Is this the new "it never happens"?

[AtomicBlondeRose]

Seeing a lot of sniggering and joking on Twitter etc about students identifying as cats after the recent school news story. Lots of joshing and "oh yes, furries are the new threat" and accusations that people who believe this are off their rocker and exaggerating.

Except...I'm a teacher and I've taught a student who identified as a cat. Didn't have much effect on anything as we didn't have to call her by a cat name (it was a few years ago) and so on but she did identify as one! And I now work at a college and there's a student who wears a tail every day and a few who come in cat ears. And we're very much not on the cutting edge of trends here, so, given the rise in identity-assuming, and that it's a big world, and that teenagers are the absolute target audience for this sort of thing, why would we jump to the conclusion it isn't happening? If you look on Tiktok you can find lots of young people identifying as animals. Why the denial?

I think it's just a repeat of classic DARVO tactics

and a distraction, the problem wasn't that there was a girl who claimed to have the gender identity 'cat' the problem was a teacher calling a child despicable for not believing it was literally true and saying so.

I agree with that; but I'm also conscious of the fact that its almost impossible to talk about a lot of what happens with people who are out of the loop because it sounds made up.
Unless you are very careful and tone it down 80%, you end up sounding like a conspiracy theorist who needs to be helped out of a YouTube rabbit hole.

I think a lot of the TRAs doing the this is all fake news stuff must come down to the fact that even they can see how bloody nuts having children pretend to be animals in class is, plus the fact that it makes the movement look bad. So it's very much a case of don't look here look over there at the moment.

I'm sure once more proof comes out they'll move on to the well yes there is children doing that but they aren't part of the trans umbrella because insert new reason / excuse here.

I just find it infuriating to see all the chortling and (mostly left-wing) scorn being poured on these things when they clearly are happening - do they have a massive impact on the majority of people/schools? No, but that doesn't mean it never happens.

There’s a whole list of “it never happens” topics.

Crime
Children being sterilised
Girls having mastectomies
Genital surgery on children in the US
AGP…

I have heard about this
is it just a way to get attention or a kink thing?

The problem is that, once you accept that a man IS a woman, or vice versa, and falsify legal documents (with the backing of the government) to this effect, as well as smearing, insulting, shaming, cancelling, firing, defunding and denouncing the people who state the obvious fact that 'but the emperor is naked', there is literally no logical way that you can then deny or criticise the 'validity' of other people's identities, be it as a different race, 40 years younger than their actual age, as a cat, as the Eiffel Tower, anything.

It's all exactly the same ladder, so once you angrily bluster and insist that the ladder and the people on it are reality - and demand that everybody else do the same - how can you possibly criticise the beliefs and self-identities of other people who just happen to be several rungs higher than you?

This illustrates it perfectly - and 'transage' is by no means anywhere approaching the top of the ladder:

To be honest, it is difficult to believe that adults would go along with anything like this - it's utterly, completely risible. If I was a believer in the whole trans thing, I think I would find it hard to see it as what the outcome would be. I can imagine if you were frustrated by the "can I identify as an attack helicopter" you would see this as following on.

Thank you for posting that clip. It always makes me laugh.

But also shows the complete disconnect of those who are so ideologically driven. They cannot have people pointing out the obvious. That if people cannot change all these other material realities that are unchangeable, why do we have to ever accept this group’s claims to change sex?

There's a trend where people - and it tends to be people of a liberal mindset, which I used to be very much a part of hence following a lot of these types on Twitter - will, at the same time as being all "follow the science" and "no fake news!", totally ignore things that are demonstrably true. The whole "we care about billionaires on a sub but not about migrants" narrative is one of them. Migrant boat sinkings regularly make the front pages and news headlines and the UK spends a lot of time, money and effort rescuing migrants from the sea. We don't leave migrants to drown! Whether or not the man in the street is bothered about migrants, we DO make an effort to save their lives and plenty of people DO care, and it IS covered in the media. I mean, that's just...a fact?

There really isn’t anything more infuriating than a person of the “I’ve never experienced it so it can’t be true” ilk.

Best case is that they are absolutely naive and in denial and just want to believe that these frankly horrifying things are not true. (The mental equivalent of sticking your fingers in your ears and screaming LA LA LA I CANT HEAR YOU)

Worst case is as PP says above, DARVO. Purposeful gaslighting.

I don’t know what can be done on a societal level but on a person level it makes sense to always have evidence to hand (if you choose to enter in these idiotic conversations with people). Keep calm, pull out some quality evidence and research (or maybe just a picture of the cat girl), present it out and let them decide.
You cannot argue with stupidity, absolute waste of time.

But wearing ears and a tail for fun isn't identifying as a cat. Furries don't actually identify as animals in that way. It's play. Yes, teenagers can play too!

Look at the reactions to this tweet: https://twitter.com/LBC/status/1671761702294110210?s=20

The majority absolutely decrying Birbalsingh about saying students wear cat ears and tails to class. And yet - they do! I've seen it with my own eyes. I don't know how they identify but when she says outright something she knows is happening she gets piled on for being a Tory, deluded, she's "a nasty piece of work", it's nonsense etc. Maybe she is a nasty Tory but she's still not lying.

I would not have beeped indulged in my playing during lessons, and my fellow pupils would not have been required to affirm my play or my delusions.

*been, not beeped, of course.

Pretending to be an animal in your teens is also staggeringly immature. I loves foxes as a preteen and used to pretend to be in The Animals of Farthing Wood. But I grew out of it- just as well because if I’d tried that at secondary school I’d have been crucified.

This issue is not about 'play', it's the expectation or demand that everyone else participate in your game. Can you really not see the problem with that?

Be whatever you want to be, but you don't get to demand other people agree with you, or punish them when they don't.

The online furry community is absolutely full of groomers, paedophiles and zoophiles. No children should be involved with it.

@Thelnebriati tone it down or sound insane

Completely agree, they're saying it doesn't happen we're saying it does. As it would be insane if it were happening they must be right and we must be conspiracy nuts / right wing / overly emotional / falling for a hoax - whatever.

Seriously? The place for cat ears and tails is in Early Years. I've taught in four different schools and the idea that some teachers are so out of touch with reality that they tolerate teenagers self ID ing as animals and actually bully other children into "respecting / acknowledging" these identities is shameful.
No wonder it's hit the headlines. How can children respect teachers actively promoting batshit behaviour like this? No wonder adults in schools struggle to exert their authority.

And yes OP - they're frantically denying this because they know how completely unacceptable it is. And when they see a major fuck up like this, acknowledging your part in enabling it is hard for all but the most emotionally intelligent.

A friend works with a ‘cat’ (young female) and another works with a man in his 60s who dresses like a ‘little girl’ (my little pony leggings, frilly tops and pigtails), and many they/thems (all young women who are awful bullies and love running off to HR with complaints then whinge that no one wants to take lunch with them). Both in ‘creative’ industries though.

Seems par for the course these days…

As I dont have a child in school I dont know if it is happening or not - anyone saying it is could be part of a very elaborate hoax, schools denying it could be lying and defend it by saying they are safeguarding the cat child(ren). . Still there is proof that children are being gas lit about others saying they are a different sex. Children and adults are being bullied to sign up to a faith rather than basing their views on science. If the ranting teacher had been Christian and telling them they must believe just imagine the outcry.

At my school I think one or more boys might have decided to identify as ducks and specify a name life Daffy or Quackers and insist they were called that. You could sing "Wasnt it a bit of luck that I was born a yellow duck". Teenagers could have a lot more fun winding up their teachers.

This. I was very out GC at my old job but my boss looked at me like I was a total nutter when I said lesbians now get kicked out of Pride marches for marching under banners of being same sex attracted. ‘ that’s what you say, Queen’ ,,he said with a raised eyebrow.