to think that children in your child's class don't identify as animals?

[wotnofurries]

inspired by the wearing a tail to school thread, I thought I'd see just how common or otherwise the whole furry/litter tray/identify as an animal thing really is.

Unreasonable = Yes, a child in my child's class does this.
Not Unreasonable = Don't be silly, never come across one in my life.

My 7 year old daughter does this 🤦‍♀️ she says she identifies as a therian. I don't let her wear her tail to school of course. I actually think its very normal for children of this age to pretend to be animals but its the terminology she's picked up around it...

There was a small group of Therians in my sons primary school, but they went to secondary.
I don’t have any fundamental problems with this, the children don’t see this as something sexualized, it is what a small group of adults make of it (just like anime, goth, punk). It is a school without uniforms, not in uk.

🤷oh this seems to be a thing at my DCs school - especially yr 7 and 8, and mainly among the girls. Bit weird IMO! But I do remember in the 1980s a girl in my class (probably age 10/11 at the time) pretending to be a horse and galloping everywhere!! (I still remember her name and what she looked like! and her gallop!!). So maybe the 'new' 'furry' thing is not that unusual in terms of being a 'new' thing, just the 'identify as..' part of it is new(?)

No it's really not normal.

It's normal for kids to pretend play at being lots of things - yes.

'Identifying' as an animal is certainly not and nor should it be encouraged.

At least not without seeking help for their mental health.

How does a 7 year old even know the term ‘therian’?

Not a child, but a mother of a child at our school identifies as a cat apparently 🙄

😱😥🤯

I did this as did a few of my friends 😂Not sure we identified as horses but we were obsessed with them and spent every break building little jumps and jumping over them. I think the difference is that then everyone was happy just to treat it as a game.

It's taught in school in Scotland we also have schools and councils playing along with it and allowing them to do this in class in both high schools and primary schools it's nuts up here

There were 3 girls in my DD's class who subscribed to this, year 6.

DD said they referred to themselves as furries

I wish I could ID as a cat. Specifically my cat who just sleeps all day, is given treats for merely existing and has the whole family wrapped around her little paw.

Don't know anyone who does this. At all.

https://www.wikihow.com/What-Is-a-Therian

I've looked this up because of this thread. My mind is a bit blown. So it's identifying as an animal, and can include believing you were an animal in a past life.
This isn't play, and shouldn't be supported on this level in school.

Exactly. It's the responsibility of adults to label these kind of things as 'games' and 'imagination' that children will grow out of! Not support them to identify as this or that and view it as an expression of their (gender? Or animal or something?) identity??

Agree

There is a fox and cat at one of my children’s schools. Secondary aged.

I think the people who are so offended by the word “identifying” should imagine what an 11 year old girl sees as “identifying “ as a cat. It is no different from being a real big fan of Madonna and dressing up like her in the 80’s.

I know a primary school teacher whose partner identifies as a cat if that counts 😬

And when they are 14? Hissing at people and wearing tails and ears to school. Going around sniffing the other students?

Thats just like pretending to be Madonna?

I'm not offended by the word "identifying". I just find the offence by those upset that I don't play along with their "identity" tedious and grossly unreasonable. One who "identifies" as something they are not. If they were that thing they wouldn't need to identify as it.

I think it's the parents responsibility to explain 'you are pretending to be, not identifying as...' and explain what identifying as means and teach them the appropriate terminology ...

The word identify has lost all meaning imo

Humans are not cats. Words have meanings.

I haven't heard of this happening in any of my kids' schools yet but I guess there is still time (oldest is 7) 😬

not In person but online. Autistic and high-needs children of 10-12 got right into the furry costume scene and found it a real support to hide behind the costume while being out in the world.

parents later posting about these kids being lesbians or pansexual. Like, they’re 12. Give them a break!

Furries is the current insult of choice at my dd's school so I suspect this phase of identifying as is falling out of fashion and becoming a subject of ridicule thankfully.

Not yet, I don't think. And not soon, if idiotic but well-meaning adults and schools indulge it.

Of course it's not the same as being a huge Madonna fan and dressing as Madonna. Copying a celebrity's outfits is hardly an unusual thing. The problem is thar the whole concept of 'identifying' as something is now treated as a sacrosanct right by many. A child wouldn't be allowed to flout the uniform rules by dressing up as Madonna, but schools seem terrified of questioning demands to allow certain other kinds of identity change within school.

My DD has one or two in her year they started a campaign for a litter tray in the toilets.