# Fursuiting as a different sex



## Shaloxeroligon (Jul 11, 2013)

Reviving an old topic, because I would like my fears addressed...

I  am physically male. I am considering buying a female fursuit. I am  doing this because my fursona is female-bodied (technically a herm, but  that's not appropriate for a fursuit). As a trans* person, I feel like  this would be the best option in order to help me feel less  gender-dysphoric (I say "best" because I don't have the right body for  cross-dressing, and I don't want to pursue a more permanent option like  multiple surgeries). However, it really sounds like many people in the  fandom are hostile toward male-bodied individuals who dress in female  costumes. 

While I personally believe that this is a horrible  double-standard, I do acknowledge that it exists. And I read about some  opposition to what people call "boob-suits". So, what I'm trying to do  is figure out a way to portray a female character without being  perceived as "sexual."

My best estimate is probably to have her  be a character first, and a female second. So, that would mean coming up  with a personality that makes sense, and then putting a slight  "feminine" twist on it. Like, I want my character to behave in a  feminine way, but I don't want that to be her defining characteristic. I want her to be "real", and that means making her feel like a person, rather than a gender. 

Any suggestions for how to be a male-bodied person in a female fursuit, without being considered "weird" for it?


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## Troj (Jul 11, 2013)

I think having her be a character first and a female second is the absolute best way to go. You can signal her femininity through her colouration, her eye shape, and perhaps, the _subtle_ shape of her body and bust.

Nothing yells "sup bros" quite like a female fursuit with exaggerated breasts, buttocks, eyelashes, and movements. It's a drag show in fur, basically.

If you want to present as more "authentically" feminine, I say, observe some of the *actually female* fursuiters, like Step Coatimundi, Telephone, Boss Hog, and Caliroo, to name a few. 

I say, if you go the sincere, subtle, tasteful, and character-focused route, no one will have a right to complain--and at that point, anyone who throws a hissy is probably just being homophobic or transphobic.

Your avatar's super cute, by the way.


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## Shaloxeroligon (Jul 11, 2013)

Holy crap I didn't know Step was a girl. She is one of my FAVORITE fursuit dancers EVER! See? you learn something new every day.

More seriously, that is some good advice. I'll take that to heart.

Thanks about the avatar. It's not mine, though. It's just something I found online.


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## Trpdwarf (Jul 11, 2013)

The reason why people are hostile towards such suiters is because typically these people are not very nice or considerate in suit. As an actual female it disgusts me to no end to see guys running around in big tittied suits acting like gigantic sluts and doing inappropriate things with their "Breasts" in public. Suits with massive breasts are also...lets be honest plain disgusting. 

If you don't want to be treated poorly than remember to hold yourself to a better standard. Also you don't have to have the suit made with boobs to look female. Look up Fay V on FA, she's got a female scribble suit, and is female. But her suit looks female without resorting to giant -tititius.


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## Shaloxeroligon (Jul 11, 2013)

I am a big fan of FayV. It was her "how to fursuit" thread that really got me into suiting in the first place, and I've messaged her several times on FA. So I know her and her suit well. She's kind of awesome. 

While I don't want to portray a suit that is "hyper-endowed", as I know that's in poor taste, I do think subtle feminine padding would really help me, as my (albeit thin) masculine frame is one of the reasons why I'm not a cross-dresser in the first place. With a suit, I can be whatever body I want, and while I don't want one that is over-sexualized, I do want one that is decidedly female in appearance. I guess I just need to strike the balance with my suit's femininity: pronounced enough to not appear androgynous, yet subtle enough that it's not obtrusive or attention-grabbing. Plus, Troj up there suggested additional ways to appear feminine OUTSIDE of padding, which I didn't even think of.

My goal is to help myself feel comfortable in a fursuit that represents (at least part of) my internal gender identity, so being crass and objectifying of women is most certainly not what I want. As a feminist, I strongly oppose anyone who tries to make women out to be sexual objects. It's just wrong. Besides, I'd be too frightened to try anything inappropriate.


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## Ozriel (Jul 11, 2013)

Trpdwarf said:


> The reason why people are hostile towards such suiters is because typically these people are not very nice or considerate in suit. As an actual female it disgusts me to no end to see guys running around in big tittied suits acting like gigantic sluts and doing inappropriate things with their "Breasts" in public. Suits with massive breasts are also...lets be honest plain disgusting.
> 
> If you don't want to be treated poorly than remember to hold yourself to a better standard. Also you don't have to have the suit made with boobs to look female. Look up Fay V on FA, she's got a female scribble suit, and is female. But her suit looks female without resorting to giant -tititius.




Second this. There's a difference between people who act "feminine" in suit and using it as a thing to act like a gigantic slut. Too bad there aren't many of them.


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## DerpyTurtle (Jul 11, 2013)

I was going to say to just have a very small, realistic amount of padding, but I'll also just throw it out there that you don't need tits to look/be feminine especially in suit. I'm extremely flat-chested and most likely when I have a fullsuit you won't see any chest whatsoever on me. It's my character's face/eyes that will look feminine.

Although, I'm not really the "feminine" type anyways...


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## ausren (Jul 11, 2013)

Pretty much all fursuits look androgynous/unisex to me. Other than obvious eyelashes, I'm not really noticing any definite female characteristics. But maybe I'm looking at different ones than you are?


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## DerpyTurtle (Jul 11, 2013)

ausren said:


> Pretty much all fursuits look androgynous/unisex to me. Other than obvious eyelashes, I'm not really noticing any definite female characteristics. But maybe I'm looking at different ones than you are?



Yeah, especially the ones with longer neck pieces which cover the chest even more and they just look all around fluffy. It kind of depends if he's wanting a fullsuit or a partial. Fullsuits usually seem more "feral" (even though yes they're anthro because they have human bodies) to me anyways.


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## LegitWaterfall (Jul 11, 2013)

Good for you. As everyone else has suggested, try studying some real feminine suiters.
As a tip for the padding, I would try a little foam about the waist for female curves, don't slut it up but just give the suit some curve.


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## mirepoix (Jul 12, 2013)

A badge of your character might help, too!  I like looking at people's badges to get more of an idea of the character.  That may only apply in a con situation, however, as non-furs might not know what to make of a badge.


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## Shaloxeroligon (Jul 12, 2013)

Thanks for all the advice, people. It's been super helpful. I will take it all into account when I move to purchase my suit. 

It's good to see so many furs that are accepting of trans* folks like me. It makes me feel a lot more comfortable getting a suit that brings out my inner gender identity. Like I said before, I'm doing it mainly to seem feminine, not have a suit that is so overtly sexualized that I can't wear it in public. Because that would defeat the purpose of the suit. Why wear something that no one would want to see you wear?


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## LegitWaterfall (Jul 12, 2013)

Shaloxeroligon said:


> Thanks for all the advice, people. It's been super helpful. I will take it all into account when I move to purchase my suit.
> 
> It's good to see so many furs that are accepting of trans* folks like me. It makes me feel a lot more comfortable getting a suit that brings out my inner gender identity. Like I said before, I'm doing it mainly to seem feminine, not have a suit that is so overtly sexualized that I can't wear it in public. Because that would defeat the purpose of the suit. Why wear something that no one would want to see you wear?


Hehe, what would judging do to benefit you but hurt your feelings more? We're just glad to help.


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## DerpyTurtle (Jul 12, 2013)

Pfffft there's tons of transgender/genderfluid people in the fandom. The judgmental people are the ones we wouldn't be accepting of.


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## jorinda (Jul 15, 2013)

> Pretty much all fursuits look androgynous/unisex to me. Other than  obvious eyelashes, I'm not really noticing any definite female  characteristics. But maybe I'm looking at different ones than you are?


That's because the fur hides body shapes. Even when the fursuit body is made of short fur, the boobs of the person inside will be less visible than in normal clothes. 
My boobs aren't that small, and I still met people who thought I was a guy... until they hugged me and went "Ohmygod I'm so sorry I didn't mean to touch your boobs I thought you were a guy". 
(Which is also why you should avoid touching a fursuiters chest, unless you are 100% sure it is a guy.)

So... be careful when using chest padding. It is a very thin line between "feminine" and "are you hiding two melons in there?"


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## Shaloxeroligon (Jul 15, 2013)

I understand that. I just want something that makes me feel feminine, without drawing too much attention. Besides, I'm planning on wearing frilly dresses over my fursuit, so that should make things even more obvious.


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## Scaly Fal (Jul 15, 2013)

Well, if you wear dresses over your fursuit I don't see what else ya need to do really. And that's a nice avatar pic by the way.


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## Shaloxeroligon (Jul 16, 2013)

Thanks. =)

And yeah, that's why I don't need my suit to be super feminine. The clothes will help.


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## Scaly Fal (Jul 16, 2013)

Well I'm just glad to see another dragon in the fandom, I wish there was more.


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## Shaloxeroligon (Jul 17, 2013)

True.

Anyway, thanks everyone for the feedback. I will put it to good use when I go about commissioning a fursuit.


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## PapayaShark (Jul 17, 2013)

I would't do much chest padding(maybe just a tiny bit, or use a bra with chest forms under the suit), but I would do hip padding. Looks feminine without looking skanky c:


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## jorinda (Aug 30, 2013)

edit: argh, wrong thread.


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## MarxxWolfzy (Sep 6, 2013)

I kinda am wondering about this for the reverse way. I'm not trans or anything, but my fursuit character is male but I'm female. I have big boobs and from experience have seen that the shape shows through suits. It's frustrating D: Anyone know what to do?


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## LegitWaterfall (Sep 6, 2013)

MarxxWolfzy said:


> I kinda am wondering about this for the reverse way. I'm not trans or anything, but my fursuit character is male but I'm female. I have big boobs and from experience have seen that the shape shows through suits. It's frustrating D: Anyone know what to do?


Start by making your own thread.


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## Jabberwocky (Sep 7, 2013)

as long as you don't slap tits to your suit, it's totes ok.


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## jorinda (Sep 9, 2013)

LegitWaterfall said:


> Start by making your own thread.



Or look at this one: http://forums.furaffinity.net/threads/136806-Gender-of-Fursuit-and-the-human-inside


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## inuraichi (Sep 9, 2013)

MarxxWolfzy said:


> I kinda am wondering about this for the reverse way. I'm not trans or anything, but my fursuit character is male but I'm female. I have big boobs and from experience have seen that the shape shows through suits. It's frustrating D: Anyone know what to do?



Get a chest-binder. T-kingdom has the best ones, they have affordable price-ranges depending on the type of binder you want, they're amazingly comfortable to wear, and they're worth every penny  I'm an avid crossplayer also with big boobs so I talk from experience. You can buy them at their site btw.


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