Furries in schools

[Jamfirstest]

I have name changed for this. Forgive me if this isn't the right board but I need to talk this through to get my head around this.

Another parent has just told me there is a furry community of young people at her dc secondary school which is in my city and an ordinary comprehensive.

The school is humouring the accessories and so on and they now have a designated room in the school to congregate. Apparently there was a request for a litter tray in the toilets though this was denied (google tells me this aspect might have been a hoax attempt).

The secondaries around here are super strict with uniforms. How is this allowed???

So I'm told some children will only respond in animal noises.

I knew what a furry was before. What adults do for fun is none of my business. But this in schools???? Or have I been under a rock?

This is not true.

Nope

Yep! In my daughter’s school too. They hang out together and apparently if they’re in a bad mood, they will hiss and scratch. I think it’s quite common sadly!

Schools have been the Wild West for a long time. Kids pushing against boundaries designed to keep them safe and make the environment conducive to learning and a lot of teachers are exhausted.

(I was at school in the mid-2010s and saw a teacher move schools because of the behaviour problems!)

I don't know how much I believe the extent to which this is happening, but I can absolutely believe it is possible and even likely. The Internet has enormous influence over behaviour in schools - - just look at the impact porn is having. Look at how many teachers accepted and even encouraged pupils who claimed trans identities. Of course, now trans is no longer quite so rebellious and Gen Alpha is increasingly finding it a bit naff, furries are the next logical boundary to push in order to rebel and shock adults.

This is happening at one of my local schools. My friend's child goes there and says that it is the "cool" group doing this and they intimidate the others by barking/howling at them and doing weird things like trying to leapfrog over other students in the corridors and pawing at them. The school denied that it is happening in the local press, of course.

I did wonder if this would be the next social contagion

Google it

It’s true! And it’s been happening for ages. I saw a teenager trotting through town in goat hooves (imagine Mr Tumnus from The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe) in early 2022, so it’s really not new. But it’s catching on now. Fascinating how the trends spread.

This is not happening in schools. Cosplay for fun is not the same as being a furry anyway. This is utter nonsense.

There have been parents on here stating that they've encountered furries in their child's school and others that their children complain about them. There was the incident in the Brighton school where a girl recorded her arguing with a teacher about a child who identified as an animal. Certainly the government took all the claims seriously and told schools this should not be happening.

I'd like to think that all schools manage to establish clear boundaries and ensure that the children caught up in this nonsense online don't bring it into schools . If parents are aware of it, then they should complain to schools as it needs stopping immediately.

Do i believe these children are furries….no

do i believe that schools are on board with it…no

do i believe that some children are doing this to wind the teachers up and see how far they can push it….hell yes

This is the same in my school. One person bit another and the parents said she couldn't be punished as she 'was just expressing her natural animal instincts'. I shit you not!

Yes, this 🤣

But if the kids think they're a furry then they don't consider it cosplay even if others do.

Not as widespread at my daughter's school but there are definitely a few. Apparently one in particular is allowed to choose whether to participate in the PE games on either the boys or girls team, when they're split.

I don’t know if this case is true but I do know it is happening. A close friend’s Dd is in Y7 at a highly selective girls school (I’m not going to give location) and there is a furry room. Her Dd thinks it’s all nonesense and wants nothing to do with it, so doesn’t know what goes on in there, but it is happening.

This!

There is no way I believe these are furries in the "true" sense of the word

Well that is a clear case of entitled parents thinking their kids can do no wrong!

This is just weak leadership. Schools do not have to pander to this nonsense. I wouldn't have put up with it when I was a Head Teacher, nor would the Head I was Deputy for at my previous school. If this is happening, the scrutiny should fall on the school leadership team, not the children. And frankly, they should be sacked.

This is insane! If they want to go down that route then 'animals' that bite should not be allowed in school around children!

Just sounds like a new way of kids pushing boundaries to me. As they have since time immemorial.

It depends what you call a "furry."

Kids like to dress up

What is of more concern to me is that the "furry" community online and at pride parades are known to be fetishists and some have been known to be groomers. Because kids like to dress up.

Eg Challenor

It's very common for these children to be autistic and thus more vulnerable to abusers who could see their love of dressing like an animal as a way to befriend and exploit

They aren't furries, but they are making themselves vulnerable to exploitation.

Animals, furry or otherwise, don't go to school so any such child's place should be withdrawn. Especially if the parents are on board with this rubbish and use it to excuse poor behaviour, like biting.

Let's not forget that Aimee Challenor was a full on furry at 14 and posted on kink sites about being a 'mucky puppy' (you can actually see the receipts on the Farms).

Of course most of the stuff in schools will be innocent, but dodgy men will use any way in they can find to groom kids, so it is important to talk about this, not just pretend it isn't happening.