Introduction
Even if you are new to the furry fandom you are likely super aware of the number of LGBTQ+ members of the community there are. Part of what makes the furry community so appealing to LGBTQ+ people is how accepting and generally left-leaning they are. Irrespective of gender, race, sexuality, or neurodivergence, the furry fandom accepts everyone with open arms, just as they would like to be accepted. So with that, it’s not too surprising that there is a very large gay furry art sub-community that is constantly buzzing, considering how much furry art content is out there
What Is Bara?
BARA was an image board specifically designed for users to post images of muscular men. So, as you can imagine, BARA furry art is pictures of muscular male fursonas and furry characters. The board was originally a small but active community with four different categories that users could post under: Real, Drawn, Furry, and Alternate. As well as this the board contained what is known as an Oekaki board which was essentially a place for users to chat. Most conversations revolved around gay culture, anime, video games, and other general non-porn interests.
Example of Normal Bara Art
Image via Bear World Magazine
Where Does The Word Come From?
However, despite the word Bara being popularised by the image board, its use predates the site. The word bara became a colloquialism in Japan around the 1960s for a genre of Japanese art that depicted same-sex love. It would go on to become known in Japan as gay manga. It was made primarily by gay men for gay men. It would usually depict very big, masculine men as the protagonists of its stories, and while the subject material is more often than not pornographic there are romantic and autobiographical exceptions.
Despite all of this, the use of the word Bara (which directly translates to rose in Japanese) to describe all gay Japanese manga is something that was coined more by the Western world. In non-Japanese contexts, it’s used to describe any sort of Japanese media depicting homo-erotic relationships but Japanese gay manga artists would argue that bara is characterized by the masculinity of its characters as well as the nature of the art. The popularization of its use outside of Japan likely came from the image board of the same name that was created in the 90s.
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So What Is Bara Furry Art?
Those of you eagle-eyed readers may have noticed that we made no mention at all of furries at all in the etymology of the word bara so what gives? Well, this is because bara furry art, or gay furry art that depicts masculine characters, likely gained a lot of traction around the same time that the internet was picking up speed. So, the term actually pre-dates the internet era of the furry fandom by about 30 years. However, once the BARA image board was created the two worlds collided and almost became synonymous with each other ever since.
Example Of Bara Furry Art
Image via Twitter
How Is It Different To Yaoi?
For those of you that are deep in the gay manga rabbit hole though, you might be wondering what the difference is between bara and yaoi as they seem to both be terms for gay manga. While the difference is a little subtle there is a difference. Bara is traditionally made by gay men for gay men, using the aforementioned masculine, muscular characters. Yaoi on the other hand was traditionally made for women, depicting more effeminate and skinny men. While it may not sound like a huge difference there are entire communities dedicated to each sub-genre respectively. Floating around in the same circle of Yaoi you will often hear terms like “femboy” or “twink” used to describe the character they portray which are typically more feminine presenting men. ts, and feelings of all those belonging to these communities, especially if you wish to find quality content.
Example Of Yaoi Art
Image via Reddit
Where Can I Find Bara Furry Art?
There is no shortage of bara furry art in the Wild West that is the internet so we’ve compiled a list of a few of the best places you can find some of it.
Deviant Art: Like any sort of digital art, one of the best places you can find it out there is Deviant Art. This site is already home to thousands upon thousands of furry artists let alone the millions of artists outside of the furry fandom that upload to it. Artists like Smuggles and Muscular Fox Man seem to specialize in bara furry art, so you should have no trouble finding any of it here.
Pinterest: Pinterest is especially great when looking for art under a specific niche as people make random image boards all the time. Not to mention, when you select a specific image on Pinterest they are very good at showing you images similar to the one you selected so you can dive straight down the rabbit hole.
Furaffinity: If you are looking for any sort of furry art, checking furaffinity is a complete no-brainer. This site is home to pretty much all furry art and furry artists. As the name suggests, Fur Affinity is a site designed specifically for furry artists to upload their work, whether it just be to share or to promote a service. So, as you can imagine, with such a large bank of furry art, there is a great wealth of bara furry art that you can find here with little to no effort.
Instagram: Believe it or not, the furry art community is actually thriving on Instagram if you just know where to look. Just look under hashtags that have anything to do with furry art or muscly furries and you’ll find exactly what you’re looking for. The only issue with Instagram is how quickly they will crack down on NSFW posts and how easily the line between NSFW and SFW art can be blurred.
Twitter/X: So, if you’re looking for a social media platform where the rules on what you can upload aren’t as strict then Twitter is probably the place for you. When it comes to pornographic content, Twitter is pretty lenient with what you can get away with, so there’s a whole world of bara furry content that you can find there.
Where Can I Commission Bara Furry Art?
If you’re more interested in getting some bara furry art of your own made rather than just looking at other people’s work, there are plenty of places you can find it. Lucky for you, we’ve compiled yet another list of the best places to commission your very own bara furry art.
MyFurryArt: One of the safest and easiest places to commission any sort of furry art, MyFurryArt is a great option if you’re looking to commission bara furry art. For an additional cost, they offer lewd/NSFW artwork which is a service that a lot of furry artists aren’t comfortable offering.
Fursonafy: Yes we are resorting to the shameless self-plug but we also offer NSFW furry art if that is something that you’re looking for. For the most part, we make anything your brain can conjure up, even if that is bara furry art. So, if you’re struggling to find a place to get it affordably, for no additional cost look no further.
Social Media Commissions: A great place to find independent furry artists would be social media platforms like Instagram and Twitter/X. These platforms are amazing for both artists to share their portfolios and customers to browse them. Also, social media allows artists to bypass pesky listing or service fees that customers would otherwise have to pay as well as commissions taken by freelancing platforms like Fiverr or Upwork.
