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Being a furry can open yourself up to hate and ridicule, cause there's a lot of haters out there. So let's talk about this.

Are you comfortable with being a furry? Are you comfortable with people knowing you're one? Is there a time that being one had led to stress, fear, conflict, or anything else negative?

Thankfully, I am very comfortable with it all. Though I am also not vocal about it in any sense. Those who know I am a furry are also dear friends, some of who have also shown furry interests.

I think the only time that I've seen negativity regarding it have been with online videos mixing being a furry with far more nefarious deeds, and me looking at it going "people think like that?"

Unfortunately people do think like that. It's like how that saying goes. "You can lay with a hundred women, but the moment you suck one dick everyone thinks you're gay." You don't get remembered for the good things or cool things. You get remembered for the one time someone did something wrong. The same sort of thing happened with Muslims and is happening with firearms. It's like a basic function of the brain that only those who are smart enough to think about things more critically and logically can actually override. Unfortunately my parents also have this opinion, but given that they actually can think critically, I'll chalk that one up to ignorance. I'll have to try to show them what being a furry actually is like at some point, whenever I decide to come out to them...

Yeah, it was a hugely problematic thing in places like Gaia Online or 4Chan to where if you were a furry, you were considered literally someone who does nefarious things with animals because people didn't know how to separate bestiality folks with actual Furries.  It's one reason the whole "yiff in hell" statement became such a big thing, because of that stigma.

It's really the same stupid deal you see (in terms of negative generalization) when folks try to suggest that all gay or trans folks are pedophiles.  Because of bad folks in the community that do nefarious things to children, the entire community ends up being labeled for it...though this is usually just extra ammunition for anti-folks on top of the already colossal list of awfulness against LGBTQ+ folks that already exists (which sadly to this day still includes violence and death to LGBTQ+ folks).

Likewise like Aragonn said (in terms of negative generalization) it's very mildly similar to how specifically Middle Eastern Muslims were and still have been treated ever since 9/11 (in the sense of them all being racially profiled and considered terrorists by ignorant folks) all because of the actions of a few actual terrorists...though again this is usually just extra ammunition for racist folks on top of the, again, already colossal list of awfulness against people of color that already exists (which again still unfortunately includes violence and death to people of color to this day).

In the end, negative generalizations are a tale as old as time gross tactic to demonize folks and essentially invalidate them as people and is definitely a thing that has been a problem for the Furry community...granted it's definitely nowhere near comparable to what certain communities such as the above two have been through beyond those generalizations.

I think @Aragonn's post raises another question: do you plan on coming out as a furry to your family?

To me, when it comes to family I consider it one of those "none of your business" areas. It's not like your sexuality or gender identity where at some point it's going to be obvious to those around you, and I guess I don't really see the point in making it known to them. But on the other hand, I was just reading today that coming out as part of any "stigmatized group" is beneficial overall because the best way for people to see a group of people as normal is for them to have normal interactions with them.

To speak to @Michi's post, it's also hugely problematic in NationStates, judging from the amount of people punished for expressing those exact same sentiments. That's why I wonder about how comfortable people are opening up as a furry...to us, these things are utterly ridiculous, but there are people who truly believe those things. I happened to run into a post on Reddit about someone's experience just putting up a furry avatar and how they feel embarrassed when they try to talk about being a furry.

And finally, to answer my own question...I'm comfortable with who I am, including with being a furry. It's something I take joy in and maybe even a bit of pride in, being part of something that's unique. Sometimes I'm afraid I'll look like a poser of sorts though, because I haven't developed a fursona yet, but otherwise I'm comfortable. I'm also comfortable with my friends knowing and people in general knowing, though I'd rather avoid the hassle of family and co-workers knowing. And it's not because I'd even really care, it's more because it would make for frustrating conversations that I'd rather just avoid.