Finding Home
The zoo community is a rather tight-knit group, and even though there are thousands of us out there, all of us are spread around in different circles. We live in completely different parts of the world, and experience completely different lives. Yet, despite all of this, we are united by one simple trait.
We are zoophiles.
And that alone has made us unite together. This is a good thing, because as it turns out, many people don't like us simply for existing! But when you're people who think like you feel like you, suddenly all of that hate seems to matter less and less. That's because you're with your people. They understand you. *They're just like you.*
Hello readers! I go by Pawful. I'm a very new member of the zoo community, although I'm not new to being zoo. Because of this, I feel like I sit in a unique case where I've already gone through all the denial and inner turmoil that I'm sure many zoos go through that eventually lead into acceptance, but I didn't involve myself in the community until just January of this year (2025).
While I didn't join the community, I was a heavy lurker. I eyed many zoo forums, and explored quite a lot of zoo Twitter. Unfortunately, many zoo spaces are unhealthy, and the people there didn't abide with many values that I held dear. Because of this, I never really felt like there was a place for me to belong in the zoo community, so I hid away.
The problem is that hiding away led me to feeling very isolated, and while I had in fact accepted myself for who I was, I felt alone in that feeling. I just wanted to belong somewhere where people genuinely cared for and loved animals the same way I did.
I was a zoo, and I accepted it. I had even shared this secret a few of my closest friends, who all supported and accepted me. This was obviously great, but it was still hard not to feel lonely, because while I did have friends, I didn't really have any zoo friends, other than one. That part of my life was basically still a secret, but it was an identity that I held dear and wanted to make a bigger focus in my life. Then, I lost my only zoo friend, and I felt truly alone.
So, couple that with some other stressors added to my life, and things were very bleak for me. I didn't have hope for anything anymore. It genuinely was the darkest moment of my life, for many reasons. It's of course far too personal to go into detail with. In fact, I would argue that I was very close to leaving this world. An uncomfortable thought, to be certain, but one that I did begin feeling more and more as the days went by and my life wasn't getting any better.
But this story doesn't end poorly, dear readers. In fact, it's quite the opposite. You see, as I was suffering and struggling, I somehow got ahold of a Twitter community known as Zoo Proud, and this place was... full of zoos? But it wasn't the gross ones. No, this place was entirely SFW, and full of... pretty ordinary people, who simply happened to be zoo. It was genuinely unlike anything I had ever seen. Perhaps I could truly find zoo friends who I'd actually feel comfortable around? The thought was nice, and so I made an account.
This account was honestly a last resort, a sort of final attempt to see if I belonged anywhere in what felt like such a lonely existence. To simply be frank, if this didn't bear any fruit, nothing would've. I would be done.
This place was full of very warm and welcoming people. I was instantly greeted by a very kind person, seemingly just wanting to reach out to a soul who wanted friendship and connection. This individual welcomed me with open arms and even suggested me places to make even more connections, and suddenly I was in a Discord server of over 2000 (mostly zoo) users who were all so nice to a complete stranger.
Part of it even felt too good to be true. Like, this is the zoo community. I'm not oblivious to the fact that this community gets hate piled onto hate. Why would they trust a stranger? Have they not experienced betrayal? Would I truly make friends, even if I honestly do wish to make some?
And that's when I came to realize the beauty of this community. Everyone was welcome to have a voice as long as they remained respectful. The Zooey Dot Pub Discord server even has a handful of non-zoo users who just hang out. The zoo community has faced so much hardship that they are resistant to so much hate, yet accept everyone, love everyone. And now, I was a part of it.
Finally, I was home.
Let me tell you that going from feeling you have nothing to where I am today is an incredible feeling, and it all happened because I took that first step. I reached out and asked for friends, and I was welcomed. And now, even though not much time has passed, I have been accepted as a member of the community. I've even already had a tweet blow up outside of the community and got sent endless hate, and I wasn't even hurt because I had people who had my back! No words could harm me when I knew I was loved by people I cared about.
But then, my Twitter profile getting a boost in attention suddenly meant that I got DMs from other zoos. Zoos who were closeted, afraid of making friends, but still wanting some. It dawned on me that I was exactly like those people just a few weeks ago, and now I felt a responsibility to welcome them like I was welcomed. To reassure them that it was okay, and that the zoo community is full of incredible people.
Being able to help people in the same way I was helped is extremely heartwarming, and I feel honored to have been a few people's first contact. After all, I'm still so new that I didn't expect to get any attention or care at all. But I think that the nature of being a fresh account and remaining as positive as I have been despite all the hate I immediately received perhaps made people more comfortable to reach out to me, because it's not like I was well-known, or intimidating. I fear that as time goes on, I may become more intimidating to new folks. I promise that I don't bite, however!
I think that community is really important no matter what kind of group you belong to. Communities like the trans community currently experiencing lots of turmoil due to recent events, but they're all supporting each other through it all. Similarly, the zoo community is full of people who support each other, because we know who we are, and that we're valid. We know that we're not alone and have each other's backs.
Community is so important, and the zoo community is even more so. After all...
It saved my life.
Article written by Pawful (February 2025)
Find her at https://x.com/pawfulzeta
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