# Fursuiting Etiquette



## Cyanide_tiger (Sep 30, 2010)

I've been looking through the threads for a bit, and came up with an idea for a new thread, one that could help those like me that are new to fursuiting. I saw a thread a little while back that had some good tips for public outings in your fursuit. 

So, I was thinking that perhaps we could get a comprehensive list of do's and don't's from experienced suiters for those of us new to fursuiting? After all, the last thing we want is another pedobear story on the news. 

..And if this is a lame idea, flame me all you want. >_>


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## Fay V (Sep 30, 2010)

I've been working on a list and plan to post it, then edit it with new tips.


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## Arzus (Sep 30, 2010)

#1: DON'T, its simple, just don't. Don't go out. Save your creepy suit in your home until furcons. Don't wear it to the mall. Don't wear it to McDonald's. Just. Don't.
Once you get to the con, don't think just because I'm in a suit too means I want you touching me, hugging me, or talking to me.
The end.


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## Deo (Sep 30, 2010)

*1.* NEVER REMOVE YOUR HEAD IN PUBLIC. There are bathrooms and fursuitlounges to flip the top off and cool down. In emergencies this rule is ofcourse ignored.

*2.* DRINK LOTS OF WATER. You will sweat, it will be hot, and unless you drink lots of water and be reasonable about your time in suit you will suffer from a heat related illness. Heatstroke can be fatal, and EMT's will cut your fursuit off of you in public if you pass out. So don't.

*3.* ALWAYS HAVE A HANDLER. This rule can be bent at furcons, but everywhere else this tenet is a must. You need someone to do crowd control, keep an eye on your health, steer you clear of threats, get you out of suit in emergencies, keep kids from pulling your tail off, and explain to others why that person is in a fursuit so as to not arouse pedobear fears.

*4.* In suit you are the character, so act the part! Don't just stand there or amble along. What would your character do? You need to portray the character using exagerrated body language and movements. Practice in front of a mirror before going out.
Keys to character: Is this character arrogant? Will he/she strut or stomp? IS this character immature and silly? Will they bounce around and do little head tilts? Is this character shy? Will they turn down their head and scamper off? Small gestures help bring the character to life.

*5.* There is a debate on whether it is ok to talk in suit. As animals do not talk the classic mascot/greymuzzle form is to remain silent and express the character through mime. However with the gaining popularity of the moving jaw people began to see vocalizations as enhancement to the character rather than a detraction. This is up to the fursuit performer what they do, but remain consistant. Also, those who do not have moving jaws should probably stick to the no-talk rule as it can creep people and children out when the mouth is static but the giant wolf/fox/cougar/sparkle dragon is talking.

*6.* RANDOM SUITING V. CON SUITING. At conventions fursuiters are more protected and more welcome than random suiting. Random suiting can be fun but requires some work. To randomly suit the place must be contacted before hand and asked, if a yes is recieved then proceed. Charity events are wonderufl fursuiting outings, but make sure to call ahead and get a yes before showing up. Note: There are sometimes things that a suiter will stumble upon in random acts of suiting and must judge the situation accordigly. There recently have been a few fursuiters who random suited in their local parks and completely (rudely) crashed a wedding. Not everyone likes fursuiters, so you should never crash someone else's event. 

*7.* BACK OFF. If the person/group looks uncomfortable as you approach leave them alone. Do not chase anyone or interrupt other group events for attention. Do not give out hugs without asking. Basically don't touch someone unless they are ok with it, even if it's just a pat on the back.

*8.* BE CAREFUL AROUND CHILDREN. Always know where your paws are, accidents can be seen as molestation by a protective parent. Never iniciate the hug, allow a child who wants a hug come to you. NEVER pick up a child. Sometimes parents will ask you to hold a child for a photo, politely refuse. In suit you do not have the best reflexes, vision, or dexterity, and you could cause harm to a child and be sued/arrested. It is best to crouch down next to the child for fac-to-face interractions that are less intimidating and for parental photo ops.

*9.* DO NOT WHERE A FUCKSUIT/YIFFSUIT OUT OF THE HOUSE. That's nasty. You may wash it but you can never really get it clean. Do not wear a SPH suit or a spooged on mess out in public. We don't want to see it. We don't want to know that it exists. You wearing it out ruins fursuiting for everyone. If that's your thing, eh, alright. But bringing it out in public is wrong. You wouldn't wear a garland of dildos to a furcon, so don't wear a fucksuit outside of your home. As to Yiff/fucksuits, if you own one/ use one you will be sort of blacklisted by other suiters. It is considered in horrible taste by the majority fursuiters who find it distasteful and allows to media to label all fursuiters as people who like to fuck in animal costumes. Don't. Please. And putting shorts on your fursuit is not hiding anything.

*10.* EDUCATE YOURSELF. Know your local and state laws. In some areas it is illegal to cover your face with a mask. Also avoid obvious places where a mask would get you into trouble. Avoid malls that have banks in them, don't go to a presidential rally, and schools. Common sense can save you a police lecture and possibly record.


*I'll maybe add to this later. Is there anything specific anyone wants to address?*




Arzus said:


> #1: DON'T, its simple, just don't. Don't go out. Save your creepy suit in your home until furcons.


That's a terrible way of looking at it. Fursuiters can bring joy to people, and even though I don't really approve of random suiting, but delegating a suit to only in-home wearing and cons is silly. Why would I wear my fursuit around my house? The only people I know do that are nutty lifestylers. There are tons of charity events that love having suiters. But also a fursuit is an expensive piece of art. Fursuiters want to wear their fursuit. You don't buy a car to hide it in your garage and you don't buy an expensive fursuit to hide it in your closet.


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## Trpdwarf (Sep 30, 2010)

It's good to point out that non con random suiting is best done in groups. In my local area when we have a fur-suit friendly outing, we get permission ahead of time and we plan it as part of the fur-meet. So that's how we ended up with things like a mini-golf fur-suit friendly event, a fur-suit friendly outing at the seat area of a Sonic, we've also doing random suiting experiences at the local farmers market as well. We'll be planning something for Halloween. But if you are with just one other person it's easier to be singled out and harassed. If you have a group there is better safety there.

As for the talking in suit, part of the reason why there was no talking in mascot costumes is because they don't want a voice attached to the costume because different people wear it and have different voices, or it is something that has a pre-set voice and it violates copy right law I think...and it also ruins the magic if "This" character sounds like "this" on TV but has a completely different voice in costume.

I don't see why when you own a personal costume that only has your voice attached, why you can't talk in suit as long as you get in character with your voice and it's a head built for talking. You can choose to abstain from talking around children since they just are not used to seeing mascot costumes talk. Beyond that to hell with all the grown adults wanting to hold costumers to standards that only fit the whole actual mascot at theme-parks ect thing.

Also it always pays to look up your own local laws and ordinances. In my area we have an anti-face covering law which means it's a better and safer thing to get permission and suit up at an establishment. If you live in an area that doesn't have on you can have a little more fun with going to more diverse places.


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## Cyanide_tiger (Sep 30, 2010)

I'm glad you guys think this is a good idea.  Maybe we can get it stickied so that we can avoid repeat threads of this nature. Or Fay V's whenever they get that together, unless that gets posted here as well - whichever is more comprehensive. At the moment, I don't have any specific questions, though I'm sure I'll have some eventually.


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## Fay V (Sep 30, 2010)

Fursuit Etiquette 

General Suiting-
Do: Have a handler. This is a person that can help you in times of need. A handler is your eyes, ears, guide, and bodyguard. They keep troublesome people away, guide you to safety, and watch to make sure you do not get dehydrated. Handlers are particularly important for full suiters.

Do: Have signals worked out beforehand with your handler. Know how to ask for help, say you are hot, say you cannot see. 

Do: Know where to get water and take your head off. Before suiting it is important to know where there is a semi private place to get water and to get some air for a few minutes so you can rest and rehydrate. Do not go more than an hour without water. 

Do: keep yourself clean. When you get out of suit, take a light shower and spray your suit. Wash your suit occasionally (see suit maintenance threads). You will get sweaty in suit, you will smell after getting out of suit. Do your best to stay clean so you do not get sick, get others sick, ruin your suit, smell like a trash barge while attending con. 
  Do: Act and move around. It is entertaining when a person is active. Standing around in a suit is standing around in a suit, try to be entertaining. This can be silly and playful, or serious depending on the character, but even a serious character can act and be entertaining in its own way. 

Donâ€™t: Drink soda before before suiting, it will make you dehydrate faster (this is more a guideline, more advanced suiters know their limits. If it is your first time try to avoid caffeine) 
  Donâ€™t: Just randomly approach anyone! Fursuits can be scary, some people donâ€™t enjoy them. If a person wants to approach you they will. The best thing to do is wave, offer a high five, or hold out your arms. If they want to interact they will, if they donâ€™t move on. 

Donâ€™t: wear a sex suit in public. A sex toy is a sex toy and belongs in the bedroom. A dressed up dildo is a dildo, and a murrsuit in shorts is still a sex toy. Keep it in the bedroom. If you want to fursuit out in public, get a different fursuit. 

Donâ€™t: Remove your head in public. There is the clichÃ© of â€œbreaking the magicâ€ but removing the head takes you from being a fun character toâ€¦a hot sweaty person in a suit. 

Donâ€™t: Talk in suit, for the same as above. Both of these tend to be broken in certain circumstances. 

At Conferences-

Conferences are a safer place for suiting and general guidelines are broken here. People know the restrictions of suits. Some suiters will speak at cons, some will remove heads, ectâ€¦Remember not everything at a con will fly outside. The con is a safety bubble. 

Outside the fandom-
Fursuiting outside the fandom can be rewarding and interesting, be it random outings, or for volunteer work. Outside the fandom requires more tact and better behavior in general as you are under the scrutiny of the public. 

Let people approach you: as said in the general doâ€™s and donâ€™ts it is not okay to run up to people. If they want to play, they will approach you. You can wave and make yourself known, then let them come to you. 

Donâ€™t do anything lewd, rude, or generally disgusting. Itâ€™s a public place. If youâ€™re not going to hump the shit out of a person without a mask on, donâ€™t do it when youâ€™re wearing a suit. Yes we shouldnâ€™t be ashamed of sex and so on, but pick what you do in what place. 

Seriously have a handler around and know where you are. This is way more important out in the world. People can be cruel, know how to escape. 

Avoid animals. Some animals are pretty chill, others really donâ€™t like a giant multicolor thing. Donâ€™t think itâ€™s adorable to go up to the doggy and play, then get your face bitten off. 

Call ahead of time! If you are visiting a mall, call security and ask, if you are visiting a store, ask. You might think itâ€™s cute and funny, but they see someone in a mask and baggy suit that could hold a gun or something. A bit of preparation goes a long way. 

General advice: wear a jersey or something if youâ€™ll be interacting with a lot of people, it means food, smears, whatever end up on the easier to wash jersey. 

Fursuiting around children- 


  FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DO NOT PICK UP OR HOLD CHILDREN!
It isnâ€™t worth it. It is never worth it. You donâ€™t have the insurance if something happens. A cute picture isnâ€™t worth paying till the end of creation because the kid squirmed and you dropped them. 

Kneel so that you are at the kidâ€™s level. Theyâ€™ll treat you more friendly and will be less likely to be scared. 

High fives are great, pawshakes are nice. If you hug a kid make sure it looks friendly to everyone else, be aware of where your hands are. It might be purely innocent but pictures can make things awkward. 

Look down often. Fursuits donâ€™t have good vision, your muzzle may block your few. Kids have a habit of being right in that blind spot. Stepping on kids generally makes them sad so just look down once in a while. 

If a kid freaks out and is scared, make yourself smaller, look scared, act like they are something to be afraid of. LET THE KID APPROACH YOU. Do not try to go over and hug and make them feel better. 

Interacting with a fursuiter- 
If youâ€™re a non-suiter at a con thereâ€™s some things to be aware of. 

Suiters have terrible vision. Many of them can only see a bit in front of them, they can not hear well, and thereâ€™s padding between them and what they can feel. Remember this when approaching a suiting. Approach from the front, wave and say hello to make sure they see you. 
If a suiter doesnâ€™t respond, chances are they just didnâ€™t see you, they arenâ€™t trying to be bitchy and look down on you. 

Donâ€™t tackle/glomp/ jump on a suiter. It is scary as shit when this happens because 99% of the time they donâ€™t see it coming. You also have a chance of breaking something. Thereâ€™s been numerous occasions of tails, ears, paws being ripped and torn off because the suiter was jumped. 
Suits are expensive, play nice. If the suiter sees you and starts goofing around, then itâ€™s fine. 

If you want a hug stand in front of the suiter and hold out your arms and say â€œI want a hugâ€ the gesture is big and easy to see even if they donâ€™t hear you. If the suiter wants they will return the gesture, if not then donâ€™t push it. A suiter has as much right to personal space as you do. 

Donâ€™t hang out in the headless lounge. Itâ€™s there so suiters can do quick repairs, get some air, water, and whatever without being too crowded. Headless lounges tend to be small as is. If you want to see a suiter wait until they are in general con space. The headless lounge is for handlers and suiters. No pictures in the headless lounge.

Pictures! Ask a suiter for a picture. 99% of the time they say yes, and it gives them a chance to pose. This also helps avoid the issue of picturing a headless suiter. Many suiters take their anonymity and character seriously be it for personal or professional reasons, headless pictures ruin that. This is why you donâ€™t take pictures in the headless lounge. If you catch a suiter with their head off and they ask you to please remove the picture, its easiest to just remove the picture. 

Elevators- suiters canâ€™t see well, they have big weird feet, and stairs are like a deathtrap. At conventions it is polite to give fursuits priority at elevators. This is not because they are cooler or more important, just a respectful thing to help them not tumble down some stairs or stand around in a hot suit when they may be in a hurry to get to their room and cool down. 

Try not to delay a suiter. If a suiter looks like they want to get somewhere quickly. Chances are they are getting to their room or the headless lounge. It very easy to tell when a suiter wants to play and when they need to GTFO. If they are in a hurry, let them go. 

If you get the chance to ask to see suit parts, itâ€™s okay to ask. If the owner says no you canâ€™t look at them, let it go. If you ask to try the head on and the answer is no, let it go. Suits are personal things, and a big investment and people can be protective (for good reason) 

Donâ€™t pull tails! If you pull a suiterâ€™s tail may the fire of the fandom rain down and may you forever be trapped in drama. Seriously, itâ€™s not cool, youâ€™re not an infant. There is no excuse for ripping a suiterâ€™s tail off.


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## Nyloc (Sep 30, 2010)

Respect, Fay, for an awesomely contributory post.


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## Furr (Sep 30, 2010)

I said this in a different post but I feel the need to repeat it. If you have a more realistic or scary/mean looking costume be AWARE that many people may find it scary. Just tone down the acting and don't approach anyone who seems a little weary about it. Some people may think your being boring because you're not acting in character but if you don't want to be kicked out/banned from wherever you are just act like a human being. 

When posing for "hug pics" you're not actually touching the person your hands should be hovering over their shoulders. When actually hugging someone LET THEM HUG YOU!!! You should be giving air hugs not really touching the other person.


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## Fay V (Sep 30, 2010)

Nyloc said:


> Respect, Fay, for an awesomely contributory post.


 Thanks. Performances have become a real joy of mine, so the more information to help people, the better fursuit interactions with the public will be, and the less people will have automatic reactions of "just don't, stay at home" 

I plan on expanding the list and stuff, does anyone mind if I use their entries to help add to the list?


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## Cyanide_tiger (Sep 30, 2010)

Between Fay's and Deo's lists here, would you two mind if I combined them and made the list in the first post? Not attempting to steal your thunder, so to speak, just trying to organize it a little better for those that purely want the information. I'd also be happy to add other contributions to it as well so that we can have the highest probability of having better fursuiters out there. Or I'd be happy to let a mod/admin take the reigns on it since I'm still admittedly new and this is for the benefit of everyone - not just me.


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## Deo (Sep 30, 2010)

It's all on the front page. Who cares if it's not in the first post. Fay and my posts are almost identical anyways. We've just added our own flair to the basic guidelines of suiting. It's up to the fursuit performer to take these bare-bones rules and flesh them out with their own ideas and characterizations.


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## Fay V (Sep 30, 2010)

That's true. Almost everything is a guideline. 
Personally I think new suiters should start at furcons where they can learn things first hand and get some one on one advice. They can learn their limits in a safe environment.


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## Deo (Oct 1, 2010)

Fay V said:


> That's true. Almost everything is a guideline.
> Personally I think new suiters should start at furcons where they can learn things first hand and get some one on one advice. They can learn their limits in a safe environment.


 
I think furcons are good learning experiences for new suiters, but out of suit. Observe some good fursuiters. Yippee Coyote, ~V~, and Flux Kangaroo come to mind. When out of suit you can see them interact with others more clearly without the need to perform. 

Also I'm big about debuting a suit at a furcon. It's important to practice the character at home in front of a mirror before just jumping into it. And your debut really makes the suit's character. A lot of times you stick the the same routines in suit (and you should as it is character) so once you act that way you are more prone to do it again. Working at home can help you get rid of bad habits you may otherwise pick up without knowing. An example is if your eyes don't see out of where your character's eyes are, so you see new fursuiters look at the person they are interacting with through the vision holes, but the character the non-suiter sees is derping into space.


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## Fay V (Oct 1, 2010)

Deovacuus said:


> I think furcons are good learning experiences for new suiters, but out of suit. Observe some good fursuiters. Yippee Coyote, ~V~, and Flux Kangaroo come to mind. When out of suit you can see them interact with others more clearly without the need to perform.
> 
> Also I'm big about debuting a suit at a furcon. It's important to practice the character at home in front of a mirror before just jumping into it. And your debut really makes the suit's character. A lot of times you stick the the same routines in suit (and you should as it is character) so once you act that way you are more prone to do it again. Working at home can help you get rid of bad habits you may otherwise pick up without knowing. An example is if your eyes don't see out of where your character's eyes are, so you see new fursuiters look at the person they are interacting with through the vision holes, but the character the non-suiter sees is derping into space.


 
Yes, home practice needs to be the first step, learn the character, how to move, what your limits are physically. If your suit has tall ears or horns that's something to get used to. 
I think cons are a good next step for applying all that in public. It's one thing to be alone in your house and careful about it all, but knowing when to stop and rest while in the thick of it is good to learn, and cons are so suit friendly that you won't need to worry so much about people being aggressive or needing to run. 

The panels for performances are fantastic, in and out of suit. Thumper did a wonderful dancing in suit panel, which really helped me with my character, just practicing the dancing moved into being more comfortable to do some crazy antics. the suiter for Ioco Husky did a great suiting outside the fandom discussion at RF this year. 
Con's really are one of the best places for learning how to suit. You can get some good hands on help and can see how things work first hand.


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## KarabinerCoyote (Oct 2, 2010)

At parades, when requested to pose with a child, I always drop to one knee to make it easier for the parent to get both of us in the shot. So wears knee pads under the suit.

Also fistbumps are quite popular, even when suited.

If someone doesn't guess what kind of animal you are, just roll with it or let the handler offer gentle correction.

If your character speaks, then keep the language G-rated, especially at public events where there are certain to be children present and cameras recording you.


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## Fay V (Oct 3, 2010)

KarabinerCoyote said:


> At parades, when requested to pose with a child, I always drop to one knee to make it easier for the parent to get both of us in the shot. So wears knee pads under the suit.
> 
> Also fistbumps are quite popular, even when suited.
> 
> ...


 
With the animal one. If it's something simple you can make a game of the correcting. My animal is a fox, so when I get called a cat I can spell it out pretty easily and have the kids spell. If it's a harder animal to spell then handler explaining is better.


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## Cyanide_tiger (Oct 3, 2010)

Perhaps we could get a list going of do's and don't's for handlers as well? From what you guys have given us so far, they are an essential part of fursuiting and without them it's almost suicide, so it may be a good idea to give some pointers for those of us who don't have a group of experienced suiters to run with regularly to know what to instruct our handlers to do and how to act ahead of time and while we're in the thick of things. Some of the tips given so far have touched on this, but it sounds like there may be a little more to it. If I'm wrong, sorry for the stupid suggestion.


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## Fay V (Oct 3, 2010)

Handlers!

Do: Know the limits of your suiter or suiters. If you have a chance beforehand, try on the fursuit head so you have an idea of what your suiter can see and hear. If you can fit in the suit, wearing it and moving for a few minutes to get a sense of how they feel is invaluable. The more you know about your suiter's limits, the more help you can be.

Do:Have signs worked out ahead of time. Common signals for distress are waving a hand in a circle motion above the head, or crossing arms over chest. Whatever you choose be sure the action is quick, simple enough that pawed hands can do it, and known to both of you ahead of time. If your suiter needs water you can lead them to water, if they're being attacked, you can hurry in, if they're about to collapse then you'll know. Communication is important, and hand signals are your best friend. 

Do: watch for signs of dehydration: Fursuits are hot, very hot. Suiters can get carried away with the fun. Make sure your suiter isn't swaying, acting sluggish, or showing other signs. You can look up common signs on the internet. 

Do: Be ready to intervene: When someone is ready to mess with your suiter you are their defense. your suiter can't see, hear, feel, or defend themselves well. You can be big and intimidating. this is normally enough for kids and teens. Be attentive and ready to deal with punks. 

Do: Know the escape routes: Hey look, you're still the eyes and ears of your suiter! Which means that you'll be the one that knows the escape routes. Know the area you and your suiter will be in and know where to go if worse comes to worse. 

Dont: Take on too much: It's generally a good idea to only have one suiter per handler so you can be attentive to what they need and can swoop in if hell breaks loose. 

Dont: Allow your suiter to push too far: If your suiter seems ill, too hot, ect...be firm, get them to take a rest. the more you work together the more you know what you can handle.

Dont: Go into crowded places in the dark: Seriously...doesn't this just scream bad idea? 

Dont: Say offensive or insulting things: because suiters do not tend to speak, chances are you'll be speaking for them. You're not dressed up as an adorable furball, so be careful with your tone, language, ect...don't scare the children. 

That's all I can think of for now. A lot of it comes naturally as long as your remember that suiters are helpless little furballs and you are babysitting them.

Suiters, be nice to your handlers. It should never be a thankless job. Make them know you appreciate it, because if you don't, you don't deserve the kindness.


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## GoldenJackal (Oct 4, 2010)

Deovacuus said:


> *7.* BACK OFF. If the person/group looks uncomfortable as you approach leave them alone. Do not chase anyone or interrupt other group events for attention. Do not give out hugs without asking. Basically don't touch someone unless they are ok with it, even if it's just a pat on the back.



OMG. This! A pink husky who was too excited bonked me on the top of the head at my first con. I had a ball cap on and it hurt because of the metal thing in the center. Also, I got "scritched" or whatever. No. Just, no. I don't even know you.


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