Look, I’m glad furry means a lot to people, but the insistence on using the language “ppl can ‘come out’ as a furry!” inherently includes cishet furries in what should be exclusively queer expression, feeling and process. You’re insisting a straight cis man can “come out”.

For you furry may be inextricable from your queerness but that is not the ubiquitous nature of furry. There’s a ton of straight ppl whom appropriate queer language and struggles by equating queer identity to furry.

I know people get heat for being furries and even in extreme cases harassed and disowned. However this is also the case for other very involved fandoms, including anime/cosplay. Ppl have spoken about how being apart of that fandom culture has caused ruptures in their family.

Same with kink communities. People both queer and straight have been estranged from their families because they participate in BDSM communities, leather communities, etc.

Can you “come out” as a weeb, then? Can you “come out” as a dom/sub? Can you “come out” as a cishet furry?

Sometimes subcultures are unjustly demonized and otherized. People absolutely ostracize furries and paint us in a bad light. But applying a blanket language of queerness over a group that is not exclusively LGBTQ DOES equate “that which is other” to “inherently queer”.

I also think ppl are projecting a lot. You can use furry to express your queerness amongst queer peers and it can be a huge part of how you engage with your identity. A lot of queer-heavy fandoms do this. That does not mean furry as a singular concept is inherently LGBTQ.

To “come out” as a gay, trans, etc person means, for many, a threat of death. Of losing healthcare. Of losing the safety of inauthenticity for the sake of living truth.

A lot of furries understand that. Because they are queer. A lot of other furries don’t. Cuz they’re cishet.