Guest comic time!
Today wonderful furry artist Grey White steps in with this great comic on fursuiting! When we were talking story pitches I ended up requesting this subject, it’s a part of the furry world that I think is often misunderstood by those outside of the furry community, or at least, I’ve never truly understood it!
Grey did a great job of educating me and I hope you too! Send them some love!
After some community feedback, that the comic might not cover ENOUGH of the fursuting world, or covering it in the wrong light, Grey asked to have this added to the blog post:
Friends, at the end of the day, I wrote a love letter to my experience fursuiting and interacting with fursuits. I told my truth.
That’s all I can do. Tell my truth with my art and my comics, drawn from my experience.
Other people have different experiences! It’s great! People are complex and incredible! But I can’t tell their story. I can only tell mine.
I should also reiterate, that I asked for this specific comic in this specific approach. With a 400 word comic, I wanted something that approached the common person’s view of fursuits. People outside of the furry fandom usually have a skewered view that’s only ever focused on the sexual side of this form of costume play, like yiffing parties and adult furry art or that episode of CSI. One of these days I’m more than sure we’ll have another guest comic talking about the sexual side of fursuits!
Fursuits By Grey White https://www.ohjoysextoy.com/fursuits-grey-white/
Grey White and a friend are walking through a crowded pop culture convention full of comics and cosplayers and some people wearing giant anthropomorphic furry mascot suits. The friend is a blonde femme with a big ponytail and bangs, wearing a cute polka-dotted dress. Grey has their dark chin-length hair shaved on the side in an undercut and wears glasses, a hoody, skirt, leggings, and sneakers. The art of this comic is cartoony and grey-purple toned.
While gawking at some fursuiters, the friend tells Grey, "Those animal costume guys always kinda creep out..."
"Huh?" Grey asks.
"They, well... YOU KNOW." Making the hand symbol for a penis about to enter a vagina, the friend continues in absolute horror, " 'YIFF' in 'em."
"Fursuiters?" Asks Grey. "Dude, almost all of fursuiting is innocent fun. It's just involved costuming." Gesturing at a Superman cosplayer, Grey continues, "You wouldn't assume a Man of Steel costumer is off to 'STEEL SOME MEN', would you? Plus, you're thinking WAY too small! Let me explain."
page 2
A cross-section diagram shows a cosplayer inside of a fursuit with narration around it.
Narration: Actually Doing The Deed in a fursuit is RARE. [A suit contains] Sweat-absorbing underarmour, several inches of foam, for shape, [and] 1-3 inches of acrylic fur. It's VERY easy to overheat, even when you're not doing more, ahem, STRENUOUS activities. Plus, most commissioned fursuits START at $3,000.* Almost every fursuiter wants to PROTECT that investment, not risk damaging or staining their personal, one of a kind costume.
*Not to mention the hours of skilled labor and difficult-to-find materials!
The friend quizzically holds a fursuit head and asks, "Okay, I get it, fursuit sex is difficult and rare, but what did you mean 'thinking small'?"
PAGE 3
Grey snatches the fursuit head out of the friend's hands and passes it to the fursuiter who is missing their head mask while explaining, "You gotta look PAST the physical aspect of it! For some folks, fursuiting, while not an erotic activity, creates a wonderful headspace that's simply unmatched!
On the left side of the page, the fursuiter adjusts their head into place while text explains inside of a giant right-wards pointing arrow, "Being completel covered in a whole new identity that simultaneously allows you to be somewhat anonymous is exhilarating!" On the right side of the page stands a proud depiction of the fursuiter as an actual anthropomorphic fox.
The narration continues, "Fursuiting allows you to be something exotic or fantastical. Frequently, certain species are linked with attributes:
Foxes: sly, cunning
Wolves: Fierce, powerful
Dogs: Friendly, playful
Cats: Confident, feminine.
PAGE 4
Over a tableau of anthro characters embodying the descriptions, the narration continues, "Or you can try out a new personality or body type! Beefcaek, hypermasculine. Grumpy, mean. Squishy friendly. Curvy, feminine. All just a zipper away. It's like a portal where you can be anyone for a few hours.
Now a fursuiter stands in a spotlight, posing before an audience, with a caption overhead reading, "Of course, there's always the draw of performance, too!"
A delighted child runs to the open arms of a fursuiter who is kneeling down to huge them. Below, the caption reads, "Kids and adults alike delight in seeing living cartoons, and bringing a smile to their faces means a lot to many fursuiters."
PAGE 5
Behind Grey is a thick forest with a little Bigfoot peeking his face out from behind a bush, far in the background. "Sex in a fursuit is kinda like Bigfoot-" Grey explains. "You've heard the legend, maybe there's a blurry photo somewhere, but ultimately, there's SO MUCH MORE to the Pacific Northwest! Er, fursuiting."
A series of fursuiter heads offers the following commentary:
A canine head with point ears, big poofy bangs, and a big black nose says, "It helps me see myself as the gender I identify as, and helps me feel brave!"
"I get to show off my sassy, flirty side!" Coos a feminine canine greature with long flowing bangs, tall, pointed ears, and a short snubbed nose.
A scruffy fox-like head with a long snoot and pointy ears finishes by saying, "I like to make people laugh and smile!"
"But mostly," Grey concludes by hugging a fursuiter. "it's just really fun!"
As Grey and his friend pass by a booth selling fursuit add-ons like ears and tails, the friend agrees, "Nothing wrong with that!"
"Yup!" Agrees Grey.
Now donning fox ears and a tail, the friend informs Grey, "So I'm just gonna try this on... for a minute..."
Transcribed January 18, 2024 by Erika Moen