you could say that because the object of fascination for bronies is a talking horse, they fall into this category of being anthropomorphic. However, is speaking really solely a human mannerism? If we define speaking as an offshoot of communication, than any creature with vocal chords could thus be considered "speaking." Language, after all, happens in all animals; barks, whistles, mewls, and calls, are nonetheless a part of a species's communication arsenal.

If, according to your supplied definition, bronies are furries because the MLP show features speaking (and thus, "human") characters, then based on that fact alone, all creatures with speaking skills are anthropomorphic.

5426003 Solely their ability to speak does not imply anthropomorphism, true. The "society" aspect, along with a level of technological development (magic-based or not) and the capacity for abstract thought lend themselves more to the label, as does the ability to create art.

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5425945 I'd like to thank all of you for taking the time to share your observations. You've helped me realize that my initial conclusion drew more from perception than provable fact.

Good day, all

5426035 Then together we celebrate! Logic has prevailed!

5426181 Indeed, and actually helped me understand that my perception was colored by the fact that, though for unrelated reasons, I consider myself part of both groups

5425909 the flaw in logic is mostly that mlp is nothing to do with anthro animals but sentient mythological and normal creatures in a humanless world

I have met quite a few people on all sides of the fence. Bronies that hate furries, furries that hate bronies, furries that are also bronies, and those like you who try and say it is a variant of the idea of two sides of the same coin

It is more attuned to logic to say they are different, though somewhat related due to their unusually strong subculture in society.
And while mlp can be lewd it is not the first thing the average person thinks of when they hear mlp, the same CANNOT be said about furries