Wandering The Forest

The leopardess Faulu.

“The spellbinding Faulu, leopard princess extraordinaire, enchants once more with her majestic aura.”

somewhat inspired by that rabbit meme lol

you are why anthropology is so hard to decolonize.

if you want to SEE that humanity is not inherently evil and retroactively shift the focus of humanity away from the greed that exists in Eurocentralized doctrine, you NEED TO LEARN.

The kiss of death.

And. I wouldn’t say this to someone actively telling me not to call them a person, but: if you’re not a person then you don’t have the agency to decide what you are or aren’t called. Right? Is personhood not our individual sovereignty? Personhood is our agency, our possession of rights, our consciousness. If you don’t have that then do you have the right to say you aren’t a person? To me saying “I’m not a person” reads as saying “i am not the kind of thing that gets to decide what kind of thing it is”

So today I’ve seen posts on multiple platforms from those living in Latin America saying the news and social media is suddenly discussing therians a lot, in a very negative way.

Something I need y’all to know, based on my experience living as trans for 10 years and being a furry for several as well: DO NOT TALK TO THE MEDIA. You can speak to TRUSTED, preferably independent journalists. Previously center and liberal news media like CNN and the New York Times have taken a steep rightwing shift. Do not go on podcasts, do not talk to tv reporters, etc. It will put you in harms way. You will be taken out of context. They will attack you with premeditated questions to make you look bad, knowing you are not prepared to debate/justify your existence. I repeat,

I am a disabled transgender woman of color, otherkin, pagan clergy member, and civil rights organizer. I have been active in these communities (often in some kind of organizing capacity) since 2005-2010.

I have done numerous TV, radio/podcast, and newspaper interviews. All of them went well because I communicated with more experienced organizers with experience interacting with the media, and because I carefully vetted everyone I spoke to.

A legitimate journalist with good intentions will do research, find community leaders and organizers, and reach out to them directly to request an interview. Which is what happened for every interview I have ever done.

If someone puts out a general call for volunteers, it is almost always because they have bad intentions and they want someone who does not have expertise or experience with the media, whom they can easily make a fool of. No matter who you are or how charismatic or good at speaking you are, it is absolutely impossible to do an interview which cannot be edited to make you look like an idiot. The only way to look good in an interview is if the interviewer wants you to look good. No exceptions.

I have seen it happen numerous times both in the alterhuman community and elsewhere. Not only do people who agree to such interviews always get made a fool of by the media. They also usually get labeled by the community as clout chasing embarrassments who don't have the community's best interests in mind. I won't name names, but those who've been around for a while will be able to think of examples.

The only time it's not a completely terrible idea to agree to an interview is if:

A) The interviewer contacted you specifically because you are a leader/organizer/academic who represents the community.

B) You've done research on the interviewer to find out who they are and what kind of work they've done in the past.

C) This interviewer is a serious journalist who has never done sensationalist media or published an interview with someone who looked silly or incompetent (because if they interviewed someone who looked bad, it is always on purpose. They can make anyone look bad and they can make anyone look good).

D) The interviewer does not work for a media outlet that ever does sensationalist media, or which has any connections to conservative interests (which eliminates all mainstream media outlets).

E) You have spoken to other community leadership who also think you should do the interview.

For what's been happening in Latin America, there have also been multiple news outlets publishing AI-generated videos of "therian attacks"-- there is absolutely no reason to assume that these outlets and others would hesitate to use editing or AI to make you look like a fool at best, or a danger at worst. Do NOT interact with the media unless you are absolutely positive, without a shadow of a doubt, that 1) the journalist you're speaking to is trustworthy, 2) doing so isn't going to put you in danger, and 3) others second that it's a good idea for you to do so.

Public speaking is a skill; do not overestimate your own capabilities! Do not underestimate how negatively a huge public speaking appearance can affect you and your family! I would recommend that 99.99% of all alterhumans avoid ever talking to the media, myself included. It is so easy to fuck up so badly, and the consequences are far-reaching and permanent. Don't do it. Don't let your friends do it. Don't let your family do it.