Thanks @little wolf @-CR4ZY.C4T- and @Bagera I do hear you. My son and I are both autistic and have to mask a lot of other stuff every day just to survive. We have a lot of conversations about when it is necessary to mask and when we can be our authentic selves. I also work as a researcher and it's clear in the research how harmful masking is for mental health for autistic people. So I think this informs my wanting to create more safe spaces for him to do quads in as I see it as similar to our right to stim freely as long as nobody is being harmed by it. I get that in public places with unknown people, especially some kids, bullying is going to happen if he is visibly therian. I still feel that within school people should be able to learn to respect this different way of being. I have already spoken to school about the bullying which isn't only about Therian stuff. I have another meeting with them on Friday but when I spoke to them a couple of weeks ago they'd literally never heard of therianthropy so this is why I'm looking for good quality info to share with them. Sadly I think they'd pay a lot more attention to something more official looking from like a charity or something than a home made poster.

Yes without a doubt. Don't get me wrong, there's some good content on there, but it's drowned out by the vast amount of misinformation spreading like wildfire. It's taken over by little kids, half of whom I'm honestly skeptical if they are therians or if they are just finding a place to belong.

I also agree with littlewolf. When I was young and in school, we had no idea what therianthropy even was(this was back in the 90s), so I was alone in who I was and I had to learn to mask. If your son is ok dealing with the bullying, more power to him, but changing how others deal with difference is a tall order, unfortunately.

For me, I would have some behaviors that I would allow myself to do at school and around others, ones that were more subtle, and the things that weren't subtle I would do in my alone time either at recess or at home. This way, I was never actually repressing myself, and I was still able to explore and express my feelings and behaviors. I simply controlled where I allowed myself to do so. I dunno what things are like in schools nowadays though, so I dunno if this could all still apply.

Aw I read through this and it's so sad how your son gets bullied :<! If it ends up getting too serious you should really talk to the principal about it. Also, maybe you should try making your own poster or something about therianropy, if you think you can get the right info. I wish your son luck <3

Slightly off topic for the thread, but this is a quick warning to anyone who uses tiktok and posts about being a therian, or even just watches therian content on there. Especially the pups: please read this.

any comments saying "I need a therian gf" are not a compliment. Neither are the comments asking for a "stretch tutorial".

These comments are made by people who are sexualising therians, especially younger therians who are doing quadrobics, or cat-like poses, although I've seen these comments on pretty much any post about therians. There is a concerningly large amount of people posting these comments. All of these accounts commenting this should be blocked and reported if you come across them, ESPECIALLY if their commenting on your own videos.

I was going to post about this on TT myself, but i don't really post therian content there, and it probably wouldnt reach people that really need to see this if i did. (a few people have already posted about this issue on TT too.)

Stay safe fellow critters

I understand that. As long as the bullying isn't severely affecting him, but if it is, the long-term consequences could be bad. You know the best course of action, though, he's your son and you know him best. I definitely agree that he should be able to be himself and be proud of who he is and others should respect that, but unfortunately that's not the culture at schools and it can be difficult to change it. I wish you the best and I hope informing the adults at school of therianthropy will help.

thanks @little wolf I'm proud of how he does his own thing regardless of what others think. It's difficult, I don't want to have to tell him to try not to paint a target on his back particularly when doing quads is when he's at his happiest. I feel like some of the teachers think he deserves to be bullied for being weird but we're a proudly weird family and he is not harming anyone, they don't have to understand or like it, they just need to treat him respectfully.

This site's educational page, maybe. https://therian-guide.com/index.php/1-home.html Legitimate resources are hard to come by for therianthropy. I would also suggest sitting your son down and talking with him about being more subtle to protect himself. I myself was bullied relentlessly at school because of my therianthropy and learned the hard way that school is not a safe place to be open about this kind of identity. That said I really appreciate your support of him. He's lucky to have a parent like you on his side.

Are there any resources people know of that explain therianthropy that are aimed at educators? I'm trying to support my therian son who is getting bullied at school for doing quads and it doesn't help when teachers are saying he's being silly for being on all fours. I don't expect school staff will take the time to read anything too in depth but if there was something like a poster with some basic facts about therianthropy and maybe some hints on how to be supportive I feel like that would be a step in the right direction. Does anything like that exist?

I feel like TikT0k has made at least some kids, or younger teens, think therianthropy is just quadrobics, mask making, and posting Shorts. I know at least two other "therians" in real life who claim to have "turned" into therians and do the things mentioned above. I feel like it's mostly spreading false ideas of therianthropy to a younger audience.

I think it's become slightly "trendy" to be a therian, as a lot of kids see it on Y0utube or TikT0k and decide they must be a therianthrope too. It's normal to "play pretend as an animal" at 9 or 10 or whatever, but I think the term is just being thrown around without people knowing or acknowledging the definition.