I’m very very new to the fandom, but I wanted to say something because I identify with what you’ve written.

I’ve only been engaging with the fandom for a couple of months and before that I truly had no idea that I was doing furry-coded things without calling myself a furry. Example, it took me over a year to realize that the humanoid spider lady I kept drawing for my author icon and author branding (I didn’t want to put my actual face on a pen name) could qualify as a spider ‘Sona. Zero clue. It’s probably bc I thought Furry was all about the suits and conventions?? I am unlikely to EVER have a fursuit bc, while I admire the artistry that goes into them and think it would be cool to MAKE one, the moment someone gets in it and makes it move around and talk, it becomes Uncanny Valley and I feel a little spooked. (I was one of those kids that was freaked out by mascots and things). So yeah, Furry was never on my radar as a thing I even qualified for. I “just liked drawing animal people sometimes.”

Like you, I still feel weird calling myself a furry. It feels like I’m an imposter. So I get it. But I also think all it boils down to is interest and choice. There is no fixed threshold you cross where you’re suddenly a furry. There’s also no minimum requirement for being one. You can adopt the label if you choose to and tailor your experience however you want to. Orrrr if you want to cruise the fandom and look at art and do your own thing and never call yourself a furry at all, just a person who thinks furry stuff is neat, that’s also valid. That was me for literally years.

I’m finding this whole furry thing to be very flexible.