Fursuiting: Creating Your Own Body

photo by kium on deviantART

If you’ve been around the internet for any extended period of time, or even if you happened by the Baltimore Convention Center around Bronycon or Otakon, you probably have seen or heard of “furries.” Furries, by definition, are individuals who are interested in the idea of anthropomorphic animals. They may merely appreciate furry art, or may draw it themselves. Some have furry characters representing themselves or multiple facets of their personality as “fursonas.” Some individuals may even identify with the animals portrayed or with animals in general more than they identify with being human. Individuals anywhere on this scale may create or commission costumes called “fursuits,” which vary in style, materials, and design.

What I find so interesting about the concept of fursonas and accompanying fursuits is the idea that it is possible, within this community and perhaps outside of it, to create an entirely new, self-constructed, and even non-human body to represent the individual as seen by the rest of the world.

Because fursuits really are a fascinating art form, first I’d like to provide pictures of a few different kinds, just to show the wide variety that exists in these costumes.

suit by Beetlecat Originals

source

by tigersclawswiss on furaffinity

As is apparent, these fursuits are extraordinarily diverse creations depicting characters either for fun or, perhaps, as an attempt at creating a body the wearer would like to experience embodiment in. This is not to imply that such is the case for any of the above fursuiters; however, some furries may be called “furry lifestylers” for their extensive wearing of these fursuits, even outside of conventions and while undergoing everyday life. Some of these individuals strongly identify with their fursuits and the characters they represent, and feel inadequately represented without them.

Society at large may look down on these individuals and stigmatize them, but without making judgment, I think it is incredible how these furry lifestylers have managed to do what so many of us struggle to: they have crafted an image of themselves that represents who and what they want to be, or at least who and what they want to be seen as by others, and within their community they are often recognized by their characters and their suits rather than by the face and body beneath the fur. Their embodied experience is hand-made. I am sure these individuals may still suffer from feelings of dysphoria, or may be unhappy that they must wear a suit to be who they feel they are or want to be. Still, you have to hand it to them, it’s tough to see a person in a fursuit as anything but the furry character. For all intents and purposes, as long as they’re in the suit at a convention or taking pictures for the internet, they are that character, not whoever they were assigned to be by other people, unless they choose to distinguish themselves from the character by speaking out-of-character or removing their “head” for extended periods of time for one reason or another.

Similar performances can be seen in other subgroups. Drag queens create a character to portray in an extremely colorful fashion, thus altering their embodied experience so long as they are in drag, and LARPers (live-action roleplayers) may dress up as their character for the sake of better portraying them — which is also the entire point of cosplay, a slightly different type of costuming where people dress up as characters from shows, video games, movies, and books. In the case of fursuiters, however, almost all hints of the body beneath the suit are erased. No skin is typically bared, and frequently the suits will be padded and shaped to create a different body type and anatomy. Of all the performance-related groups listed above, I would argue that most of the time fursuiting is the most transformative of them all.

Whether you approve of fursuits, those who wear them, or any activities that may be commonly associated with the suits, consider the following: wouldn’t it sometimes be nice to have the option of deciding for yourself how others will see you, rather than being what others make you?