#my nonhuman identity is not spiritual in any way | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

lupi-usque-ad-finem · 9 months

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✦☾ welcome home, cubs! ☾✦

pleased to have you! i’m Yré, your favorite wulver this side of the river :)

✦ ☾ . * ✦

✦ ☾ . * ✦

info ab me!

i have been a part of this community/kinning for over a decade now, hence i created this blog to give help, advice, encouragement, and support to any of those who need it! my inbox & messages are always open to help with any kind of kin related matters. this space is for my kintype and will be filled with caninekin adjacent posts if that is up your alley.

Therianthopy and it’s components have been a huge part of me as long as I’ve been alive. It’s an essential part of explaining how I behave put into language, as the feelings and experiences of how I feel inwardly cannot be fully communicated verbally, but can be spoken about in common level and specific terms to guide to a general understanding. I learned early on that I always acted more animalistic than others—especially as a child. I favoured running on all fours, yipping and barking when I became happy or excited, howling as a greeting or whistling for communicating over long distances (creds to dad for that one), growling, biting, or clawing as a means of displaying anger, annoyance, or rage, learning how to climb before I could walk, etc. These behaviours have been a part of me as long as I can remember, and will continue to be as long as I live. Though years of bullying put me in shame about it, I could not nor would not ignore how it always felt natural to communicate and behave this way, and luckily my family and friends have always been accepting and accommodating of my behavior, never forbidding me from how I express myself as they understand I am most comfortable through it. I’ve learned I can exist happily this way.

they/he

Muscogee-Irish

sfw blog

wolfkin/werewolfkin

wulverkin

dire wolfkin

Growing up I never understood gender rules or stereotypes. All the “rules” felt so convoluted and made up as I never felt I identified with either side of the gender binary. I always felt the body I have is just one I happen to inhabit. I understood the concept of ‘social gender’ as learned behaviour and displays, one that I nor my family cared much for obeying. I was raised in thought of modern day femininity and masculinity to not be a personal necessity, but that it was simply a social aspect of adherence. Instead, the individuality of masculinity and femininity became important in my development of forming an inward balance between the two, grappling with how the world taught me to be and how I knew I truly was, and my parents had the very same sense. They had far more important things to worry about than socially gendering their little ones, they were busy raising us cubs! With this in mind, my family instead taught us to embrace ourselves and everything we entail. I remember watching my mother’s uncanny ability to be a whisperer to every animal taught me true empathy, to understand the everything has a soul, feelings, and heart. My father’s unwavering love for his lifemate and cubs taught us to love our inner children and gave me the ability to understand myself, knowing I would have support from them. When I discovered how I felt inside had words to it, it felt like my eyes were opened for the first time, and knowing they would accept my innermost self has been all I need to know. My relationship towards my physical form and my emotions have become deeper and more spiritual as I grow, but the word ‘therian’ is as close as I can get to identifying my inner state verbally. It is outside ‘human’. *kinning is not always inherently related to one’s spiritual journey/gender identity, but can be for many. my kinship and two spirituality are separate whilst being shared through language expression. free to ask any questions!

all therians, otherkin, alterhumans, nonhumans, lycanthropes, endels, extranths, polymorphs, vampires, werekin, paleokin, fictionkin, plantkin, objectkin, conceptkin, voidkin, othervague, hybrids, otherhearted, fictionhearted, furries, and those that are questioning are more than welcome here!

#ruff ruff #wolfkin #therian #therianthropy #werewolfkin #caninekin #dogkin #otherkin #theriankin #wulverkin #alterhuman #kin #kinning

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nabbit-unmasked · 3 months

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hi!! i was wondering if you could explain the concept of placekin a bit more! as an alterhuman myself i want to open myself to as many identities as possible so i can show respect and support for everyone! if you could explain a bit about what it is i’d really appreciate it!! :33

Of course! Tysm for asking and being so open-minded!

This is a long one, so sorry if my response took a while! I tried to be as in-detail as possible.

Placekin (also known as locationkin) is a subdivision of otherkinity/alterhumanity where one identifies as a place.

The place someone identifies as might be here in our physical world or universe, or it might be a fictional, conceptual, or spiritual place.

Some "common" examples I've seen are countries, states, and places from video games!

The place might not have a definite name or boarder, either. For example, it might be a biome, landform, body of water, void, space, or coordinate.

There are many more examples of places one might identify as, but as long as they feel like their kintype would fall under the "placekin" label, then they may choose to use it!

As for what it's like to be placekin, there is no one way to experience this identity. Placekins might have shifts or experience sentience with their kin, while others may not.

You can think of it on a similar level to conceptkin and objectkin, and placekin might also choose to identify under one of these labels as well!

As for myself, I've had one mental shift before, but it was of my heart-type, the D.R.C.. (Yes, places can count as otherhearted too!)

During this shift, I felt like everything around me was the size of a mountain, even bigger than that. My consciousness was somewhere "in the sky" (aka the air above me), while my body was the land.

As I said before, places can be heart-types too, and this could fall under the placekin umbrella, if you think about it as a general term to describe those whose identity (or part of their identity) is surrounded by a place.

Other terms in this umbrella might include placelink (choosing to identify as a place), heart homes (a place that one sees as their true home), and hiraeths (an unreachable place that one longs for).

Of course, you don't have to identify under the placekin umbrella (or alterhuman/nonhuman at all, for that matter) to have one of these as part of your identity. A mainstream human might have a heart-home or a hiraeth, as well.

That's all for this post, but of you have any other questions, feel free to ask! I hope this was a helpful resource for you :)

#placekin #placekin questions #ask response #CARstuff🇨🇫#otherkin #alterhuman #nonhuman #placelink #placehearted #hiraeth #heart home #kin #therian #therianthropy #fictionkin #therian community #alterhumanity #I am the CAR kin

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fictionkinfessions · 15 days

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what a wild experience it is to be relatively young while also having a large number of past lives constantly popping up in my memory.

i've been nonhuman more times than i know, but just like i suited myself then, humanity fits me perfectly now. i have more estranged family members than the combined amount of everyone i've met in this life, but still act awkward around my blood relatives because i haven't quite gotten confident in this new self yet. i've worked any imaginable number of jobs but my new first one still seems just as intimidating, at least socially. i've held unbelievable, unsustainable power and more times than not used it for good, for the sake of my people, but i feel guilty accepting simple help from my loved ones. every past and present social convention is more suggestion to me now, yet still i follow, knowing there's nothing worse than being above or below everything where the only part of you others can see is your shadow.

where i once was the pitch black void of destruction for my enemies, i'm now small and soft and doting, and the craziest part is, i was always both.

i cycle between feeling intimidated by/estranged to those older than me and thinking of people my age or older as kids. just like most anyone, they're rambunctious and unafraid and openly, adorably don't know what they're doing because, in their eyes, it's the beginning of their first time. i've done that, too, but remembering it from the perspective of beyond keeps me from experiencing it quite the same way again. the amount of times even before adulthood i have been referred to as an "old soul" is comical- i am old, so old that my highest desire is to teach, to care, to protect others whenever they need it, yet i'll never be too old to remain young in the ways that matter. every menial "coming of age" thing i have done and will go on to do i have done once, twice, a thousand times, but this time is not special in that it won't be when i stop getting excited. my brain prevents me from remembering it all, but if i've learned anything, it's that excitement and joy are all that remain when all else fades away. knowing this means every choice i make will not be a missed or seized opportunity, rather a dedication to love and life itself.

i've had the hard truths of existence carved into my mind over and over. i've been broken and reassembled and built up to tumble back again, yet each time i move on, the burning remnants become nothing more than a fuzzy afterimage that superimposes itself on my being, now entirely different in the exact same way. really, that's the beauty of it; a different body and mind with the same information will come to a different conclusion, even if similar. no set of hands can sculpt a lump of clay the exact same way twice. i am the clay and i am the hands and i am the eyes that gaze upon my self-creation in admiration, in a way some may wish to but cannot in quite as much depth. one day i will hold an entirely new form and choose a new, yet equally true, metaphor to describe the ways in which i've changed. and then, too, i will be young and grown, and grow up while remaining young, and love relentlessly, unconditionally. in this, i will never be alone.

collectively, i'd say my age outranks that of this universe itself. but just like it, i am still a kid, marvelling at the gift of life with bright eyes despite every wild possibility. beauty is within the love you create. so i say to you, another irreplicable creation within the crushing embrace of existence:

reread that cringe book you like, or replay that game that used to be your favorite as a kid, or pick up the hobby you've wanted to try that you know the people around you would think is lame. rant about the most seemingly meaningless things just because you wanna. be as spiritual or non-spiritual as you wish. embrace your various identities and interests with a whole heart, and if they change, let them. you change every day you exist, and you will never be precisely as you were or will be, which makes the you you are now infinitely valuable. if your people are too blinded by the biases of this world to make peace with the harmless things that bring you joy, find new people who can admire the story of each smudged fingerprint in your surface just as readily as every smooth curve and minute detail. whether it be through friendship, romance or family, let yourself be shaped by the influence of others in that irreplicable way you would never achieve on your own. stand on your business when you have to, act the way you feel, speak your mind. make mistakes and learn from them, and make them again, and learn something entirely new. take it from me: you will never run out of things to learn or to love, and that's the greatest gift of all. learn what you need and what you can, and most importantly of all, learn what you love so that you might have the time to love it for as long as possible. remember your time is limited, but acknowledge anything you do to fulfill yourself or something important/necessary to you is not a waste, despite how limited you may be. take whatever pace makes you comfortable, no matter what vindictive minds may insist, and live a life full of all the things you and your loved ones desire, so that no matter when the day comes that you move on, you will know it was worth it.

and, if you can, leave a positive impact on those you meet who could use your irreplicable influence. never force yourself to become beholden to another (just as any other shouldn't be to you) and uphold your personal safety before anyone else's, but if you have the chance to change something for the better, don't choose to let it go. if nothing else, you'll thank yourself for it, as will i. i know you're struggling, and you are trying, and i love you. i believe in you. as long as you always protect and value your own voice, you will live in the best way. never give up on that.

(p.s: also don't give up on your sleep schedule! i'm sitting in tumblr writing this at 4 am on a friday morning. when this is posted, chances are you will never know me or even want to, but remember those you do know and hold them fondly in your heart. and especially appreciate those who choose to work for the benefit of others, like mpc! (thank you for providing this space for people to share things they otherwise couldn't.))

to whoever you might be today, take it easy out there.

- a friend

#fictionkinfessions #fictionkin #memories issue #seekin #ableist language cw #mod party cat

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wxlfbites · 10 months

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This is the final thing I will be saying regarding my opinions on therians.

My whole point was this:

I do not care if you wear a cat mask and do quadrobics, if that’s what you wanna do, then do it, but do not call your a therian if you do not identify as an animal. That’s the only way someone can be a therian is to identify as an animal, whether that’s something you were born with or something that has developed over time, you identify as an animal. However you decide to express that, however you decide to explain why you identify as an animal, all that matters is that you do identify as nonhuman in some way. And not like a “I’m super energetic so I’m a dog” kind of way, in a “I am a dog because of some spiritual or psychological reason that is deeper than relating myself to them on a surface level like having one single animal-like trait”. You know, the whole discussion about how apes and humans share certain traits naturally because of evolution so in order to know if you’re experiencing ape-like traits or human ones, you have to actually look into yourself further? Yeah…

Anyway.. the people that have been arguing with me have been twisting my words to make it sound like I’m saying that no one can do quadrobics or wear a mask if they’re a therian. That doing those things makes them a nontherian. That’s not what I’m saying and the people who have actually read what I’ve been saying without a victim complex know this. I’ve been saying that the only requirement for being a therian is to identify as nonhuman. Quadrobics is not a requirement. Masks and gear are not a requirement. What is a requirement though is to identify as nonhuman. If you do not meet this requirement, you are not a therian. There are other words to describe what you actually are, but you are not a therian if you do not identify as nonhuman. Again. One more time for the people in the back now. You are not a therian if you do not identify as nonhuman. But the TikTok Therians want you to think that being a therian is only about doing quadrobics, liking animals and wearing gear. They think therianthropy is not an identity, but rather something anyone can be if they want to have animalistic fun.

That. was my point. If you still misinterpret it, it only proves how much of a victim you want to be. Because I’ve literally just spelled it out letter by letter so there is no room for misunderstanding me. Any further questions? Good. Now leave me alone and go jump over a broom or something.

#alterhumanity #alterhuman #writings #otherkin #otherhearted #otherkinity #nonhuman #therian #therianthropy #werewolf #thewerecommunity #werecreature #thewolfbites #wolven

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hundrkottr · 8 months

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Just some thoughts I wanted to share. 🐺

//Topic - My nonhuman childhood and how it was never caused by media//

I commonly come across people who blame the internet and media influence for therianthropy/nonhumanity. And I can definitely see how that CAN indeed happen. I mean, media REALLY influences people, especially children/minors who are in their mental development stages.

For myself though its never really been the case? I dont mean "ive always felt i wasnt human". Like.. yes but its more than that.

As a child I believed I was some kind of physical shapeshifting creature. I believed puberty would transform me into the animal i was supposed to be.

Delusional right? Well, I was a child. And I never had anybody to tell me why i felt like that. I didnt have television, the internet or media. I had no way of understanding something that was never shown or taught. Not like any adult would ever even talk about this to begin with. Not until social media evolved of course. So yea... i believed "i must be physically nonhuman in some sense? Like... a hybrid?"

I knew the things that made me nonhuman. The animalistic desires and behaviours that surpass what is normal for a human being. Even more abnormal than earlier human ancestors. I felt limbs that werent there I thought, "if amputees can feel absent limbs.. well.. maybe mine were removed? Or they have yet to grow?"

Sure autism could influence my experiences. But regardless. These arnt normal behaviours.

I did know to hide my behaviours from adults though. My lil sister was the only one to see it. Id walk on all fours, id gnaw on dog bones and tree branches, id drink from puddles, id eat grass, id bark and growl and howl. Id hunt for real animals, roll in mud and stinky substances, I played more with dogs and cats than i did people. I ate anything that seemed edible outside (dont do this kids, its dangerous pfft). I wanted my meat as close to fresh and raw as possible (no seasonings or anything). I wore bandanas around my neck, because collars were a "no-no". I wore ears, and tails made of scarves. I let my nails grow and obsessed over my canine teeth.

This could all have been explained by early imprinting on dogs. But... i never had any close connections to dogs until much later on after these behaviours were already noticeable. I only had imprinted on cats, but that behaviour was entirely different. And all were indoor cats who lazied around. Nothing like the wild canine brained creature that I believed i was.

After over a decade of nonhuman behaviours, once puberty set in, i realized I wasnt becoming an animal. And slowly that realization sunk in, and I lost a part of myself. I felt alone, lost, confused. I stopped being myself for many years. Forcing a mask. Hiding my autistic traits, and my non-human behaviours. Wearing a mask and trying to be what others considered normal.

Until, I found the therian community.

I was 16 by then. And it was through my new stepsister who shared so with me.

I can remember finally feeling like I understood a part of myself. I wasnt crazy, or psychotic. I wasnt delusional. I was what people called a therianthrope. Someone who psychologically or spiritually is an animal. Within, not physically of course. People who weren't crazy. And who had a diversity of animal identities. Dogs, cats, birds, horses, fish and deer. All kinds. And not just children either. Adults, kids and other teens like myself.

I found a place I could belong. (A bit more at least, i still have a hard time belonging here.)

Now, after years, my identity is solid. I may not use any labels, but in some shape or form, psychologically or spiritually, i am and have always been a canine and a bear. I do still hide my animalistic traits from the public and my peers/family. But i express it when i can, in my own home or the woods that we own. 🐾

// When it comes to being a walk-in spirit, thats an entirely different thing. And i didnt mention the experiences tied to that. Its not the same, despite having some influence on my nonhuman identities. //

Alright! Thats it. That was quite a handful of information. But hope it was enjoyed. If anybody read it at all.

You can share your own with me if you'd like. Either in a comment, as a share or DM. 🌱

#therian #therianthrope #therianthropy #therians #alterhuman #otherkin #coyote therian #bear therian #wolf therian #canine therian #dog therian #non human #nonhuman

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xenodelic · 2 years

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On Defining Otherkin

TL;DR - Having a simple, consensus definition for the word otherkin can be helpful for explaining the identity to outsiders and newcomers. However, we reject the idea that any one person or group can authoritatively decide the definition. And we find that the stricter the definition is, the more likely you are to exclude people who would feel at home in our community.

Our inspiration for writing this is in response to recent community discussion in the past few days. Keep in mind, this is not an attack on anyone in particular, nor an attempt to "debunk" anyone or be inflammatory. This post is our opinion about how the word otherkin is defined, and why we believe that imposing strict definitions is harmful to the community. We invite open and honest discussion, either in reblogs / replies or in our DMs if you'd like to speak privately.

Post under the cut.

Here is the "consensus definition" we will be working with, and critiquing, in this post:

Otherkin: An individual who identifies, partially or wholly, as nonhuman on some non-physical level - typically mentally or spiritually. This identity is in some way innate or otherwise involuntary.

This definition is based on what we personally see used most often, and is found in several community-based dictionaries, such as this Alterhuman Dictionary. This does not mean it is "The" definition of otherkin, it is merely one we see used very commonly. Hence why we are using it as the so-called "consensus" definition.

If someone who has never heard of otherkin asked for an explanation, we believe this is a perfectly acceptable starting place. It accurately summarizes quite a large majority of the community, and is a good basis to build off of for further discussion.

So what are our issues with it? We'll go point by point.

1.) Defining otherkin as a non-physical identity. This portion of the definition is technically accurate in the sense that the vast majority of the community do not consider themselves to be physically nonhuman. Otherkin experiences most often exist on a psychological or spiritual level. It would absolutely be inaccurate to say that otherkin IS a physical identity.

However, strictly excluding those who experience their nonhumanity on a physical level leaves out large swaths of the community. While its not quite as common anymore, there has historically been members of the community who considered themselves to be genetically nonhuman. This can include changelings, those who believe that their ancestors had children with nonhuman beings, those who believe their DNA has been altered in some way, and many more. We ourselves believe that we have lycanthropic DNA tracing back to distant ancestors.

There are also those who simply consider their body to be a nonhuman body. "I am nonhuman, and this is my body, therefore it is a nonhuman's body." This is not necessarily a denial of one's physiology, simply a statement of one's self determination about the nature of their body.

More information about those who are physically nonhuman.

This definition also excludes people with Clinical Lycanthropy as well as some Endels. Not all CLs and Endels consider themselves to be otherkin, but many do!

The point we are trying to make is that while otherkin is generally a non-physical identity - experiencing your nonhumanity on a physical level does not and should not exclude you from being otherkin.

2.) Defining otherkin as involuntary. Same logic applies here as with the previous point. Otherkin identities are generally involuntary, and the vast majority did not choose to otherkin. It would be inaccurate to say that otherkin is a choice for most people.

However, identity alteration is absolutely an option for some people. Many people have fluid identities, and some choose to move towards a different experience of the self.

Believe me, I know this is a sensitive topic, especially for those who have experienced the trauma of others trying to forcibly change something about them. Just because some people out there voluntarily alter their identity, that DOES NOT mean you chose yours, or that you can or should change yourself in anyway.

All it means is that people are not static. Not everybody was "born this way" and that's ok! And just like people should respect that one person's identity is innate, we should also respect that for others it might not be.

There has been much written about otherlinkers and copinglinkers who began with a voluntary identity that eventually became involuntary over time. Many linkers consider their linktype to have become a kintype. Some people gained a nonhuman identity through magical rituals. Others had an identity alteration after trauma, or some other life-changing event. Some system members gain a nonhuman identity after voluntarily fusing with another system member. There has always been multiple theories to how people can be otherkin, and several of them include some level of intentional connection.

Hell, even tracing community history back to its very beginnings, the Silver Elves believed that wanting to be an Elf was enough for you to be one!

So in general, a kintype is very rarely a choice, but there are some people who gained it through voluntary means, whether directly or indirectly. That does not make their identity any less genuine than an involuntary one, and it certainly does not exclude them from being otherkin.

On page 66-67 of Orion Scriber's Directory, you can find several writings about becoming nonhuman, as well as those who are no longer nonhuman.

We also strongly recommend reading aestherian's essay on the history of voluntary identities in the community.

3.) Defining otherkin as strictly nonhuman. This is a tricky one to explain. Again, otherkin has always been defined as a nonhuman identity, so it's perfectly accurate to explain it that way. However, we do think there is room for exceptions.

One possible exception to the rule being human fictionkin. Many human fictionkin consider themselves separate from otherkin, which is totally fine. However, some consider their experiences to be very similar to otherkin. Especially if their human fictotype has traits that are not standard to this world's humans - such as superpowers, magic, or physical traits such as being born with purple or pink eyes. These deviations may cause a fictionkin to relate more to nonhumans, despite technically being human by the standards of their source.

Some nonhuman system members do not consider their nonhuman identity to be a kintype, instead they may be an extranth or something else entirely. However, nonhuman system members can have human fictotypes - thus the "other" in "otherkin" would actually be the human identity, rather than the nonhuman identity.

There are lesser known groups who identify as no-longer extant human ancestors and other hominids, such as Homo Erectus and Neanderthals. These definitely blur the line between human and not, but we would argue that they are certainly "other"!

And yes, we do think someone with a fact-type (factkin, etc) could consider themselves otherkin if they feel their experiences align. We know this subject is touchy, and we don't have time to get into in-depth, but the point is about whether or not the individual feels that their experiences align with others in the community.

We think its perfectly acceptable to define otherkin as being a nonhuman identity, but there should be room for others who fall in unusual categories or relate to nonhumans in general.

Again, this is on a case-by-case basis and is up to the individual to define whether they feel they fall under the otherkin umbrella. If one relates to otherkin experiences or feels at home in the community, one should have the right to self determine themselves as such. Even if they "don't fit" the standard definition.

4.) "Otherkin isn't a mental illness / delusion". Ok, so, this is a brief interlude to critiquing the definition above. This is more in response to the general talking point that comes up time and time again.

This talking point is largely in reaction to anti-kin rhetoric. Anti-kin often bash otherkin in ableist ways, such as saying that identifying as nonhuman must be a mental illness. It makes perfect sense to respond, "no, it isn't" especially if you yourself have kintypes that aren't related to mental illness.

However, there's a few problems with this response. When anti-kin say "otherkin is a mental illness", it is with the unspoken implication that something rooted in mental illness means that it isn't real, that it is wrong in some way, and that it should be fixed or cured. By responding "but its not a mental illness!" one is often, without realizing it, contributing to that same stigma.

It is far more accurate to say "otherkin isn't inherently a mental illness". Which is true, however, it would be very helpful to follow it up with something like, "And even if that's the case, which it is for some, that would not make it any less valid or genuine."

Mentally ill and delusional people still have the right to self determination. A kintype rooted in mental illness is not any less genuine than kintypes of other origins. By excluding otherkin with these sorts of origins, you are implicitly contributing to ableist and sanist stigma that mentally ill people do not have the same level of autonomy to decide their identity.

Like it or not, many nonhuman identities come from trauma, delusions, neurodivergence, and more. If that does not apply to you, that's perfectly fine! There is nothing wrong with stating that your kintype is not rooted in mental illness, and that many otherkin are similar. But when doing so, you do not have to throw mentally ill nonhumans under the bus.

5.) Who gets to decide what is and isn't otherkin? Well, we could start back at the very beginning, when the term was coined. The word "otherkind" was coined to be a more broad and inclusive alternative to Elvenkind. However, this was over 30 years ago, and a hell of a lot has changed since then.

Therian, otherkin, and other nonhuman communities used to be almost entirely separate, with hundreds of scattered, isolated forums and chatrooms all across the internet. Now most of us are consolidated to the major social media sites, and intermingling more than ever.

Otherkin and all the intersecting communities have exploded outwards into all sorts of directions. However, even when the communities were a lot smaller and more isolated - there never was, and never could be, a leader of otherkin. There are well known figureheads and respected greymuzzles - but no leaders, no rulers, no gods, no masters.

No one single person, or group of people gets to define what otherkin is. There is no gatekeeper, there is no arbiter of the otherkin experience. I don't care how long they've been in the community, or how many followers they have, or how well respected they are. Nobody is the authority. The best we can hope for is to come to a very loose consensus, and to always leave room for nuance.

And trust me, we get it. The harm that "kin for fun" (or kin-as-relating) has done to our community have made many want to be cautious. Having a solid, clean definition of otherkin would give us something nice and easy to point to and say "They aren't real otherkin!". However, its really not that simple.

KFF / KAR aren't harmful solely because they're using the "wrong definition" - they're harmful because they push ableist and sanist rhetoric. They're harmful because they push the idea that anyone who is genuinely nonhuman MUST be delusional while also excluding and making fun of actual delusional nonhumans. They're harmful because they shit on people's spiritual beliefs and punish "problematic" kintypes. They're harmful because they refuse to understand the way that their rhetoric has damaged our communities.

And unfortunately, we do not have a solution to that problem. But what we can tell you is that creating a stricter definition of otherkin and attempting to harshly gatekeep our community is NOT going to fix anything. There have been countless testimonies from kin who have been harmed, abused, or had their self-discovery set back by years because of community gatekeeping. Attempting to draw clear lines in the sand is only going to push out newbies, questioning otherkin, and those with more complex relationships to their sense of self.

There is never going to be a definition of otherkin that perfectly includes all kin and perfectly excludes all non-kin.

People are just too complex to be sorted into neat little boxes that way. There will always be grey areas, nuances, and blurred lines. There will always be individuals who do not want to be sorted, and never could be. There will always be those who don't quite fit in, but still choose to make their home with us.

And we should be the first to welcome them.

6.) So how do we define otherkin? Well, like we said, we can never come up with a perfect definition of the word. And we certainly do not have the authority to do so. But we have some suggestions that may help create a more inclusive consensus definition for newcomers and outsiders.

Let's start with the definition from above, and modify it a bit.

Otherkin: An individual who identifies, partially or wholly, as something nonhuman - typically on a mental or spiritual level. May also include individuals who identify as non-standard deviations of humanity, such as fictional humans.

Is this perfect? No, definitely not. Admittedly its a bit clunky. But the purpose is to include wiggle room for exceptions, such as the word "typically" and "may also include". The purpose of this definition is not to exclude those who aren't otherkin, but to include those who may be otherkin.

We once again want to reiterate that nobody has to use this version (in fact, we welcome anyone to pitch in and critique it). The definition from the start of this post is perfectly workable, so long as one clarifies that it is a general explanation, and may not include all the nuances of otherkinity.

Our major goal here is to ensure that whatever definition we use, that we do not do so with the intention to exclude - but rather to explain, invite curiosity, and to welcome kin from all experiences into our community.

#otherkin #otherkind #nonhuman #alterhuman #terms #terminology #discussion #long post #lol the length of this post got super out of hand but we hope its still readable #oh well just gonna toss this post out into the wind #my writing #our writing

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kleeradragon · 9 months

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There's an experience I have that I don't think I've ever seen talked about anywhere, and I'd like to go through it and see if there isn't anyone else who has experienced similar.

See, when I first discovered myself to be a dragon/otherkin/therian/nonhuman, I was of the spiritual sort because that's what felt expected. I didn't even know a psychological side to it existed until later. I got my share of memories and info about my supposed past life and whatnot as a result of this imposed expectation, and some of those memories were pretty unpleasant. Traumatic, even. But eventually I found out about the psychological side of things, and I wanted to take a more psychological approach to my nonhumanity. I didn't feel attached to that existence/past anymore, I suppose I never totally did, I took it all as it came. Cause y'know, expectations, perhaps looking for things that wouldn't otherwise be there.

Not long after that I moved away from a nonhuman identity due to community issues and a general lack of feeling for it, only to return to it a couple years later when feelings for it came back in full force. And in digging around for those feelings, I had to ponder my old kin memories that I no longer necessarily believe in. Through that I realized that they still affect me like any trauma would, even after years of not believing those memories to be real. Now, sure, one can say that coping with trauma in a not-so-great way isn't gonna make the hurt go away. I totally get that. But these memories, false or not, did not happen to me directly, even if they may feel as such. There's a degree of separation. Couple that with the amount of time it's been since I gave much thought to them… I just thought and hoped that maybe that would be enough.

Either because those false memories still affect me, or because it's just what I was so used to thinking back in the day, sometimes I still slip back into thinking of my dragon self as a past life. All of this together makes it so hard to really tell whether my draconity is psychological or spiritual, even if it is a choice of belief in the end. I prefer the psychological approach -- that's just the sort of person I am. But the expectations from the past, and their resulting feelings and potentially-false memories complete with exotrauma, make it hard to let go of the notion of having been a dragon in a past life. It feels like those things really happened because that's what the memories were unintentionally crafted to do, because that was the expectation. These things make it so complicated and blurry what exactly the nature of my nonhumanity is.

My point of saying all this is to ask: has anyone else had a similar experience? Of having past life memories they don't necessarily still believe are true but can't shake? And if anyone has figured out a way to shake them… would you be willing to share how you did so? Definitely definitely would love to hear!

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raging-anjanath · 2 years

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Voluntary vs. Involuntary Otherkin Identity

Arguments that connect how voluntary or involuntary someone's identity is to how legitimate and valid they are as otherkin is something I've seen a lot of in the past. Partook of myself when I was a teenager, even!

I understand why it happens. It's connected to a lot of community anxiety that's rooted in how otherkin have been treated in the past. We've been mocked both alive to our faces and post-mortem after we're gone. We've been totally misunderstood and misrepresented by everyday people with audiences and serious academics who should know better alike. When it became less popular to bully us, we had our words taken and redefined by people outside the community to mean vibing or stanning or liking something a lot.

With that historical context, I can't really blame people for having this anxiety. I can't even blame myself for still having it a little bit, with everything I've personally seen and read. It's buried deep, like a rotting fang that needs to get pulled. Some people might even argue that more restrictive attitudes around otherkinship have protected us in the past. Maybe to a small degree they're right, but it's done so much harm that just can't be ignored. To go back to the fang metaphor, it needs to be treated or pulled out, but it can't be left to keep destroying the bone.

Someone's self-perceptions should be the most important thing. If someone sees themself as nonhuman, however they explain it, then they are nonhuman! If they think the word otherkin fits their experiences best based on how they've seen it used and how they relate to that, then they are otherkin. We should trust the things that people say to us if they haven't given us a reason not to.

Someone's actions are the second most important thing. Because I think people should be allowed to use whatever term they feel fits... So long as they're not hurting themselves or others. This is where we get into territory of someone using the otherkin label to try and convince people to join their abusive pack, or to sell their lowkey racist book on physical shapeshifting, or to justify their awful treatment of animals and other people. It's a little bit like the paradox of tolerance. We should always take what people say in good faith, but we also shouldn't be afraid to point out when people are abusing the community and its language for cruel or abusive ends. Complete exclusion can be harmful, but so can complete inclusion. There has to be nuance and balance. Not everyone is going to agree on where to draw that line but it's still something we can all probably agree should still be there.

Maybe my views on this are a little self-centered, because my identity as an Anjanath isn't something I was born with and doesn't have a spiritual origin. It's something that would have been really heavily criticized in more elitist groups. But even with that in mind, I still think that trying to gatekeep based on origin or explanations doesn't work when it's what we are and how we feel and what we do that matters most. Gatekeeping doesn't protect us in any worthwhile way. It doesn't help us correct the people who are taking about us in ways that are accidentally wrong or even malicious. It only ends up hurting people who don't have more popular or publicly talked about identities. Gatekeeping isn't what helps us define our communities! It's how we engage with our communities and what cultures we make around them that does.

#otherkin #fictionkin #Fallterhumanity Month #therian #fictherian

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creatureheart · 8 months

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Journal 05

Being so new to the community, I'm kinda just floating on the outskirts, trying to allow myself to figure things out, which I know takes time.

That being said, I feel like I hesitate at times in allowing myself to think about things because a lot of stuff you come across leans more into spiritual based things, and I have never been a spiritual being, so to try and look at my nonhumaness through a spiritual lens I don't think will ever really work.

I don't have phantom shifts, that I know of? Or would even know what to look for with them? And while I think reincarnation is a cool idea — and is technically the one afterlife belief that would make some kind of sense because all matter is recycled and used again — I don't have any way to know if I have past lives.

But would something to do with how I see my gender and ideal self be enough to make me nonhuman?

Would that be psychological?

Or would that be another reason a part from the two listed for a nonhuman identity?

Part of me is, in the clearest way possible, anxious and worried that I cannot truly be nonhuman without a certain idea to my nonhuman self. Matching what I have seen among those also part of the community, even though I know no one is the same, or experiences their identity the same way.

And then there is the fear of finding out I might not be nonhuman, even though exploring your identity and realizing you're not something is entirely valid... but I also do think that I am nonhuman as I have just never really been human regarding actions and thoughts about myself, etc, etc.

I don't know. =(

— Pandora

#creature; the mind #otherkin #otherhearted #otherkind #therianthropy #therian #nonhuman #alterbeing #alterhuman #comments and interaction is welcome on these journals

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batsbolts-andfangs · 14 days

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hi, I don't expect you to answer this, I completely understand if you don't and I understand this is possibly a very personal question but do you have a deeper explanation for physical and ancestral nonhumanity? I'm not really sure I understand what they are, I understand they're completely valid but really all I know is their names and a vague understanding of what they are, I really only understand what psychological and spiritual nonhumanity is and I know that those are very important and valid parts of alterhuman identity but I'd prefer to know more then just that, I just feel a bit uneducated tbh.

I don't have an answer on ancestral nonhumanity, as I can't speak for myself since I am not an ancestral nonhuman and don't know anyone who is so I can't (and will not) speak for them either. Any ancestral nonhuman is welcome to chime in and explain.

As for physical nonhumanity I will speak for myself.

It essentially just means to identify as physically nonhuman one way or another. whether it be a voluntary choice ("this soul is nonhuman therefore the body that holds this soul is, too", etc), could be influenced by delusions, or could be caused with something like trauma, neurodivergence, etc, there are many reasons as to why one may identify as a physical nonhuman. Personally I choose to use the label holothere. The word has a link to it. I believe I'm mixed origins as to why I'm a holothere; trauma, neurodivergence, somewhat influenced by delusions as my depression comes with psychotic features, and a voluntary choice. I am a werebat however the eyes can't see that. My true self is hidden under a veil, what everyone else sees as the "human". However just because no one can see it doesn't mean it isn't true. I am a werebat physically, that is all there is to it. Everyone experiences things differently and if you were to ask another individal why they are a physical nonhuman you would get a different response.

There are more labels to physical nonhuman than holothere as well, I just chose to use that as an example because I myself identify as holothere.

I am not sure if this answers your question, apologies if it doesn't, I'm not too good at words. But as a summary, a physical nonhuman is just someone who identifies physically as nonhuman for whatever reason and could also be to various degrees. This can also be related to other identities like therian, otherkin, -hearted identities and -link identities but for me it's almost its own identity besides the bat part.

If I am wrong about anything, anyone is free to chime in and correct me as long as they are civil about it. I am not here to start fights by answering this ask.

#🐕‍🦺︴batty questions #nonhuman #physical nonhuman #physically nonhuman

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tempestgnostic · 15 days

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i really do hope we can challenge this pervasive idea that nonhuman identity requires ‘memories’ or whatever

like, that’s just not a component for many of us and our identities! many of us don’t even source our theriotypes/kintypes/etc as being from a past life. i do consider myself a spiritual therian, though. (i’m considering ‘animal coessence’ as the source of at least one of my theriotypes)

the only past life experiences i’ve ever had have been related to vague feelings of ‘this ain’t my first rodeo’ when it comes to being a queer person facing overt oppression the way we have been, especially trans people within the last few years (in the states, i can’t speak to the rest of the world obviously) because it’s nothing new and i feel like i’ve done this before

but my jackal, serpent, and jaguar? they don’t feel like past lives. they feel like they’re intimately connected to this life, to who i am right now. maybe i carry echoes of my past life, or even multiple past lives, but the way that i conceive of the universe doesn’t really put emphasis on past lives, and i certainly don’t have any ‘memories’ of them, human or otherwise

#tali talks #nonhuman #i’m gonna take a nap but i had thoughts

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roguetelepaths · 10 months

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Hi, New Followers

So, I got a buuuunch of new followers overnight, I think it was from the "unmedicated doesn't mean perfectly functional all the time" post or maybe the "you can't oppression olympics your way out of being traumatized" post? I'm glad to see that people like what I post, anyway.

Anyway. Hi. I'm Sparrow (ey/em, they/them.) I'm mostly a DS9 blogger, and that's the fandom I'm most involved in writing for, though you might occasionally see Dune, Mass Effect, Babylon 5, and other stuff too. I am a big fan of people getting absolutely fucked up in space. My main area of interest in DS9 fandom is the Dominion, and my main fanfiction project at the moment is Challengers, a several-decades-post-canon longfic (currently at slightly over 10,000 words) about Odo adopting and raising a young Vorta. This project explores the interplay of power and responsibility, as well as the harm done to both parent and child by the social insistence that children are the property of their parents, but my hope is that it's also fun to read. It's a work in progress and I try to update at least every few months, though my schedule is sporadic. If you want to be on a taglist for new updates, let me know and I'll add you.

I also have a Discord server for fans of the Dominion. It's relatively small, but it's active, and we have some good conversations in there. We're planning a prompt week in August!

Disability/neurodiversity related content isn't the bulk of what I post, or even a fraction, but it is something I have a lot of thoughts about. I keep most of them close to my chest unless I feel like others will appreciate them. I consider myself a psychiatric survivor and an ex-patient, I am unmedicated by choice, and I am for cognitive liberty and against policing the subjective experiences of others. No one has the right to pretend they know what is or isn't going on inside another person's head. All we can do is believe what people say about themselves.

I also occasionally post about religion and spirituality (from the perspective of a somewhat lapsed unconventional polytheist who does not in any sense identify as human), but I try not to do that so much on main. If you're interested in the sideblog I mostly use to collect witchy/pagan reblogs, or the somewhat low-posting sideblog I use to talk about nonhuman identity now that I've remade it, you can DM me. I'm cagey about these things, the latter thing especially, but seeing as I've gotten somewhat positive responses from those I've told, I'm slowly starting to come out of my shell about it.

And, I think that's it? I'm happy to see you all. I hope you enjoy, uh, whatever this is.

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who-is-page · 1 year

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hey, do you have any posts on the history of the kin community and the origin of the word? I just had an encounter with someone who said that fictionkin and otherkin are somehow different from just kin by itself... :P

I don't have any specific posts on that-- or rather, I'm sure I do, but they're buried in my tags and unfindable.

The standalone word "kin" meaning one's family or relations is, of course, a word that predates the otherkin and related community; but I have a feeling that in this ask, the individual you were involved with was either arguing that the shorthand of otherkin, 'kin, is somehow separate from the community (which it isn't-- it's shorthand for a reason!) or was arguing that people who inly ever use kin as a verb to mean "to stan," "to like," "to relate to," or "to take on the aesthetics of for fun," are separate from the otherkin community, which yes, they are.

For the former, "'kin as shorthand," that one seems pretty self-explanatory: sometimes, you get tired of typing out "otherkin" in a post or essay repetitively, and shorten it to just 'kin. You can even see the shorthand applied to anti-otherkin, who are often just shortened to being called "anti-kin" or "antikin." With that said, here's one older example of an excerpt by ex-Therianthrope Lupa Greenwolf from her A Field Guide to Otherkin, which uses 'kin as a shorthand: A Day in the Life of Otherkin.

For the latter, "kin for fun" or "KFF," as it's sometimes called nowadays, the history is a bit more fraught, but no: people like this are not otherkin, therian, nor fictionkin just for stanning celebrities nor for really liking specific characters. Otherkinity and identities related to it are considered to be about identifying as and on some level recognizing oneself as being something either partially or entirely nonhuman-- most typically through psychological or spiritual explanations or reasoning, but not always limited to just those two. These identities can be silly and fun in their own right, but if someone is just having silly fun in fandom spaces by picking out their annual blorbos or squeeing over the latest pop star RPF then that's a separate phenomena. It's still perfectly valid for people to do! It's just not something that makes people otherkin.

KFF evolved from anti-otherkin shenanigans in the mid-2010's: with anti-otherkin constantly insisting that otherkinity was a choice and a common experience that anyone could have but that people who called themselves otherkin were taking "too far." Some popular bloggers ended up picking up on this rhetoric, believing the anti-kin and spreading it further (usually also alongside the ableism, sanism, and bizarre antisemitism that anti-kin would push with it, which explains a lot of the rhetoric from KFF that's been aimed at otherkin in the past that I've seen).

One particular fictionkin blogger who later ended up being revealed to be a fake--a cis-woman who was revealed to have been lying about her race, her gender identity/status as a transgender person, and other things potentially besides for the sake of Internet Clout--YandereBitchClub, especially caused problems in the community and could even be argued to in some ways be the true founder of the KFF community from 2014~ish. She pushed narratives of kin as a voluntary, social justice/morality-related, fandom concept, saying things such as how queer individuals couldn't have fictotypes with characters who were straight/cis, and that "problematique" fictotypes meant you were actually an evil person IRL. Lots of harassment brigades, lots of being genuinely cruel and awful to actual fictionkin, this person and the resounding ideas that people took from them are in a lot of ways responsible for the fictionkin cultural crash of the mid-to-late 2010's. But she's not the only popular blogger who's spread misinformation, we've also seen it from people like Normal-Horoscopes and popular YouTubers like the Amazing Athiest (yuck).

So KFF aren't otherkin, and are much closer to just a subset of anti-otherkin based on everything. If they were placed on a timeline graph would look more something like...this:

Some sources below.

General Sources:

“Otherkin - People who identify either partially or wholly as one or more non-human beings, entities, or concepts in a psychological or spiritual manner.” (2015, Kinmunity.com, now defunct. RIP)

Otherkin timeline: The recent history of elfin, fae, and animal people, v. 2.0 (Unabridged). by Orion Scribner

Otherkin Lexicon: A multi-lingual dictionary of jargon used in the communities of otherkin, therianthropes, and other similar peoples. by Orion Scribner

Addendums to Scribner’s The Otherkin Timeline. by House of Chimeras

Examples of Otherkin defined as identifying as something nonhuman over the years:

“Otherkin, n. [Coined 1990 by Torin / Darren Stalder in the Elfinkind Digest listserve. E. other additional, or different in kind from the one implied + E. kin family, kind, race. Pl. otherkin. Based on contemporary use of the word elfinkin or elvenkin for people who identify as elves. Spelling note: some authors spell “otherkin” with a capital O, some don’t, and some use either. Syn. otherkind (obsolete).]

1. (elven comm., early otherkin comm.) [1990 in the Elfinkind Digest listserve.] (Never commonly used. Obsolete in mid-1990s.) The below definition, but limited to refer only to people who identify as mythological creatures other than elves. With such usage, a group of people who identified as elves, dragons, and satyrs would be called “elfinkin and otherkin.”

2. (otherkin comm.) [Circa 1992?] (Now commonly used.) Otherkin are real, non-fictional people who identify as other than human. Otherkin identify as creatures from myth and legend, usually elves, faeries, and dragons. This is a sincere identity, not role-play. Many otherkin identify as other than human for spiritual reasons; that is, they classify their identity as otherkin as a personal spiritual belief. Being otherkin is a very individualistic thing: each otherkin reaches his own explanation for how and why he is an otherkin. Some of their common spiritual explanations include that they are other than human in spirit, or they were other than human in past incarnations. Although spiritual belief is often involved, “otherkin” isn’t a religion. As such, each person who identifies as otherkin practices whatever religion he individually wants. It has always been the case that most of the otherkin community practices Neo-Pagan religions, and so that religious perspective shapes the common views and ideas in the otherkin community. Some otherkin don’t use spiritual explanations. Some otherkin believe that they are physically other than human, or that their ancestors were.

3. (otherkin, dragon, and therian communities) [Circa 2006] The above definition, but expanded to also include people who identify as animals (therianthropes). Less often, some people use the word “otherkin” as an even larger umbrella term to include otherkin, therianthropes, and vampires. A more appropriate umbrella term has yet to be made.

4. (fiction, outside of the otherkin comm.) [Circa 2006] Starting around 2006, several novelists later appropriated (or independently coined?) the term “otherkin” to refer to fictional, physically supernatural entities. In those novels, the term “otherkin” doesn’t refer to real kinds of people Otherkin Lexicon O. Scribner 25 who simply feel other-than-human at heart. Those authors include paranormal romance novelists Nina Bangs, Anya Bast, and Delilah Devlin.″ (2013, Orion Scribner’s Otherkin Lexicon)

“Personally I would describe Otherkin as any person who believes that they are, in some way, other than their kin (kin being humans), and kin to the other (the other being non-terrestrial/mythical/religious/etc. entities). This belief is something that can be spiritual or psychological but, at its core, it is a belief and not a physical condition.” (2013, Tumblr Otherkin FAQ from someone who has been in the community for 14+ years, since their description hasn't been updated in the last five years.)

“Otherkin: There are two main definitions of this term, and both are provided here so as to denote the prevalence of both definitions being used often. One definition is that otherkin is a general, overarching term for those people who feel they are in part or whole [non-physically] non-human, with one or more non-human otherkin types/aspects (also known as a ‘kintype); this is a category that therians are a subsection of, but it also includes a variety of other non-human creatures, including but not limited to mythical creatures. The other definition is the same except that it is not as generalized of a category and instead only denotes the creatures that are mythical, fantastical, or non-Earth animals.” (2013 or before, Project Shift)

“Otherkin. (uh’ther-kin) n. A person who believes her/his self to be of another species in spirit, or in some other way identifies with a particular creature, usually of myth and legend. For example, a person who accepts that she/he is human in body, but believes herself/himself to be a faery in spirit, or that she/he has elven ancestry, etc. Plural: otherkin. No adjectival form.“ (2009, Otherkin News on Livejournal)

“[��] a person who believes that, through either a nonphysical or (much more rarely) physical means, s/he is not entirely human.” (2007, Lupa’s Field Guide to Otherkin)

#Ask #Anonymous #Long post

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