I honestly don't like 'identifying' as a furry. Like... I really love the community (at least the vanilla parts of it) and the art and convention scene are SO FUN but, with all the connotations associated with furries, I really don't like calling myself one. I think of myself more as a fan of anthropomorphic animals and characters, and that's about it.
Part of me does wish that people wouldn't see it as anything more than a hobby, but sadly there are too many misguided opinions for me to feel comfortable saying I like 'furry' stuff. Instead, I usually just say I like creating cool creatures and characters.
Also, I get kind of freaked out by animals that have plantigrade legs where they'd naturally have digi legs; same goes for having "hands" with claws and pawpads instead of *actual* paws. Idk if that's an uncommon thing, but it just doesn't look right to me :0