A lot of people dunk on gen z furries for being "puriteens." I will not be doing that. I was actually a lot like that as a teen myself and I get it. Look, people are constantly changing and evolving, at no time MORE than between 12 and 20. If the cultural trend of gen Z is toward a less loud queer and not having sex that's not the worst thing, inherently? I wish I could educate them on why we, the millennial queers, want to be so loud. There's a lot of historical context they seem to be either ignorant of or underestimating the importance of.
But here's the thing; when I, a little sexually repressed teen, started to explore queerness and the furry fandom, it wasn't a long educative post that changed my mind. It was just maturing as a person in a space where being a loud queer was okay.
So I think the best thing we can do for our gen Z furries is not wall them off to their own side of the fandom. Don't give them unfettered access to NSFW obviously, but welcome them to your SFW spaces, show them that they don't have to be timid and conform.
The big tragedy is just that gen Z is forming this attitude as conservative lawmakers are trying to litigate queerness out of existence (it's probably a reaction to that - but that's another post) and it plays very well into what the CHUDs want - invisible queers they never have to think about.
Anyway, to make everything clear, I have absolutely nothing against gen Z, and I think anyone who does is playing into a generational power structure that only serves to uphold the status quo. The thing is, they're teenagers. With everything that comes with that. I know I look back at some attitudes I had as a teenager and cringe and I know I'm not alone there. Please show our gen Z friends some kindness and help them find the right ideas instead of screaming at them for... Having weird ideas as a teenager?