Bit New to Furries and Whatnot

[LeeMessesAround]

(I'm only putting this here because I didn't think it qualified as an introduction, more of a long winded question)

Um, howdy, folks

The title kind of speaks for itself, I'm aware of furries and I vaguely understand them, but I've never considered myself a furry up until somewhat recently, and, even then, I wanted to consult the general population(?) as to whether or not I should even be calling myself a furry.

You see, I do enjoy drawing anthro animals, I have quite a few characters that are bipedal and have humanoid characteristics, Hell, I even made a fursona for myself a bit ago, and am considering making a secondary one just for the heck of it, but I've never really called myself a furry, in fact, I've stated on many occasions that I'm not, but I'm thinking about changing that.

The problem comes in when I consider the things I like and the things that most furries like and where we stop connecting. The majority of furries enjoy fur-suiting and seem to really connect with being an animal, but I, personally, just like drawing anthros and looking at characters that are anthro and have no real intent of ever making myself a fur-suit and walking around in it, bit too much money for something I'm probably never going to wear because it just doesn't interest me (plus it's too hot where I live and I'd probably pass out from heat exhaustion, ahah). But I digress, I still like enjoy having the fursona, even though I'd never dress up as that fursona, and anthro characters are super interesting to me. On top of that, I'm very interested in being apart of the furry community (you know, drawing art for it, maybe going to a convention someday, blah blah blah), but I don't know if I even would qualify as a furry.

I guess my question is this: should I call myself a furry or just say that I'm a person who likes drawing and looking at anthro animals? I'm posting this on multiple forums so I can get an idea of what the general community says and I'll make my decision from there. Personally, I do think I can call myself a furry on some level, but I want to hear what everyone else thinks.

[Conker]

the fun thing about the furry fandom is it's entirely up to you whether you want to shovel in with it or not. Like, you sound like a furry to me based on what you like to draw and your fursona and stuff, but that's not up to me. It's up to you.

If it makes you happy to think of yourself as a furry in the furry fandom with all its people, both awesome and cringeworthy, then go for it. The place is certainly never not amusing. But you can still participate and fall back on, "but I'm not a furry" and no one here will give a shit. Or at least, I won't

I've been a member of this forum since back in like 2008 when it was FAF. I called myself a furry for a bit, but I've since let go of the label. I'm still here though. I still like this place, the community, and some of the porn. That hasn't changed.

Go with what works man. Experiment, and if you don't like being in the furry fandom, then take a step or two back. It's all good.

[Vae]

<mod post>
Moved to the Den.
</mod post>

As for your question: Furry is a hobbyist fandom. Are furry interests on the level of a hobby for you? If so, I'd call you a furry.

Also fursuits and cons are both expensive as fuck, and not everyone has the time or funds or even desire for those things.

[DrDingo]

It's not a serious thing, really. If you call yourself one, you are one. The same as whether you say you like a TV show or whatever

New people can ponder these things, but really there's no point and it's all just for fun. Plenty of people here don't call themselves furries

 

 

[Silo]

53 minutes ago, DrDingo said:

Plenty of people here don't call themselves furries

This might be because of the stigma that revolves around the term, rather than the people that are part of it.

I mean, why would you call yourself a furry when videos like this are put out to 'describe' it:

The problem is that furry has a good variety of people in it, and there seems to be a spot for just about anyone to fit in (for better or worse). For you, all that should matter is whether or not you want to carry the name. 

(But I'm no furry expert by the way)

[Mandragoras]

You seem to think of yourself as a furry. You like drawing anthropomorphic animal characters and have a fursona. You're a furry if you want to be one. But you really, really shouldn't need me to tell you that.

For some further shared ground: Honestly, while I've become more interested in fursuits over time, I don't think they're for me, either. I would love to attend a convention someday, but I'm broke as hell and kind of a nervous nelly, so it might be a while. In childhood I related strongly and rather idiosyncratically to non-human animals, but compared to a lot of people I know I'm less invested in that particular fantasy aspect than with the aesthetic. Mostly I just started writing the thing I'm writing with animal-people because animals are cool and it felt right. And I guess that's that.