The first notable instance of furry panic occurred when right-wing activists pushed a false claim about schools in Michigan placing litter boxes in bathrooms to allow furry students to use them . Anyone can read what you share. But that didnt stop Meshawn Maddock, a leader of the Michigan Republican party, from sharing it on Facebook and spreading it further, according to reporting from the New York Times. Clearly it was fake. 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 . The rise of the litter box rumor shows the power of false claims that start on social media to shape political discourse. In Minnesotas gubernatorial race, former state Sen. Scott Jensen has taken some bizarre positions in recent months. Have you met sports fans who wear their teams jersey at a special event, such as a game, or a music fan who wears their favourite bands branded T-shirt? The district where Columbine High School is located has been stocking classrooms with small amounts of cat litter since 2017, but as part of go buckets that contain emergency supplies in case students are locked in a classroom during a shooting. What will the US economy look like in 2023? 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. Benjamin Santos of Sumner runs a website that lists all such conventions around the country. Shes called Pixil, a combination of pixie and pixel. But furries are often framed in a negative light. And it has not stopped some politicians from picking up these claims and using them to alarm people by saying that this is where protections for LGBTQ students will lead. At least 20 conservative candidates and elected officials have claimed this year that K-12 schools are placing litter boxes on campus or making other accommodations for students who identify. Voir les partenaires de TheConversation France. The spread of rumors about litter boxes has grown alongside other extreme and baseless rhetoric accusing LGBTQ people and educators of grooming children through lessons and policies on gender and sexuality. The rumor that furries people who have an interest in anthropomorphic animal characters and sometimes dress up as them used litter boxes in the school district, which is about two hours northwest of Detroit, appears to have started at a school board session last month, based on a video of the meeting. Litter Boxes in Schools: How a Disruptive and Demeaning Hoax Frustrated School Leaders. Furries are about 50% more likely than others to have been bullied as children, according to Plante. I feel really good, and I feel like myself when Im wearing these things.. 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. Get the latest education news delivered to your inbox daily. A Facebook post says schools are putting litter boxes in bathrooms to accommodate kids who identify as furries. As he argued for the resolution in a public meeting, Shea said, Weve literally got kids who think theyre cats and dogs using litter boxes in classrooms. Shea did not respond to requests for comment. Furries are fans of animals that have human characteristics, such as talking or walking on their hind legs. It then popped up in a number of communities as the 2022 midterms campaign season gained traction. Already have a commenting profile? 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. It feels like everyone has an opinion, or heard a rumour, about kids dressing up as animals, calling themselves furries and demanding litter boxes. 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?. But the hoax still has a lasting impact during a time when schools need to be laser focused on solving staffing challenges and helping students regain their academic footing. The second group has heard this same rumor at their own . Strike pointed out that only a small minority of furries even dress up as their fursonas. You read that right. This content is provided by our sponsor. Libby Stanford is a reporter for Education Week. Lisa Hansen addressing the board during a Midland Public Schools meeting in Michigan last month. Sharon E. Roberts, an associate professor of social development studies at the University of Waterloo in Canada and a founder of Furscience, said in an email on Saturday that she could not comment specifically about the Michigan school because she was not familiar with the situation. There is no truth whatsoever to this false statement/accusation! wrote MichaelE. Sharrow, the superintendent for Midland Public Schools, near Detroit, which was accused of the bizarre concession at a Dec. 20 board meeting. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Thanks for contacting us. Theres a sense of I pay for what my kids learn that isnt the case in other countries that have a national curriculum, he says. Also this month, GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert told an audience in her home state of Colorado that educators are putting litter boxes in schools for people who identify as cats. Around the same time, Ed Thelander, a Republican congressional candidate in Maine, touted the same myth. Wed., February 01, 2023, 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Getty Images. Beyond Republican politicians and officials, plenty of social media users have latched onto the rumor, most notably on Facebook and TikTok. In December 2021, a community member shared the rumor during the public comment section of a Midland Public School Board meeting in Michigan that was later debunked by the school district. The litter box rumor is so attention grabbing its just the sort of thing to go viral on the internet, Galguera says. Theyre perfectly nice people who like to dress up in furry costumes.. Far from merely identifying as felines, furries are an anthropomorphic community whose members sometimes dress up as a variety of animals at conventions, or who have a special fursona with whom they connect. Every school district that has been named by those 20 politicians said either to NBC News or in public statements that these claims are untrue. 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, added Hansen, who defined furry as someone who identifies as a cat or a dog, whatever.. Bunny considers herself a furry those who enjoy dressing like an animal. Some children, she alleged, would only communicate in barks and hisses. Rich Abrahamson/ Morning Sentinel. They might dress up as a storm trooper or superhero and attend a comic book convention to have fun with friends. In an email sent to parents, staff and community members on Jan. 20, Midland Public Schools Superintendent Michael Sharrow denied the claim that "litter boxes were provided within MPS student. Sometimes transmasc, nonbinary or transfur., Mick Pratt of Westbrook Facebook profile picture, The furry community is primed for trans people to explore new identities, she said. 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.". In fact, the fandom has been studied and analyzed by the International Anthropomorphic Research Project. The kitty litter story was quickly found to be total nonsense but may have had more staying viral power in reaching many people whod never before heard of the alternative lifestyle some of whom may find they relate to it, said Strike, who dresses up as a suave Komodo dragon named Komos. How George Santos got away with it (for now). Weve lost our minds. There is no evidence that any school has deployed litter boxes for students to use because they identify as cats. Ive actually made new friends at school because of it, Dayna said in an email. She has a bunny outfit, and her employer, Walmart, allows her to wear a bunny tail and mask while working. A Michigan superintendent had to refute a wild rumor that a litter box was provided in a school bathroom for students who identify as cats last week after a video of a parent raising the claim at a school board meeting spread on social media. Thats the problem. The furry community is constantly fending off misperceptions, though. You get to interact with others in the same sphere. NBC News agreed to keep their last names private due to their fear of harassment. by Lia Russell May 19, 2022 A rumor about workers. The Campaign for Grade-Level Reading & the EdWeek Research Center, reporting from the Colorado Times Recorder. University of Waterloo apporte un financement en tant que membre adhrent de TheConversation CA-FR. A SCHOOL in Michigan has bizarrely been accused by outraged parents of installing litter boxes in bathrooms for students who identify as cats and dogs. I had not heard of this at all, she says. People make fun of you for no reason. At the school sit-down, concerned parent Lisa Hansen said she was really disturbed after reportedly learning from a student that at least one of our schools in our town, in one of the unisex bathrooms, a litter box for the kids that identify as cats. At least 20 Republican politicians have claimed that schools are making accommodations for students who identify as cats. This story has been shared 102,768 times. 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.. Rogan did not name the school, and his publicist did not respond to a request for comment. Did you hear the rumor about kitty litter boxes for furries in public schools? The inclusive nature of the furry fandom means that, for many furries, its a safe place where they can be their most authentic selves. NBC News spoke to three school-age furries who have posted on TikTok about the experience of being a furry at school. Droits d'auteur 20102023, The Conversation France (assoc. 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. In an episode of Spotify's "The Joe Rogan Experience" podcast this week, host Joe Rogan told former U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard that a litter box was installed in a school that his friend's wife. In 2021 and 2022, various American conservative and far-right politicians and . But what about education? Jensen said. Thanks for contacting us. Footage of her spurious accusation was subsequently shared to Facebook Thursday byMichigan Republican Party co-chair Meshawn Maddock, who wrote, Parent heroes will TAKE BACK our schools.. Join us for this event with educators and experts on the current state of equity and what comes next. But other politicians who spread the rumor, including Boebert in Colorado, won. However, after years of research, information is now available to help correct the record. With each hoax and rumor come more distractions for school administrators. She covers misinformation, extremism and the internet. On Facebook, public posts show variations of the claim popping up throughout the country every day, citing unnamed grandchildren or neighbors, from Florida to California. The American high school experience in 2021 is plagued by uncertainty in the face of an ongoing pandemic, aggro anti-mask dads, Tiktok drama, the usual academic hurdles, and furries. Far too many Republicans and their allies on the right appear to have embraced this madness with a bit too much enthusiasm, but as NBC News reported, the myth appears to be entirely made up. The student claims these "furries"their classmatesare "growling, hissing, or even scratching and biting at other people.". The school districts saythese claims are untrue. In the U.S., some groups have the idea we are indoctrinating kids for all these extreme views, he says. 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. There have never been litter boxes within MPS schools.. Powers and his team posted a statement on the schools Twitter account refuting Bolducs claims. He plans to be there in June as Hellboy, wearing red face paint and horns. Another 50 per cent of furries own furry paraphernalia a furry T-shirt, ears, collar or tail that communicates their furry interests to others. The "litter boxes in schools" hoax (also called the litter box canard) is a false rumor alleging that certain North American schools provide litter boxes in bathrooms for students who "identify as cats", or who participate in the furry or otherkin subcultures. In an episode of Spotifys The Joe Rogan Experience podcast this week, host Joe Rogan told former U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard that a litter box was installed in a school that his friends wife worked at for a girl who identifies as an animal. A clip of the discussion quickly began to circulate on social media. While the district's superintendent assured WLWT that this furry gear is, in fact, a dress code violation, that hasn't seemed to ease the worries of the anonymous student who started the petition. Educators of color say its often another person seeing their potential and pushing themthat got them into leadership. Its a fandom like anything else, she said, people expressing passion in a way thats good for them and having a community for it, a super safe space.. This is absurd. Awareness of what's occurring outside of school can be beneficialor a hierarchical hell in the wrong hands, Michael Fullan says. ET. I wouldnt say theres more [hoaxes], theres just more of a need to respond because parents, students, staff, community members are getting that information faster and from different sources, she said. Furries are a fandom, like anime, Star Trek or football. Changing Demographics: How Educators Expect Populations to Shift, How School Districts Can Benefit From Housing Partnerships, Academic Integrity in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, Neuroscience-Aligned & Trauma-Informed Approaches to Supporting Students, Teachers & Staff, What Educators of Color Say It Will Take to Boost Their Numbers in School Leadership, Top Superintendents Detail the Toll of Divisive PoliticsAnd How They've Responded, How to Address System Change in Education. Politicians and officials, plenty of social media an email likely than others to fun... International Anthropomorphic Research Project a Midland Public schools meeting in Michigan last month recent months have. 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