For TV you'd have to show what makes Therians different, what makes them stand out, but I could see the first impression it would make, that they all wear collars always, or that when a viewer sees someone wearing a collar, they think they are a Therian. I don't personally know anyone else who wears their collar even most of the time.
One way they could get into the nuances is to have a longer documentary that slowly reveals it like a storybook, starting with something like animal totemism, or that earlier societies were more in touch with nature, and build to Therian beliefs from there.
I can see your point about getting a doctor's opinion, I just thought they might not want to confuse the issue and upstage what the parents were thinking about their own kids. Also I think the doctor is a cliche with shows like this, and it was refreshing that they got away from it this time.
I'm almost sure the parents don't know the depth of what their kids are into, as you said, but then again they might not want to know. That's the stance my parents took, they saw it as a problem when I wanted to be a Dog, and my dad would say to grow up and things like that, but they didn't really want to know about my inner world.
I might be a Therian, I seem to have some of the characteristics, but I really haven't studied it that much. I was wearing my Dog tag and drawing anthro Dog creatures, so a friend directed me to the Furry scene.
I didn't know about Therians at the time, but there was a Were society and Zoo groups I checked out, but I didn't make too many connections with those. Weres gave the impression of being so serious and not as happy at their plight, where I'm an more of an upbeat pup. Zoos seemed to have a closer bond with their animals, and with that bond, sometimes feeling and thinking like their animal would, but there was so much in-fighting and little real discussion of deeper meanings.
I think it can take a while to learn how to use your knowledge. I can see those guys in the documentary as being in 'Therian school' right now, and they have to be students before they can be teachers. It's already enough to grow up thinking you're a different animal and try to figure that out, then the knowledge settles in and you can think about what to do with it.
One story I remember, there was an autistic woman (I don't care about the label, but the story was about her asperger's) and she advising the feed animal industry on more humane practices. She said she saw things the way the animal would, so she advised farms and the cattle industry on how to set up the animals environment better. The way the article put it, she was doing it by taking on the role and mindset of the animal.
I'd think that gender and species dysphoria would relate, since they deal with matters of identity. You'd have to know where someone is coming from and do a study on it to get an answer to that one I'd think.
For TV you'd have to show what makes Therians different, what makes them stand out, but I could see the first impression it would make, that they all wear collars always, or that when a viewer sees someone wearing a collar, they think they are a Therian. I don't personally know anyone else who wears their collar even most of the time.
One way they could get into the nuances is to have a longer documentary that slowly reveals it like a storybook, starting with something like animal totemism, or that earlier societies were more in touch with nature, and build to Therian beliefs from there.
I can see your point about getting a doctor's opinion, I just thought they might not want to confuse the issue and upstage what the parents were thinking about their own kids. Also I think the doctor is a cliche with shows like this, and it was refreshing that they got away from it this time.
I'm almost sure the parents don't know the depth of what their kids are into, as you said, but then again they might not want to know. That's the stance my parents took, they saw it as a problem when I wanted to be a Dog, and my dad would say to grow up and things like that, but they didn't really want to know about my inner world.
I might be a Therian, I seem to have some of the characteristics, but I really haven't studied it that much. I was wearing my Dog tag and drawing anthro Dog creatures, so a friend directed me to the Furry scene.
I didn't know about Therians at the time, but there was a Were society and Zoo groups I checked out, but I didn't make too many connections with those. Weres gave the impression of being so serious and not as happy at their plight, where I'm an more of an upbeat pup. Zoos seemed to have a closer bond with their animals, and with that bond, sometimes feeling and thinking like their animal would, but there was so much in-fighting and little real discussion of deeper meanings.
I think it can take a while to learn how to use your knowledge. I can see those guys in the documentary as being in 'Therian school' right now, and they have to be students before they can be teachers. It's already enough to grow up thinking you're a different animal and try to figure that out, then the knowledge settles in and you can think about what to do with it.
One story I remember, there was an autistic woman (I don't care about the label, but the story was about her asperger's) and she advising the feed animal industry on more humane practices. She said she saw things the way the animal would, so she advised farms and the cattle industry on how to set up the animals environment better. The way the article put it, she was doing it by taking on the role and mindset of the animal.
I'd think that gender and species dysphoria would relate, since they deal with matters of identity. You'd have to know where someone is coming from and do a study on it to get an answer to that one I'd think.
Boomer