Plushophilia (from "
plushie" and "
-philia") is a
paraphilia involving
stuffed toy animals. Many plushophiles modify their plushies with a hole or holes reminiscent of those found in
sex toys, to allow them to sexually interact with their plushies. Plushophiles are sometimes called plushies, although this term (plushies) can also refer to non-sexual stuffed toy animal enthusiasts, and to stuffed toy animals in general.[1][2] It is a form of
object sexuality.
Furry fandom
Plushophilia is sometimes assumed to be a practice common within
furry fandom, due in part to a 2001 article by Vanity Fair that linked various members of the furry community with plushophilia.[3][4][5][6][7] A 1998 survey of 360 members of the furry community suggested less than one percent (that is, fewer than four people) attested to being plushophiles.[8]
Pornography and sexual activity involving
animal anthropomorphism (including plushophilia and paraphilias involving
fursuits and
cartoon animals) is known in the furry fandom community as "
yiff" (and sexual acts as "yiffing").[6][9]
Being in another form
Anne Lawrence has proposed that sexual arousal that depends upon imagining one's self as plush or "representations of anthropomorphic animal characters in
animated cartoons" be termed autoplushophilia.[10] Paraphilic interests that involve being in another form have been referred to as
erotic target location errors.