German Fur Having Fursona Trouble

Dear PapaBear,

I am glad to have found your website where you help furries out and I myself am an ongoing Furry, with a similar problem someone had stated to you already.

I've got a hard time to decide what my fursona should be and find myself scared to be disliked or hated by others or even friends of the furry scene for being an overpopular chosen species, one that barely is taken and to be taking blame for being a copycat with a self-created species.

The fandom itself really helped me in up and downtimes of my life, wishing to take full part in it even with anxiety and trying to give too much to be noted. I hope you can help one like myself, wishing you great days and thank you for helping others out. Someday I may do the same as well.

Lyah (age 24, Germany)

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Dear Lyah,

Greetings and welcome to the fandom. I’m not sure how long you have been involved, but I find your characterization of the fandom odd. Whatever gave you the impression that furries would hate you because of the fursona you chose? Maybe things are different in Germany, but here in the USA no one cares what species—or hybrid—you choose for a fursona, so long as you don’t copy exactly what someone else has done. I would be very upset, for example, if I saw a duplicate of my fursuit being worn by someone else; I’d also be a bit miffed if someone else called themselves Grubbs Grizzly. But I’m absolutely happy with anyfur who chooses to be a bear species. We need more bears! :-)

Remembering that it is not a requirement to have or fursuit, or even a fursona, to have fun in the fandom, you should design your alter ego to please you not someone else. The point is to enjoy yourself and not worry about what others think. The spirit of furriness is individuality and creativity. We are nonconformists, which is why we’re usually seen as oddballs among the mundanes.

So, please, create your fursona to your taste and participate heartily, merrily, whole-heartedly in the fandom!

Hugs,

Papabear