What’s the go with fur suits / cosplay

[DooM Bear]

Was just watching something on YouTube while working about cosplay / fur suits.

 

Got me to thinking, in all seriousness, why do people buy / make / wear them?

 

Is it just a hobby? Is it in an attempt for fame / acknowledgement of their skill or to win prizes? It is it just for fun?

 

Don’t get me wrong, some of them do look really, really cool and time, effort, attention to detail and workmanship that goes into them is unbelievable but just can’t seem to understand why people would spend thousands of dollars or hundreds of hours of work to get one.

 

Lastly, I’m definitely not kink shaming :-) People can spend their free time doing whatever the hell they like In my books :-)

[insertwackynamehere]

In the end, we’re all in the fursuit of happiness 

[TenenteZashu]

Honestly even if I'm not interested in furry culture nor cosplay but I always say ''Live and Let Live'' so if someone wants to dress up as an animal or a character from whatever media I don't care.

[seed]

Because they like it.

[DooM Bear]

5 hours ago, TenenteZashu said:

Honestly even if I'm not interested in furry culture nor cosplay but I always say ''Live and Let Live'' so if someone wants to dress up as an animal or a character from whatever media I don't care.

 

Couldn’t agree more :-)

 

Just curious as to what the purpose is or if there is an “end goal” to it as for the life of me I can’t seem to work that out :-P

 

I guess you could probably ask that question of most hobbies (if cosplay / furryisim is considered a hobby) but most seem to be working towards a goal / improvement of skills :-P

[Biodegradable]

Less you plan on heading on over to FurAffinity and conducting a survey to gather some kind of consensus, that's an incredibly broad question you're likely never going to get a straightforward, all-encompassing answer to, fam.  

[Gokuma]

I think people are just sick and tired of human culture.

 

Also it may not be helping that D.A.R.E. propaganda is backfiring again, first with drugs and now with furrydom.

 

[HavoX]

It doesn't bother me one damn bit. Let them do what they like.

[seed]

Besides, they tend to make some admittedly pretty nice artwork too.

 

I'm a bit surprised to see no furries replied to this yet, to be frank, I did not foresee this.

[DooM Bear]

7 hours ago, seed said:

Besides, they tend to make some admittedly pretty nice artwork too.

 

I know hey! That’s why I’m so intrigued! They put soooo much effort and love into their work that I was completely blown away (like I said, apparently some of the fursuits go for thousands of dollars and, even from a nonfurry, they look well worth the cost)!

 

7 hours ago, seed said:

I'm a bit surprised to see no furries replied to this yet, to be frank, I did not foresee this.

 

Same! I really thought we would at least have some cosplayers in the DooM community which I why I figured I’d ask! I’m not sure how common furries are but am hoping we have a couple lurking around here too :-D

[dew]

 

A history piece on furries by Fredrik Knudsen. Like, pre-2000 history, might illuminate some of your questions.

[Bucket]

It all started with Fritz the Cat...

[Devalaous]

The costumes creep me out and always look so soulless to me (ironic given they cost thousands of dollars), but I do have several furry friends, and my girlfriend is a furry, so I tend to keep that opinion to myself for their sake.

[seed]

2 hours ago, Devalaous said:

The costumes creep me out

 

How tho?

[Gez]

4 hours ago, Bucket said:

It all started with Fritz the Cat...

[Jaws In Space]

On 12/4/2020 at 12:39 AM, DooM Bear said:

Got me to thinking, in all seriousness, why do people buy / make / wear them?

 

Is it just a hobby? Is it in an attempt for fame / acknowledgement of their skill or to win prizes? It is it just for fun?

Hello, fursuiter here. I've got 2 fursuits that I wear around conventions. My main fursona is Icy Fox, which you can see below. There are many reason's that people wear fursuits or cosplay, all of the reasons that you listed above are true for different people. There are plenty of Fursuiters & Cosplayers who simply find joy in making an existing character or an original character come to life. Fictional characters can really resonate with people for various reasons, I know plenty of people who will spend month's making a character come to life for their next convention so that they can bring the joy of seeing that character in real life to other people. Others do like to do it for fame & prizes, almost every anime & comic book convention that I've gone to has some kind of competition for best cosplay where prizes are awarded in several categories. Doing it for fame isn't that uncommon either, though it can be difficult to succeed in such a niche community. There are several well known "celebrities" in the furry fandom, Telephone, Majira Strawberry, & Sonic Fox are a few examples. For most people I know & including myself the most common reason to fursuit is because it's simply fun. Coming up with an original character in your head, seeing it come to life as a fursuit, & then getting to use that character to bring joy & entertainment to others is one of the best things about being a furry.

[TwinBeast]

I thought I'd cosplay She-Hulk, but then corona hit. Now I'm just improving my costume by lifting weights. I'll look into green skin paint, green contact lenses and suitable clothing next year. Not coloring my hair green though.

 

Why do it? It could be fun.

 

Not planning on doing fursuit cosplay.

[Dark Pulse]

To me it's no different than roleplaying or VTubing or whatever, really.

 

Of course, it also makes me think of the Monty Python "The Mouse Problem" skit.

 

 

[TheMagicMushroomMan]

I see no problems with what other people choose to do with their life, everyone has their own traits and hobbies. Most people even have their own obsessions in life, and there's nothing wrong with that so long as it's a healthy and controlled obsession. I've seen furries stay at the hotel I work at. They were highly unpleasant people, and to be honest it gave me a negative perception of the subculture, but over time I realized I was being judgemental, so I no longer feel that way.

 

The thing about is, is that people tend to judge subcultures based on their first interaction with someone from the subculture they're dealing with. But in reality, if you aren't part of a subculture, you only have an outside perspective, so immediately trying to understand it is pointless and unfair. There are always going to be people who are weird in a good way, and weird in a bad way. A successful subculture tips the balance in favor of the former. As long as the group at hand isn't violent, racist, etc., let people do whatever they want. I judge people based on the way they act and the way they treat others, not on the costume they are wearing. 

[seed]

21 minutes ago, TwinBeast said:

I thought I'd cosplay She-Hulk, but then corona hit. Now I'm just improving my costume by lifting weights. I'll look into green skin paint, green contact lenses and suitable clothing next year. Not coloring my hair green though.

 

Why do it? It could be fun.

 

I'm surely interested in seeing how that turns out 👌.

 

Also Jaws' comment is probably the most wholesome thing I've read this afternoon.

[Murdoch]

19 minutes ago, Dark Pulse said:

Of course, it also makes me think of the Monty Python "The Mouse Problem" skit.

 

There's a Monty Python reference for every occasion.

 

I don't get cosplay. Never been a dressing up kind of person. Not my thing. Have seen some absolutely stunning work though that is very impressive.

 

Furries etc are weird as hell. But my attitude is basically as long as no one is getting hurt physically or emotionally, they are legally of age to give consent to whatever weirdness, and are not being manipulated into doing so, you can dress like a bunny and worship a mystical three headed goat named Bob for all I care. As Nash Bridges used to say, whatever blows your skirt up. So much of this world would be simpler and easier if people just stayed the fuck out of other people's lives. As long as they are not a physical or dangerous psychological threat, who and what they do are not your problem.

[Devalaous]

2 hours ago, seed said:

 

How tho?

 

the 'dead empty eyes' costumes have has ALWAYS disturbed me, from all the way since I was a kid.

[Mayomancer]

Cosplaying as characters be original or from media you like has been around for quite some time, so if the fandom is about animals it's a natural development i guess. I don't like how most of the western style furry art looks but there are some of the more original looking or eastern style art that's very nice, although i never really saw that kind of thing transformed into suits.

But, from what i learned after a few d&d games, i'm physically incapable of roleplaying as a character, so not for me.

[Mr. Freeze]

I envy you guys with fursuits. I've got so much character inconsistency I could never settle on one. Also they don't make a Great Race of Yith suit. 

[seed]

24 minutes ago, Mr. Freeze said:

I envy you guys with fursuits. I've got so much character inconsistency I could never settle on one.

 

Then you make more :p.

 

In terms of avatars you seem to be consistent though.

[ax34]

Fursuits for them are like Doom for us

[CAM-7EA]

It’s their business, not mine, but if I’m going to offer them the courtesy of living and let living, then I expect the same in return. Simple as that. 

[seed]

5 minutes ago, Gerolf said:

It’s their business, not mine, but if I’m going to offer them the courtesy of living and let living, then I expect the same in return. Simple as that. 

 

It's a simple deal.

[DynamiteKaitorn]

3 letters

Spoiler

UwU

 

[xdarkmasterx]

On 12/6/2020 at 2:59 PM, Mr. Freeze said:

I envy you guys with fursuits. I've got so much character inconsistency I could never settle on one. Also they don't make a Great Race of Yiff suit. 

 

Really? I thought most of them were. 😉