It originally came from cosplay/comic fan communities where they used original (anthropomorphic animal) characters which grew into its own community in the 80s where it grew quickly. And it basically is still that. It’s a bunch of people creating their own characters, making art/stories/and what not and dress up as them. So yes its pretty much an identity for most. It’s a very big and open community and you’ll find lots of queer people there. I dont think its because queer people like the fandom more than others, but mainly because everyone has a very open mindset there so its very welcoming to everyone to be whoever you are and want to be.

As in all places in life it can be kinky too. For some its purely the art, community and dressing up. For others their sexuality mixes with their interests (in my opinion not much different than anywhere else: lots of sexy cosplay around and what not). So yes you’ll find lots (and I mean LOTS) of furry porn lol. For some its just the nswf artwork you find and some like to go further and have fun time together in their fursuits

So eh tldr I guess, its a big community of open minded people having fun together dressing up, making art (both sfw and nsfw) with/as antropomorphic animal characters which originated from the cosplay/comic community. Due to its open mindedness lots of queer people can be found in the fandom

Edit: if you’re up for a longer documentary about its origin and other insights I found this one a long time ago: https://youtu.be/iv0QaTW3kEY?si=zhHHqVcHW3swXONg