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.. "It could lead to a life of pornography addiction and deviant behavior. Beyond Republican politicians and officials, plenty of social media users have latched onto the rumor, most notably on Facebook and TikTok. These situations have been addressed consistently by administration and the dress code policy will continue to be implemented with fidelity. Everyone should be sympathetic to her plight, but people should not be enabling her delusions. 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 as cats, according to an NBC News review of public statements. Accessed 5 Apr. Since many "furries", "therians", and "otherkins" often identify as non-heterosexual, this may be a good way for them to know that you are open to seeing all students. 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. No Left Turn in Education, a Leading Anti-Critical Race Theory Group, Frequently Pushes Toxic Rhetoric in Media. Media Matters for America, https://www.mediamatters.org/education/no-left-turn-education-leading-anti-critical-race-theory-group-frequently-pushes-toxic. TikTok False: The claim is. 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. But there's no truth to the rumor there's a litter box in unisex . Do they perform a naked fat test on an animal? And no, one seems to want to stop this and instead encourage it in their schools. 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. In the latest "trend" by high school students, they're dressing up and acting like cats in schools. 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. 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. Indeed, the rumour appears to come from America in a mimicry of the USAs culture war surrounding LGBT+ education in schools. Among the policies is one stating students, staff and visitors may use the restroom that aligns with their gender identity. 5 min read. "Apparently, from what I understand, theyre called 'furries,'" the grandmother, who asked to remain anonymous, told WLKY. Michael E. Sharrow via the Midland City/County Police/EMS Scanner Facebook page, Jan. 20. 2022. Michigan had installed litter boxes in order to appease students who had started identifying as cats, there's no evidence that any schools in Michigan installed litterboxes for their students. But this story is real. The post has been shared more than 300 times and garnered receptions of both hilarity and condemnation. Also a PR expert, Goddard was highlighting concerns about the next census and the push to include gender categories. Sorry, no feline accomadations in the school. She said: If some student wants to pretend like a cat and use a litterbox after school, thats their prerogative, whatever. 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. This material may not be reproduced without permission. There are websites that claim there is a catgender movement, but that is a different thing. Alternatively have them DNA tested. The school district called that blogs story completely inaccurate and not something it would permit. 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 Follow her on Twitter@NataliePateGwin. 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. Brainwashed School Kids Now Identifying as Animal "Furries" by Alex Newman February 4, 2022 FreedomProject Media As if identifying as newly invented "genders" was not outlandish enough,. Kentucky school district: Students are dressing and acting like cats. Accessed 5 Apr. Some social media users are sharing a photo they claim shows a student who identifies as a cat. 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. It started when a video of a central Michigan school board meetingwent viral in mid-January after aparent claimed a"nefarious" agendahad taken hold of public schools in her county. In one of the images, she appears to be crawling on her hands and knees. Description. He later told a local newspaper he didnt verify the claim was true, and he did not respond to a request for comment from NBC News. But the claim has taken on a life of its own among a growing number of Republicans, conservative influencers and political commentators. Well, not a little bit, a lot a bit upset furious; I would even use that word, Hansen said. It also directs schools to ensure that gender-neutral, single-occupant bathrooms are accessible to anyone. Yesterday I heard something, and I was stunned, and today I am equally stunned and a little bit upset. Proof would be a letter home to parents, a notice on a district website, a copy of a school policy, that sort of thing. "This is a rumor that has been circulating nationally, and more recently in our community, and is simply just that, a rumor, and is not in any way accurate. This was the case fora Jan. 21 Facebook post that wasviewed over 8,600 timesand a tweet shared over 5,000 times. 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. Change). Nonbinary is when someone does not identify as either male or female. AM 1380 / 99.9 FM WNRI. And during a legislative hearing last month in Tennessee, two Republican state lawmakers discussed the growing crisis of public schools providing litter boxes for children who identify as cats, and claimed its happening across the state. As the video circulated, the Midland superintendent issued a statement to clarify Hansens claim was false. 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. This whole furry thing has just got me. The latest madness is the news of a teenage girl who identifies as a cat the latest example of how self-identification is not necessarily an expression of the healthiest or best thing for someone who needs mental help. "Let me be clear there is no truth whatsoever tothis false statement/accusation! Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Meet Nano, the woman who thinks she is a cat. A source . Ben Collins covers disinformation, extremism and the internet for NBC News. It was"unconscionable" that he was addressing the rumor, Sharrow said,but he felt it necessary to do so because of its renewed spread on social media. I heard that at least one of our schools in our town has a, in one of the unisex bathrooms, a litter box for the kids that identify as cats. 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. Many kids learn in different ways - some are more visual while others absorb information better if they read about it, but everyone learns best when they are comfortable and at ease, and for one teen in Australia, that means acting like a cat.. Did a Michigan School District Install Litter Boxes in Bathrooms? Snopes.Com, https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/litter-boxes-bathrooms/. This is freakn ridiculous! Like our page to get updates throughout the day on our latest debunks, Fact Check-Photographs do not show a U.S. student who wanted to identify as a cat, Fact check: No, a Michigan public school did not provide litter boxes for students identifying as cats, Fact check: Wisconsin school district debunks claim that it has a 'furry protocol', 20-Year-Old Woman Claims She Is A Cat Born In The Wrong Body, Born in the wrong species // Fdt i feil art, 'I was born in the wrong species': Woman who says she's a CAT trapped in a human body hisses at dogs, hates water and claims she can even see better at night. 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. "Apparently, from what I understand, theyre called 'furries,'" the grandmother, who asked to remain anonymous, told WLKY. At an October Midland school board meeting, an eighth grader said she was confused, as a student, why kids are walking around acting like cats and dogs., Speaking at about the 1:30-minute mark, she described a student who walked around the school with a long cat tail, cat ears and "little bells that jingled everywhere she went.". She covers misinformation, extremism and the internet. The trend isnt new, but has recently been popularized on social media. Be supportive of students who share their differences. The rumour alleged that pupils at Banff Academy were identifying as cats (Image: PA) A SCOTTISH secondary school has had to deny reports that some of its pupils were identifying as cats and defecating on the floor after school officials refused to provide a litterbox. The Michigan incident started when a mom of kids at the Midland School District, about 130 miles northwest of Detroit, spoke at a school board meeting about a rumor which she took as fact alleging the school was accommodating furries by providing litter boxes in unisex bathrooms. U/D Providence: **Shots Fired** 41 & 43 Ridgeway Ave. shots fired into two homes. READ MORE:Anti-monarchy activists 'turn Buckingham Palace into polling station', But no, the school, the school resources and the other students and teachers should not have to be put through that because its a lie and we have to reject them.. Kymera, 14, of Colorado, said being a furry is just a hobby, akin to being a mascot. It's The #2 BEST Way To . "Sprague High School, or any Salem-Keizer school,do nothave litter boxes for use as restroom facilities," Emily Hicks, a spokeswoman for the district, said. "This is still a problem. 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