Stigma and Subcultures
There is someone I would like you to meet. Below are two images: the top image is Mustang curled up in his favourite blankets and the bottom is Hughes after he has pulled apart a pillow to make a fluffy nest.
They are supposed to be my pet rats, but sometimes I wonder who the real pet is in our family.
I thought rats were an exotic pet because not all vets will treat them (and the poor things are prone to respiratory infections). Although compared with having an extreme pet, like a lion, perhaps rats aren’t as exotic as I originally thought.
Regardless, I feel like these boys have shown me a whole new world; there’s a surprisingly big subculture dedicated to rats that I would like to introduce you to. This subculture is one of the most wholesome and heartfelt communities I have experienced and I understand that they have the power to shift the societal perception around rats.
First, let’s address the stigma. Rats have a bit of a bad reputation, which is understandable. But there’s too much to unpack in this short article. Basically, rats and fleas have been blamed for spreading the plague or Black Death (which might not even be true) that killed millions in medieval Europe. More recently, rats in Sydney have been causing a stir. Because rats, among other animals, can carry Leptospira bacteria. This bacteria has been labeled as a potential cause for the recent death of dogs in the city.
I get it, considering black rats (rattus rattus) and brown rats (rattus norvegicus) are pests in cities, rats are a bit of a weird pet. Peter Banks has written an interesting article explaining where rats came from. It’s aimed at kids, so it’s easy to understand that rats are a pest when you consider they have travelled the world in ships and live in cities eating just about anything. Except maybe in New York where rats dine on entire slices of pizza.
Note: these black and brown rats are different breeds to the fancy rats (rattus norvegicus domestica) that are usually kept as pets — like my boys Mustang and Hughes.
I want to address these stigmas, in the same way, I would a moral panic in the media. By which I mean: generally oversimplified topics and/or misinformed public. It is my understanding that these online subcultures have the information to combat the oversimplification and misinformation about rats. There is a lot of good to be found in the online social groups surrounding rats.
In the Brisbane area, Rachie’s Ratirement Home always seems to be on their toes fostering, adopting, rescuing, and medicating rats. Since joining Facebook groups and meeting Rachie, I have never seen so much love and support for rats. Everything from cute noses to medical advice and grieving rat parents can be found in these communities, always with a positive and supportive environment.
When I started this article two rats, Yukio and Caramel, where getting treated for lung infections at Rachie’s. Sadly, these rats have since passed away together. #yukioandcaramelontheroadtorecovery
r/RATS is another wholesome community celebrating pet rats in all their glory. There’s everything from cute pictures to medical advice as well as lost rats. Basically, everything involved with being a rat owner. Similar to the Facebook groups this community is caring and heartfelt, with advice, cute pics and general discussion about rats and their (very intensive) needs.
The subreddit for pet rats has an incredibly active following and is assisting to destigmatise domestic rats. Redditors often stumble upon the subreddit from r/all and are surprised that these little critters aren’t the flea carrying plague pests that they thought rats were.
To prove that these online subcultures can combat stigmas, let’s go from prey to predator and look at pet snakes, otherwise known as sneks within the online community.
In 2016, a Bored Panda article (read: clickbait) promoted the r/SnakesWithHats subreddit that was gaining popularity at the time. It indicates that putting hats on snakes was helping society overcome fear and panics surrounding snakes. Makes sense, snakes can be dangerous creatures but aren’t so scary when they have a hat on.
With this article, I want to highlight how subculture can change societal perceptions. In these specific cases, reduce the negative stigma surrounding these pets. If the perception around snakes can shift from dangerous to cute hat-wearing pets, then the perception of rats can shift away from being pests. Who knows, maybe lions will be next.
For now, Hughes is upset that I have worked past his dinner time and he is sitting in my lap demanding I bring him his nightly serving of fresh veggies.
