A spot of clarity on a very fuzzy issue.
First and foremost, our Terms of Service (TOS) are written for an event that is not a furry convention and also not a fursuit charity event. Get Out The Float (GOTF) exists in a space between the two; with the expectations of both, at times. By and large, the number of furries who raise money for charity through interaction with the public is dwindling in comparison to the size the fandom is growing.
TL;DR: Our Terms of Service do not differentiate between fursuting in public vs fursuiting in spaces we are responsible for (such as within the convention center). We will re-tool our TOS after our 2022 event, as there are many variables at play, and the needs and scope of the event are evolving. On our schedule, we will tag events [PUBLIC FURSUITING] if we need you to adhere to the dress code in the TOS. If an event is not tagged as public fursuiting, then we are not strict regarding the fursuit portion of the dress code. If you need to remove your fursuit head because you are overheating – this is a safety issue and is a sign that you need help right away; do not hesitate to de-head in public. A handler will give you water and walk you to the nearest headless lounge.
Malicious coverage of the furry fandom is something many of us have had to deal with on some level or another – for a long time, no less. This post is not written to reminisce about history; rather to give you a deep dive both into our thought process, and why we take the approach that we do, without going into anecdotes or stories into venues that we no longer create events at, such as the one featured above in Baphijmm’s photo.
Non-Verbal Communication
The public seems to be much more scared, defensive and angry about things that they don’t understand than they used to be. This is in part to the ease at which we can reach wide audiences today and the vulnerability to polarity that exists in both mass & social media that is evident. The act of choosing what we wear (even with regular clothing) communicates to others what communities we are in &/or what beliefs we hold.
In fursuit, we are absolute showstoppers. The public understands cute, fuzzy animals raising money for charity when we’re out for fursuit walkies. Without that additional context, those who do not trust us begin by starting at the worst-case scenario; and things generally do not get better from there.
We stretch the aforementioned public’s understanding by allowing partial suits – so long as no skin is showing. When the suspension of disbelief that what they see is a person instead of a fursona; their reaction is often irrational and extreme.
The public doesn’t understand why a fursuiter might take their head off, or why we (generally) wear balaclavas under our fursuit heads, or the multitude of reasons that we might not be in character every single moment we are in suit.
We’re Not Professional Performers
We’re also not paid performers. This is an area where the norms of furry conventions apply less and the norms of charity fursuiting apply more. Wearing a “complete” suit (whether fullsuit or partial), gives the public context that you are a big fuzzy animal. If you de-head, having someone not in suit bring you water and start escorting you to a headless lounge gives the public context that you are overheating and getting help.
When fursuiting, it is likened to wearing a soft sofa of extra material and the temperature you experience can easily be 20°F or more in excess of what the current air temperature is. We wear balaclavas under our fursuit heads because they help wick sweat away and help us keep cool. Other strategies for keeping cool include battery-operated cooling fans in our fursuit heads and cooling vests that use re-usable ice packs in addition to staying hydrated.
To this end, this is why headless lounges exist; even at furry cons. Fursuiters need a place to cool down and be away from the rest of the event without having to attempt to trek all the way back to their room.
Ruining the Magic
The magic we bring when in fursuit is worth preserving and not casually tossing away. By the same token, that magic is not worth our lives or our health (or the associated medical expenses from an ambulance to the E.R.). We are less formal in our requirements for public fursuitng than charity fursuiting groups but more formal than almost every furry convention.
The fursuiting section of our TOS is especially important when fursuiting publicly. This helps maximize public participation and acceptance of our group specifically and of furries, generally. When not fursuiting in public, we do not need to be as strict. Our TOS will be re-tooled after our 2022 event to better reflect this. In the meantime, we have an event to continue preparing for and this subject may very well be a most compelling subject for a panel. Oh drat! Panels! We umm… still need to make a panel submission form!
Bringing it Home
In discussing this topic, everyone is usually right about how they are affected by dress codes, fursuiting / full suiting, gatekeeping and many many other arguments surrounding this issue. It is possible for everyone to be right about a subject and encounter massive disagreement.
Our direction on this issue is to pursue what helps the event continue for the long term; this is based on our experience of negative public interactions and venues we lost because of who we are. In the years ahead our community faces the challenge of addressing Furry Panic in public discourse and in the body politic.
We are an LGBT-centric community that presently has the ability to fursuit in public. It is not something that we take for granted; and our emphasis on public interaction with our events is done in the hopes that public acceptance of furries is something we won’t have to think about, someday as well as introducing more furs to charity fursuiting and some of what it entails.
If you made it this far, thank you for reading and understanding.