According to Maine Human Rights Commission Executive Director Amy Sneirson, Maine laws state that bathroom signage for private, single-stall restrooms cannot be limited to one gender. 13, 2022 4:31 pm. A TikTok video of a mother at a school boarding meeting went viral in which she says she heard Michigan schools were providing litter boxes for furries students who identify as . I was uh. The. A: Surveys suggest that furries are overwhelmingly male and white, are disproportionately likely to be gay, bi, or trans, and skew younger, with an average age in the mid-20s. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code. I was hearing rumblings of this last year, but it really got bad when they went back to school this year. Fargo (North Dakota) School Board member Jennifer Benson told The Forum "The students I have talked to say furries are everywhere, they are in all of our schools, Benson wrote in an email to The Forum. This has led to students resenting the furries and furry community. [PL 2019, c. 508, 6 (AMD).] She said the issue gained attention on social media once people started sharing photos and videos of the feline costumes and behavior, I started getting videos and messages from kids, and I said, Ok, Im going to post this so parents know whats going on.. No, a teacher did not get fired for failing to "meow back" at a student who identifies as a cat. In 2019, Midwest FurFest, one of the largest furry conventions in the world, raised $224,704 for the animal rescue organization Felines & Canines. The superintendent tells WLKY the situation is being addressed, but according to a concerned grandparent, it's an ongoing problem that has many students on edge . Rich Abrahamson/ Morning Sentinel. The current misrepresentation of furriesthat they simply want to be animals and are sexual deviantsdates back decades. "Kids who identify as 'furries' get a litter box in the school bathroom," Maddock wrote above the video, tying it to the leitmotif of her social media posts, that angry moms will put Republicans . (LogOut/ Success. Maine Furs is a group of furs living in the state of Maine, U.S.A., who operate a website for all furries living in or around Maine.. Beyond Indiana: Fact check: Wisconsin school district debunks claim that it has a 'furry protocol'. They can behave however they want at home but at school this isn't acceptable. 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School districts in Maine, Vermont, Wisconsin, South Dakota and Michigan have all debunked rumors that they have accommodated children identifying as animals in response to what has become known . A person 5 years of age or older and under 6 years of age who is enrolled in and who has . If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page. The superintendent tells WLKY the situation is being addressed, but according to a concerned grandparent, its an ongoing problem that has many students on edge. No, Maine students aren't . These people will hiss at you or scratch at you if they dont like something youre doing.". Its bullying because of immaturity.. This isnt anything a teacher can do alone, the admin needs to step in and make clear and consistent rules for ALL students regarding costume wearing and role playing behaviors at school. Roberts, S. E., Plante, C. N., Gerbasi, K. C., & Reysen, S. R. (2015). A kid who wears a tail or ears is just kidding around and having fun, A biological boy who identifies as a girl is not a predator, if she feels like a girl and thinks she is a girl thats her identify, but that doesnt make her dangerous and certainly she isnt being programmed groomed by government or the schools. Todd Dorman. Furries are people who have an interest in anthropomorphism, which specifically refers to giving human characteristics to animals. Me personally Id just treat them as a student. However, the term furry fandom was being used in online magazines as early as 1983 and had become the standard name for the genre by the mid-1990s, according to the Wikipedia entry. Last fall, several people came to an Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation board meeting, the Evansville Courier & Press reported, to raise concerns that the district was allowing students to dress and behave as animals, even providing litter boxes in bathrooms. Update: so home town decided to enforce the school dress code. Why Are So Many Young Men Single And Sexless? Teachers are hired for math, reading and basic education skills. You can share 5 more gift articles this month. She has a bunny outfit, and her employer, Walmart, allows her to wear a bunny tail and mask while working. Im just embarrassed by what this has gotten to," she said. The students are told they cant wear hats or Budweiser shirts in school, but they can wear cat ears, cat tails, masks, leashes. The role of a teacher here would be to enforce the rules/expectations. The school board addressed the litter box situation stating that no student has approached them about it but had heard the rumors and stated that this will not be allowed in the school due to health concerns. A parent randomly found the literature, pictured below, folded up inside of a textbook. "She said its not a new problem. Furries are people who have an interest in anthropomorphism, which specifically refers to giving human characteristics to animals. Many furries report that, over time, their own self-concept tends to become more like that of their fursona. UN Pushing New Age Spirituality on Schoolchildren, The Manchurian Athlete: The American Olympic Skier Who Is Representing China, Avenatti Guilty Again. Both Dunn and Joe Strike, another furry historian and community member . The website is a online portal for scheduling meet ups and sharing information. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. Meade County Schools will not discuss individual student discipline due to privacy laws. Many such misconceptions are demonstrably false, borne often out of a lack of clear understanding about what furries do as a group. This is a "hot" topic with 19,500 searches/month. The grandmother is urging parents and family members to attend the Meade County School Board meeting on Sept. 14 to request further action. Its brainwashing, but not abuse. And, like other fandoms, ones interest in furry can manifest in a variety of ways: drawing or commissioning furry-themed artwork and writing, playing furry-themed games, costuming and performing, and gathering with others who share the same interest. Parents are not interested in having kids hyper sexualized at any age from anyone. "If you don't know what furries are, it's where schoolchildren dress up as animalscats or dogsduring the school day; they meow, and they bark, and they interact with the school and teachers. This would be fine and all but the furries are asking for litter box to be placed in the bathroom for them to use. (LogOut/ This has led to students resenting the furries and furry community. I find it unbelievable that a teacher would be fired for the words, "do not bark at me". Perhaps even more surprising is what nearly a decade of research on the subject can tell us all about how we relate to animals, how we understand ourselves, and how we benefit from letting the inner child run wild every so often. Several posts to the story suggested it was rumor and that, certainly, employees were not allowed to wear fursuits at work. I said I was working on obedience now that my 4 yro could hear& showed him a Christian book from Dobson Clinical interaction with anthropomorphic phenomenon: Notes for health professionals about interacting with clients who possess this unusual identity. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast, A sub for all things teacher related! And, despite generally approving and promoting furry fandom, Rolling Stone had to admit that there are indeed some who are drawn to the fandom for sexual reasons, and there have been instances where adults in the fandom have preyed on minors, most notably a pedophile ring that was busted in Bucks County, Pennsylvania in 2017. The grandmother said a petition to end the practice was created by students and has more than 1,000 signatures. Sorry. Are Furries Taking Over Your Kids School? The parent said they have found other suspicious literature occasionally being distributed by the school, and their child has complained of being the target of harassment and intimidation by a group of 6th & 7th grade students who identify as furries. Furries are kids who believe they are animals. OwOMore Below!Support me on Patreon . Far Left online magazine Jezebel, reported that according to Kentucky NBC affiliate WLWT, parents and students alike are concerned about a group of high school students in the Meade County School district attending school acting like and dressing as cats. One woman who spoke to the outlet, the grandmother of two children who attend the high school, said the trend began last year, but seemed to become more popular when students returned to classes in August of 2021. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. You get to interact with others in the same sphere. Average Retirement Savings By Age: Are You Normal? Most furries create for themselves an anthropomorphized animal character with whom they identify. Asking for a friend. We have excellent schools here. The district already has a dress code in its student handbooks to limit clothing distractions.. Badgering the mods will probably get you permabanned. So, of course, furries should be allowed into school because there is nothing necessarily wrong with it. ', Death toll keeps rising in Greece's deadliest train crash. Shes allowed to wear her tail and mask at work, she said. Put simply, when something is included within a person's moral. As . There never will be," Evansville Superintendent David Smith said after that meeting. What do you mean by that? Part of it is to also prevent/stop bullying. There definitely seem to be less in high school. I removed my children from public schools after 1 year in 1980s Attendance of persons 5 years of age or older and under 6 years of age. What I mean by this is that students can wear ear/headbands and tails but that is it. Make all bathrooms unisex and stop all this nonsense. If public schools are going to be pedophiles prey sources, then abolish them, and give the parents their kids equal share of total district funding to use at the private school of their choice, or for one parent to stay home and homeschool, and with absolutely not one shred of ANY government involvement. This is inappropriate behavior to be coming from teachers, and occurring on school property. The first notable instance of furry panic occurred when right-wing activists pushed a false claim about schools in Michigan placing litter boxes in bathrooms to allow furry students to use. And data suggest that fantasy-themed activities such as wearing a fursuit can be part of a persons psychological well-being. Go here to sign the Florida Citizens Alliance letter demanding answers on your school districts policy toward the furry invasion of our public schools. Meade County schools deal with unusual situation: Students dressing and acting like cats. Im all about accepting others but not when you hurt your own education. It looks like you do not have any active subscriptions. She says being a furry is a fun hobby or fandom. A Facebook post says schools are putting litter boxes in bathrooms to accommodate kids who identify as furries. | Heres why. Admittedly, Im a little weirded out by it, not unlike that grandma from Kentucky.". (Teenage girls tend to be drawn to the more cutesy side of the fandom, as opposed to the , A lot of kids will be on TikTok because its very catered toward a young [demographic] and the content is short and kids have a very short attention span, he says. "The grandmother is urging parents and family members to attend the Meade County School Board meeting on Sept. 14 to request further action. A lot of people only have digital relationships, so its cool to get together.. LOUISVILLE, Ky. The Meade County School district is dealing with an unusual situation: a group of high school students is attending school acting like and dressing as cats. Maines first convention, known as Pine Fur Con, was held in 2018 in South Portland. Staying Single: What Most People Do If They Divorce After 50, A Psychological Diagnosis for People Who Lie About Everything. Bunny considers herself a furry those who enjoy dressing like an animal. SB 380 is expected to receive a vote from the Senates education committee next week. Within a 48-hour period this week, a federal court ruled that a school could not require children to use the bathroom that corresponds to their biological sex. Advertisment: In late 2021 and early 2022, a rumor spread far and wide that conflated distinct groups of people: furries (or the furry fandom) and the transgender/gender diverse community. Discover Middle School furries on TikTok through this link. Furry fandom? (Teenage girls tend to be drawn to the more cutesy side of the fandom, as opposed to the drinking, partying, more adult side, which skews more masculine, he says. Hearst Television participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. Some furries even only answer questions with animal sounds. There are reports of multiple cats, a gorilla and possibly a wolf furry being employed at BIW, the piece stated. The only thing they can really have are Ariana Grande-like cat ear headbands or cat whiskers with eyeliner pens. Essentially, what this signals to school corporations is that through the dress code you have the ability to drive how students dress, he said. Stay in the conversation on politics: Sign up for the OnPolitics newsletter. Furries are a subculture of people who craft alter-egos as anthropomorphized animals. A lot of times theyll see a furry and theyll want to see what its about, and theyll join the fandom that way. (Indeed, Emily, a nine-year-old "deer," interviewed by. Knowing what you value will help you build the most meaningful life possible. Already have a commenting profile? People make fun of you for no reason. Maine 'furries' talk about the fun, friendship and freedom that come from letting your inner animal out. Its no coincidence that Bunny, the only other furry who agreed to be interviewed for this story, is also transgender, Pratt said. The bill does not require schools to make changes, he said, but reinforces the idea that they can. After all, if I am spending time playing pretend as a neon-blue cat that walks and talks, am I in any position to judge you for what you wear or how you choose to identify? Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Whether were calling them furries or members of the kin community, I truly do not understand the appeal and I never will. "Apparently, from what I understand, theyre called 'furries,'" the grandmother, who asked to remain anonymous, told WLKY. And a school council in England sent out a letter to parents telling them their 4-year-old children need to choose the gender they most identify with before starting . How did your school find out, if ever? [] GROUPS OF FURRIES ARE HARASSING KIDS IN SCHOOL []. A YouTube video, put out by Viceland helps to explain the truth about . She said the issue gained attention on social media once people started sharing photos and videos of the feline costumes and behavior, "I started getting videos and messages from kids, and I said, 'Ok, Im going to post this so parents know whats going on.'". The writer, not identified by name, posted a piece in October alleging confirmed reports of furries employed at Bath Iron Works. Making animal noises at other students have been labeled a form of aggression in the form of bullying. Furries allowed to defecate in schools : r/Maine r/Maine 1 yr. ago by Reaper_Survivel Furries allowed to defecate in schools So, my parents were saying that a school board in Skowhegan, or, doesn't really matter, had a meeting to allow kids who identify as furries to defecate and pee in school. Do you have actual evidence to your claims or is this another misinfo campaign? No, school restrooms are for more than one person at a time and there have been many sexual assaults in these restrooms since they started allowing males to invade them, on one instance a 5 year old girl was sexually assaulted by a 7 year old boy who was gender fluid in Georgia. Create a commenting profile by providing an email address, password and display name. The grandmother said a petition to end the practice was created by students and has more than 1,000 signatures. I wish I was joking but Im not. Like Bugs Bunny, Mickey Mouse, team mascots. They said furries wear collars, tails, headband ears, leashes, and some hiss and bark.. Some furries wear elaborate costumes or paraphernalia such as animal ears or tails, or represent themselves as anthropomorphic animals in online communities. Thats called grooming! Breakout sessions are held for specific groups, such as people in fox suits or deer suits, Pratt said. A lot of times theyll see a furry and theyll want to see what its about, and theyll join the fandom that way. (Indeed, Emily, a nine-year-old "deer," interviewed by Rolling Stone found the fandom on Tiktok when she was eight; at the time of the Rolling Stone interview, she was waiting to see Tequila Shepherd, a British German Shepherd with 178,000 followers.). Waterloo, Ontario, Canada: FurScience. However, a different story is told by teachers, students, and parents in central Pennsylvania. Another such misconception stems from the mistaken belief that furries are not fans, but rather are people who believe themselves to be, in whole or in part, animals. Its about expressing her femininity as a transgender woman, she said. Bunny Hawkins displays her Walmart nametag. I have two grandkids in school and my grandkids didnt want to go to school anymore.. This is only reinforced by the fact that it is a predominantly online fandom and you can pretend to essentially be whoever you want behind a screen. Because the world of furry content is so broad and all-inclusive, the fandom itself tends to reflect those norms. Like most trends, the popularity of furry fandom can largely be attributed to digital culture. DMDD symptoms go beyond a being a 'moody' childchildren with DMDD experience severe impairment that requires clinical attention. MIDLAND, Mich. 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Fun, friendship and freedom that come from letting your inner animal out letter demanding answers on your school policy... The most meaningful life possible comments can not be furries in maine schools and votes can not be,. 'Furry protocol ' Senates education committee next week truth about 1,000 signatures cat ear headbands or cat with! Can behave however they want at home but at school this year people only digital. Can behave however they want at home but at school this is that students can wear and... Probably get you permabanned students resenting the furries and furry community are demonstrably false, borne often out of teacher!