Yes, Batman is a furry. Consider the pro and anti arguments.
Pro-furry arguments:
- Wears an anthropomorphic animal costume for personal reasons
- Feels a strong emotional connection to the animal, including using that animal’s iconography as a kind of identifying marker
- Wearing the suit allows him to express a true aspect of his personality that is otherwise hidden, which matches my understanding of fursonas
- Spares no expense on the costume
- Longest romantic relationship is with another anthropomorphic animal costume wearer (Catwoman)
- Involved in an ongoing internecine conflict with another passionate animal costumer (Penguin)
Anti-furry arguments:
- Costume not actually furry, even though bats have fur
- No evidence of commissioned furry art in the Batcave
- Possible that he wears the costume for professional reasons, like a cop, and the apparent personality differences are just what you expect from someone given power to do violence
The anti arguments are weaker and I can think of plausible refutations for each one.
Possible refutations for anti-furry arguments:
- Furry costumes are stylized and rarely depict the animal in anatomical detail. Furry is not a literal term and the animal need not actually be covered in fur.
- Arguably the whole Batcave, Batmobile, and various Bat-accoutrements are commissioned furry art. Batman might just prefer his art as three dimensional sculptures or craft objects rather than drawings or paintings.
- The bat costume is not a typical law enforcement attire and has many non-practical aspects (nipples, ears, cape) that go beyond professional requirements for cops.
So on the whole, yes, Batman is a furry, romantically involved with other furries, and fully participating in furry drama.
This persuasive essay was originally posted in its current form on an alt Tumblr I made, persuasive-posts, where I thought I would write persuasive essays about unimportant things. But I can't keep a gimmick going so it became just another Tumblr in the world with only one post. That seems sad, and a waste of a perfectly good haha-only-serious persuasive essay so I have moved it here. And before Tumblr it was a forum post in a members-only forum.