I don’t know what you mean using “kink” this way, but the general population is not aware of this connection and thus it would only be a coincidence if what you’re saying is true. I mean, furries are kinda weird but I don’t get why they’re even a topic. I’ve never met one and I doubt I will. Being gay is probably ten times more common.
You are right, but a lot of the roots of furry criticism do tend to be queerphobic in origin. It’s just something to recognize.
I’m using kink in a pretty generic way because a lot of the criticisms of furries relate to sex (e.g. beastiality or pedophilia), and thus any depiction of kink (like bondage gear) is used to demonize them that it’s a fetish (and one that is coming for your children.)
That might be fair in some contexts but I think most people would only make any connection to beastiality, which is probably fair, no? The whole thing is dressing up like an animal and it’s confusing for most people who don’t do it.
A furry is someone that identifies with anthropomorphic animal characters (or sometimes just animal characteristics). No dressing up required. Now, a lot of the people that go to cons tend to have more money, so you will see more fursuits and such, but most furries do not dress up.