The woman, who uses the handle @crazynamebridgetmichael, said she was taking attendance when a student responded to his name with feline vocalizations. As the video circulated, the Midland superintendent issued a statement to clarify Hansens claim was false. Some who have believed the false rumors continue to cite them as an example of school districts going too far with so-called identity politics, drawing a connection between the litter box claims to schools allowing transgender students to use the restroom of their choice. I dont understand why these kids are acting so un-human and not happy with themselves, she said. Theres no such thing as a litter box at a furry convention.. Stop the world we need to get . Newsquest Media Group Ltd, Loudwater Mill, Station Road, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. In December 2021, conservative activist Lisa Hansen claimed at a school board meeting in Midland, Michigan, that an unnamed school in the district had placed a litter box for the kids that identify as cats in a unisex bathroom as part of the agenda thats being pushed. Hansen, who later started a local chapter of Moms for Liberty, a conservative activist group, did not respond to requests for comment. Michigan superintendent debunks rumor. TikToks are going viral of school students claiming to identify as animals . 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. The rumor of litter boxes in schools appears to have begun among parents on social media, and one of the first schools to confront the falsehood was in Canada last fall. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. USA TODAY reached out to Hansen for comment. Meade County Schools will not discuss individual student discipline due to privacy laws.". The story about the fired substitute also had its roots in an online video, with a woman who says shes a teacher relating the story via TikTok. ' she said in the TikTok video. Dr. Paul McHugh, former psychiatrist-in-chief and director of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at Johns Hopkins University Hospital (and current distinguished professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences), echoed this sentiment when discussing the medical field and transgender people. The next day, the popular conservative Twitter account Libs of TikTok tweeted the video of Hansen at the school board meeting. The claim: Photos show non-verbal student whose cat identity is accommodated at public school Some social media users are sharing a photo they claim shows a student who identifies as a cat.. Many commenters who watched the video took the claim seriously. The latest breaking updates, delivered straight to your email inbox. The false claim that children who identify as cats are using litter boxes in school bathrooms has spread across the internet since at least December, when a member of the public brought it up at a . The week before, on Sept. 29, Minnesota GOP gubernatorial nominee Scott Jensen asked during a campaign stop, Why do we have litter boxes in some of the school districts so kids can pee in them, because they identify as a furry?. First, there was the news of Bruce Jenner transitioning to become Caitlyn Jenner. An Iowa newspaper reported some students in a small town in their state identified as cats. Michael E. Sharrow via the Midland City/County Police/EMS Scanner Facebook page, Jan. 20. "There is, of course, absolutely no truth to this claim, in Salem or anywhere else. The story was picked up by several widely-read sites, included in Tucker Carlsons daily newsletter, and reshared on prominent Twitter accounts in addition to going viral on Facebook. Of local interest, Hansen insisted, are policies that she claims accommodate students who identify as furries, or cats and dogs. 5 min read. "It is such a source of disappointment that I felt the necessity to communicate this message to you.". Two curious stories relating to cats have been circulating online this week: In the first story, a substitute teacher claims she was fired because she refused to meow back to a student who identifies as a cat, while parents in a Michigan school district were infuriated by a rumor that the district was providing litter boxes to cat-identified students in school bathrooms. The school districts saythese claims are untrue. "Apparently, from what I understand, theyre called 'furries,'" the grandmother, who asked to remain anonymous, told WLKY. "Restroom facilities are available at all district facilities in compliance with state law," she added. Olivia, 16, from California, said shes been part of the furry community for six years. Do they perform a naked fat test on an animal? A teenage girl from Melbourne, Australia, identifies as a cat, according to multiple news stories. How is this sanitary?. "It is ok to pretend to be a cat or dog in your private time, but the world and work force should not be forced to play along," one said. The claim: A Michigan school put litter boxes in bathrooms for students who identify as cats A video of a central Michigan school board meeting went national in mid-January after a parent. Anti-monarchy activists 'turn Buckingham Palace into polling station'. For foreign students. As the number of people identifying as trans and nonbinary has increased in recent years, particularly among young people, so has the amount of anti-LGBTQ legislation from conservative politicians. But the vast majority of them still identify as humans, while sometimes adopting an animal-like persona and engaging in short-term roleplay, according to furries and experts, one of whom noted that there are no litter boxes at furry conventions. Despite Hubbard'sclaim that the person picturedis non-verbal, the woman can be heardspeakingin a 2016 Norweigan mediainterviewabout her identity. Im just embarrassed by what this has gotten to," she said. "They identify with animals. / students identifying as cats. "It is such a source of disappointment that I felt the necessity to communicate this message to you.". Under a new state diversity policy, students may inform schools of how they identify and what pronouns to be used. "It could lead to a life of pornography addiction and deviant behavior. Either she was paid to lie by the democrats about this TRUE movement by the democrat back kids movement to get special privledges ) like LBGTQ and BLM followers .. Hi John: Im a guy and I make no money from this site other than through ads, which I only enabled a month ago. Additionally, this summer, a group of parents and community members unsuccessfully pushedfor the removal of "Gender Queer: A Memoir," a graphic novel by Maia Kobabe that discusses topics such as asexuality and being nonbinary, from Salem-Keizer high school libraries. In general, "furries" are people who adopt and identify with an anthropomorphized animal persona, often within online or local communities of other furries, says Furscience, the public face of a team of researchers who study the subculture. A girl identifies as a cat, and both her parents and her private school are totes okay with it. The post has been shared more than 300 times and garnered receptions of both hilarity and condemnation. Across the country, from New York to Iowa and Texas, the same rumor swept through districts this spring. A photograph from one of those presentations went viral on social media: While we're not sure exactly when or where this photograph was taken, we did find a video of Pesta using this same slide at a presentation in Hartland, Wisconsin on March 31, 2022, called "American Public Schools: From Failure to Fascism." Im just embarrassed by what this has gotten to," she said. This material may not be reproduced without permission. The Meade County School district is dealing with an unusual situation: a group of high school students is attending school acting like and dressing as cats.The superintendent tells WLKY the situation is being addressed, but according to a concerned grandparent, its an ongoing problem that has many students on edge. "Unbelievable.". An appeals court also recently upheld one Florida high schools policy of forbidding transgender students from using the bathroom of their acquired gender. LGBTQ2SIA+ is the acronym used by Basic Rights Oregon and other advocacy groups to describe those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, two-spirit, intersexual, asexual and/or other varying genders and sexualities. 2022. Because weve gone insane as a society, of course, and basic reality now means different things to different people depending on their political ideologies. Her campaign declined to answer questions about Ganahls claims, but in one interview with a local Fox affiliate, she suggested theres a lot of this going on in Jefferson County. Some commenting on the situation in Midland questioned why the superintendent posted a message denouncing the litter boxes as a hoax on a Facebook page for emergency communications. Meshawn Maddock,theco-chair of the state Republican Party, shared the unsubstantiated comment on Facebook. Accessed 5 Apr. In January 2022, for example, unfounded rumors were circulated on social media claiming that a school in Michigan had installed litter boxes in order to appease students who had started identifying as cats. One post calling for school districts to take action has been shared more than 31,000 times. A video of a central Michigan school board meeting went national in mid-January after aparent claimed that a"nefarious" agendahad taken hold of public schools in her county. You cansubscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here. North Kingstown is in the news again as a school is reportedly allowing two students to identify as cats this school year complete with providing a litter box. Tags: john depetro north kingstown rhode island Please Share This "The Oregon Department of Education has had trans-inclusive policies in place for years now, and no harm has come to cisgender or transgender students as a result of those policies," Stenvick said. NBC News reported: A Nebraska state lawmaker apologized on Monday after he publicly cited a persistent but debunked rumor alleging that schools are placing litter boxes in school bathrooms to accommodate children who self-identify as cats. 2023 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Satellite Information Network, LLC. Within a few months, similar rumors began to spread in the U.S., where they quickly became culture war fodder. By Brooke Sopelsa. How were you or your family members conceived?! Cant even google interprete for you. TikTok False: The claim is. Independent TV. Dayna, 15, who lives in Canada, said she brings a mask and tail to school every day but only wears them during lunch and keeps them in her bag during class. Whats most provocative about this hoax is how it turns on two key wedge issues for conservatives: educational accommodations and gender nonconformity, said Joan Donovan, research director of the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University and co-author of Meme Wars: The Untold Story of the Online Battles Upending Democracy in America.. Pain In The Bud, FurryGate: Rogan, Boebert, Greene Drag Cats Into Politics With Claims Of Litter Boxes In Schools Pain In The Bud. I like bringing them because its a way to show my creative outlet and something to talk to my friends about. The Waunakee Community School District does not have protocols for furries, nor do we have an issue with disruptions in our school and classrooms.. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. NBC News spoke to three school-age furries who have posted on TikTok about the experience of being a furry at school. room for rent in reykjavik long term. There have never been litter boxes within MPS schools.. You cansubscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here. The woman went on to say that if she did not follow through with their request then she would essentially be let go. In April, three Republican lawmakers in Minnesota took turns during floor debate discussing rumors theyd heard about children identifying as cats at school, cutting holes in uniforms for tails and possibly using litter boxes. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. "The students are told they cant wear hats or Budweiser shirts in school, but they can wear cat ears, cat tails, masks, leashes. The school districts say these claims are untrue. 2. Those ads you do see are predominantly from local businesses promoting local services. I dont go out wearing tail, gloves, ears, or fursuit heads on any normal day, she said in an email. We have excellent schools here. The world continues to spiral down into the seemingly bottomless pit of insanity, as Bristol University issues official guidelines for staff in the correct use of pronouns for those who identify as "catgender," reports the Daily Mail. To a person not steeped in the culture war battles over gender identity that have engulfed school districts nationwide, its the kind of claim that would sound bizarre and confusing and, from high-profile GOP members, authoritative. Identifying as human isn't good enough anymore, so now some must cross species to identify as a cat to gain attention. In 2021 and 2022, various American conservative and far-right politicians and media personalities promoted the hoax in response to . A substitute teacher uploaded a video to TikTok claiming she was asked to "meow" at a student who identified as a cat. I read that a comedian joked how he asks to be regarded with the possessive pronoun there, because he identifies as a place. The origin of the, ahem, furfluffle can be traced back to a Dec. 20 school board meeting. Surveys and pre-publication research from Furscience also indicate that the vast majority are LGBTQ and as many as a third are transgender. Snowstorm Could Hit Metro Detroit Friday: Possible Snow Totals, Detroit Bakery Reopens In Midtown With 25 Cent Cookies, DTE Energy Will Give Automatic Credit To Those Affect By Power Outage, Here's How Many Guns Were Sold In Michigan Last Month, 2 Women Sexually Assaulted While Walking In Ann Arbor, Police Say, Popular Oakland County Restaurant, Music Venue Abruptly Closes. Will Democrats and Big Tech ever apologize? This event was sponsored by No Left Turn In Education, a group Media Matters describes as an anti-critical race theory group, and presented by the FreedomProject Academy, an online academy founded by the right-wing political advocacy group the John Birch Society. Author lied. Sign up now to get the Washington Examiners breaking news and timely commentary delivered right to your inbox. Lisa Hansen asked other parents to join her to do some investigating into the policy, Im all for creativity and imagination, but when someone lives in a fantasy world and expects other people to go along with it, I have a problem with that, Hansen told the Midland school board. There is no evidence that any school has deployed litter boxes for students to use because they identify as cats. Im sure you can appreciate the difference between internet bullshittery and a legitimate, verified instance of a school district making allowances for furries or putting litter boxes in school bathrooms. This was the case fora Jan. 21 Facebook post that wasviewed over 8,600 timesand a tweet shared over 5,000 times. Roberts, an associate professor at Renison University College, affiliated with the University of Waterloo in Canada, said that nearly all furries maintain distinct human personas and do not identify as animals. However, by constantly celebrating their decisions as brave, holding parades, allowing them to compete in sporting events with biological women, naming them women of the year, or even acknowledging gender identity as something more than junk science, society merely reinforces disturbing behaviors. 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. ", "It implies to the student that this type of behavior is completely acceptable and normal," they wrote in the complaint to Salem-Keizer. 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