M&S/furries/school kids

[JoxerGoesToStuttgart]

These ads creep me out on their own (a hedgehog/seal in school uniform just standing there staring? how does that sell school uniform?) but the resemblance to the “furry” movement is just too much. I’m possibly just over exposed to the grimness of the whole furry underworld and see anything depicting kids as furry animals as sinister.

Am I alone or is this weird?

www.facebook.com/MarksandSpencer/posts/10156986494533612/

This one is a hedgehog. There is one with a seal. Not sure if there are others.

Shall I be the first to ask: what are Furries? Genuinely no idea.

Yes, I found Rupert very creepy as a child (probably older than you).

I shall never forget begging to go to a film featuring Beatrix Potter characters as a child, thinking it was a cartoon. I was literally horrified and disgusted to find it was actual human actors in costumes. It was my worst ever cinema trip.

Also disgusted at Judy Dench wtaf

Furrys are a subculture of people who are interested in anthropomorphic animals. Alot of the people in the community do alot of art and drawing of how they see them self as an anthropomorphic animal. Alot of the artist are quite talented drawers too.

Could it be that they are trying to disassociate certain items of clothing, like skirts, from certain gender stereotypes like long hair?

Mabye, I can see where your coming from and it makes sense. Considering each person is unique it might be to help show people what the clothes look like with out wanting to make people think if I want to wear that set of clothing I need to look like them. Therefore trying to lower the idea of certain types of clothing being associated with a certain group of individuals.

Considering each person is unique it might be to help show people what the clothes look like with out wanting to make people think if I want to wear that set of clothing I need to look like them. Therefore trying to lower the idea of certain types of clothing being associated with a certain group of individuals

Sorry, but that makes no sense. This is an advert for school uniforms. Nobody thinks a about wearing school , in the in the sense of making a conscious choice to do so. They wear it because they have to.

The "certain group of individuals" who are associated with this "certain type of clothing" are school children. It's sort of the point- you are a school child - you wear school uniform.

who are interested in anthropomorphic animals

Having sex with, sexualising and becomes anthropomorphic animals.
Which would be absolutely fine if they kept it to their own subculture, with adults, but the fact it it spreads to a lot of children's cartoons and gets kids involved in fetish culture.

Could it be that they are trying to disassociate certain items of clothing, like skirts, from certain gender stereotypes like long hair?

They could use a girl with short hair?

I find it disappointing that they are featuring children in wheelchairs and then hiding their faces.

Why why why can't these kids shine and be the same as others for just once?

That is a very good point neurotrash

I'm completely failing to get the point of this campaign. Why are school uniforms being marketed under the strap line "the wild things"? What's wild about school uniform?

The only important thing about selling school uniform is selling it to parents on price.

Children have no choice in wearing it- beyond do you want skirt or trousers (if the school allows a choice) and possibly a limited choice of colours. So who is this campaign being aimed at?

It is a very strange campaign. The wild things made no sense to me either. The only link I could make was maybe they are saying their uniforms are robust for children (like my DS ) who slide across the ground on their knees and throw their lunch all over their sweater.

The giraffe one is specifically about how quivly they grow. So I assume the hedgehog one is similar about the toughness of the uniform. Not sure why the hedgehog is just standing there and folding her arms though.

Hope this photo shows

There is also a tiger and an ostrich but I couldn’t see a video for those ones so not sure what their uniform property is.

Seal= waterproof trousers
Hedgehog= Stay sharp with non iron shirts
Raccoon= Shoes made for mischief (why a raccoon? )
Deer= creaseproof pinafore (again, why a deer?)

Not pictured: giraffe= skirts that grow with your child.

I still think it’s to show a gender neutrality or such bullshit.

It could well be. I’d rather they used cartoons. These ones are just creepy.

Raccoon= Shoes made for mischief (why a raccoon? confused)

Racoons are extremely mischievous. And clever. And a PITA.

As for the campaign, I think it's just means to be a clever marketing thing.

Furrys are a subculture of people who are interested in anthropomorphic animals. Alot of the people in the community do alot of art and drawing of how they see them self as an anthropomorphic animal. Alot of the artist are quite talented drawers too

Uh that's quite a sanitised version of "furries".

It's a fetish.
There's a sexual motivation.

It crosses a bit too closely over into beastiality and pedophilia for comfort.

Evidence abundant on social media.

My 12 year old went ' eugh furries!' when he saw a big poster when we went into M&S the other day. I'm not sure who their target audience is if it isn't mums* and kids but it seems to be a spectacular own goal

• and I say mums because we buy school uniforms 99% of the time

Creepy in an uncanny valley kind of way, but I don't think it's anything to do with furries!

Not all animals in people clothes are linked to Furries, and anthropomorphism (especially children's stuff) is NOT a new phenomenon! (Beatrix Potter?)

If anything, I think that anthropomorphism has always been a thing with children's books, toys and entertainment, and increasing anthropomorphism for "adult" purposes is the new development.

Was this meant to be posted on the feminist board OP or was that a mistake? Perhaps appealing for it to be moved to chat may give it more traffic.

I don't see a particular resonance with furries here. In my limited knowledge of them, they imitate animals with behaviour (for kink). In the M&S pics, they're just humans with an animal head that relates to an aspect of the clothing.
Coming up with an inventive new school uniform campaign every year must be like reinventing the wheel - a thankless task whatever way you look at it. They've gone for a 'fun' animal theme, combining animal characteristics with clothing features. It's hardly grooming.
Some people find the animal headed models creepy. Some people find sunflowers creepy (that multiple hole phobia thing). Doesn't make it a huge fail or misjudged by the marketing dept, just not a roaring success.

The boundary stretching furry stuff that's been happening at Pride events (encouraging kids to join in with 'puppy play' shit) is actually concerning. This is totally unrelated and I think has flashed up on the OP's radar as we've all realised how pervasive the serious stuff has become.

anthropomorphism (especially children's stuff) is NOT a new phenomenon! (Beatrix Potter?)

Beatrix Potter characters are animals in clothes but her characters keep paws, trotters, tails, animal feet. The M&S characters are like Rupert the Bear and friends who have human hands and feet. They are humans with animal heads. I find The M&S ones creepy.

Uh that's quite a sanitised version of "furries". It's a fetish. There's a sexual motivation.

For some people. For other people it’s more of a fairly innocent, albeit deeply weird, spirit animal thing. In the same way that there is a subculture of Trekkies who write extremely detailed gay porn about Jordon and Data, but not everybody who likes Star Trek, or even everybody who writes Star Trek fanfic, is into writing detailed gay fantasies.