Why is That Man Dressed Up Like a Skunk?

If You Enjoy Role-Play, Have You Ever Done a Furry?

I was in my very early 20s when I realized that I liked sexy role-play games. Unfortunately, my boyfriend at the time was not. He gave it the old community college try but it was obvious that no part of his body was into it. It wasn’t until decades later that I met a man who was down with the sickness, so to speak. Since it’s the middle of what I like to think of as the Halloween Season, let me share a sex date night story with you before I explain the nuances of furries, yiffing, and murrsuits.

Known broadly as “cosplay” or “costume play,” the practice involves people dressing up like fictional characters. You know, the naughty maid and her hapless employer. The chauffeur and the horny movie star. The parish clergy or staff and a disobedient student. Those are a few of the classics.

For some, that’s not enough. In the case of my now former-love, fantasy was his life whether he was consuming porn or helping mold mainstream movie magic. One night before Halloween, we were scheduled for a date, so I wasn’t surprised when the bell of my 100+-year-old Craftsman bungalow-style apartment rang. I was surprised when I opened the door to the wide porch and there was no one in front of my door. Then, like a cheap shock scare in a low-budget horror flick, I was suddenly staring into the face of a zombie!

Pretty much the polar opposite of a furry, my gore-movie-loving sweety was in his happiest place when there was a horror element to his eroticism. Zombies, especially, were his thing. Zombies and anal. I can’t remember if he got the latter that night, but I did find out how scratchy getting fucked doggie-style by a zombie whose suit stays on and has been intentionally roughed up feels. It’s… interesting.

Furries, on the other hand, are usually, but not always, cartoon-like anthropomorphized mammals. I’ve seen the occasional reptile, amphibian, bird, and even a dragon, so why not a zombie “fursona?” Maybe an undead squirrel or skunk would be fun. The community, which is predominantly made up of white, cis male sci-fi nerds (and I write that with the most tender love in my heart), prefers to present as wolves or dogs. Living wolves or dogs. Not zombie or ghost dogs or wolves. And more’s the pity.

Sensationalists on the more conservative side of the brain have devoted a certain amount of time and energy to freaking out about furries. One myth that has stirred disapproval is that functional kitty litter pans are located in public schools for use by students who identify as furries. This, of course, is false on its face but makes good headlines. This does not mean that the interest in furry fandom or playing with fursonas waits until the drinking age to manifest, but it does seem to wait until senior year or beyond.

If you’ve never met a furry but would like to do so, there are a few easy ways to find one or even dozens of them. As is the case with other special interest groups or misunderstood self-identifying communities, furries tend to keep to themselves to avoid being beaten up and other unpleasant things. That doesn’t mean they don’t delight in attending science fiction, anime, and costume conventions, as well as furry-themed events like “fur cons” and “furry meets,” the latter of which generally happens in mainstream venues while wearing “vanilla” clothing.

Many enjoy furry-focused comics, graphic novels, and online MUDs like “Omaha,” the Cat Dancer, and FurryMUCK. While a fair number of them are gay, bi, or trans, there are also straight, cis guys and even some cis gals who find their bliss in being a member of the animal kingdom. Most furries are in their 20s and lean heavily toward atheism.

Not every furry fetishizes their fursona, but almost all of them watch furry porn, regardless of their gender identity. It will disappoint moralists to know that very few furries or furry fans are led to the path of anthropomorphized furry depravity by exposure to it. The one-third of furries and fans who wanna see some skunk fuckin’ have been thinking about it for a long time. For that sex-crazed minority, I provide a quick and dirty (oh, so dirty) furry slang lexicon. It makes it a lot easier to pick up cute pussy cats when you don’t sound like a total tourist.

Yiff: Any intimate furry snogging, scritching, smooching, or heavy-petting. It comes from littlefox, who coined it for FurryMUCK gamers. The term hit the big time in the early 2000s when CSI introduced it to the everyday television viewer and much pearl-clutching ensued. Furries have hated CSI ever since.

Fursuit: Not everyone likes to dress up like their fursona, but some do, which means they usually wear a fursuit.

Marf: If you’re looking to get lucky with a fursuit that gives you butterflies, say “Yiff” to them. If you hear a “Marf” in return, that means they’re not interested, so back off.

Murr: This one’s almost too obvious. It means to murmur in a sexy manner. For those who want to combine hardcore yiffing with their fursona, there is the murrsuit. Like the fursuit, it’s an animal costume, but this one has holes in all the right places, if you know what I mean, and I think you do.

Like any developing social group, the language of furries continues to grow and evolve. Just as is the case with BDSM, whether being a furry is sexual depends upon the individual. The recent development of “Pup” titles throughout the leather/kink world shows that interest in pet play or animal cosplay is on the rise.

While adorable wide-eyed anime fluffballs can be snuggly or fuckable, depending on how you set it all up, an increasing number of kitties, ponies, puppies, and even the occasional cow are appearing in queer and straight kink settings.

By the way, and I know I don’t deserve it but I want a gold star for self-control for waiting until now to propose that the favorite sex toy of furries is probably a rabbit-style vibrator.