Any "fluffies" (children identifying as cats) at your child's school?

[5475878237NC]

I had no idea this was a thing until this week. Parents are fully supportive. Is this happening across the UK? Apparently they're being provided with a litter tray in a private room. I thought being allowed to wear ears and a tail was going beyond reasonable but the litter tray seems completely unhygienic and a step too far in role playing how they feel about their identity.

Indeed, @ArseholeCatIsABlackAndWhiteCat
That's of course how this nonsense gets spread. I think the biggest problem is that people actually believe that schools can, and will facilitate this. I don't know what's happened to critical thinking.

Do you believe any elements of it are true?

Is the idea of the "furry" real or fiction? (i.e. someone who dresses as an animal for fun, as part of an identity or as kink.)
Do you believe any children or teens have adopted such an identity?
Have any such children worn accessories into their schools?

Where does reality end and fantasy start for you?

Who is clearing it out?!?

id be suggesting they shit in the neighbours garden

How did that look like for them?

I’m sure the litter tray bit is a hoax, but there is a girl in my kids’ secondary school in NW England who identifies as a cat.
And my friend’s kids go to school with three girls who identify as animals in Y6 of a primary school in SW England. They’re quite disruptive and keep having to leave class because they’re having some kind of “therian experience’”, but the school don’t seem able to stop it. Their parents, while not believing their children are actually animals (as far as I can tell) are so afraid of alienating their children that they go along with it.
Honestly, if you think this is made up, lucky you!

Exactly!

It's so clearly hysterical bollox.

@ArseholeCatIsABlackAndWhiteCat

ArseholeCatIsABlackAndWhiteCat · Today 18:55

You've seen them yourself?

How does it manifest at school?

Obviously not witnessed it personally, I don't go to either school or work there, so don't see what happens there. There are lots of things I know have happened that I haven't personally witnessed, I'm sure that's the same for you?

I do believe my children, one is autistic and pretty much incapable of lying, she was mostly annoyed at the injustice of one rule for the furries and a different one for everyone else when it came to uniform, and had assumed I knew it was a thing. I also overheard them chatting to their friends about it. Not making a big deal of it, just mentioned in passing.

Not particularly bothered who believes it, the OP asked a question, I answered. But while it may not be widespread, and the litter tray stuff is obviously bollocks, there are definitely some children in some schools who identify as animals.

School teacher here and although we don’t entertain it, there are children (2, currently) who identify as fluffies!

They adopted an alternate name and spent a lot of time making and wearing masks and tails, moving around on all4s and creating videos of them pretending to be cats. Only at home as far as I know.

Well. There's a lot of questions there.
Firstly my teens and their friends never did it. Not much evidence there, though. I teach in a secondary school of 1,850 students. Not one there, either. Nor in our large Academy Trust.
In order to identify as another gender, we have to have parental permission and clarity over pronouns. Child Safeguarding and Protection has never been so stringent.
The idea that learning could be disrupted, or dangerous behaviour allowed (all fours in the corridor?) is nonsense.
I will investigate further, but to this point have seen no evidence that schools allow children to identify as anything other than children.

A few people have referred to furries. This grandparent said "fluffies" and didn't mention anything at all about sexual identity. It was about being a cat, not being attracted to cats.

According to the newspapers there's one identifying as a moon. What allowances do you think are made for that pupil?

Kids say shit, kids do shit, kids interpret shit (not necessarily lying) in various ways.

The issue is the parents that buy it all hook line and sinker and state it as fact.

I dressed up as a cat for Halloween, one of the kids called me a furry.. fucking hilarious. He also got told off for it after a discussion. If he told his parents, thank fuck it wasn't one you lot, I'd have ended up defending my job and in a dozen newspaper articles.

I just don't know what to make of it all. How have we got to a place where our little people can't be OK as themselves so need to find their tribe in a totally different species?

@GreenMarigold so it wasn't supported,encouraged or allowed by the school or even happening in school?

DD spent a whole year as a 9/10 yo making videos about being a fairy. She is not a fairy. She knows she's not a fairy. She does not want to be a fairy. She did not identify as a fairy. She just liked role play, has a great imagination and found the fairy thing fun.

Yeah it was a few questions, because I was trying to gauge to what extent you think this phenomena is real and what is fiction.
You seem very happy to refute the parts about schools facilitating kids to identify as animals, but can I assume you are less certain that there are no kids who identify as animals?
There was a thread on all this last week, and a lot of people were confidently asserting "it's all made up", but when asked in more detail, it was only really the litter tray part that they were certain was false, which I think most people agree with.

@5475878237NC a world that can't or won't (mostly won't) cater to their other needs. SEND, SEMH , trauma, attachment disorders etc.

I had kids that would meow in my presence because they knew I loved cats. They were looking for love , attention ,familiarity and a connection. None of them actually identified as cats and we had loads of things in place to help and support them with their issues, none related to the meowing. Some of them are teenagers now and not a tail in sight.

@Underthinker , all I can say is that if a student identifies as an animal, they would not be allowed to express this identification at school. Parents/carers would be contacted, and other agencies because the student obviously needs some kind of support. We regularly refer to various agencies who provide external support for students with unusual additional needs.
The only identification change which is allowed in schools is gender. This has to be with full parent/carer agreement, and this change is registered. Out of 1,850 students we have 3 girls now choosing to be non binary, 2 males as females and 1 female as male. In two other Trust schools the number is lower.
So, no, I don't believe any school allows animal self identification.
If they're playing games, that's another matter.

@Maireas
But then you accept it could be serious to the child and more than "games" to them, but it wouldn't be indulged by the school?

Given that primary schools have allowed girls to identify as boys and vice versa I don’t see why people are unwilling to believe that they are allowing children to identify as cats.

Both are equally ludicrous. And identifying as a cat is probably safer than identifying as the opposite sex given what can end up happening to with the latter...breast binding, grooming, sourcing drugs on the internet etc.

Yes. Although "indulged" is the wrong word. Parents/carers would be contacted and some form of help and support provided. But no, they would not be allowed to identify as an animal, nor change their name or pronoun.

At least 1 girl in DS (13) year, she took her mask into school and had a lot of stick from the other children, I don’t think she’s taken it in since.

But I can’t imagine health and safety would allow litter trays.

If you mean the school in Rye, then they weren't completely honest in their statement.

Litter trays sounds unfeasible.

Kids saying they identify and getting away with uniform infringements sounds feasible.

Who knows if they "really identify" - how would that even be defined? All you can really assess is consistency and persistence of them saying it.

DS says he hasn't come across it personally but has heard of some people in school identifying as animals and thinks it extremely silly.

Stirring up hate and trying to cause trouble for children is not a good look.

Haha good luck asking your employer for a litter tray when you leave school.