Changing Fursonas

Hello, Papabear,

It's been a long time since I wrote you, and last time I did I would have been referred to as my old fursona name of Kumori Urufu.

As someone that had changed the design of Kumori multiple times, and then finally back in 2021 changing my fursona to a different character entirely, my question is more of a personal opinion one.

What is your opinion on those that either have multiple fursonas or change sonas after some time with a previous one?

I await your reply.

From a curious jex

* * *

Dear Troy,

Hello again :) and thanks for your question.

What is my opinion of those who change their fursona or have multiple fursonas? Like most everything else in the fandom, there really are no rules, so first of all I would say, "Do whatever you like with your fursona."

That said, if you want my opinion as to why people have different fursonas, one has to approach it from two different angles. For those furries for whom the fursona is basically just an avatar for gaming and online socializing, it makes sense that they might have multiple fursonas or change their fursona character as the situation merits. For example, perhaps they use a warrior wolf when they feel like playing a medieval RPG in a wartime kingdom, but they switch to a sexy femme fox when they are flirting with someone in VRchat. In other words, they treat fursonas rather like clothing: you've got your work clothes, your play clothes, your going-out-to-a-fine-restaurant clothes, and so on. Or, if they stick with one fursona at a time, they might just switch from one fursona that they use a lot in a WoW account, but later they lose interest in that game and start focusing on creating a private world in SecondLife and adopt, say, a deer fursona who is a SL real estate developer and have fun with that for a couple of years. In other words, these are furries who aren't really emotionally attached to their alter egos.

Then you have the furries for whom fursonas are very personal. They, too, might have many fursonas, but these fursonas are more personal expressions of themselves than mere avatars. This makes sense in the same way that normies often adopt different public facades depending on their environment. When you are at work at, say, a board meeting, you would act very businesslike and formal; when you are on a date with a new potential love interest, you put on your best social persona; when you are visiting a judgmental family for Christmas dinner, you might act like Mommy and Daddy's good little boy or girl; and so on. Normie people do this, so it shouldn't be surprising that furries do it too. And it doesn't mean these personalities are "fake," they are just different aspects of the same person. 

The other situation is when fursonas evolve and change over time. This is quite often true of people who enter the fandom at a young age and participate for many years. Fursonas change as you change. I don't know about you, but I bet you are a far different person now then you were at, say, 14. I, for example, was very much into fantasy novels when I was a teen and twenty-something. I even wrote a fantasy novel that was published, for Pete's sake. I was very into dragons, and I had a collection of dragon miniatures that was quite something, if I may say so. Now, I didn't know about the fandom back then (this is the 1970s and 80s), but if I had, my fursona definitely would have been a dragon. Later, I mostly left the fantasy dragon hobby behind as I became more active in the gay community--specifically, the bear community, so naturally my fursona is a bear now.

I believe that many people--especially the young, but also older furries--struggle with figuring out who they are, and their fursonas can be a reflection of this. I also think that fursona experimenting and role play are useful psychological tools for people to safely and constructively explore who they really are as they break away from familial and social constraints through an imaginary world of furries. This is not escapism. Nay, it is a really healthy journey for many people IMHO, and it is one of the things that makes the furry fandom superior to other fandoms that are more limiting in what you can do (e.g., if you are a Star Wars fan, you're probably just going to choose between being a Jedi or Sith warrior--ho hum--and don't forget not to violate copyright! LOL!) The furry world is much more creative, and it is also much more conducive (again, my opinion) to exploring sexual and gender identity in particular, a truism that goes all the way back to Bob Hill and his Vawlkee and Clementine characters.

So, if you want to change your fursona, do so. It's not only "allowed," it's totally normal and expected.

Have fun and stay furry!

Papabear