It is wrong to let children identify as animals | Opinion

The question of whether children identify as animals feels a bit like a Chinese whisper game. Many people claim to have done it heard about cases – whether it’s a child asking for a litter box in the school toilet or a student wearing a tail in class – but it’s unclear how many people there actually are knowledge such an individual himself.

Still, my cynicism toward such reporting may be misplaced. Recently, a Scottish council confirmed that at least two pupils, including one in primary school, had been officially diagnosed with “species dysphoria” – a condition which many psychologists believe has no scientific basis. This follows another case where a high school student was allowed to identify as a wolf.

Allowing a child to take animal names is fundamentally dehumanizing

Part of me wants to laugh and roll my eyes – it’s absurd that adults would pursue such misguided beliefs. It also makes me want to throw up my hands and ask: “What on earth is happening in Scotland?!” But given the reports of children in England and Wales identifying themselves as dinosaurs, horses or even the moon, that is this trend is clearly not limited to one region – although Scotland (so far) appears to be the only nation allowing institutional validation.

Although it’s hard to keep from rolling my eyes, the Bible’s warnings against ridicule come to mind: “Scoffers stir up anger in the city, but the wise turn away anger.”​—Proverbs 29:8. And Scripture talks quite a bit about compassion for the weak.

So how should Christians respond? Is compassionate acceptance the answer? Or should Christians resist giving in to such beliefs? Is it a symptom of the deeper decline of society, which is moving away from the Christian understanding of humanity and the Imago Dei? Or just exaggerated culture war hysteria?

Compassion and caring

The first thing I would say is that compassion is always the right response towards children who truly and unconsciously adopt animal behavior. A speech therapist friend once had a five-year-old patient who had suffered a lot of trauma and had such complex needs that she was largely nonverbal. The child meowed, hissed, and mimicked cat-like behaviors—particularly when emotionally disturbed.

I don’t know whether the child identified herself as a cat – her communication problems did not allow her to verbalize such a claim – but I do know that the specialist team, who were incredibly compassionate towards her, did not confirm she was a cat. They saw it for what it was: a deeply disturbed pattern of behavior that expressed deep needs.

I suspect that many cases, including those in Scotland and other media reports, are not children who truly believe they are animals or “identify” as a different species. Instead, they are probably endorsing the “fur” phenomenon; In fact, the council confirmed that the student who identifies as a wolf is part of a “furries” group.

In the “furry” trend, people create animal personalities or “fursonas” based on animal traits they relate to, often using pronouns like “catself” or “furself.” They often spend a lot of time online exploring their interest in anthropomorphic animals, and since there is evidence that “furries” are more likely to be diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, it makes sense that neurodivergent children should embrace the embrace of “fursonas.” ” helps navigate social interactions by celebrating what makes them different.

Secure first

While this may seem harmless and even a creative hobby, adult “furries” often report sexual motivations for their interests, raising alarm bells about possible connections between sexuality, fetish, and animal identification. The use of anonymous online accounts and suspicious motives in these groups should raise further serious security warnings.

Christian teachers – indeed, all professionals who work with children – must be vigilant, not only in dealing with animal-like behavior or dress at school (for the simple fact that this is not appropriate), but also in recognizing the Vulnerability of children involved in online discussions of this type. And Christian teachers, who often lead the way in exposing the spread of gender ideology, may be best placed to show schools that inclusion at all costs is not always in children’s best interests.

Accept reality

It seems a natural conclusion from endorsing gender ideology that it ends up embracing other fantastical ideas about identity. And since many teachers and professionals up to this point have espoused controversial ideologies on gender, Christians must step into power and lead the way in one simple task: lovingly telling the truth.

Compassion is always the right response towards children who adopt animal behavior

Although the problem seems rare, it points to the larger and deeper question: “What does it mean to be human?” Allowing a child to reject “he” or “she” as pronouns and adopt animal names is fundamentally dehumanizing . Cross-species identification screams for a generation that wants to escape reality and carve out an existence that is easier to manage or more exciting.

But as Christians, we know that children are valuable in their humanity and are created in the image of God. We also know that we should embrace the truth instead of running away from reality. If we are believers, our identity lies not in animal fantasies, sexual identities or gender labels, but in Christ.

As teachers committed to “speaking the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15), it is critical to share this good news with students. It is indeed a high calling to help young people become all that God intended them to be as human beings, whether male or female.