Sexual preference = kinks, positions, etc

Sexual orientation = the spectrum with hetero and homosexuality at either end, and adjacent categories such as asexuality.

Identity = a presentation of a social aspect, or the internal self-label for such things.

In other words, furry world be an identity, with yiff being a sexual preference.

First caveat: sexual preference used to be what sexual orientation is, but as society shifted to understanding that one’s sexual attractions to the gender spectrum aren’t actually voluntary, they’re inborn, preference was no longer applicable. As such, sexual preference fell out of use for that, but it’s still sometimes used as language catches up. Of more import for this comment is that the use of the term for sexual activities that are preferred is fairly new, I’ve only run across it in the last two years.

Second caveat: these aren’t dictionary definitions. Dictionaries take longer than people to codify usage changes. These are my attempt at codifying the definitions I’ve seen in the wild, and can’t be taken as authoritative, only as an attempt at clarification with all this taken into account.