The furries are here in full force

Although what you’re about to read sounds preposterous, it is absolutely true. And while it sounds laughable, it is sadder than it is funny. Let me give you the background first then, then I’ll share with you the reason for this article.

In my 2015 book Outlasting the Gay Revolution, I referred to what is called “species dysphoria.” This describes a phenomenon “where people who are convinced that they are part (or all) animal, who become more convinced of their animal identity as they get older, and who dress up like animals and legally change their names to fit their animal identity?”

I continued, “And is it a coincidence that it was Logo TV, the gay TV channel, that began airing a series in 2013 called, ‘What? I Think I’m An Animal’? As the blurb explained, ‘I Think I'm An Animal reveals the truth behind the Otherkin movement’s furry costumes and explores what it’s like to inhabit an animal identity.’

“One young man explained in the documentary series, ‘Basically, other than the fact that I have a human body and human flesh, I am a wolf.’ He said that, for him, this was both spiritual, psychological, and behavioral, and that going through school was a living hell since others didn’t recognize his real identity. He also claimed that he was personally aware of communities numbering in the hundreds of thousands who also identified as animals, including wild cats, domestic cats, flies, and even insects. (They call themselves ‘therians’). Really now, if they’re convinced to the core of their being that this is who they are, why not?”

In my research almost 10 years ago, I saw claims that there were several hundred thousand people who identified as “furries.” Could this be true?

In 2016, we produced an animated video about a man who identified as a female dragon, noting that, “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: If perception is substituted for reality, there is no end to the social madness that follows.

“You do not just have a man being named Woman of the Year.

“You do not just have a white woman who identifies as black.

“You have a father of 7 who identifies as a 6-year-old girl.

“You have a man who identifies as a dog named “Boomer.”

“You have a young lady who believes she is a cat trapped in a woman’s body.

“You have a man who has his ears removed because he identifies as a parrot.

“And you have a man who changed his identity to female but who has now had “her ears and nose REMOVED to transform into a 'dragon lady' with scales, a forked tongue and a horned skull.”

“But why not? More power to him/her/it! If that’s what he/she/it perceives himself/herself/itself to be, why not?”

To repeat: That was in 2016.

More recently, in 2022, I wrote an article titled, “The Professor and Inventor Who Identifies as a Cheetah Named Spottacus,” noting that I was speaking about “a highly accomplished, specific individual ...

“As the headline on the PC Mag website announced, ‘Your Smartwatch’s Heart Rate Monitor Was Developed by a Furry.’ Yes, ‘Dr. David Benaron is an inventor whose team at Stanford laid the groundwork for the optical heart rate monitor. He’s also a cheetah named Spottacus.’”

Yet for many years, this brilliant, highly educated man, has identified as a cheetah.

You would think, then, that nothing could really surprise me anymore. After all, I’ve been talking about this stuff for a long time — not to mock, but to draw attention to what happens when perception is substituted for reality.

Well, you can now consider me surprised.

Early this month (November), I was speaking to about 700 Christian young people (almost all college-age) at the massive YWAM (Youth with a Mission) base in Kona, Hawaii. I was teaching on what the Bible said about gender and sexuality, saying that we must have hearts of compassion and backbones of steel.

Wanting to understand the world in which they were living, I asked, “How many of you had to start one of your classes in high school or college by giving your name and preferred gender pronoun.”

To my surprise, less than 20% of the kids raised their hands, perhaps closer to 10 or 15%. I really thought it would be much higher.

Then, just to ask out of curiosity, I said, “How many of you went to school with someone who identified as a furry?”

Almost half the hands went up! We were all stunned.

I asked for some of the representative identities, which ranged from bumble bee to fox to wolf to cat, among other animals, as well as to more abstract identities including “dirt” and “the universe.” (For a relevant Piers Morgan video, see here.)

I then asked, “Do you think these kids are just trying to be silly or get attention?”

Overwhelmingly, the answer was no. (Subsequently, I asked the young people to stand behind me on the platform for a picture, and again, we were stunned at the sight, even though quite a few of them standing in the back can’t even be seen in the picture.)

I’m confident that this phenomenon, too, will soon pass.

As for those who truly struggle with their true identity, I pray for God’s mercy and help. I can’t for a moment even try to imagine what they’re feeling.

But let us not miss the lesson of the moment. People identifying as animals is, ultimately, no different than biological and genetic males identifying as females, and vice versa.

This is what happens when we deviate from the divinely ordained trajectory, which includes marriage being the union of one man and one woman. May the Lord help us return to reality — and may it be quickly rather than slowly for the sake of all of us.