Rise of the Therians: People who identify as animals claim they 'go into wild impulses', prefer to walk on all fours and show off their lives on TikTok while wearing masks and tails
Groups of TikTokers calling themselves 'therians' are organizing gatherings in the UK for those who identify as animals.
The term therian refers to humans who identify at a deep level as non-human animals and exhibit behaviors related to their animal identity.
They differ from furries, who see their animal personality as a character, while therians naturally sense animal characteristics.
Teenagers have filmed themselves coming home from school and finding relief in expressing their 'real' animal personalities again, while others have posted guides for parents on 'coming out'.
Some therians even claim to experience “altering” impulses to act like their animal selves, temporarily being taken over by their instincts, and posting videos of themselves on all fours or connecting with nature.
A Therian posted a video on TikTok of themselves 'changing' while claiming to be acting like their 'animal self'
One TikTok account, called @.fern_.the.therian, shows a group of therians running through grassy fields, throwing their masks and tails in the air.
Another, based in Reading, Britain, posted video of themselves jumping on a chair while wearing a fluffy tail and an animal mask.
They said, 'I caught a shift! It's my first time since my therian woke up two to three years ago, and even this one was small!
'This was the animal behavior I was experiencing, I knew where I was and that I was filming, but I didn't have much control over it. Teams incoming!'
Therians host meetups across the UK, where they can meet like-minded souls, and advertise where they live on TikTok.
The groups have even put their own spin on 'day in the life' videos, in which they collect rainwater at night, read books about nature and water plants – all while wearing an animal mask.
Some TikTok users express their identity by adopting a cat mask or a wolf mask, depending on the animal they feel an affinity with.
But there are also 'polytherians' who identify as multiple species, while 'paleotherians' even identify as extinct animals.
Therians usually wear a mask of the animal they identify with and a tail, and feel particularly attuned to nature
They adopt animalistic movements including jumping through the air and showing off their walk, trot and gallop
Therians are organizing gatherings across the UK after finding each other and posting ads on TikTok
Schools have seen an increase in children identifying as “therians,” just as they identify among their classmates as animals
The therian community insists that they are different from furries because they identify as the animal, rather than seeing it as a character
TikTok commenters seemed divided between identifying with the therians or finding the concept strange
Therians are a subculture of Otherkins, who identify as partially or fully human.
They say they feel especially connected to nature, while others identify with the term 'transspecies'.
Commenting on a video of a Therian meeting, one social media user couldn't help exclaiming, “I WANT THERIAN FRIENDS SO BAD!” while another admitted: 'This is how I feel, I just don't know how to tell anyone.'
But others said they needed “therapy,” noting, “This is not normal.”
One commented: 'Maybe in another universe people wouldn't think they were animals,' while another said: 'What happened to our generation, oh my god.'
In June last year, Britain's strictest school principal, Katharaine Birbalsingh, warned against children identifying as cats wearing “tails and ears” in class.
She warned that adults' authority over students was “long gone” as more and more children were allowed to identify as animals at school.
She said, “Are you aware that some kids identify as 'furries'?
Therians on TikTok have revealed their parents' reactions when told about their true identities
One therian was even surprised to find animal masks in Poundland to help assume animal identity
Britain's strictest school principal, Katharine Birbalsingh, claimed in June that there were more cases of children identifying as animals in schools
“Elon Musk is right: you all have no idea how bad things are in schools and you ignore the vital and crucial role schools play in shaping the culture of our society.
'There are now children in some schools with tails and ears attached to their heads and buttocks.
'This is not fancy dress, they identify as cats, you see. Children are not allowed to wear sneakers to school, but they are allowed to wear ears and tails because that is their chosen identity.
'That way they feel like they belong. Adult authority is long gone.”
Meanwhile, others were allowed to identify as cats, horses and dinosaurs, while teachers “failed to question them.”
That month, a 13-year-old girl was also labeled “despicable” by her teacher for rejecting her classmate's claim that she identified as a cat.
At a public secondary school in Wales, a student was said to 'meow' when a teacher asked questions, rather than answering in English. Telegraph reported.
At other schools, one apparently insisted on being addressed as a dinosaur, another claimed to identify as a horse, while another wore a cape and demanded to be recognized as a moon.