Do you remember when and what helped you discover your affinity for furries? If you do, I’d like to hear your stories!
To get the ball rolling I’ll start with mine. While I certainly can’t pinpoint the exact date I became fixated on anthros, I can absolutely remember getting Sonic Adventure on the Dreamcast when I was 7 or 8 (2000ish).
Seeing Tails was all I needed to get hooked, and want to be a cool fox like him. I didn’t even have a word for it until I started using the internet years later, but my furry fate was sealed from then onward. It was the catalyst that got me into fantasizing about having fur and a big tail, and got me doodling lots of Sonic art as a kid. While I’ve long since stopped making Sonic art, Tails still holds a special place in my heart over 20 years later.
Oh yeah can very much relate to liking animals more than people. Glad to hear it helped you explore your identity, even if the bad rumors of the past kept you away from the fandom for a while. Those furry communities really do chip away at those old biases over time. Furry_irl was very helpful for me personally to overcome my internalized fears and accept my bisexuality. Thanks for sharing your story!
I guess I should have included the rest of it!
I was raised in a very queerphobic environment. Lurking in furry spaces introduced me to the LGBT community which put me on the path to realizing that I’m trans and demisexual. Now I have a bunch of amazingly supportive furry friends that are helping me figure all of this out. This really is a great fandom.