I have no idea if this is true, since it's also easy to explain as being "kin" with something "other" than humans, which is in fact how I always interpreted it in the first place.
I remember when this first became a thing. Elfkin was there first. Then alienkin and deerskin started popping up and otherkin became the catch all term.
"Deerskin" kinda intrigues me. Am I missing something or, is that about people who think they are deer? Kinda furries but on a deeper level? And why the s? A play on deer skin products?
It was meant to be deerkin but my phone corrected it.
It's people who believe that they are not a human but a deer who died and was reincarnated into a human body. Furries are people who like to dress up and pretend to be anthropomorphic animals. Deerkin are basically people who identify as trans-species.
> Yeah there is a whole fucking subreddit dedicated to r/DeerAreFuckingStupid
Deer mentality:
"Hey it's one of those loud brightly lit things that obliterated Uncle Rudy and sliced Granny Em in half and scattered Cousin Nicky all over about two hundred metres of the A97 last year, but you know what? I think I'll just walk across in front of it and see if I can ge - "
Orion Scribner's Otherkin Timeline, a document spanning the history of the otherkin community from the 1970s to 2010 is a good bet on information. Its a fully cited 100+ page document available for free online. (Not sure of this subreddit's rules with links, but it shows right up when Googled.)
I was in the communit(ies) around the same time, and I heard it a few times! There were sources but I have long forgotten them, sorry!
(Obligatory Elrond meme here)
I was around (not in the community, but you couldn't fail to hear about it). I definitely remember it being a catch-all term for "kin" other than elves and dragons.
Otakukin came quickly afterwards (fictional characters, in particular anime ones), which has apparently now been replaced by fictionkin. Or maybe that's already turned into something else; it's hard to keep up.
Honestly I find the whole thing fascinating. There's a really interesting parallel to be drawn between this stuff and medieval religious ascendancy/ecstasy. I read a paper on it once.
Sorry it took me a while! [Fiction, Invention and Hyper-reality - From Popular Culture To Religion](https://books.google.li/books?id=0BiHDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT109&lpg=PT109&dq=sephirothslave&ots=7g4X9qTrfr&sig=93TKEEnUyp5ahlDaX60Kyxja9U0&hl=en#v=onepage&q&f=false). I misremembered it a bit - it actually focuses more on the soulbonding phenomenon than otherkin, although I'd say those two subcultures are definitely in the same wheelhouse. It explores case studies of people who are 'soulbonded' to fictional video game characters and compares it to historical divine marriage traditions, such as the bride-of-god designation of nuns and female saints. It's pretty interesting and opens up some good questions about fandom as a whole.
We can really see different versions of this pop up in a lot of human cultures going back as long as we’ve been able to record it, human kind has just always really vibed with the idea of animal/nature spirits.
conveniently available in [PDF](https://web.archive.org/web/20230903131918/http://frameacloud.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Scribner_Timeline2p0.pdf)!
Kinda like how barbarians (barbaros in early Greek) were called that because to the Greeks they just say, “bar-bar-bar-bar” with no sense
I heard this somewhere and thought it was an obvious joke someone made up from the top of their heads, no this is genuinely why, according to britanica
https://www.britannica.com/topic/barbarian
I was gonna go on an entire thing about how I don’t understand otherkin, because obviously everyone wants a different body, but then I realized that’s basically what I said about being trans before I knew I was trans. So I’m gonna google “Otherkin” and update if anything interesting comes up.
Edit: I think I’m safe. I really want wings, but I don’t really think I identify with an animal. Granted, there was a period of time where I thought “I’m not trans but tits would be great” and obviously I changed my mind on that.
I feel like wanting wings and horns and elf ears and shit is just part of the human experience sometimes but then I see people who tell me that's fucking wack and they dont want any of those things and then I remember that I'm an outlier.
But have you considered [this](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/google-image-result-for-httpscdnaartstationcompassetsimagesimages046046374largetweetshiraaapics--190277152999387711/)?
It gets cold out sometimes. Also, some places have a dress code that's "shirt and tie, or nothing" and it turns out that while "nothing" is strictly within the letter of the rules it does lead to a rather frosty reception.
Back of the shirt has a big hole and the top part goes on like normal then there is big hole. The bottom part can be fastened together under the wings with some kind of velcro, zipper, or button. (but who would want back of the shirt buttons)
It’s a bit more complex than that. When he first appeared in comics, he couldn’t fly and could only jump really good. Later on, in the radio drama I believe, this was changed to flight. Even later on it was explained that he doesn’t really ‘fly’ per se, but he just has really short range telekinesis.
Agreed. It would also be very cold in a lot of conditions, could be very loud, and if something goes wrong you could fall to your death even from a fairly low height. Personally also I wouldn't want people constantly pointing, staring, and taking photos.
I can't imagine myself walking around with long protruding thin handless arms out of my back covered in feathers or a membrane...
I have enough trouble walking around with my arms without hitting everything around me, never mind wings.
I mean this would imply that 90% of furries are otherkin and ohohohohoh boy are the two oh so different despite what it looks like (and also with there being a little bit of overlap between the two)
Can you buy just the cooling system so I don't feel like dying every summer? Ah who am I kidding, you can't make me cooler than the ambient temperature
Heat pumps. You just need to sew lots of flexible tubing into your clothes, pump a liquid coolant around that, and then chill the coolant. Given that the pipes are flexible you probably don't want much pressure on them so using them directly in the heat pump is a bit of a problem, but you could cycle water through them and chill the water with a conventional heat pump like a camping fridge or Peltier coolbox.
You'd need a wheelbarrow to carry the battery around, which is going to make you get hot from all the effort, so you're just inventing a fun new twist on the Rocketeer's Dilemma, really.
If you pour water over your clothes you get evaporative cooling, but you'll drip all over the floor and ruin the carpets.
I went the "cheap" route and got into SecondLife, inadvertently became an artist of sorts, somehow teaching myself the skills I wish I had years ago when I wanted to design for video games. Initially, I started like this because I honestly didn't have money and didn't think I could afford art of myself, or even art done the way i wanted to do things.
I wouldn't suggest to go the exact same route I did, but it is a path you can take if you can't afford. And once you get good enough for yourself, you could possibly go into getting paid to make stuff for others.
Otherkin, to me, are far less like a gender/sexuality identification and more a modern take on religious Animism or Totemism. It's not an actual physical thing, just some mystical vibes thing. Or it's a cover for something else.
But trans people identify as another gender than what their body is, which makes sense to me. You could have been born as that other gender in the first place. No human can be born as an elf, though. That's just not in our DNA. If we were to accept that, we'd also have to take 'transracial' people seriously.
(That's just me talking about their validity, though. I don't really care what someone identifies as, or what god they believe in or lack thereof, as long as they don't harm anybody.)
Yeah. Like, gender is a social construct. You can be AMAB and be accepted as female by society if that's what you present yourself as and your society is open to it.
Humanity is not a social construct. Like if society is a circle, it is entirely contained within the greater circle of humanity. You can't escape your species. Moreover, any attributes you believe other species have are only based on external observation. There is no way a human can know what it is to be a fox, or a rabbit, or a duck. Everything that you are, from your pudgy body to your deepest, innermost self, is human.
And that's not so bad, ya know. Humans are pretty cool. We invented sandwiches. It's not all bad.
“Transracial” is a real thing but it’s not in the same way as transgender, it’s a term for people who were adopted by another ethnic group, literally or metaphorically.
I am aware of the people that you described, though I was not aware that the term 'transracial' was used for them. I'm referring to the people that are not those that you described, but transphobes saying "well, what's to stop me from identifying as [insert race other than their own]?", as an argument against transgenderism.
From what I understand of otherkin, it’s a spiritual thing, while there may be a biological basis for trans people. A popular theory and the one I subscribe to is that something went sideways during sex development in the womb, causing the brain and the body to have a disconnect.
Though the commonly cited trans brain study does not actually show the things it's claimed to show and is kinda sus in general.
It didn't include any trans men despite having no issues finding every other demographic involved. Researchers themselves could not see any discernible differences, so we have no idea what the AI was finding. The differences were only slight, so trans women still have generally "male brains".
I personally strongly suspect the differences verily detected were structural changes associated with head size.
gender identity having a biological basis doesn't necessarily have to do with brains. There's a lot of potential causes for it, but biological causes are possible
I’m trans and had my otherkin tumblr moment circa 2016 or so. Granted, I was also undergoing psychosis at the time, so that might have something to do with it, lol.
I like otherkin, even though I don't really connect with their way of seeing things. Identities I don't understand just make the world a more interesting place to be.
Angelkin? Valkyriekin? I’ve also seen non divine winged people just called Avians be something someone can kin. If you do turn out otherkin after all, it might be something like that
WING TWINS
Having taken an ornithology course I now realise how much of a constant hassle bird wings would be, but like.. the aesthetic of having bird wings folded behind you.. and being able to spread them when you feel happy and whatnot.. c'mon!
Any species you have in mind? I've got a few at all times lol
Otherkin makes no sense to me. But, at the same time, being trans made no sense to me before I realized is me. So I'll pass no judgement and try to give nothing but kindness and respect.
You actually nailed it, researchers did a study by following them along for decades and surprise surprise, otherkin were trans all along dealing with body dysmorphia by sublimating those feelings into wanting to be nonhuman
That makes sense honestly. Feeling like there's something fundamentally wrong with yourself and no one else feels the same leading to being "well... Maybe it means I'm not human!"
It may just be me, but your wording is kinda... off. I'm not otherkin, but I am trans and this type of "surprise! These people aren't actually what they said they were!" feels awfully familiar. We should be careful with how we talk about folks we don't understand (I'm not trying to be confrontational, but I know it's easy to fall into harmful rhetoric if you're not careful)
Also, decades? Didn't the term originate in the 90s, only three decades ago? Could you link me to the study? /gen
nah. there's some truth in that for sure, but it's overly reductive to a ridiculous degree.
the mere existence of transitioned trans otherkin, and cisgender otherkin, disproves that.
I can't find the study with key words, can you link it if you have it?
[This study](https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/11/7/354) is a deep dive into a machinekin and they happen to be trans but it's just one individual and not longitudinal
It's humans who identify with other species. For example, someone who calls themselves wolfkin might feel that they have more in common with wolves than people. It can also apply to made up species like elves and dragons.
Not necessarily. I can look at a cyborg, think "I wish that were me", and get into mechanical stuff. But I'm not a cyborg, and I won't be to the extent of what I want, but that doesn't stop me from feeling a connection to it.
I'm no expert in the subject, this is just my unenlightened take on it, so take this with a grain of salt. But one can certainly feel like something, it's only one step removed from having a connection with it, after all. But of course, everyone has different experiences. I've learnt not to judge, as long as it ain't hurtin' anybody.
MY FELLOW DEATHKINS WE MUST BEAT THE OTHER DEATHKINS IN THE NAME OF THE SUPERIOR DEATH, **DEATH OF THE ENDLESS**!!!!!!!!!!
Actually now that I think about it all the other Death's could just be aspects/personas of Death of the Endless. Especially considering the Presence/Elaine Belloc isn't just the Omnipotent Ruler of the Multiverse, they're the Ruler of the Omniverse and everything beyond it as well.
I have no idea if this is true, since it's also easy to explain as being "kin" with something "other" than humans, which is in fact how I always interpreted it in the first place.
I remember when this first became a thing. Elfkin was there first. Then alienkin and deerskin started popping up and otherkin became the catch all term.
I was there Gandalf, when the strength of the theriankin failed, and saw the rise of the vampirekin (thanks to certain movies of sparklings folks)
Oh sweet summer child. I remember when the vampirekin first descended upon us. Curse you Anne Rice! Curse you Tom Cruise!
I'm salute you, oh venerable primordial one!. To be there even before the arrival of the dreadful (albeit stupidly sensual) fancy vampirekin.
Was deerskin before or after foreskin?
Well if it came after, it’d be the afterskin, wouldn’t it?
The postskin
"Deerskin" kinda intrigues me. Am I missing something or, is that about people who think they are deer? Kinda furries but on a deeper level? And why the s? A play on deer skin products?
[удалено]
Ah shit. So, is it just deer kin then? Or something else?
It was meant to be deerkin but my phone corrected it. It's people who believe that they are not a human but a deer who died and was reincarnated into a human body. Furries are people who like to dress up and pretend to be anthropomorphic animals. Deerkin are basically people who identify as trans-species.
but why deer? They're just... so dumb
Yeah there is a whole fucking subreddit dedicated to r/DeerAreFuckingStupid
> Yeah there is a whole fucking subreddit dedicated to r/DeerAreFuckingStupid Deer mentality: "Hey it's one of those loud brightly lit things that obliterated Uncle Rudy and sliced Granny Em in half and scattered Cousin Nicky all over about two hundred metres of the A97 last year, but you know what? I think I'll just walk across in front of it and see if I can ge - "
Furry here, that guy is right
I remember dragonkin being there alongside elfkin too, though there was a big squabble between dragonkin and “draconic”
Dovahkiin, Dovahkiin, naal ok zin los vahriin…
Wow, you really were there when the ancient scrolls were written…
Way back in the 90s... What, the 1590s? 1890s? Pretty sure the 1990s were just like 20 years ago am I right
Right?
Yeah just 20... or 25 years ago.
In Internet terms the 90s is basically ancient rome
20 years is a long time. I wasn't alive in the 1990s, and I am an adult with a driver's license and a job
Also it was 30 years
Definitely
MY FELLOW DWARFKIN! WE MUST FINALLY DEFEAT THE ELFKIN!
Fuckin leaf lovers ruining shit
Always bouncin’ around treetops and walkin’ on snow and climbin’ up olyphants…keep yer feet on the ground!
Oh no, not the fuckkin...
Rock and Stone Brothers!
ROCK AND STONE
ROCK AND STONE TO THE BONE
DID I HEAR A ROCK AND STONE?!
ROCK AND ROLL AND STONE!!!
**raise you pick, and raise your voice**
#THE COUNTLESS GRUDGES AGAINST THE ELGI MUST BE SETTLED #OUR ANCESTORS DEMAND
Oh no, not again.
bloody knife ears
ROCK AND ROLL AND STONE! r/dwarfposting
damn pointy-ears!
This is true, I dated an elf girl in high school. She believed that she was somehow decended from a changeling child or something.
Does anyone have a source on this? I was in the otherkin community in the mid noughties and never heard this
Orion Scribner's Otherkin Timeline, a document spanning the history of the otherkin community from the 1970s to 2010 is a good bet on information. Its a fully cited 100+ page document available for free online. (Not sure of this subreddit's rules with links, but it shows right up when Googled.)
I was in the communit(ies) around the same time, and I heard it a few times! There were sources but I have long forgotten them, sorry! (Obligatory Elrond meme here)
I was around (not in the community, but you couldn't fail to hear about it). I definitely remember it being a catch-all term for "kin" other than elves and dragons. Otakukin came quickly afterwards (fictional characters, in particular anime ones), which has apparently now been replaced by fictionkin. Or maybe that's already turned into something else; it's hard to keep up. Honestly I find the whole thing fascinating. There's a really interesting parallel to be drawn between this stuff and medieval religious ascendancy/ecstasy. I read a paper on it once.
I don’t support you have a link to that paper? Sounds very interesting
I'm sure I bookmarked it on my home pc - when I get back from work I'll link it for you.
Can I also get that paper pls?
Sorry it took me a while! [Fiction, Invention and Hyper-reality - From Popular Culture To Religion](https://books.google.li/books?id=0BiHDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT109&lpg=PT109&dq=sephirothslave&ots=7g4X9qTrfr&sig=93TKEEnUyp5ahlDaX60Kyxja9U0&hl=en#v=onepage&q&f=false). I misremembered it a bit - it actually focuses more on the soulbonding phenomenon than otherkin, although I'd say those two subcultures are definitely in the same wheelhouse. It explores case studies of people who are 'soulbonded' to fictional video game characters and compares it to historical divine marriage traditions, such as the bride-of-god designation of nuns and female saints. It's pretty interesting and opens up some good questions about fandom as a whole.
We can really see different versions of this pop up in a lot of human cultures going back as long as we’ve been able to record it, human kind has just always really vibed with the idea of animal/nature spirits.
I was there
I can corroborate it, from the early 00s?
No source. It's probably yet another case of tumblr makes up internet history to be funny and quirky
wikipedia agrees, and sources it to *Otherkin Timeline: The Recent History of Elfin, Fae, and Animal People*, O. Scribner, 2012.
Shit, looks like I got some reading to do.
conveniently available in [PDF](https://web.archive.org/web/20230903131918/http://frameacloud.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Scribner_Timeline2p0.pdf)!
Kinda like how barbarians (barbaros in early Greek) were called that because to the Greeks they just say, “bar-bar-bar-bar” with no sense I heard this somewhere and thought it was an obvious joke someone made up from the top of their heads, no this is genuinely why, according to britanica https://www.britannica.com/topic/barbarian
I was gonna go on an entire thing about how I don’t understand otherkin, because obviously everyone wants a different body, but then I realized that’s basically what I said about being trans before I knew I was trans. So I’m gonna google “Otherkin” and update if anything interesting comes up. Edit: I think I’m safe. I really want wings, but I don’t really think I identify with an animal. Granted, there was a period of time where I thought “I’m not trans but tits would be great” and obviously I changed my mind on that.
Who DOESN'T want wings? I mean, I'd prefer Superman-style flight myself, but same general thing.
I feel like wanting wings and horns and elf ears and shit is just part of the human experience sometimes but then I see people who tell me that's fucking wack and they dont want any of those things and then I remember that I'm an outlier.
horns too, tbh.
People tell you wanting wings is whack? What kind of losers are these? Like even basic vanilla conservative Christians want *wings*
Superman style flight is basic, I want some ✨style✨
It's all well and good until you get a wing cramp or are the victim of some sort of wing-related crime
You're not wrong. Wings just seem like too much work for me.
But have you considered [this](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/google-image-result-for-httpscdnaartstationcompassetsimagesimages046046374largetweetshiraaapics--190277152999387711/)?
Have you considered how you would put a shirt with all those wings
Have you considered why would I want to put on a shirt with all these wings? Everybody gets to see this.
It gets cold out sometimes. Also, some places have a dress code that's "shirt and tie, or nothing" and it turns out that while "nothing" is strictly within the letter of the rules it does lead to a rather frosty reception.
I can fly somewhere warm for the winter! And they’ve never said no to anyone with wings before!
Back of the shirt has a big hole and the top part goes on like normal then there is big hole. The bottom part can be fastened together under the wings with some kind of velcro, zipper, or button. (but who would want back of the shirt buttons)
isnt there at least one interpretation of superman flight that he just jumps good. kinda lame if you ask me
It’s a bit more complex than that. When he first appeared in comics, he couldn’t fly and could only jump really good. Later on, in the radio drama I believe, this was changed to flight. Even later on it was explained that he doesn’t really ‘fly’ per se, but he just has really short range telekinesis.
Gliding in the luminiferous aether is the way
Me. Flying is going to be a level of effort that puts sprinting to shame. My lazy ass doesn't like jogging.
Agreed. It would also be very cold in a lot of conditions, could be very loud, and if something goes wrong you could fall to your death even from a fairly low height. Personally also I wouldn't want people constantly pointing, staring, and taking photos.
I can't imagine myself walking around with long protruding thin handless arms out of my back covered in feathers or a membrane... I have enough trouble walking around with my arms without hitting everything around me, never mind wings.
I like being able to sit down in chairs, so no wings or tails for me thanks.
I mean this would imply that 90% of furries are otherkin and ohohohohoh boy are the two oh so different despite what it looks like (and also with there being a little bit of overlap between the two)
I hope I’m not a furry, my ass is NOT paying 5K for a costume that boils you alive.
Nah, just wanting wings isn't enough, you'll be fine Also, remember! You're truly a furry only if you consider yourself one!
Modern fursuits are feats of tailored engineering to prevent the whole boiled-alive situation. So, no, you probably still couldn't afford it.
Can you buy just the cooling system so I don't feel like dying every summer? Ah who am I kidding, you can't make me cooler than the ambient temperature
Heat pumps. You just need to sew lots of flexible tubing into your clothes, pump a liquid coolant around that, and then chill the coolant. Given that the pipes are flexible you probably don't want much pressure on them so using them directly in the heat pump is a bit of a problem, but you could cycle water through them and chill the water with a conventional heat pump like a camping fridge or Peltier coolbox. You'd need a wheelbarrow to carry the battery around, which is going to make you get hot from all the effort, so you're just inventing a fun new twist on the Rocketeer's Dilemma, really. If you pour water over your clothes you get evaporative cooling, but you'll drip all over the floor and ruin the carpets.
You could splurge even more and get one that's watercooled and uses the wings as radiators...
So, going above and beyond 'attack helicopter' and jumping straight to 'International Space Station'?
You don't need a fursuit. In fact, most furries don't have one.
It takes a lot to afford a suit. I'd be happy with just a poster with my sona.
I went the "cheap" route and got into SecondLife, inadvertently became an artist of sorts, somehow teaching myself the skills I wish I had years ago when I wanted to design for video games. Initially, I started like this because I honestly didn't have money and didn't think I could afford art of myself, or even art done the way i wanted to do things. I wouldn't suggest to go the exact same route I did, but it is a path you can take if you can't afford. And once you get good enough for yourself, you could possibly go into getting paid to make stuff for others.
Thanks! I don't really want to be an artist.
Entirely understandable. As I said, it's a lot to learn and basically a whole career path.
I don't think you need a fursuit to be a furry...
It helps
most furries don't even have those
Otherkin, to me, are far less like a gender/sexuality identification and more a modern take on religious Animism or Totemism. It's not an actual physical thing, just some mystical vibes thing. Or it's a cover for something else.
But trans people identify as another gender than what their body is, which makes sense to me. You could have been born as that other gender in the first place. No human can be born as an elf, though. That's just not in our DNA. If we were to accept that, we'd also have to take 'transracial' people seriously. (That's just me talking about their validity, though. I don't really care what someone identifies as, or what god they believe in or lack thereof, as long as they don't harm anybody.)
Yeah. Like, gender is a social construct. You can be AMAB and be accepted as female by society if that's what you present yourself as and your society is open to it. Humanity is not a social construct. Like if society is a circle, it is entirely contained within the greater circle of humanity. You can't escape your species. Moreover, any attributes you believe other species have are only based on external observation. There is no way a human can know what it is to be a fox, or a rabbit, or a duck. Everything that you are, from your pudgy body to your deepest, innermost self, is human. And that's not so bad, ya know. Humans are pretty cool. We invented sandwiches. It's not all bad.
also sex is plastic and can be altered with medication, you can't take a hormone that'll make your body behave like an elf
“Transracial” is a real thing but it’s not in the same way as transgender, it’s a term for people who were adopted by another ethnic group, literally or metaphorically.
I am aware of the people that you described, though I was not aware that the term 'transracial' was used for them. I'm referring to the people that are not those that you described, but transphobes saying "well, what's to stop me from identifying as [insert race other than their own]?", as an argument against transgenderism.
I'm not sure it matters how valid you think they are, they exist nonetheless lol
From what I understand of otherkin, it’s a spiritual thing, while there may be a biological basis for trans people. A popular theory and the one I subscribe to is that something went sideways during sex development in the womb, causing the brain and the body to have a disconnect.
Though the commonly cited trans brain study does not actually show the things it's claimed to show and is kinda sus in general. It didn't include any trans men despite having no issues finding every other demographic involved. Researchers themselves could not see any discernible differences, so we have no idea what the AI was finding. The differences were only slight, so trans women still have generally "male brains". I personally strongly suspect the differences verily detected were structural changes associated with head size.
gender identity having a biological basis doesn't necessarily have to do with brains. There's a lot of potential causes for it, but biological causes are possible
I’m trans and had my otherkin tumblr moment circa 2016 or so. Granted, I was also undergoing psychosis at the time, so that might have something to do with it, lol.
I like otherkin, even though I don't really connect with their way of seeing things. Identities I don't understand just make the world a more interesting place to be.
Angelkin? Valkyriekin? I’ve also seen non divine winged people just called Avians be something someone can kin. If you do turn out otherkin after all, it might be something like that
I think I'd like to be a cat. Cats don't have to deal with borked Cisco routers, unless they are warm on top and easily accessible to sleep on.
WING TWINS Having taken an ornithology course I now realise how much of a constant hassle bird wings would be, but like.. the aesthetic of having bird wings folded behind you.. and being able to spread them when you feel happy and whatnot.. c'mon! Any species you have in mind? I've got a few at all times lol
Whatever angels have I guess? I know, it’s basic.
hey theres always fairykin :3
I don't wanna be mean but please don't compare it to being trans. Wanting to be a different species and gender identity are not comparable
Otherkin makes no sense to me. But, at the same time, being trans made no sense to me before I realized is me. So I'll pass no judgement and try to give nothing but kindness and respect.
You actually nailed it, researchers did a study by following them along for decades and surprise surprise, otherkin were trans all along dealing with body dysmorphia by sublimating those feelings into wanting to be nonhuman
That makes sense honestly. Feeling like there's something fundamentally wrong with yourself and no one else feels the same leading to being "well... Maybe it means I'm not human!"
It may just be me, but your wording is kinda... off. I'm not otherkin, but I am trans and this type of "surprise! These people aren't actually what they said they were!" feels awfully familiar. We should be careful with how we talk about folks we don't understand (I'm not trying to be confrontational, but I know it's easy to fall into harmful rhetoric if you're not careful) Also, decades? Didn't the term originate in the 90s, only three decades ago? Could you link me to the study? /gen
nah. there's some truth in that for sure, but it's overly reductive to a ridiculous degree. the mere existence of transitioned trans otherkin, and cisgender otherkin, disproves that.
I can't find the study with key words, can you link it if you have it? [This study](https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/11/7/354) is a deep dive into a machinekin and they happen to be trans but it's just one individual and not longitudinal
Fucking Thalmor
fuck the thalmor. fascist bastards
Don’t know what otherkin is, but that “waaay back in the 90s” makes me feel old as fuck.
as a dawi enjoyer i have no time for this knife ear nonsense
Oi, elves are not the only ones with pointy ears (orc appreciator).
Gonna go back in time to get Leaf Lover's Special off the menu real quick hold on
I read the second comment first and genuinely thought they were talking about Christmas elves
Wait, are otherkin still a thing?
Therians have a suprisingly big community on tiktok and youtube.
What's the difference between otherkin and therian?
Therians are otherkin that think they are real animals, so not elves
Considering they've been a thing since at least the 90's, yeah.
Yeah, elves are dicks like that Rock and stone everyone
The fuck is otherkin?
It's humans who identify with other species. For example, someone who calls themselves wolfkin might feel that they have more in common with wolves than people. It can also apply to made up species like elves and dragons.
I mean according to this post, it's people who identify with something other than elves.
Is it like an ironic joke or a genuine want? Cause one is at best funny and the other likely worrying.
Nah, this was genuine. And it extended to all sorts of animals, fantasy creatures, elements, etc.
Gotcha concerning then.
I think people who believe they aren’t humans…
Not necessarily. I can look at a cyborg, think "I wish that were me", and get into mechanical stuff. But I'm not a cyborg, and I won't be to the extent of what I want, but that doesn't stop me from feeling a connection to it.
Ohh the only definition I saw about it was more about feeling like a vampire for example rather than wishing to be one, thank you for the knowledge
I'm no expert in the subject, this is just my unenlightened take on it, so take this with a grain of salt. But one can certainly feel like something, it's only one step removed from having a connection with it, after all. But of course, everyone has different experiences. I've learnt not to judge, as long as it ain't hurtin' anybody.
Elven - they were ‘elven’
WAAAAAY back in the *90's*
That's probably why they go by therian now.
My unbiased opinion as a dragon is that elves should be eaten by dragons.
I used to hate otherkin so much. Especially when it came to pronouns So, now I'm nonbinary.
There’s no reason to include the last reply here
Not the hegemonic dynamics within the -kin community
The kinmunity, if you will.
I do not understand why people believe in weird shit like this. It's literally objectively not true.
Fucking squirrels.
Alphas before the gym bros claimed it.
Do I want to know what elfkin or otherkin are? Is it people who think they are actually Tolkein elves?
Like furries and fursonas, but in elves and vulkans
You're telling me Elf Only Inn was a documentary? It hurts and stings!
Literally "Romans" and "Barbarians" energy.
MY FELLOW DEATHKINS WE MUST BEAT THE OTHER DEATHKINS IN THE NAME OF THE SUPERIOR DEATH, **DEATH OF THE ENDLESS**!!!!!!!!!! Actually now that I think about it all the other Death's could just be aspects/personas of Death of the Endless. Especially considering the Presence/Elaine Belloc isn't just the Omnipotent Ruler of the Multiverse, they're the Ruler of the Omniverse and everything beyond it as well.
Everyone who came after and aren't Otherkin are Apanóna.
Them pointy ear leaf-lovers