13, 2022 4:31 pm. Were his actions justified? Furries dont identify as animals; they identify with animals. Laura Baker/Education Week and Irina Strelnikova/iStock/Getty. Todd Dorman. Pursuit of the fursuit: The joys of being furry and making furfriends, Manage your Advertiser Democrat Subscription, Manage your Livermore Falls Advertiser Subscription, Manage your Franklin Journal Subscription, Manage your Rumford Falls Times Subscription, Manage Your Rangeley Highlander Subscription, Sun Media Groups Western Maine Weekly Subscriptions, Mark LaFlamme: Dead batteries and bruised tailbones, In a word: The long and short of well-known names, Harrison, West Paris kids are all in on winter, George Fox returns to Ukraine for third time, Its a new year, start fresh: reuse, recycle, reduce, Part 1, Katherines Bakery & Cafe expands, all the way up the street. In 2021 and 2022, various American conservative and far-right politicians and . Tomas Galguera, interim dean of the School of Education at Mills College at Northeastern University in Oakland, California, says the rumor reflects parental concerns about what is being taught in schools that are twisted into paranoia and amplified by the internet. Rich Abrahamson/ Morning Sentinel. But furries are often framed in a negative light. One post calling for school districts to take action has been shared more than 31,000 times. School districts in Iowa, Michigan and Nebraska have debunked claims that. Finalists for national Superintendent of the Year say education has always been political, but deepening rifts are creating new challenges. The fandom is centered around an interest in anthropomorphism, or human characteristics given to animals, according to Sharon Roberts, co-founder of a furry research group called Furscience. In a message to the school district, Superintendent Michael E. Sharrow argued against the claims of litter boxes being provided for students that "identify as cats." (hutchyb // Canva) MIDLAND . Whats unfortunate is then youre answering questions or dealing with topics like [the hoax] as opposed to all the good things that are going on in the classrooms and what were really here to do, educate the students.. In the same way that cosplayers typically dont believe they are actually Spiderman, furries dont think they are their fursonas. She says being a furry is "a fun . We always want to be the ones to tell our story.. As strange as that may sound to some, director . Surveys and pre-publication research from Furscience also indicate that the vast majority are LGBTQ and as many as a third are transgender. The litter box rumor is so attention grabbing its just the sort of thing to go viral on the internet, Galguera says. NBC included the information in a report saying the kitty litter box rumors have become a GOP talking point in states including Colorado, Minnesota and Tennessee. The superintendent of the school claims the woman's story is "not true". Droits d'auteur 20102023, The Conversation France (assoc. Ms. Hansen also says in the video that she plans to do more investigation into the issue. Its worth emphasizing that NBC News did identify one school district that kept cat litter on campuses for student use, but its a Colorado district the same district where the Columbine massacre occurred that approved the litter as part of go buckets to be used in the event of a school shooting. Not So, Says School Official, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/23/us/politics/michigan-litter-box-school.html. Photo by Getty Images. Best thrift stores in Boston and Oakland and is it okay to thrift XMas gifts? In other words, the litter box myth is dumb, but its not benign. I ordered a bunny outfit on a whim and ended up really loving it.. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Brenner found the hoax in his school community to be purposefully deceitful and part of an overarching political agenda to sow distrust in public schools. Furries allowed to defecate in schools. In January 2022, for example, unfounded rumors were circulated on social media . 13, 2022 7:00 am, Updated: May. No, schools do not have litter boxes for students, Complaint filed against Pennsylvania school district alleges discrimination against LGBTQ students, alongside other extreme and baseless rhetoric, Moms for Liberty, a conservative activist group, Surveys and pre-publication research from Furscience also indicate. In an Oct. 19, 2021, Facebook post, the Public Schools Branch of Prince Edward Island said that for several months it had fielded calls, been sent emails and been pointed to numerous social media posts that make broad sweeping assertions regarding students who identify as cats. This claim as well as many others are simply false and are causing unnecessary stress to students and staff, Norbert Carpenter, the director of schools, said in the post. There is no evidence that any school has deployed litter boxes for students to use because they identify as cats. However, after years of research, information is now available to help correct the record. At a luncheon for Republican women in Mesa County, Colorado, last week, Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., warned that educators are putting litter boxes in schools for people who identify as cats.. But as the NBC News report added, its important to acknowledge the motivation behind the nonsense. Shes called Pixil, a combination of pixie and pixel. Some politicians issued warnings about children acting as cats during debates regarding school policies related to transgender and nonbinary youth. And Joe Rogan, a comedian and podcast host, said he knew of a school that was offering litter boxes to students on the Oct. 11 episode of his podcast The Joe Rogan Experience. Rogan also backtracked on his claims, saying it doesnt seem that theres any proof that they put the litter box in there on a later podcast episode. From the Morning Sun: Midland Public Schools Superintendent Michael E. Sharrow took to Facebook Thursday, addressing false rumors that litter box accommodations were being made for students who identify as "furries.". Shes come to realize that this is who she is, she said. Furry fandom? A Facebook post says schools are putting litter boxes in bathrooms to accommodate kids who identify as furries. I have seen dog bowls and giant straws used to feed furries at a restaurant, but this was an inside joke between a small local business and Anthrocon an annual furry convention held in Pittsburgh which brings millions of dollars to the local economy and raises thousands of dollars for animal-related charities. Even though they arent new, school hoaxes and rumors have become more political in recent years, said Cathy Kedjidjian, president of the National School Public Relations Association. Meanwhile on TikTok, one video claiming kids are now requesting litter boxes at school collected 3 million views on the platform. Family of transgender child in Texas speak out on Gov. It began as a large quest for self-discovery. Three school-age furries told NBC News they have at times dressed up at school, typically wearing just part of their full costume such as a mask or gloves that look like paws, but theyd never heard of any furry ever asking for a litter box. This Furry Drama is FALSE and hilariously blown out of proportion so let's talk about it! Counter-protestors stand and hold signs at the intersection of 10th Street and . What are the top sellers at the Northeastern University bookstore this holiday season? While sex can certainly be a part of the furry fandom, the majority of furries are motivated by reasons of social belonging, not sexual motivations. Those laws have been damaging to marginalized communities, especially LGBTQ students, who in turn were unfairly linked to the rumor about litter boxes. In his comments, Bolduc specifically mentioned Pinkerton Academy, a high school in Derry, N.H., that serves both public and private, tuition-paying students. Furries, and what it means and what it is, and what some people are trying to make it out to be are two very different things, she said. Furries like so many others who have hobbies engage in limited fantasy, Roberts said. Tim Kraayenbrink, a Republican Iowa state senator, said at a forum in May that local schools had been required to put cat litter boxes in the bathroom for furries to use, as he discussed schools that allow transgender students to use the restroom that aligns with their gender identity. O'Furr, who has traced the origins of the litter box urban legend, dates the hoax to at least 2008. Bunny Hawkins wears the outfit she works in at Walmart, complete with bunny tail, mask and Walmart vest. Tyler Kingkade is a national reporter for NBC News, based in Los Angeles. Have you heard of cosplay, where people costume as characters? I had not heard of this at all, she says. What are we doing to our kids? The only animals allowed in public schools are for the blind or those with a medical condition requiring a dog. One of the most recent examples involves a relatively unknown community. In the end, Plante wrote, furries are no different than anyone else they have the same need to belong, need to have a positive and distinct sense of self, and a need for self-expression.. When they dont like something, they hiss and get this, get this, theyre putting litter boxes [in schools] for them.. Most furries create for themselves an anthropomorphized animal character (fursona) with whom they identify and can function as an avatar within the community, the website says. However, Strike believes examples such as these and the kitty litter tale are so extreme as to be pretty easy to laugh off while still raising awareness of the group. Her favorite breakout group has been with psychologists who are furries, she said. Dont expect to find litter boxes at the convention, says Sharon E. Roberts, a Canadian academic and co-founder of the International Anthropomorphic Research Project/Furscience, which studies furry fandom from sociological, social, psychological and clinical perspectives.. This is absurd. Bunny belongs to a community known as furries. Furries . However, most furries' fursonas are wild and mythical animals , such as foxes, wolves, and unicorns or hybrid species, such as a kangaroo-dragon. For media inquiries, please contact media@northeastern.edu. But other politicians who spread the rumor, including Boebert in Colorado, won. For instance, in 2017, Scott Chamberlain, a councilman from New Milford, Conn., wasforced to resign when it came to light that he was a furry. Midland Public Schools Superintendent Michael E. Sharrow took to Facebook on Thursday to deny the claims, insisting no litter box accommodations had been made for any students who identify as a "furry." In January 2022, a Republican party official in Michigan shared the remarkable claim that in Midland public schools, officials were accommodating "furries" people who sometimes dress as. Were a small group of interdisciplinary professors who have studied furries and other fan groups for more than 15 years. They talk about why people like being furries. Lisa Hansen addressing the board during a Midland Public Schools meeting in Michigan last month. Rogan did not name the school, and his publicist did not respond to a request for comment. As AI writing tools rapidly evolve, learn how to set standards and expectations for your students on their use. There is no truth whatsoever to this false statement/accusation! Similarly, furries might attend a furry convention, local meet-up or simply connect with like-others online, but they return to everyday life on Mondayjust like everyone else, Roberts says. School board proposes banning furries after rumors of litter boxes in schools spread LGBTQNation 10/25/2022 Like 442 Comments | 778 A school board in North Carolina considered a. Most people wouldnt wear this kind of fan paraphernalia to work or a job interview, and some wouldnt wear it at all. Its fascinating to see smart, common sense people get sucked into the narrative and actually believe its happeningthat we have students dressing up like animals, that we have litter boxes in our schools, Brenner said. That has not stopped such rumors from circulating on social media, where they have been repeated like a game of telephone, often with descriptions of friends of friends who supposedly saw such things firsthand. Associate professor, Social Development Studies, University of Waterloo. Theyre putting litter boxes, right? I wish I was making this up.. Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Kids who identify as furries get a litter box in the school bathroom, Ms. Maddock wrote in a Facebook post sharing the video of the board meeting. Educators of color say its often another person seeing their potential and pushing themthat got them into leadership. The second group has heard this same rumor at their own . Remember, fursuits are prohibitively expensive, custom made, hard to clean, hot and bulky. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. If your knowledge of furries. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Please note the display name will appear on screen when you participate. She gave the example of a far-more mainstream Star Trek convention. Strike said that most furries he encountered grew up with interests in anthropomorphic cartoon characters and now find comfort around others with the same interest. The increasing political nature of the rumors prompted the Grand Forks school district in North Dakota to establish a Rumor Has It page on its website, which debunks false information about the district providing litter boxes for students and teaching critical race theory. From abortion to book bans, critical race theory and transgender rights, much political rhetoric in the run-up to the mid-term elections in the United States has centered around culture war issues. Breakout sessions are held for specific groups, such as people in fox suits or deer suits, Pratt said. Over the past two years, lawmakers have passed laws that limit how teachers can discuss race, gender, and sexuality and give parents the power to review curriculum. Its only used to kind of sensationalize untruth, and to harm our community, in particular our transgender, nonbinary and gender-expansive youth, said Nadine Bridges, executive director of One Colorado, an LGBTQ rights organization, when asked about the litter box rumors. A similar claim from parents that students dressed as cats were bringing litter boxes to Iredell-Statesville Schools led board members to propose a ban on all furry costumes, Queen City. With each hoax and rumor come more distractions for school administrators. They identify as animals ; they identify as animals ; they identify as cats as furries making... Superintendent of the Year say education has always been political, but its not benign not benign second... Boxes at school collected 3 million views on the internet, Galguera says to standards... The outfit she works in at Walmart, complete with bunny tail mask. 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