Honestly, don't stress yourself out over it, and keep an open mind. It might not be your cup of tea, and that's perfectly fine--there undoubtedly is a large sexual aspect to furry, and lots of folks (especially folks who are cisgender, heterosexual, have a less relaxed view about sexuality, etc.--not to say that you can't be a straight male furry, but there are a LOT of gay/bi furries) may find it to be a dealbreaker. Ultimately, furry has its roots in the nerd and geek communities, back when being nerdy or geeky was something to be bullied over, and it still shows it today.

Furry is a community that has a disproportionate number of LGBT+ folks, neurodivergent folks (especially people on the ADHD/autism spectrum), and other marginalized groups. Among many things, this means it revels in being proudly and unabashedly weird, both as a celebration of itself and as a defense mechanism against becoming overwhelmed by the kinds of business interests that would love nothing more than to push out all the sexuality and weirdness to provide a safe space for advertisers to shovel their slop down our throats.

If that sounds like something you'd enjoy being a part of, then I'd suggest checking out some places like the furry_irl subreddit, looking up streamers under the furry tag on Twitch (Skaifox, WhiskeyDing0, etc.), maybe make an account on FurAffinity, and look up furmeets or conventions in your area you can attend. You might not like it, or you might find yourself joining the best community I've ever been part of.

[–] dharmacurious@slrpnk.net 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I was more joking than anything. I'm probably not going to get deep into it, if for no other reason that I am deeply uncomfortable with being... Like... Visible, or seen, or existing when people know I'm existing, and I don't want to have to explain a large purchase for an Armadillo head to my mom. Lol

But also, I am very much so not straight, and only nominally cisgendered most of the time. Lol. And my shrink thinks I'm probably somewhere on the spectrum, so there's that, too. Lol. I'm not opposed to kink or sexual aspects of a group. I've been known to be a bit freaky when I manage to crawl out of my Hermitage for the day. Lol. But conventions and groups and, like, people just aren't my thing most of the time, y'know?

[–] Eccitaze@yiffit.net 1 points 1 month ago

I mean, you don't have to go full-blown fursuit and conventions if you don't want to. Most furries never actually bother with fursuiting--speaking from personal experience, it's hot as shit (especially outdoors or in summer), you can barely see or hear anything, and if you wear glasses they're prone to getting knocked off your nose or fogging up so badly that you can't see anything. Many fursonas exist exclusively in artwork or stories--either commissioned or self-drawn--and even that's optional.

You don't even have to actively participate in the community if you don't want to. Many furries are passive members who just follow artists, lurk in streams or group chats, occasionally leave a comment on a submission, and generally exist in furry spaces. Literally the only requirement to be a furry is to say you're a furry!