wanderingcritter

Latest Posts by wanderingcritter

I get nicies when I'm awesome like a good dog ^-^ I want to jump into greeeeen meaaadowwwss

Being trans nonbinary is so annoying because my brain is like "We have dysphoria, let's transition so we can pass!"

Pass as what?

It's so stupid hard to "pass" as androgynous to the general public. It's this obnoxiously thin line that feels completely out of reach to get to, at least not without giving up other forms of gender expression that feel euphoric to me. I wouldn't even mind not being fully androgynous, if nothing else I just want to make people stop and think for a second before they inevitably go ahead and misgender me anyways.

It sucks that the best I can hope for in terms of transition is confusion. I see trans binary folks talking about the euphoria they get from passing and being accepted in society as their true gender, having the ability to go stealth. And I desperately want that too. I wish people weren't so hellbent on sorting others into binaries at all costs, and I wish there was hrt that could make me androgynous without giving me other traits that I dont want (ex. facial hair, bottom growth, heavily masculine voice). I literally just want to be seen as who I actually am and it's crushing knowing Im probably never going to get to have that.

shameless self promo time im attempting to post therian content on tiktok more yall should like, totally go check me out ngl 👀👀

Gale (she/he)

Me being against proship is not : "censor, take down, no one should be allowed to talk about this"

Me being against proship is: "people aren't going to like you if you romanticize pedophilia. I am allowed to not want to be around you, cut you out of my life, whatever, because you romanticize disgusting, serious, awful things that happen to real people. And I'm not the only one who will"

One time I was walking around by myself downtown (don't remember what I was doing there lol) and was wearing one of my tails, and as I crossed the street some younger teens (probably like late middle school/early high school) started barking at me once we were on different sides of the street. I turned around and playfully was like "C'mon I literally hear that all the time, be more original!", to which they then proceeded to start meowing at me instead. Then a couple of them started apologizing for their friend's behavior, and one of them asked if it (referring to my tail) was a kink thing. "No, I just think it looks cool :)" I told them before they waved at me and walked off.

Honestly shout out to them lol, I hardly ever get negative reactions out in public with my gear but when I do it's almost always kids just trying to goof around and look cool in front their friends, and most likely aren't genuinely trying to be malicious. Never put yourself in danger or submit to harassment ofc, but also never forget that taking a second to put your guard down and just talking to someone can go a really long way.

jsyk, most people aren’t dickwads about therian gear irl.

whenever i do quads, it’s public quads becuase i don’t have a backyard, i live in an apartment complex.

i have had in depth conversations with people who reacted positively to seeing me do quads.

i have talked at length with unhoused people in full therian gear (using only my AAC no less)

i literally just waved and said hi (with gestures, bc i can’t talk) to some landscapers who were cleaning up the grass on the field i usually do quads at! they asked me how i was doing and i nodded and smiled.

it’s literally only losers on social media who are gonna shit on you. i have gotten one, irl negative reaction to someone seeing me do quads in full gear. which was immediately shut down when i smiled and waved.

in general, real life people don’t care how you’re dressed, or that you’re doing a weird sport. they care that you are kind and pleasant to them.

if they do care, being out in public and being face to face (and not hiding behind a screen) with you is gonna greatly change how they interact with you.

do whatever you want forever. no one is gonna stop you. i love you.

As promised, the final products of how I ended up styling these !! (Wander ear and waist reveal no fucking way guys ((not clickbait :0))

went to a thrift store earlier today and got this super cute collar + vintage rabies vaccination tag

im not super big on wearing collars (hate the feeling of pressure against my neck, also im not domestic lol) so i'll probably use the collar as an accessory for my pants or something, and I think i'll turn the rabies tag into an earring !! 𐂯 ‧₊˚ ⏾

Not taking into consideration the limits of modern tech or affordability, Vernids are a super good representation of what my ideal physical species transition would look like, short of just straight up shapeshifting.

(Art not mine)

When trying to envision my ideal form, the biggest obstacle Ive run into is trying to choose which kintype I'd lean into most heavily, like whether I'd want to be predominantly wildebeest or african wild dog, a pretty impossible task since prioritizing one at the expense of others would still leave me feeling incomplete.

But with Vernids, most of the core traits I'd want in a physical form remain present (digitigrade legs, paws, fur, etc.), but are still kinda shuffled around to create something new altogether. I think literally the only thing I'd change is I would probably want shorter, more canine-like ears. But otherwise if I could press a button to look like these guys I'd do it so fast.

"are you the golden retriever or the black cat in your relationship?" neither mf im the crow. like doing my own thing a lot of the time and being independent but will show up frequently to pester you with affection and bring you small trinket gifts i've collected on my travels. let me perch on ur shoulder pls ily :3

Hrnghrnrnnn

Happy TDOV to creatures who are transgender AND transspecies, you are fantastic and make the queer community more beautiful by being here. 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍⚧️

Jumping on the species transition plans trend lol, here are some ways I plan to physically and socially transition !

Physical:

• Fang Implants

- I will get these if it kills me.

• Digitigrade Leg Prosthetics

- Stupid expensive but omfg these would bring me sm euphoria, even if I could only wear them every now and then. Paws crossed they'll become cheaper and more accessible in the near future.

• Realistic Tail with Silicone Core

- Also generally pricey but significantly more accessible. I love wearing taxidermy tails but am always frustrated by how disproportionate they are to the size of my body and how they just limply hang there, having smth that looks more natural and moves with my body would be huge.

• Tattoos

- Unsure of what exactly I'd want, maybe paw/hopf prints on the backs of my hands?

• Colored Contacts

- Would need to find some that are comfortable, durable, and don't impact my vision too much (im blind enough as is), but Im very ready to go "It's the fluorescents 😒" mode.

• Reflective Contacts

- I have absolutely no idea if these are real things or not but I would actually kill a man to have contacts that reflect back when someone shines a light on them in the dark.

• Piercings

- Idk lots of piercings just give me werewolf vibes ig lol, currently planning to get a second industrial, 1-2 eyebrow piercings, and snakebites.

• Muscles

- Having more visible muscles/being strong is very animalistic to me, after all most animals in the wild have to be physically fit to survive.

• Realistic Ear Headband

- Goes along the tail, would love to wear these frequently and casually out in public. Kemonomimi gaining popularity has opened up so many possibilities to me it's epic.

• Top Surgery

- Species identity and gender identity are deeply linked for me, most things that are gender affirming are also species affirming and vice versa. Having a flat chest would feel hella animal-like.

Social:

• Come Out to Friends and Family

- This is definitely the biggest one. Unfortunately greater society isn't really ready for species transition, but some individuals definitely are. Basically just let those I trust know who I am, and that it would be wonderful if they could refer to me as nonhuman when they can :]

• Unmask Animalistic Behaviors in Public

- Be less afraid to be a little more nonhuman around others like it's the most normal thing in the world. Using my hand to bat at my ear when it itches, yip and whimper to accentuate words, practice quadrobics, etc.

• Advocacy

- Talk to people irl about nonhuman identities, be visible at events, create informative resources, even if it's scary. Most people have no idea that we exist, showing them that we're out there and here to stay paves the way for successful transition on a larger scale.

Hopefully more options will become possible soon, those of us looking to pursue species transition are kinda limited by the technology of our time, which sucks balls. Especially for someone like me who doesn't like body/facial hair or extreme body mods, I dont have too many realistic options for the time being. Oh well, just means I'll have to get creative i guess.

Fictional characters that I headcanon as alterhuman/speciesqueer and why !

Not my usual content but whatever this is my blog and I can do whatever I want :P

Nimona (Nimona 2023) - Speciesfluid

I rlly don't think I need to explain this one lol. Moving on!

(Couldn't find a flag for this </3)

Robin (Robin Robin 2021) - BiSpecies

Refers to herself as a mouse throughout the whole movie and wears her feathers purposefully styled to resemble mouse ears, continues to happily wear said ears even after embracing her identity as a bird. She's a bird and a mouse without a doubt.

Luz Noceda (The Owl House 2020) - Otherhearted

I dont have much reasoning behind this tbh, I just feel in my soul that she's alterhuman in someway (projecting) and it seems fitting for her, probably bat hearted or smth lol

Standford Pines (Gravity Falls 2012) - Nonhuman

Are you seriously gonna try and tell me that this man traveled across the multiverse for years and still came back feeling completely human? Yeah right

Jinx (Arcane 2021) - Voidpunk

Also dont feel like this one needs a lot of explanation :P

Roz (The Wild Robot 2024) - Transspecies

"I feel fine" "You are defective. You are in the wrong place, and you have become the wrong thing." Damn okay we're not choosing to be subtle about this huh? Also our quadrobics queen <3

Enid Sinclair (Wednesday 2022) - Therian

Casually refers to herself as a cat despite (supposedly) being a wereWOLF, mannerisms and personality resemble a social feline more than a canine, especially compared to the other werewolves we see in the show. I know what you are Sinclair 👁️👁️

Rafiki (Mufasa 2024) - Alterbeing/Species Non-Conforming

Is largely unbothered when others refer to him as a baboon, only corrects them when he's trying to make a point. I just feel like he'd be very chill about identity and have a sort of go with the flow attitude towards it.

Vee (The Owl House 2020) - BiAnthro

Girl is LITERALLY human and nonhuman simultaneously. Look at her. She is 1000% too cool for anyone else's binaries.

Masha (The Owl House 2020) - Therian/Otherkin

I. just. KNOW. this bitch runs a therian tumblr blog. Idk how but I do. Def joined the community through tiktok before eventually making the switch to tumblr and was able to fully grow into themselves and their identity. Teaches Vee how to do quadrobics.

Lest (Arcane 2021) - Transspecies

Transfem catgirls go prrrrrrrr

Hunter (The Owl House 2020) - Furry

Dude loves wolves, literally makes his own wolf shirt so he can wear it around. Im sorry but it does not get anymore furry coded than that. Also I just think the mental image of him running around in a fursuit is hilarious and I love it sm

RADQUEERS AND PROSHIPPERS FUCK OFF THIS POST IS NOT FOR YOU. IF I SEE YALL INTERACTING IM INFECTING YOU WITH RABIES ON SIGHT

went to a thrift store earlier today and got this super cute collar + vintage rabies vaccination tag

im not super big on wearing collars (hate the feeling of pressure against my neck, also im not domestic lol) so i'll probably use the collar as an accessory for my pants or something, and I think i'll turn the rabies tag into an earring !! 𐂯 ‧₊˚ ⏾

developing a kintype/theriotype via subconscious imprinting is actually so funny when u think about it, this shit deadass like when martha ate alphabet soup and suddenly learned to speak english somehow

Texas Governor Wants Constitutional Amendment to Punish “Non-Human Behaviors” in Schools

This article was originally posted on March 18, 2025 by Orion Scribner @frameacloud to the Otherkin News blog on DreamWidth.

Summary: In the US, Republicans have introduced the third and fourth bills this year that would ban students from being furries in public schools, with a pair of identical texts introduced as Texas House Bill 54 and HB 4814. Called the F.U.R.R.I.E.S. Act, these bills propose to amend the Texas Constitution to prohibit students from displaying “non-human behaviors” at school, to call schools that allow it abusive, and to punish the schools with expensive fines. Texas Governor Greg Abbott spoke approvingly of the bill and claimed it was in response to schools supposedly letting students behave as animals and use litter boxes. That was a debunked urban legend that Republicans invented in 2021. The purpose of the urban legend and the bills is to satirize transgender students who ask to use the right restrooms for their genders, and to justify defunding public schools in favor of private schools. Republicans oppose education for people other than the wealthy, and oppose allowing LGBTQIA people to exist. Below, find out more about what these bills mean and what you can do about them.

What the F.U.R.R.I.E.S. Act bill says

On March 14, Republican Representative Stan Gerdes introduced Texas House Bill 54. He also filed an identical copy of it under another number, Texas House Bill 4814, on March 13.

This is the government web page about the bill: https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/Text.aspx?LegSess=89R&Bill=HB54

From that site, here is where you read the bill text: https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/89R/billtext/pdf/HB00054I.pdf

The bill text itself says it is “entitled an act relating to the display of and allowance for non-human behaviors in Texas schools … This bill may be referred to as the Forbidding Unlawful Representation of Roleplaying in Educational Spaces or F.U.R.R.I.E.S. Act,” Section 1, found on page 1 of the bill.

The bill proposes several amendments to the Texas Constitution. First, it would amend the Education Code to “prohibit any non-human behavior by a student, including presenting himself or herself, on days other than exempt days, as anything other than a human being,” section 2(a)(10), found on page 3. Exempt days mean no more than five holidays or school events, section 2(a)(5), found on page 4. It makes exceptions for animal costumes as sports mascots and school plays, for some examples.

The bill gives specific examples of what its author considers to be nonhuman behavior that it would prohibit students from doing at schools. Some that it specifies are wearing tails, leashes, collars, ears, meowing or making other animal sounds, or using litter boxes, in section 2(a)(6), found on pages 5 through 6.

The Texas bill would furthermore amend the Family Code to redefine abuse to specify that it includes “an education setting, allowing or encouraging the child to develop a dependance on or a belief that non-human behaviors are societally acceptable,” section 5(1)(A), found on page 7.

To punish violations, the bill would impose “a fine against the district not to exceed $10,000 for a first violation or $25,000 for any subsequent violations,” section 6(f), found on page 10.

The bill's basis on an urban legend and how that differs from any real-life students or their hobbies

The part about litter boxes in the Texas bill is a reference to an urban legend that Republicans began circulating in late 2021 and 2022. The legend alleges that certain public schools are letting students that the legend calls “furries” use litter boxes because they identify as animals. The fact-checking sites Reuters, PolitiFact, and Snopes have all debunked it: all the schools deny that any of their students use litter boxes and that they haven’t had any other disruptive animal-like behavior or any awareness of students being furries. The urban legend is meant to satirize public schools that allow transgender students to use the restrooms for their genders (Reuters, 2022; Czopek, 2022; Palma, 2023). Journalists discovered that the only school district in the nation that stocked cat litter was that of Columbine High School, not for a purpose as the urban legend described, but “as part of ‘go buckets’ that contain emergency supplies in case students are locked in a classroom during a shooting” (Kingkade et al, 2022), along with other first aid and cleanup supplies, as an option if a lockdown cuts off access to restrooms for too many hours (Garcia, 2017). Before the anti-furry bills started, community historian House of Chimeras anticipated that the urban legend could later become important, so they had researched it in depth and presented a lecture about it at a convention, which is recommended viewing if you want to learn more about it: “Litter Boxes in School Bathrooms: Dissecting the Alt-Right’s Current Moral Panic.”

In the past few years in real life, there has been a youth fad for doing athletic stunts on all fours (quadrobics), crafting and wearing animal masks and tails from craft store supplies, and making animal sounds. People show off this hobby online in places such as on the video clip sharing social media app TikTok, and it has spread internationally past language barriers. Some quadrobists identify as animals and/or call themselves therianthropes, but those aren’t the same thing. Quadrobics is a hobby about crafts and sports that anyone nimble enough can engage in, whereas therianthropy is an intrinsic identification as an animal. Therianthropes are real people who identify as animals, so that does exist, and they have had a community since about 1993, but the urban legend wasn't based on them. Quadrobics is popular with young therianthropes, but older therianthropes typically have never engaged in any aspect of quadrobics and are firm that they don’t need to wear tails or ears to have an intrinsically animal inner self.

The furry fandom is for people who like making art and stories about talking animals. Some therianthropes are also involved in the furry fandom, but surveys of the furry fandom show that most people who call themselves furries don’t identify as animals (Plante et al, 2016, pp. 113-114).

Quadrobists, therianthropy, and the furry fandom aren’t about using litter boxes. The urban legend isn’t genuinely based on quadrobists, therianthropes, or furries. It wasn't any of their faults, and though it may hurt them, they aren’t its target. The urban legend's target is to satirize transgender people and to justify defunding public schools.

What the Governor of Texas said about the F.U.R.R.I.E.S. Act

Texas Governor Greg Abbott spoke in public this week as though this urban legend was true and was the reason for this proposed legislation. The Houston Chronicle reports that this is part of the Governor’s

“criticism of public schools in recent weeks as he pitches a program allowing public money to be spent on private education, which the governor has made his signature policy push this session. The governor has cast private school vouchers as an option for parents turned off by what he called ‘the pervasive woke leftist agenda that's being forced on our kids in our public schools.’”

One example of what Abbott meant by this were schools that allow transgender students to participate in sports or be called by their preferred names and pronouns. He has called for schools to be investigated for allowing that. Together with furries, the Governor said this was “why parents should be able to access state funds to send their children to private schools” by means of a statewide private school voucher program (Wermund, 2025). He admits that his voucher program would result in less money for public schools by draining it away from them (Wermund and McKinley, 2025). That would also make it harder for disabled children to access education at all (RA Staff, Mar. 6, 2025). In the US, most children go to public schools, which the government provides to all families for free, whereas private schools are exclusive to families who can afford them, are usually religious, and offer fewer legal protections for their students. We at Otherkin News have previously written in more depth about why Republicans are using the urban legend and these bills to oppose public schools, which you can read here: Scribner and Sol, Feb. 18, 2024.

In regard to what the Governor said about this bill, independent furry news blogger Patch O’Furr of Dogpatch Press remarked that this

“isn't about furries, that's a pretext they [Republicans] invented out of thin air in order to transfer public resources into private pockets. This impoverishes education for all who use public schooling. In case you missed it, private schooling is exclusive”

and Republicans are “merging panic about trans athletes and the furry-litterbox hoax as pretextual propaganda for the tip of this spear” (O’Furr, March 15, 2025; O’Furr, March 14, 2025). Although these urban legends and bills could have consequences for student hobbies, the main purpose is to fabricate a moral panic that will excite the Republican voter base (O’Furr, March 13, 2025). Even if the bill did pass into law and had consequences for students, the students or schools could sue and point to their Constitutional right to freedom of expression, to the degree that they don’t conflict with the school’s own policies to maintain a peaceful learning environment. That Constitutional right isn’t protected for students in private schools.

Who wrote the bill, and what is its context with that author’s other motivations?

Republican Representative Stan Gerdes is the sole sponsor of the Texas bills. When Republicans propose bills that sound like jokes, pay attention to what serious issue they’re trying to distract from or satirize. On a third-party legislation tracker, LegiScan, you can see a list of all other bills that Rep. Gerdes sponsors. In some of the many other bills that he sponsors, Gerdes wants to…

make it so that food stamps will cover fewer types of foods and drinks (HB 5243), which is presented as being about promoting healthier food choices in a paternalistic way, and is a step toward limiting or getting rid of food stamps altogether, which are crucial for keeping low-income families from starvation

force public school rooms to prominently display a religious text, the Ten Commandments (HB 1009), even though these are government facilities and so aren’t supposed to promote a religion require a Nativity scene to be displayed on state capitol grounds during December (HB 1497), which is also about making government facilities promote Christianity in particular

forbid governmental entities from having anti-discrimination training, specifically about “transgender ideology,” “anti-racism,” and a long list of “woke” buzzwords (HB 4552)

increase minimum prison time to ten years as punishment for intoxication manslaughter, mainly meaning when a drunk driver accidentally kills someone (HB 2017), which is less effective for preventing tragic accidents than it is for building a larger population of prison laborers, in other words, slavery for profit

to make the anniversary of the fall of Roe v. Wade an official state holiday in memory of aborted fetuses (HB 911), which would express that the government has a stance against abortion, and by extension, against contraception and women’s health care in general

These are only a few of Gerdes’s other bills. Some of them could also be meant as satirical bills that he’s using to make a point rather than expecting them to pass. The theme that emerges is not only deadly hatred toward all people who aren’t just the same as himself, but also his hatred of one of America’s central values, the separation of church and state, and expressing a desire to instead impose his own form of Christianity as the state religion, which is a form of tyranny that the founders had hoped to prevent.

Other anti-furry bills

Gerdes’s anti-furry bills are the third and fourth such in the US this year. There is also the Oklahoma House Bill 1327, which is an identical reused text from last year by sole sponsor Republican Representative Justin Humphrey. He’s known for writing satirical bills to distract from serious ones or poke fun at serious issues. He sometimes edits them later to make them more serious and stand a chance of passing into law. This bill proposes to have children who say they’re animals picked up from school by animal control, though he says he would consider changing that to a mental institution. Last year, he had said that this was his “crazy bill” which he was using to make “a sarcastic point.” We’re meant to gather that his point is about what he thinks of transgender people, which he has spoken against. He’s also against the American public school system and wants it replaced with private schools (Jones, 2024; Scribner and Sol, 2024 February 9). Humphrey’s bill this year is still at 25% progression and had its second reading referred to Rules on February 4; last year’s version of it died. You can learn much more about the text and context of this bill by reading the deep dive that we bloggers did about last year’s version of it (Scribner and Sol, 2024 February 9).

Another anti-furry bill died in committee on February 4, 2025. That was Mississippi House Bill 1060, which would “require school personnel to notify parents of students who request [sic] to be referred to as different gender or nonhuman.” It had been sponsored by eleven Republican Representatives. The bill text itself only talked about transgender students, apparently having had the other parts deleted before it was introduced. You can learn more in our previous article about it (Scribner, 2025 January 18).

After the litter box urban legend in late 2021 and 2022, Republicans began introducing anti-furry bills in 2023 with North Dakota House Bill 1522, Oklahoma Senate Bill 943, Indiana Statehouse Bill 380, and a proposed amendment to Montana Senate Bill 544. 2024 had Oklahoma House Bill 3084, Mississippi House Bill 176, and Missouri House Bill 2678. During the past three years, Republicans have introduced a total of eleven anti-furry bills so far. No anti-furry bills have yet passed into law as such. Fellow volunteers and I have been reporting on these in the Otherkin News blog all along, which you can read in the tag for that purpose.

What can you do about anti-furry bills?

In regard to the three anti-furry bills that are active, what can you do about them? Keep in mind that these bills are a small part of Republican efforts to get rid of public schools and to get rid of transgender people. Do what you can to protect public schools and transgender youth.

If you live in either of the states in question, Texas and Oklahoma, then you can contact your elected representatives to explain why you think these bills are bad. Part of your job as a voter is to tell your reps what you think. Their job is to represent you, that is, to listen to you and make your opinion part of their decisions.

You can find out who your reps are with a free tool called BallotReady.org. First, put in your street address where you’re registered to vote and click “get started.” You don’t need to give it your email. Next, click “meet your representatives.” Then click “state.” Under someone’s name, it will say that they’re with the state House of Representatives, or the Senate. Then click “contact” to see how to reach them by phone or email. If this tool doesn’t have that information for that person, or you want to fax them instead, click “learn more” to see that person’s website. When you contact your rep, briefly tell them your name, county, zip code, the number of the bill, and then your opinion against it.

If you live in those states or anywhere else in the US, you can also do these things:

If you or your friends or family members are teens, read any of these three books about legal rights in public schools. What are My Rights? Q&A about Teens and the Law by Judge Tom Jacobs; Girls Resist! A Guide to Activism, Leadership, and Starting a Revolution by Kaelyn Rich; and Know Your Rights and Claim Them: A Guide for Youth, by Amnesty International. Get copies of them into your libraries.

If you’re an adult, attend school board meetings, which are open to the public. Listen and voice your questions and concerns. Republicans have been making bad things happen by doing that, even at schools where they don’t have any children.

Donate to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which protects freedom of expression in public schools in the US and challenges laws that hurt LGBTQIA families.

Write letters of thanks and appreciation to people who are doing good things in school boards and legislation. Encourage them to keep up the good work and that you value what they’re doing for everyone.

For keeping up with news about legislation that could have an impact on transgender people in the US, follow the award-winning blog for that purpose by independent journalist Erin Reed.

No matter where in the world you live, you can do these things:

Share this article with your friends who live in Texas so that they're informed about this issue and their power to contact their representatives. (This isn't a self-promotion thing, my blog is obscure and I'm fine with that, what's important is helping people get accurate information about what's happening and what they can do.)

If a friend repeats the litter box urban legend, even though you already know it’s not true, suggest in a more gentle way, “I’ve heard that around too, I wonder where it came from and which parts of it are right. Let’s look it up on Snopes together to find out.” People get stubborn if you bluntly tell them they’re wrong, but exploring something you’re both curious about is something that you can enjoy together.

Sharpen your own media literacy so you don’t fall for urban legends either. Explore news stories through both of those fact checking sites. Don’t be afraid to research claims that you hear about on social media or from the people around you.

America's eleventh anti-furry bill, TX HB 54, a proposed amendment to the Texas Constitution which calls itself the F.U.R.R.I.E.S. Act, has support from the Governor, highlighting his views on many other issues and those of other Republican legislators. Republican politicians are so interested in putting their time and effort into fabricate crude satire about furries-- without caring that it has been debunked-- because these are part of their tools and plans to eradicate transgender people, defund public schools, make education less accessible to low-income families and disabled youth, and destroy the separation of church and state. It's not useful to try to decide which group of people is harmed the worst by some form of oppression or discrimination, because even mere jokes about interest groups and hobbies can be tools against many other marginalized peoples. Nobody did anything to deserve this. Let the knowledge of this context motivate you toward solidarity with one another and taking real actions-- phone calls to your representatives and more-- to save the schools and other governmental institutions that many of us in our society depend upon.

About the author: This blog post was written by Orion Scribner (they/them), who has been a community historian and archivist for more than ten years.

Cite this blog post:

APA

Scribner, O. (2025, March 18). Texas Governor Wants Constitutional Amendment to Punish “Non-Human Behaviors” in Schools. Otherkin News.https://otherkinnews.dreamwidth.org/96509.html

Chicago

Scribner, Orion. "Texas Governor Wants Constitutional Amendment to Punish 'Non-Human Behaviors' in Schools." Otherkin News (blog). March 18, 2025. https://otherkinnews.dreamwidth.org/96509.html

MLA

Scribner, Orion. "Texas Governor Wants Constitutional Amendment to Punish 'Non-Human Behaviors' in Schools." Otherkin News, 18 Mar. 2025. https://otherkinnews.dreamwidth.org/96509.html

References

Czopek, Madison (2022 December 15). Debunking, rebuttals didn’t stop claim about litter boxes in schools from spreading before midterms. PolitiFact. https://www.politifact.com/article/2022/dec/15/debunking-rebuttals-didnt-stop-claim-about-litter/ Archived 2022 December 15. https://web.archive.org/web/2/https://www.politifact.com/article/2022/dec/15/debunking-rebuttals-didnt-stop-claim-about-litter/

Garcia, Nelson (2017 October 5). JeffCo schools have emergency buckets where people can pee during lockdowns. 9NEWS. https://www.9news.com/article/news/education/jeffco-schools-have-emergency-buckets-where-people-can-pee-during-lockdowns/73-481198424 Archived June 22, 2023: https://archive.ph/iVk4l

House of Chimeras (2022 August 19). Litter Boxes in School Bathrooms: Dissecting the Alt-Right’s Current Moral Panic. Othercon.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVjXOmN2IlU

Jones, Alyse (2024 January 18). How many newly filed bills will become law in Oklahoma?. KOCO-TV. https://www.koco.com/article/oklahoma-new-filed-bills/46431213 Archived 2024 February 2: https://web.archive.org/web/20240212000415/https://www.koco.com/article/oklahoma-new-filed-bills/46431213

Kingkade, Tyler, Ben Goggin, Ben Collins, and Brandy Zadrozny (2022 October 14). How an urban myth about litter boxes in schools became a GOP talking point. NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/misinformation/urban-myth-litter-boxes-schools-became-gop-talking-point-rcna51439 Archived 2025 March 16: https://web.archive.org/web/20250316154051/https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/misinformation/urban-myth-litter-boxes-schools-became-gop-talking-point-rcna51439

Mississippi House Bill 1060 (2025). Mississippi Legislative Bill Status System.https://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/2025/pdf/history/HB/HB1060.xml

O’Furr, Patch (2025 March 13). BlueSky Message. Dogpatch Press. https://bsky.app/profile/dogpatch.press/post/3lkbzjrvb422i

O’Furr, Patch (2025 March 14). BlueSky Message. Dogpatch Press. https://bsky.app/profile/dogpatch.press/post/3lkel254x7c2g

O’Furr, Patch (2025 March 15). BlueSky message. Dogpatch Press. https://bsky.app/profile/dogpatch.press/post/3lkfazs3ijs2v

Oklahoma House Bill 1327 (2025). Oklahoma State Legislature.http://www.oklegislature.gov/BillInfo.aspx?Bill=hb1327&Session=2500

Palma, Bethania. (2023 January 30). How Furries Got Swept Up in Anti-Trans 'Litter Box' Rumors. Snopes. https://www.snopes.com/news/2023/01/30/how-furries-got-swept-up-in-anti-trans-litter-box-rumors/ Archived on 2023 March 30. https://web.archive.org/web/20230330232007/https://www.snopes.com/news/2023/01/30/how-furries-got-swept-up-in-anti-trans-litter-box-rumors/

Plante, C., S. Reysen, S. Roberts, and K. Gerbasi (2016). FurScience! A summary of five years of research from the International Anthropomorphic Research Project. FurScience: Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. ISBN: 978-0-9976288-0-7. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/304540208_FurScience_A_summary_of_five_years_of_research_from_the_International_Anthropomorphic_Research_Project The relevant section of the book is also on the project’s official web page here: https://furscience.com/research-findings/therians/7-2-animal-identification/

RA Staff (2025 March 6). School Choice or School Inequality? Children with Disabilities and the Texas Voucher Debate. Reform Austin. https://www.reformaustin.org/education/school-choice-or-school-inequality-children-with-disabilities-and-the-texas-voucher-debate/

RA Staff (2025 March 14). Abbott Pushes Vouchers, Citing Debunked ‘Furries’ Allegations In Texas Schools. Reform Austin.https://www.reformaustin.org/texas-legislature/abbott-pushes-vouchers-citing-debunked-furries-allegations-in-texas-schools/ Archived 2025 March 18: https://web.archive.org/web/20250318175721/https://www.reformaustin.org/texas-legislature/abbott-pushes-vouchers-citing-debunked-furries-allegations-in-texas-schools/

Reuters Fact Check (2022 October 18). Fact Check-No evidence of schools accommodating ‘furries’ with litter boxes. Reuters.https://www.reuters.com/article/factcheck-furries-rogan-litterbox-idUSL1N31J1KT Archived 2023 February 13. https://web.archive.org/web/20230213110524/https://www.reuters.com/article/factcheck-furries-rogan-litterbox-idUSL1N31J1KT

Scribner, Orion, and N. Noel Sol (2024 February 9). Will Oklahoma call animal control on students? Otherkin News. https://otherkinnews.dreamwidth.org/92680.html

Scribner, Orion, and N. Noel Sol (2024 February 18). Republicans introduce a 7th anti-furry bill and work to undermine student freedoms on a wider scale. Otherkin News.https://otherkinnews.dreamwidth.org/93275.html

Texas House Bill 54 (2025 March 15). Texas Legislature Online. https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/Text.aspx?LegSess=89R&Bill=HB54

Texas House Bill 4814 (2025 March 13). Texas Legislature Online. https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/Authors.aspx?LegSess=89R&Bill=HB4814

Wermund, Benjamin and Edward McKinley (2025 February 13) Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says vouchers could lead to less funding for public schools. Houston Chronicle. https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/greg-abbott-school-vouchers-20165943.php Archived 2025 February 18: https://web.archive.org/web/20250218163839/https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/greg-abbott-school-vouchers-20165943.php

Wermund, Benjamin (2025 March 13). Greg Abbott cites debunked claim that public schools catered to ‘furries’ in latest voucher push. Houston Chronicle. https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/greg-abbott-furries-vouchers-20220159.php Archived 2025 March 15. https://web.archive.org/web/20250315071709/https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/greg-abbott-furries-vouchers-20220159.php

oooh looklook !! Es me !!!! :D

I loev drawing my forms in realistic styles it's so much "yayayyay !!"

if yur curious, it's a mix of Fallow Deer, Timber Wolf, and muy phantom wings teehee

finally got the piercings ive been wanting for years the other day (!!) and i haven't quite gotten used to the extra weight of the earrings being in so i very much feel like this rn lol

Just for the record, I would like to clarify that while yes this post is 1000% inclusive of therians/otherkin/alterhumans in general, in fact one of the main reasons I wrote it stemmed from my frustration about there not being enough species-inclusive language within human dominated society for individuals who don't conform to ideas about humanity, it's also very much so about biological/theriform animals as well. Please do not leave these beings out in discussions about anti-homo sapien supremacy and speciesism.

Your beloved childhood dog is just as much of a person as your dog therian friend is. Centering human lived experiences at the expense of other creatures, even from nonhuman people, is still a form of speciesism, please don't forget about the different kinds of animals you share the Earth with when talking about making the world a more welcoming and inclusive place!!

I think we need to normalize using "people" as a species neutral word.

Like idk in my brain the word people just doesn't automatically = human. To me it's just a way to signify intelligence and individuality, and to emphasize the need for respect towards another creature, not specific to any one species.

Dogs can be people, mice can be people, dragons can be people, humans can be people, birds can be people, elves can be people, robots can be people, and so on.

It's also (in my opinion) just much easier than always saying "beings" or "individuals" when referring to varying assortments of creatures.

Interested about if any other critters out there have had experiences with medications impacting shifts in some capacity!

For me, I get hella dog cameo mental shifts when Im on my adhd meds lmao. I have absolutely no idea why, but it's kinda cool ig. Arf arf.

new mini-zine I made at the pride event yesterday. it's therianthropy propaganda 🐶 it's not intended to be that serious. and the full file is on itch of course:

itch.io

Trans Dog (zine) by V.V.K. & Lucia Fur

Do more than just gender

it's like

"ah yes, Im so glad fiction doesn't actually have any impact on the real world or me as an individual unless I consciously allow it to!" said zuko from avatar the last airbender while standing in the walmart self checkout line waiting to buy some AA batteries

being fictionkin and proship at the same time gotta be the single biggest contradiction ever

being fictionkin and proship at the same time gotta be the single biggest contradiction ever

I felt the first twinge of migratory instincts yesterday.

There wasn't anything particularly significant about the day. It was a bit warmer than it had been the previous week, the temperature jumping from low 30s up into mid 50s. It was drizzling and most of the snow has melted by now, but one could hardly say it was spring weather just yet. But regardless, some voice inside me started its quiet whisper "it's time to get going".

Ive had these instincts for years now, long before I ever realized I was a therian, much less a wildebeest specifically. They've grown more intense as I've gotten older, as is the case with most of my alterhuman tendencies, though they've become less overwhelming since Ive graduated high school and haven't been cooped up inside 7 hours a day.

Biological wildebeest are kind of constantly on the move, always following the rains, though the real spectacle of their travel actually does begin around this time of year, although season-wise it's nearly autumn for them rather than the start of spring like it is for us up here. They begin to migrate northwest, but interestingly my instinct always, without fail, guides me southeast, down towards Florida. I guess in some way that makes sense, we're both heading towards the same general region just with different starting points.

As spring blooms further here in the U.S, I know my instincts will get stronger and stronger, they always do. I'll crave the travel to warmer, wetter climates, encouraged by downpours and claps of thunder in the distance. My soul will scream at me to pack a small bag and just start walking, I never want to travel exclusively by car or plane, walking is what feels most natural. Trekking alongside what should be thousands and thousands of others who look, feel, and sound exactly like me, lost in a faceless herd.

It's beyond frustrating to long for a nomadic lifestyle in a society that all but demands a sedentary one. School, jobs, relationships, none of those things are built to properly survive a season of walking/hitchhiking across the country, at least not without serious fore-planning. Maybe one day I'll make it happen, hopefully I will, but it likely wont be for many years. I have too much going on right now. Until then I'll continue wishing I could just drop everything and head southeast the second I hear that whisper.

the werewolf (me) has begun its nightly hunt to satiate its ravenous hunger (air frying chicken strips after work)

Omg this is such an amazing project, so glad I finally got around to reading the entire thing I loved it sm! Thank you to all the talented artists who worked on this, hearing other animals discuss some of the more raw and ""taboo"" parts of their identity felt both comforting and liberating. Let animals be kinky, horny weirdos forever amen

NOCTURNE IS FINALLY HERE!!!!

Thank you animal people in my phone! Truly a labor of love to compile everything. The second edition submission info will be out shortly! Happy New Year!

Download Nocturne-> here

If you are having trouble downloading it for any reason, email nocturnenonhumanzine@gmail.com and I will email it to you!

Reminder that Nocturne is made by adults, for adults. If you are under 18 years of age, this zine is not for you!