(2016-10-26 21:38)Ishvala Wrote: I think a lot of people misunderstand what Teen Wolves were to begin with. They weren't therians, they never even claimed to be therians in the first place. They were a group of kids or teens who called themselves "Teen Wolves" as a sort of familial gang name. They were simply an alternative group of people finding comfort in a "pack" with others like them, and doing simple stuff like going out and having fun. I really begin to get annoyed when people - especially in the Therian community - look at them and turn up their noises. They quite literally aren't trying to be anything except for themselves. The media just twists their words around.
The controversial wolfie blackheart incident (a formerly popular teen wolf) was all lies and fabrication that the media made up. As far as all the evidence I could find (then and now) leads to Wolfie being innocent of the allegations and to the media "misunderstanding" the ordeal.
As far as anything else, when they say that everyone has a bit of animal in them, they aren't referencing therianthropy. There's a lot of ways to interpret it, but I think they're literally just taking pride in themselves and using a fascination with wolves to stand tall against what challenges them. I see nothing wrong with being inspired by an already media-famous animal, and I see nothing wrong with banding together in order to find acceptance.
Teen Wolves are just familial gangs. The gear is just a fashion statement. The "inner animal" is just an inspiration. They're similar to the Furry community, wherein they get misunderstood and lumped together with us - and while it isn't right of people to do that, - it doesn't make a Teen Wolf any more wrong than a Furry or some other person who decided to wear some sort of gear for the heck of it.
- This is all my opinion on the matter, anyway.
This.
There's nothing wrong with teen wolves, as long as people don't mistake them for therians. They don't call themselves therians or go on therian forums, but if there is a problem with teen wolves its that newer therians do sometimes get "misled" by them and think that in order to "fit in" to a therian community you have to dress in a particular way or display particular behaviours that are common among teen wolves. The main confusion comes in when people are researching therianthropy and come across people like this and get confused because, like therians, they call themselves wolves and, like therians, they like to hang out in packs.
Having said that, a teenage therian who favours a punk-goth style or attitude will probably fit equally well into a therian community or a teen wolf pack. Again, no harm done.