Headless lounge

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The headless lounge, also known as a fursuit lounge, is a room set aside for fursuiters and their fursuit handlers at a convention or other event, furry or not. It is often a quality standard for conventions to have at least one headless lounge.

Other private areas such as hotel rooms, restroom stalls and certain party rooms can be used for a similar purpose.

Purpose and function[edit]

Entrance to the fursuit lounge at Eurofurence 19.

The headless lounge is a space designated for fursuiters and cosplayers, separate from public areas of the venue, to give a reprieve from crowds or a cumbersome costume. Generally only people in costume or their handlers are allowed inside the headless lounge. Any non-costumed individuals not accompanied by a performer are turned away at the door. At large conventions, such as Anthrocon 2017, handlers might also be disallowed during periods of high activity, to keep the lounge from becoming over-crowded.[1]

Because the lounges are closed off, they provide a place of greater privacy for those who do not want to be seen without their mask, whether to preserve a degree of anonymity, or to remain in character and avoid "breaking the magic", without risking their health from overheating. In a similar vein, photography is typically not permitted within the lounge.

In addition to taking a break, the lounge may be a place that performers can make minor repairs to their costume, take prescribed medication, or eat snacks.

Room set-up[edit]

Fans are typically run full-time in the lounge.

Ideally, a fursuit lounge is a large, open room such as a ballroom, clearly marked to aid those with low-visibility costumes in finding it. Beyond the entrance, the lounge may have partitions blocking the view of the lounge from passers-by. Inside are tables and chairs, generally lined along the walls to provide maximum open space. Large electric fans are used to circulate air and air conditioning may be turned up to help cool off attendees. The Eurofurence fursuit lounge contains a drying rack, to which about 60 fursuits can be hung to be dried by a turbo fan.[2]

Water and sometimes snacks are usually provided as a courtesy of the convention.

In some cases, repair tools will be at hand (e.g. sewing kits, hot glue guns, Velcro, duct tape, etc), for emergency repairs. Febreeze is also a popular item.

Staff members attending the lounge sometimes play music.

In other fandoms[edit]

Conventions for other genre, medium, or speculative fiction fandoms often have rooms with similar functions. For example, Anime Expo has a "Cosplay Repair Center", in which items such as sewing kits, tape, hairspray, and bobby pins may be borrowed to repair or maintain a costume.[3] Anime St. Louis has an area similar to a headless lounge called a "Cosplatality Lounge".[4]

See also[edit]


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Fursuiting topics
Construction and components
Duct tape dummy · Head · Horn · Ear · Whiskers · Paw · Leg · Tail · SPH · Fur
Fursuit Markus Hug.JPG
Types
Activities
Bowling · Dance competition · Games · Tailwave · Handler · Headless lounge · Masquerade · Parade · Workshop · Zoot-sex
Websites and databases
Related


view · talk · edit
Convention terms
Locations
Artists Alley · Con Ops · Dealers Den · Freebie table · Game room · Headless lounge · Howl · Internet room · The Zoo · Party floor
Positions
Events
Tools
Phenomena

References[edit]

  1. "Decorum in the Headless Lounge" post to Anthrocon's forum by board member K.P.. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
  2. "Fursuit Support" Eurofurence website. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
  3. "Cosplay Repair Center", Anime Expo website. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
  4. "Social Events" Anime St. Louis website. Retrieved November 13, 2017.