In Romania, a worrying phenomenon is gaining momentum: therians. People who believe they are pets have started to be seen in public spaces in our country.
Therians are people disguised as animals, who claim to feel like animals and behave like them. Thus, in public spaces, they can be seen rolling on the ground, walking on all fours, or rubbing against various objects in public spaces, like a dog or a cat.
The trend originated on the Chinese platform TikTok, where various characters disguised themselves as animals and approached their pets to see their reaction. Most of the time, the pets were scared. Moreover, the hashtag therians has exploded on TikTok, accumulating one million posts and 3.7 billion views.
Experts explain everything as an imaginary world for those who prefer to walk on all fours. What is concerning is that some individuals actually identify with the animals they costume themselves as.
„The phenomenon of furries has spread worldwide. An important factor here has been social media. Unfortunately, young people, especially children, do not have a set of values – in childhood – to relate to, and they internalize, experience the personality of animals. This phenomenon has spread to the USA, Wales, England, Canada, and has a significant impact on other young people, on other children,“ explained psychologist Ramona Pantea for specialarad.ro.
A young woman disguised as a cat recently scared several dogs being walked by their owners in a park in Arad.
„We went out with our dog in the park to walk him a few evenings ago. I was paying attention to the dog, making sure he didn’t eat things off the ground, and suddenly the animal froze. I got scared, looked in front of me, and there was a kind of creature, I don’t even know how to name it. She approached closer, and I realized that she was actually a girl, I don’t want to say her exact age – around 16-17-18 years old – who identified herself as a cat: she had a tail, whiskers, a cat mask, and behaved like a cat – walking on all fours.
Of course, my dog got scared, started barking, and she, somehow, imitated cats, meowed at him, started scratching him, wanting to scratch him actually, so we pulled away. At one point, she lay on the grass – still like a cat, on the ground, started licking her paws. Later, when she left, there was a pole, and she rubbed against the pole, like cats usually do. When I saw… of course, I got scared, especially for the children in the park, with parents… How can a parent explain to a child what that creature is?“ recounted the woman from Arad to Aradon.
A man believes we are dealing with a new trend.
„I heard they play around here in the park, walking on all fours. I don’t know what it is, if it’s a trend, but I have two legs and I walk on two legs. If it’s a trend and she feels good on all fours… let her walk,“ said the man to specialarad.ro.
Psychologists warn that adults should not encourage such behavior in children, despite global trends that suggest that children should be allowed to express themselves freely.