The Forbidding Unlawful Representation of Roleplaying in Education, or FURRIES, Act, filed by Austin-area Republican State Rep. Stan Gerdes, would “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.”

The law would allow for exempt days, such as Halloween and other school dress-up days.

The law defines “non-human” behavior as “any type of behavior or accessory displayed by a student in a school district other than behaviors or accessories typically displayed by a member of the homo sapiens species,” with provided examples being:

Using a litter box for the passing of stool, urine or other human byproducts

A personal or outward display, except during a school play or by a school mascot, through surgical or superficial means of features that are non-human such as using tails, leashes, collars or other accessories designed for pets

Using fur, other than naturally occurring human hair or a wig made to look like human hair

Artificial, animal-like ears

Other physiological features that have not historically been assigned to the human race through a means of natural biological development

Students who bark, meow, hiss or make other animal noises that are not human speech

Licking oneself or others for the purpose of grooming or maintenance.

  • Hoimo@ani.socialEnglish
    0·
    3 months ago

    But licking oneself or others for the purpose of affection is still fine, right??

  • glitchdx@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    3 months ago

    If nothing else in my life, it does make me feel powerful how fucking afraid of me that republicans are.

  • Etterra@discuss.onlineEnglish
    0·
    3 months ago

    Look I hate furries as much as the next sane person, but this is just stupid. Leave the damn kids alone.

    • cm0002@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      0·
      3 months ago

      hate furries as much as the next sane person

      I hope you mean 0, because that’s what it should be for a sane person

      Imagine hating someone for their choice of harmless hobbies

  • theluckyone@discuss.onlineEnglish
    0·
    3 months ago

    The party of small government and personal freedoms.

    Obviously, they were talking about their personal freedom to dictate the freedom of everyone else.

  • BigMacHole@lemm.eeEnglish
    0·
    3 months ago

    I’m PROUD that they CUT my Child’s Lunch and Teacher’s salary so they could focus on THIS!

  • Sam_Bass@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    3 months ago

    Saw a video clip skit years ago of a school girl doing the litterbox things. Had no friggin idea it was a real thing

  • Ribbons@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
    0·
    3 months ago

    You know I’m kinda surprised they even still bother with thinly-veiled queerphobia when being overt is trendy nowadays.

    - Tabitha (ey/it) ΘΔ

      • pivot_root@lemmy.worldEnglish
        0·
        3 months ago

        They’re not small enough to fit in womens’ size pants, but they sure are trying to fit in women’s pants to personally check for the absence of male anatomy.

        • upandup@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
          0·
          3 months ago

          That is super creepy and indicates that you, yourself, the problem rather than and then from now on, you’ll be at the top of the list for consideration, who went so crazy they are now in a Nazi

          • pivot_root@lemmy.worldEnglish
            0·
            3 months ago

            Uh, what? That sentence is borderline unreadable.

            I’m being hyperbolic when I say that the Republican Party wants to personally check what’s in women’s pants, but the reality is that they’re disturbingly fucking focused on ensuring trans women can’t be in women’s bathrooms or women’s sports. Nobody with a modicum of decency would try to predicate bathroom usage based on the absence or presence of a penis, yet they’re constantly trying to present and push through legislation to do just that.

              • pivot_root@lemmy.worldEnglish
                0·
                3 months ago

                Whatever the hell you’re smoking, it must be something good. I’m criticizing the Republican Party, not defending them.

                Or, if I’m misunderstanding and you’re actually calling me a Nazi for thinking trans people should not be subjected to gential inspection, then you’re in desperate need of a mirror.

  • paranoid@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    3 months ago

    Is this happening so often that it requires a law?

    Why not put that money, time, and effort into providing sexual education so people better understand how to not get pregnant, reducing the occurrence of abortions?

    • upandup@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      0·
      3 months ago

      Silly of you to think that they don’t already have many of them, especially because the masks obscure their fucking shitty IRL identities.

  • Calcifer@eviltoast.orgEnglish
    0·
    3 months ago

    Okay, obvious queerphobia/freedom of expression issues and “how are these malignant societal tumors still on the debunked litter box thing” aside… Do none of these idiots remember that children often role play as animals because they have imagination and they are children? Have they even met children?!? Pretty sure “horse firefighters” or “we’re all evil cats today” etc. are a common type of game played at recess or whatever. They have nothing to do with being a furry and everything to do with just regular human development? Are these people really paranoid and threatened by childhood make-believe games?

    • courageousstep@lemm.eeEnglish
      0·
      3 months ago

      You raise an excellent point, and it honestly makes me think of Tyson Yunkaporta’s perspective on the actual historical purpose of free public elementary education: to retrain the human mind toward total obedience to the state. In order to mold a person into obedience, you have to take away their sense of agency, their ability to think for themselves, and their creativity. Children increase their understanding of the world and express their creativity through play, which includes pretending to be elements of the world such as animals. In removing the natural ability to be creative through play, you wrangle tighter control over how they think.

      So I’m not saying the creators of this bill are actively intending to further force ingrained obedience in American servants citizens, but I’m also not saying that they’re totally unaware of the possibilities.

    • supernicepojo@lemmy.worldEnglish
      0·
      3 months ago

      When and where I went to school it was basically self-policing. The bully and urge to conformity was so blatant and oppressive that anyone that didnt fit the mold outwardly were ostracized anyway. This is just codifying that behavior into law. Its gross and unnecessary to make laws based on lies and manipulation because every fear-inducing news headline is blasted via the loudest megaphone humanity has ever created.

  • kbal@fedia.io
    0·
    3 months ago

    If enacted, I’m guessing the main effect of this would be to make “meow” the new standard greeting among a large fraction of the student population in Texas high schools.