Ever since I was a teenager I've been using fursonas as a method of exploring my identity, even before I knew what a fursona was or that identity was even a thing you could explore. I had my "outer" sona, the cool, powerful, masculine fox who had a cynically detached attitude but still tried to protect others. Then there was the "inner" sona, the secret realer me, who was still male (because I thought he had to be) but ended up being very feminine in appearance and personality. Shy, caring, sensitive, small and cute...

When I joined the fandom, it was my first encounter with actual members of the LGBTQ community and positive depictions of same. Lurking in r/furry showed me that they were just regular people and that most of the stuff I had been taught about them was lies. Also, the femboy foxes were cute. Like, really cute. "I want to be them" cute. Maybe that was what I am?

Then I ended up in a conversation with a trans furry, a bunch of crazy stuff happened IRL, and one day I had a sudden realization: I'm not girly, I'm just girl, and my strangely feminine arctic foxboy (now fox-enby) sona was trying to tell me this all along. I never would have discovered any of this without the furry fandom.