Fursuits are animal costumes made from various materials. They range from simple tails and ears to full costumes cooled by battery-powered fans. Fursuits can be worn for personal enjoyment, work, or charity. The term ‘fursuit’ is believed to have been coined in 1993 by Robert King and can also refer to animal mascot costumes in general, as opposed to human or inanimate object mascots. Fursuits have also been featured in visual mediums as backdrops or as part of a central theme.
Fursuits are associated with furry fandom, a subculture devoted to anthropomorphic animal characters. More advanced fursuit features include jaws which move when the user speaks, and moving tails. Often, the suits depict a personal character and are used in a form of role play, or for expressing their owners’ ‘true’ personality. Some fursuiters do not talk while in costume to ‘preserve the magic.’ A few members of the furry fandom consider the fursuit a sexual item. Fursuits can be sold with or modified to contain provisions for sexual activity, such as openings, removable panels, and anatomically correct artificial genitalia. Sexual arousal that depends on portraying one’s fursuit identity has been called ‘fursuitism’ and sexuality in furry fandom is refered to as ‘yiff’ or ‘yiffing.’
The Daily Omnivore 