My fursona is in a way part of my personal furry “brand”, backed up by my personal qualities, for easy recognition of others. Hopefully people will think: Oh I know this broke, he’s a real nice guy. We really should chat/meet, what ever. Narcissistic I know, but I just like people to know my name XD
It too serves as an indicator of a deeper personal connection with rats. With people running about having fursonas, this part is quickly missed. But it doesn’t matter. People who get’s to know me personally, may (or may not) see the connection through my behavior.
I started out in the fandom as a fox.
He was a character I liked to RP, and generally liked to get art done.
A lot of naughty art, to the point where there became two versions.
One which was my RP character, and one that was the man-whore. 
Then I started writing, and in doing so, started considering that I wanted a new fursonna, one to link to my writing.
I came across a couple spider-morph characters, like Kit-Spidox and Seige.
The thing was, they looked like a normal fox/wolf, but with longer fangs and could spin webs.
COME ON! WTF?
So, I decided I would do a spider-morph of my own.
Thus, Voice, (named after a character from a Necromunda novel) a spider-folf was born. (50% spider, 25% Wolf, 25% Fox)
Now, for those that don’t know, I suffer from arachnophobia. So why a spider?
Because like some and their fursonnas, there’s something spiritual tied into it. (ask me at a con, and I will tell you)
Voice became my prime writing fursonna, and my fox, well I started to disassociate from him. To the point where I may make a new fox fursonna. But for now, Voice is me, and the one that you all know me as.
Well, that or Tarl, which a surprising number of people think is my Fursonna name. (You know who you are! XD)
I also have a MLP character, Sterling Point, who is a writer as well. He doesn’t get much play, despite being the cutest thing ever!
As to what fursonnas are to me, they are pretty much as varied as the stars. People have various reasons for having one/using one/etc. A fursonna is easily something completely different between people. I will say that generally, there IS some kind of association between the owner of the 'sonna and their character. We get art done of them, we RP them, we write about them, etc… How can there not be?
Now what I really find interesting is the universal trends that start to pop up with certain species and the personalities of people who take them.
Kyell talks about this in a couple episodes of Unsheathed, and I found it interesting. Especially what he said about dragons and their players.
Huskyteer started off as a joke name, something I came up with on the spur of the moment when I was signing up for something and both my usual online handles (‘Agent 99’ and ‘Worrals’) were taken. I was warned that silly, temporary names and characters often end up sticking, and so it was.
Some people’s fursonas pick them. I definitely picked mine, dismissing my favourite animals, cats and wolves, neither of which felt quite right for me. I’ve loved huskies since I read The Call of the Wild and White Fang when I was 11 or 12, and I’m also a huge fan of the 1980s cartoon Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds, hence Huskyteer.
As a side note, I had no idea how popular husky characters are (there aren’t as many in the UK as in the US) or I’d probably have tried for something a bit more original! If I wasn’t a husky, I think I’d be a terrier, probably a Scottie.
I do have a backstory (there are actually three generations of women who carried the nickname Huskyteer: the First World War flying ace, the 1960s secret agent, and modern-day me) but I don’t bother with it much.
Huskyteer is more outgoing, energetic and optimistic than I am in real life, but I have noticed my personality changing to be more like hers, and it’s a positive change.
Many years ago, I was going through a bad patch and a furry friend said to me “You’re a husky. Just keep pulling.” It really helped, and I often harness my inner husky when the going gets tough.
All dogs are great but huskies are among my favorites. I’m not sure why they are so overdone in the US, though. With so many breeds to choose from, something odd must have happened here.
In any case, I was not familiar with the history of the nickname Huskyteer. You introduced me to it, and I’ve always found it appropriate to your personality and energy. Like many things in life, your accidental connection with the name is something that worked out well.
Good to know there was method in my madness after all 
General comment - I’m really enjoying how many people have deeper symbolism with their characters! That’s all. xD
For what it’s worth, so am I X3
Honestly, I’m enjoying reading through all the reasons, be it deeper meaning, random pick, or no sona at all. I feel like it’s giving us a small peek further into who everyone is as a whole.
I have one of my usual questions.
I was browsing a gallery of someone who linked it to me to see an example of fursonas, ages ago (I’m lazy as I don’t have much free time), and it was an interesting experience. The art was incredible, and I think I got why some people would commission artworks for their fursonas.
After a while, though, there was a thought that kept popping up to bug me. It all felt… a bit invading? I felt like I was taking a glance at someone’s private life, as if I was disregarding someone’s privacy. The evident connection that some people have with a fursona made me wonder about the way a gallery like that could be perceived.
To those of you who have invested in creating/curating an online gallery, or simply have a fursona, what’s your opinion on this?
I don’t think it’s a problem - if people want to keep it private, then you don’t have to upload it for public viewing.
Hmm, true. Though I will admit, I have put some traits into Televassi that I do share with him - generally, he has the Machiavellian personality I sometimes emulate, and the whole warrior poet aspect is something I’d see myself in if I was around in such times.
I’m not Machiavellian all the time though, honest! I just got burnt a few times in the past for being too trusting.
I definitely have a gallery, for my poster girl and for my sona both as well as random characters I’ve enjoyed enough to get artwork of.
The only times I’ve really felt like there’s been an invasion of privacy was when I’ve had commissions stolen. One was of a character and was meant to be a gift, but the commissioner decided to dual-purpose it. It had his character with mine, and I had been involved with the planning process, but once it was finished he turned and told his mate it was of her sona’s ‘spirit self’ (she was a wolf, but the picture was very clearly of a kitsune). I only found out about it because a mutual friend noticed the picture being used on another site. It was a real slap in the face, and, I admit, I haven’t really spoken with the person since (though the piece has since been removed).
The only other time was when a picture I had of Munchkin by a very popular artist was posted on another site and people were already using it for their avatars. I contacted the site and they were really good about having it taken down and the avatars stripped. That was about when I moved all pieces of Munchkin to a separate account that had a fraction of the watchers.
Otherwise, I feel like the galleries are like open invites to those around us. A lot of artists give the option to keep the commission private. We choose what we do and don’t post, what we do and don’t share. What you see in the gallery is what we choose to share with the world, be it character concepts or parts of our lives. That’s the way I view it, anyway.
It’s funny - I feel a bit odd about posting Huskyteer art online, because it seems rather vain, like constantly posting selfies Yet I’ve commissioned quite a bit of art of a character I RP, and I display that proudly!
I don’t really have a set definition or anything on what I consider a “fursona” to be, though I am definitely in that boat of finding it a bit cringey. I’m someone that finds pretty much most if not all of the fandom terms like that to be awkward, though. Mate, furriends, etc, all rub me the wrong way. >.>
As for my own character, Mars started off as nothing, really. Originally I went by the handle “thequeenofmars” because that was what I used on Steam at the time, as my avatar was the character Cheryl, from the show Archer. So when I started talking to people in the fandom, they inevitably shortened my name to either “Queen” or “Mars”, and I was having none of that being called Queen. Thus the name was born. The character came around at about the same time when I read a story involving a snow leopard and found I really liked them as animals-- and even found a lot of similarities between myself and them when I really though about. Eyes, temperament, preferred climate, etc.
So I became a snow leopard, and in an effort to be unique I was a sparkledog (or I guess sparklecat?). Instead of white with black spots, I made Mars grey with white spots. That lasted a few months and then I got bored, so I redesigned the character with a lot of help from CurioDraco. Now I’m here with a character I’m MUCH more satisfied with, that I feel at least partially represents my own personality.
“Mate” gets on my nerves because the way furries use it, it can mean way too many things – like, is this somebody you’re friends with, dating, married to, just roleplaying sex with, or some odd combination of the above? 9_9 It’s like people who list out their furry “family” and then I have no clue if some of these people are actually related to them in some fashion or if they’re just being metaphorical because the term “friend” isn’t quite enough for them.
I started lurking in the fandom because I was young, (unknowningly) queer, and already reading commercial anthropomorphic fiction and writing some on my own. At the time one of my favorite books was Foxes of FirstDark/Hunter’s Moon, which had an American red fox named Camio in a British zoo. That fit too perfectly for me because while I was born and raised in the US, I have dual citizenship with the UK. Thus, the red fox Camio.
After a recent self-reflection I decided that Camio was more an alternate name for me (with accompanying character art) with all my opinions and radical leftist politics and I decided I wanted a new character for whatever in the future. So I made Miriam Curzon, a marbled polecat satyr, because I wanted something that externally embodied my queer, and sex/body positive identity that could help make me, personally, less shy and socially anxious.
Ugh, my sentiments with this, exactly. There aren’t enough eye rolls in the world when I see the term ‘mate’ used in reference to ‘true love’ after having known a person online for a few weeks, for example. I understand it being used for friends since that’s a culture thing in certain countries, but as far as romantic relationships, it does get cringe-worthy for me.
I might be a bit of a hypocrite with this, because Spirit and I use the term often in regards to each other. However, we’ve also known each other for well over a decade, have lived together for nearly five years, and was married just last month. We didn’t even start using the term until about a year or two after we started living together, because we didn’t want to jinx it and make sure our relationship was for real.
See, ‘mate’ means that much to us. We even had it included in our wedding vows. The reason, though, is that it holds a very special meaning for us. It’s best friend, equal, pack mate, closest confidant, other half, and truest love, all rolled into one. For us, it’s all those things that make a relationship truly special. For us, it runs deeper than “I love you”. When the emotions run so deep and fill our hearts to the point of wanting to burst for all the things we are to each other, all it takes is two little words to encompass it all, and like a secret language, we know exactly what the other is trying to say: “My mate.”
And a whole other level of confusion arises from this in Australia, as it’s part of the day-to-day vocabulary of pretty much everyone.
In the UK, too. I’m always addressing friends and colleagues as ‘mate’ or ‘matey’.
Yeah, I have no issues with it when it’s used that way, of course. Just the furry version.
It's best friend, equal, pack mate, closest confidant, other half, and truest love, all rolled into one.
The thing is, to me all that is very much implied in the terms “husband” and “wife,” although I could see a case to be made for “mate” being a word like “spouse” that doesn’t involve binary gender.
At any rate, I’m probably dragging this off topic too much, so back to fursona discussion.
“Mate” gets used in a society that doesn’t offer us a lot of choice for terminology. Now that most US states recognize same sex marriage, and my mate of 33 years and I were “allowed” official recognition, I refer to him as my husband. Five years ago this would have seemed strange or even unacceptable to many. “Partner” sounds like something to do with business. “Room mate” is too impersonal, “Lover” is inadequate and emphasizes the wrong aspects. For many years, “mate” was the best I could do to describe our relationship. “Mated for life” is correct.
Looking back over this whole thread, I feel there is a lot of tendency to make too much of these words, whether “fursona” or “mate” or “footpaw” or whatever. Furry fandom is not a religion, please. It’s not a social or political movement either. It’s about entertainment and fun. Puns amuse a lot of us, including some highly respected people of the past. William Shakespeare appears to have been one such. Don’t call them “childish” unless you are willing to recognize the fact that furry fandom is about childish imagination, the ability to play with an idea that society in general doesn’t think is “grown up” enough.
The word “fursona” itself embodies something more complex than either of the elements from which it is made. This thread shows just how complex and varied that might be, and just why a new word has been coined to describe it. Language grows and adapts, as I pointed out earlier. In most cases, history shows that trying to be conservative and resist the change is a useless waste of effort. Rather than overthink the concept, which is what we have done here to some extent, I believe it is better to let it be. It will survive, or it will fall into the bit bucket the way other fad expressions like “zoot suit” have done in the past. 
I think it’s safe to say that most of us recognize and accept that language grows and adapts and that resisting isn’t going to change things. That doesn’t mean we have to like it or not be irritated by it.