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Black Dog kinformation post

Black dogs are mainly European in origin, specifically from the UK and Ireland. However, there are a handful of black dog legends in the USA and Latin America. Because Black Dogs are so variable in their behaviours, it can be hard to decipher which you may think you are. However, it is also a blessing, because you can pretty much mix and match from the lists below and there will most likely be a legend that fits- and even if there isn’t, that doesn’t invalidate your experience at all, as they are such variable creatures.

They all are:

- nocturnal

- metaphysical

- larger than normal dogs

some are:

1 shapeshifters*

2 associated with the devil

3 hellhounds

4 associated with death

5 an omen of death

6 sinister or malevolent

7 protectors*

8 guides*

9 guardians and benevolent*

10 associated with places of execution

11 associated with ancient pathways

12 associated with crossroads

13 associated with thunder and lightning*

14 associated with graveyards*

15 serve as familiars for witches or warlocks*

16 A guard against the devil or witches

17 headless

(* are the ones i resonate with personally)

Barghests:

Barghests are directly harmful and have the characteristics 4, 5, 6 and possibly 2, 3, 1, and 15

There is one roaming York and the Snickelways, and also in Northope, according to local legend.

Black Dog:

Black dogs are very variable, there are many, many tales of different types of black dogs and some are benevolent where some are not. An example of a malevolent black dog would be the black dog of Aylesbury, who caused a man to become paralysed and speechless for the rest of his life, and an example of a benevolent black dog would be that of the black dog of Lyme Regis, who inadvertently led a (rather mean sounding) human to a stash of gold, as well as never causing harm.

Black Shuck:

Black shuck is mainly a nasty creature, with one report giving it characteristics 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. It is said to have killed several people itself and also leaving claw marks on a church in Blythburgh, which still exist. In the parish of Overstrand is a dreary lane known as Shuck’s Lane from its frequent appearances there. If the spot where it was just seen is examined then one may find scorch marks and the smell of brimstone.

However, there are also stories of a protector and guide black shuck, who accompanies travellers home.

Capelthwaite:

In Westmorland and adjacent parts of Yorkshire there was a belief in Capelthwaite, who could take the form of any quadruped but usually appeared as a large black dog. He performed helpful services for the people on the farm such as rounding up the sheep, but toward outsiders, he was very spiteful and mischievous. As both a helper and a trickster the Capelthwaite behaved more like a domestic hobgoblin than a typical black dog. His status as a black dog, is in my eyes, slightly doubtful. However, it is worth putting him in.

Church Grim:

Guardians of Christian churches, they exhibit characteristics 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 14, 13 and 16

When a new churchyard was opened it was believed that the first person buried there had to guard it against the Devil. In order to prevent a human soul from having to perform such a duty, a black dog was buried in the north part of the churchyard as a substitute.

The grim is also an ominous portent and is known to toll the church bell at midnight before a death takes place. During funerals, the presiding clergyman may see the grim looking out from the church tower and determine from its aspect whether the soul of the deceased is destined for Heaven or Hell.

Guardian black dogs:

Guardian Black Dogs refer to those relatively rare black dogs that are neither omens of death nor causes of it. Instead, they guide lost travellers and protect them from danger. Scottish black dogs also serve as treasure guardians. Near the village of Murthly is a standing stone, and it is said that the person brave enough to move it will find a chest guarded by a black dog. I associate most with these, as they exhibit characteristics 1, 7, 8, 9, and 13

Gurt Dog:

The Gurt Dog (“Great Dog”) of Somerset is an example of a benevolent dog. It is said that mothers would allow their children to play unsupervised on the Quantock Hills because they believed the Gurt Dog would protect them. It would also accompany lone travellers in the area, acting as a protector and guide.

Gytrash:

1, 5, 11

Hairy jack:

differing accounts on whether or not Hairy Jack is benevolent, some call him of a gentle nature and a spiritual protector, and others say he haunted lonely plantations, byways, and waste places where it attacked anyone passing by

Padfoot:

1, 4, 5, 6

can be visible or invisible and utters an incredibly loud roar. It is best to leave the creature alone, for if a person tries to speak to or attacks it then it will have power over them. It is known to follow people with a light padding sound of its paws, then appearing again in front of them or at their side.

Striker and Trash:

Wanders invisibly in the woods at night uttering loud, piercing shrieks. It may also take visible form as a large black dog with enormous paws that make a splashing sound when walking, like “old shoes walking in soft mud”. 5, 1

Yeth Hound and Wisht Hounds:

The Yeth Hound is a headless dog, said to be the spirit of an unbaptised child, that rambles through the woods at night making wailing noises.

Devon is said to be the home of the Wisht Hounds as they make their hunting forays across the moor. Their huntsman is presumably the Devil, and it is said that any dog that hears the crying of the hounds will die. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 17

Grim from Harry Potter:

Most people know about Grims from HP, where they are symbols of impending death. Either they appear as corporeal beasts, or as images- such as in the tea leaves.

frameacloud

What was the otherkin community like in 1990?

1990-02 and 1990-03: A student at the University of Kentucky who is named R’ykandar Korra’ti [still present in the otherkin community today, with the handle @solarbird] posted to alt.pagan and a few other newsgroups on the Internet. There, Korra’ti wrote about a plan to start a listserv for people who identify as elves. Korra’ti later told me in an e-mail,

“Before there was a list, there was a fair amount of private email going back and forth between myself and people who had responded to my newsgroup posts, and a few people I’d met before that. […] There was also a little group of us partly online but mostly offline going back to the 1986-1987ish timeframe. And I’ve known what I was since forever, so.”

[…]

1990-03-26: R’ykandar Korra’ti founded the Elfinkind Digest, a mailing list, and sent out the first one on this date. The list was publicly-joinable, not private. The web page of the Digest says,

“The first mailing list on the net for elves and others of the ‘otherkind,’ the Elfinkind Digest was established in 1990 [… it] has remained in operation continually since then […] The Elfinkind Digest is a mailing list for, about and by elves and interested others. […] This is not a list for or about role-playing or role-playing games; we’re elves.”

The standard welcome message sent to anyone who applies to subscribe to the mailing list says that Korra’ti “expected only to find other elves; as it turned out, I found a large number of people with a large number of self-identifications.”

1990-04-18: In the listserve Elfinkind Digest #16 was the first use of the word “otherkind,” with a D, referring to real people who identify as other than human. Korra’ti explained to me:

“[…it was] coined in quotes as a term to include non-elf ‘others’ cropping up on the list, and was a specific branching off from the word ‘elfinkind.’ […]

The word “otherkind” was based on the word “elfinkind.”

1990-07-09 or 10: The earliest use of the word “otherkin,” (as a variant of “otherkind”) referring to real people who identify as other than human. It’s in Elfinkind Digest, #71. […] Korra’ti graciously put me in touch with the person who coined (or, at least, who was the first person on record using) the words “otherkind” as well as “otherkin,” who turned out to be Torin / Darren Stalder, who was a bit surprised to hear about it.

Torin told me how the word came to happen: “From what I can remember, I got tired of typing elf/dragon/orc/etc.-kin and just used otherkin. It was convenience and practicality. […] There wasn’t actual intent to form a new word; just shorthand.” The word was casually invented. […]

1990-12-28 to 31: R’ykandar Korra’ti told me that at this time, the Elfinkind Digest listserve held an in-person gather in North Carolina, “[…] the first Otherkind Gather.”

- Excerpt from The Otherkin Timeline, Abridged by Orion Scribner (@frameacloud)

dovewithscales

Anti-Anti-Otherkin

Anti-kin have become tediously repetitive, so I’m going to make a single anti-anti-otherkin post and copy the link when I need it. I will be adding all my counter arguments to this post as they come up.

Hence forth I will expect anti-kin to come up with new material every time they come at me. If they don’t all they’ll get is a link to this. I know you can do. The greatest asset of humanity is their creativity. Your unimaginative rhetoric is an insult to your species. If I’m forgetting anything, please let me know and I will edit.

WHAT OTHERKIN IS

I’ll start by defining otherkin to the best of my ability, so we’re all on the same page. Otherkin are people who identify as one or more non-human entities in a spiritual or psychological sense.

See also my post The How and Why of Otherkin.

There are many categories within the otherkin umbrella.

Therians identify as animals which are known to exist in this world, as opposed to “fantastic” creatures such as dragons. This usually includes extinct species. Alternately, therians may be defined as identifying with any animal which is “feral”, or non-sapient. Which excludes some fantastic creatures, again such as dragons.

Fictionkin identify as creatures or characters from works of fiction. Usually this is explained by means of the Multiverse Theory. Legitimate science (in Quantum Physics) holds that there appear to be an infinite number of parallel universes, and that in theory everything exists somewhere in one universe or another. This would naturally mean that all fictional universes are real somewhere. Fictionkin often believe themselves to be reincarnated from one of these other universes.

There are a number of groups of people often conflated with otherkin, who are not.

Copinglinkers, as defined by @who-is-page are people with a non-human identity (or in some cases, relation) which is consciously created. The creator is able to change and pick who/what they identify as/with as need dictates. This identity can be created by anyone, and thus, is not dictated by one’s mental health, or, who have a consciously created coping mechanism which centers around knowingly, willingly, and actively identifying as (or in some cases, with) the user’s choice of a non-human entity.

Copinglinkers ARE NOT OTHERKIN, though they are similar, and may or may not be considered part of the community. It is of course possible for someone to be both.

Factkin are people who identify as a real person. Usually, someone who is still alive. Less commonly, they identify as someone who is dead, which is just what reincarnation is. Factkin ARE NOT OTHERKIN. They also, in this dragon’s opinion, don’t make any sense and are disrespectful both of the real people they identify as, and the otherkin community.

Dissociative disorders are also wrongly conflated with otherkin. The American Psychiatric Association has explicitly addressed this issue.

OTHERKIN AND MENTAL HEALTH

The APA defines mental illness as follows:

Mental illnesses are health conditions involving changes in thinking, emotion or behavior (or a combination of these). Mental illnesses are associated with distress and/or problems functioning in social, work or family activities.

Mental illness is common. In a given year:

nearly one in five (19 percent) U.S. adults experience some form of mental illness

one in 24 (4.1 percent) has a serious mental illness

one in 12 (8.5 percent) has a substance use disorder*

Mental illness is treatable. The vast majority of individuals with mental illness continue to function in their daily lives.

For our purposes here, the important element to note is that in order to be considered a mental illness, a given condition or state of being must both involve a change in thinking (emotion, behaviour, etc.) and be associated with distress and/or problems functioning. Just one or the other does not count.

The Diagnostic and Statistics Manual (DSM) is the definitive manual for diagnosis of mental illness, used by the APA. It literally contains the official definitions of all documented mental illnesses.

The section labeled “Identity Disorder” in the third edition was changed to “Identity Problem” with the release of the DSM-IV in 1952 because they were considered less significant, not worthy of the name disorder and usually not clinically relevant. In 2013 with the DSM-V, the section was removed entirely. Atypical identities are considered harmless, and so common as to be considered normal. This includes otherkin.

Furthermore, as established above, the diagnostic criteria for almost all mental illnesses includes that in order for a condition to be considered an illness it must either cause the individual emotional distress, or significantly impair their ability to function normally.

Dissociative Disorders, as opposed the imaginary “identity disorders” which people who are stuck in the 1950′s reference, require that one be dissociative, which is a very specific clinical phenomenon not typically present in otherkin.

Clinical Lycanthropy and Cotard Delusion are dissociative disorders in which one is detached from reality and believes one’s self to be literally and physically not human, or not living, respectively. These bear no resemblance to otherkin. In fact, I shall include a quote from an expert on that subject:

“As regards the existence of [otherkin] communities, online or otherwise, where like-minded people join each other to exchange experiences and ideas on their affinity with animal or supernatural identities, I can only say that we cannot have enough of those groups. Human experience and behaviour is so diverse, and only so little of it tends to be presented as ‘normal’ in the media, that communities such as these should be embraced and encouraged by us all. In my area of expertise, i.e., psychotic disorders, it is well-known that some 10–15 percent of all people in the general population experience auditory hallucinations, and that close to a full 100 percent experience some sort of hallucination during their lives (i.e., auditory, visual, olfactory, or otherwise), but that only 1 percent are diagnosed as suffering from schizophrenia spectrum disorder.” — Dr. Jan Dirk Blom, expert in clinical lycanthropy , “Understanding the Otherkin.” The Daily Dot, Feb. 22nd 2015.

I am aware that the Daily Dot is a psychiatric journal, but that does not alter one wit Dr. Blom’s credentials. I am also aware the good doctor probably does not believe in reincarnation, but this is section is about invalidating the tired claim that otherkinity is a mental illness, nothing else. I’ll deal with what otherkinity is elsewhere.

In short, according to the consensus of 69,783 people with PhD’s, if you are otherkin, fictionkin, or anything else, and also have a job, normal relationships, housing, and food; you’re not mentally ill. Calling it mental illness is factually incorrect. Telling people to stop engaging in healthy aspects of normal personality is both stupid and abusive. But please, my dear anti-kin, if you wish to suggest that you know better than the entire APA, keep digging that hole and humiliate yourselves further.

OTHERKIN AND SCIENCE On at least one occasion I have heard versions of the phrase “otherkinity isn’t backed by science”.

You don’t say? Well of course this changes my whole outlook. That was sarcasm if you weren’t sure. Last I checked, a religious/spiritual belief isn’t really expected to be backed up by science. That’s what “faith” means.

OTHERKIN AND SPIRITUALITY

In a majority of cases, otherkinity is a spiritual belief, no different from any other. It is usually, though not always, a variation on reincarnation, and one with a tremendous history. While the term only dates to the 90s, the community dates to the 50s and the concept is ancient. The Celtic bard Taliesin was what we now call otherkin.

As a spiritual belief, one absolutely cannot say with any certainty whether or not these experiences are real, and they do not require proof or evidence. Belief in sufficient.

WHO OTHERKIN ARE

The median age of otherkin appears to be somewhere in the early 20′s. We are most certainly not all teenagers. We are also not mentally ill, or “just using this as a coping mechanism”. I know numerous kin who are successful professionals or college students.

I am an ordained minister with a pagan church, founder of an internationally known non-profit organization, and I work as an editor. I used to conduct workshops for businesses and non-profits on gender inclusion practices, and educational panels on gender identity for psychology graduate classes. I am still friends with a psychology professor at a local college.

In short, we’re competent adults who know what we’re about.

OTHERKIN AND THE TRANSGENDER COMMUNITY

Now and then I hear some bullshit about this subject.

As someone who is both transgender and otherkin, there is no real conflict. The issue comes primarily from people who are neither, using fake profiles online and pretending to be one or both, and acting the fool to make us look bad, and then going back to their real identity and holding their own comments up as an example to hurt one or both groups.

Transgender identity is biologically valid and supported by the medical establishment. Otherkinity is (usually) a spiritual belief, and is also completely validated by the DSM-V. Do not tell me I have to pretend to be other than I am for your comfort and convenience. That is what gay white men did to trans people (and the rest of the queer community, actually) after Stonewall. Because it was easier for them to gain legitimacy if they ditched the rest of us. I will not have it happen to otherkin.

ON KIN TROLLS

There is a whole style of otherkin hate which involves making a secondary social media account, pretending to be otherkin, posting inflammatory or ridiculous things, and then going back to a main account, and using one’s own made up bullshit as an example to make otherkin look bad.

Otherkin have nothing to do with gender. No one wants their kintype used as a gender. No one wants pronouns based on a kintype.

Plant kin exist, but they don’t want you to stop mowing the grass, picking flowers, or eating vegetables.

If anyone otherkin has a problem with you eating meat, they’re making vegans look bad, and have nothing to do with kin.

Fact kin may really believe what they’re saying, I don’t know, but they’re not otherkin, so it doesn’t matter.

These are all things which otherkin hating trolls made up, and believing any of it is particularly foolish. Please use a little reason before you go harassing people for what some other asshole said. FURTHER READING

List of Published Literature Supporting Kin

heathenous-deactivated20190813

🍁 Physical Shifting

Therians, Otherkin and Atlerhuman pals alike do not believe in physical shapeshifting (Actual bodily changes, like seen in mythology and movies.)

Those who claim they can are experiencing delusional symptoms or hallucinations likely linked to mental illness. Or they are lying or role-playing.

It is sadly something we need to constantly remind outsiders and even others within the community, the alterhuman communities do not associate with those who claim such impossibility.

Otherkin, Therians and likewise are aware we are human. We do not claim to not be.

For some reason this is an incredibly hard concept for outsiders to grasp. All of us are physically aware we are human-beings.

We however, identify as non-human in an non-physical way. Whether be the belief in reincarnation, to soul misplacement, or even just a purely psychological reason.

So remember, next time you tell Otherkin and Therians over an anonymous message on Tumblr “You’re human beings!” You are absolutely correct!

arcticpawprints-blog

I see a lot of misinformation around tumblr, so i wanted to clear some things up.

Otherkin: The belief that your soul is not human.

-Therianthropy: Identifying as an existing earth animal (wolf, cat, dinosaur, fish, etc)

-Otherkin: Identifying as a mythological (or not yet proven to be real) creature (mermaid, unicorn, pegasus, dragon)

^This also includes things such as spacekin, plantkin, waterkin, etc.

-Fictionkin: Identifying as a fictional character. Fictionkin’s legitimacy is hotly debated in the community, and does not actually count as otherkin unless the fictional character is not human.

You may be otherkin if:

-You do not feel like a human/you feel out of place in a human body

-You feel inexplicably homesick for places you’ve never been

-You are drawn to forests/rivers/the ocean/etc (depending on kintype)

-You have always connected with a certain animal

-You have memories that haven’t happened/memories in which you weren’t human

-You feel a tail/ears/etc. even when you know nothing’s there

-You feel urges to act like a specific animal

-You have characteristics of a specific animal

-You feel normal and right when acting like a specific animal

(these may be modified to fit your kintype- i’m speaking from a therian’s pov)

Otherkin is not:

-Just liking something a lot

-Being connected to something

-A choice

-A coping mechanism

-A target of oppression

-A gender or sexuality

-Made up

-A tumblr thing

-New

How to find your kintype:

-Some people already know, and some don’t! That’s fine!

-You can also have more than one (however it gets a bit iffy if you have over 10, you may need to reevaluate and determine if some are just cameo shifts or false alarms)

-Meditate! A lot of being otherkin is meditation! There are many tutorials on how to meditate online, some are even otherkin specific! Eventually you may find sounds and smells that help.

-Get some sleep! Often times otherkin have what are called “dream shifts”- where in your dreams you are your kintype, or you see your kintype. This could lead to memories! My most common shifts are dream shifts.

-Assess. What have you found? If you’ve had any dreams or meditated, you may have seen some things, or remembered some stuff. Try to find a general animal (for example: caninekin), and then try to narrow it down! (Canine > Large > Wild > Wolf), (Canine > Small > Domestic > Chihuahua)

-Be sure to do plenty of research! Finding kintypes takes a long time, and some things you may interpret as different animals could all be traits of one animal.

Tips and resources:

-Dealing with species dysphoria (yes, this happens)

-Food to satisfy kin-related cravings

-Wearing collars is symbolic of being otherkin! I never take mine off!

-You can’t help feeling this way. This is not a choice. You are good. You are not wrong. There are many like you. You are so fantastic.

therianfactts

You need professional help if (a series)

You get angry when people tell you that you aren’t the soul of a dragon trapped in a human body.

elevengrackles-deactivated20181

:O Oh deer.

You sure you’re not just projecting your deep frustration with the non-existent otherkin?

draconic-discourse

They’re obviously assuming I care enough to be angry. Oh, That’s rich. Also, simply because I’m getting bored of trying to explain things to you, @dovewithscales could you please tell them what the DSM V has to say about Otherkinity and delusions?

dovewithscales

I find no end of amusement in humans believing they’re actually important enough for me to care whether they believe in me. Honey, I deeply, profoundly, don’t give a fuck. I have no desire for your validation of my spirituality. If I was angry, you’d know.

But, since a request was made. Settle in and pay attention children. Dragon mom has a lesson for you. The Diagnostic and Statistics Manual, or DSM, is the diagnostic text created by the American Psychiatric Association and used as the standard for psych treatment in the US.

in 1952 with the publication of the fourth edition of the DSM (DSM-IV), the section on “Identity Disorders” was reclassified “Identity Problems” because they were considered to be a minor consideration. On May 18th 2013, with the publication of the DSM-V the section was removed, because atypical identities (such as being otherkin) are now understood to be so common as to be considered normal, and are as a rule to be diagnostically insignificant.

The DSM-V also states that the diagnostic criteria for almost every mental illness includes that it must cause the individual distress and/or difficulty functioning in one or more major aspect of their life.

In layman’s terms, that means if a person is happy, able to support themselves, and has healthy interpersonal relationships, then generally speaking they are not mentally ill. My belief that I am a dragon soul inhabiting a human body falls into the same category as the belief in reincarnation, transubstantiation, the afterlife, and divine presence. My nature as a dragon is a central aspect of my religious practice, as a Hellene and servant of Hekate. It is not subject to anyone’s approval or validation. I’ll finish off with a word from an expert: “As regards the existence of [otherkin] communities, online or otherwise, where like-minded people join each other to exchange experiences and ideas on their affinity with animal or supernatural identities, I can only say that we cannot have enough of those groups. Human experience and behaviour is so diverse, and only so little of it tends to be presented as ‘normal’ in the media, that communities such as these should be embraced and encouraged by us all. In my area of expertise, i.e., psychotic disorders, it is well-known that some 10–15 percent of all people in the general population experience auditory hallucinations, and that close to a full 100 percent experience some sort of hallucination during their lives (i.e., auditory, visual, olfactory, or otherwise), but that only 1 percent are diagnosed as suffering from schizophrenia spectrum disorder.” — Dr. Jan Dirk Blom, expert in clinical lycanthropy , “Understanding the Otherkin.” The Daily Dot, Feb. 22nd 2015.

Now if you’d like to disagree with the thousands of PhD’s behind the DSM and the APA, feel free to keep digging that hole.

who-is-page

Bwahahaha, excellent!

spiralthorns

This shouldn’t need to be said.

Those of you who are blaming otherkin as a whole for all transphobia that exists need to stop. Those of you who are drawing sharp distinctions between whose identities are “real” and whose are “bullshit” need to remember that there isn’t a single atypical identity that has not been subjected to that kind of criticism in the past (or isn’t still to this day). We can EASILY agree to separate the issues of gender and species, and we can EASILY agree not to conflate the issues without telling people that one is real and the other is fake or worse, telling people to kill themselves for being who they are.

What’s okay: I’m feeling pretty raw about my trans identity right now. There are a lot of systematic oppressions leveled against us, and because of that, I’m really not in the mood/in a good place to support people whose identities are less actively hated/demonstrated against/marginalized/etc. Because of that, I’d prefer not to hear details about your kin type and am going to stay out of the otherkin tags.

What’s not okay: Otherkin are clearly fake because if your species identities were real, you’d be oppressed like us! Oppression is the sole factor in defining whether or not an identity is valid. Fuck all of you.

What’s okay: I worry that the way some otherkin talk about being “born in the wrong body” sounds way too much like the truscum narrative about how being trans works that my allies and I are trying to challenge. Can you perhaps find another way to describe what you’re feeling?

What’s not okay: Everything you’re saying is transphobic because you’re making fun of us by existing.

What’s okay: Otherkin who claim their species identities are genders really frustrate me. I also worry that if they keep this up, they’re going to really confuse people who are on the fence about whether or not to support trans rights. People already find gender identity confusing, and I don’t want to make it even more complicated for them by lumping in your (also complicated) issues with ours.

What’s not okay: Otherkin are the REASON people are transphobic, and you are making transphobia worse just by existing, so stop!

What’s okay: I worry that some otherkin trolls are using fake otherkin identities to parody trans people. That’s really upsetting me.

What’s not okay: Because some otherkin trolls are using fake otherkin identities to parody trans people, I’ve decided that unless every last otherkin on the planet gives up their identity, no one will ever accept trans people.

What’s okay: Asking people to recognize transgender identities and otherkin identities as separate issues.

What’s not okay: Talking over otherkin who are also trans about this issue.

What’s okay: Asking cis otherkin not to post in the trans tags.

What’s not okay: Asking all otherkin to kill themselves.

archivekin

Firstly, I have huge respect for spirirtual therians and otherkin. This is not meant in any way to offend anybody whose kintype is also a past life. If it does, I am sorry.

Basically what I’m saying is that kintypes and past lives are two different things, although for many people they crossover. However, this is not always the case.

I made this because the misconception that kintypes are always past lives is very common - something that caused me a lot of worry when I first joined the community, because I had no idea that psychological therians / otherkin existed, and I’ve spoken to other psychological therians / kin who’ve had the same experience.

therianomalocaris

I spontaneously decided to do a little compilation of anti-kin arguments that I don’t like very much :

“We just want to help you !” - No you don’t. You literally want us to stop existing, how is that helping ?

“But otherkin is my trigger !” - I don’t know if you know this, but you can blacklist tags. We’re not responsible for your unwillingness to use one of the site’s features.

“Otherkin is ableist/transphobic.” - Not much to say on this one, except that no it’s not. Where did you even get that idea ?

“Well this otherkin person did something bad so you must all be bad !” - We’re individuals, you know ? Just because one of us does shady things doesn’t mean we’re all like that.

“You’re all edgy 13 years old kids.” - I may be edgy (hell, it’s in my bio), but you may want to add 5 to 30 years to that number. Most of us are adults with jobs and responsibilities.

“I understand [X kin belief] but [Y kin belief] is fucking stupid.” - Buddy, I don’t know if you know this but you can’t pick and chose what beliefs you can respect.

“You just hate yourselves so much you don’t even want to be human.” - I’ve seen this going around, and it disgusts me. Who are you to tell us what we think of ourselves ? And what if some of us do hate themselves, do you think it’ll help them to say that ?

“Otherkin is just another one of those Tumblr trends.” - Oh wow, you didn’t even do your research before talking about something you don’t know ! Way to show how little you actually care about what we do.

“No research has been done on [X kin thing], so it’s not true” - Well, maybe research has been done. I invite you to use this little thing called Google scholar to do your own research.

And, that’s all I’ve got ! You can add more if you want to.

anti-kin-cringe

Let’s get real. After an anti-kin blog has been corrected repeatedly by otherkin and has been provided a couple hundred sources (literally), it is no longer misinformation. After that point they are spreading lies and they know it.

- Grim, who is moving on from sugar coating.

sonofeywa-deactivated20180807

reminder

Casual reminder that psychological otherkinity/fictionkinity/therianthropy is a thing and it is certainly just as legitimate as spiritual otherkinity. So if you’re an otherkin who doesn’t believe in past lives, souls, or any of that spiritual stuff, know that you are still otherkin so long as you identify as something other than human.

And if you’re one of those people who tries to tell psychological otherkin that they’re ‘fake’ or 'delusional’ or whatever, kindly shove off t h a n k s

nitnendoswinch

anyone know any good sources to learn more about otherkin? it’s something i’ve been curious to learn more about but i can’t find any info that isn’t blatant anti-tumblr circlejerk.

aestherians

Hello! These links might help you:

Project Shift

Therian Wiki

Fictionkin Dot Com

The Otherkin Timeline

Anti-Anti-Otherkin

House of Chimeras

Are you fine with non-kin following your blog?

Of course! Anyone can follow, as long as they remain respectful :)

dawnmiist

Otherkin PSA

If there is someone on Tumblr (or any website really) who claims they are the following:

- foodkin - songkin - furniturekin - objectkin - colourkin - factkin - any kintype that doesn’t really “live”

They are extremely likely to be a troll. Do not pay attention to them. Do not feed them. They are likely the works of an anti-kin who wants to poke fun at the otherkin community but executed it poorly.

If someone claims they can do any of the following:

- eat gems - eat raw meat - fly - physically shift - anything out of line with a basic human’s biology

If someone claims the following:

- “OMG, can you believe my mum bought a potted plant?! She’s appropriating kin culture and enslaving my brothers and sisters!” (or any variants of that) - “BITCH, I AM A ZEROGENDER ALIENKINS, I’M GOING TO CURSE YOU” (or any variants of that) - “I’m kin with a $10 tissue box and Harry Styles! #factkinpride!!!!” (or any variants of that)

Or anything similar to those absolutely ridiculous statements above that no actual otherkin would ever say, they are extremely likely to be a troll. Do not pay attention to them. Do not feed them. They are likely the works of an anti-kin who wants to poke fun at the otherkin community but executed it poorly.

amorphousalien

@youraverageqilin

I have done my research. For literally 50 years. Kin has been spiritual. It wasn’t until the past 4ish years that it suddenly warped on Tumblr bc of kids not doing research before latching onto a decades old concept. Idk what you want bruh

youraverageqilin

So, I dont know, were you ever on a forum like Werelist? Did you read the researches by Orion Scribner? Did you ever “do your research” somewhere else than Tumblr? Or outside of the english communities?

amorphousalien

If I only got my info from Tumblr, I’d be subscribed to the tumblr idea that mental illness counts as Kin.

youraverageqilin

@liongoatsnake @who-is-page @loploplopori @theangrylionshark @liminalbeast @frameacloud

We got a nice one here. Did research for “literally 50 years” and says they are 20 on their blog, pretends that psychological point of view on otherkinity has appeared only 4years ago on Tumblr, calls psychological alter-humanity “mental illness”… Have fun!

who-is-page

@eurusabove you are wrong. Otherkinity can be spiritual, religious, cultural, psychological, neurological, or something else entirely–if you really had done your research, then you would note several things which prove that this isn’t exactly what one would call a new development regarding the rhetoric of the otherkin community and it’s norms.

The first and foremost thing is that, when listening to the accounts of those who have been in the community for 10+ years, you will frequently hear about individuals they knew or met when they were first introduced to the otherkin community. I personally have heard accounts of individuals who explained their otherkinity through stories directly relating to their family/bloodline (something which arguably wouldn’t count as being otherkin now, due to the shift in the definition which has happened in the last ten years), as well as accounts of psychological-identifying otherkin. Their personal definitions of the word otherkin will also more often than not include psychological otherkin within them either directly, or through an umbrella use of certain words. And then there’s also the fact that psychological-identifying greymuzzles exist, so, I mean. You can’t exactly just ignore that.

Past that, we get to the area of definitions of otherkin–as in, its various iterations through the decades. Let’s take a look at the Otherkin Lexicon (written by Orion Scribner in 2013, so before your “four year” idea):

“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, Mx. Scribner’s Otherkin Lexicon)

Note how the 1992/1990 definition includes “Some otherkin don’t use spiritual explanations.” This is because–and you would know this if you really had done your research!–the otherkin community didn’t begin to narrow its definition until around the 2008 and beyond period regarding in what ways it was appropriate to identify as in order to be classified as otherkin. We can see this in Lupa’s definition of otherkin (2007), as well as in written pieces such as Meirya’s Otherkin & Therian Theories of Cause or Origin (2006), when searching for comparisons of the definition of otherkin then vs. now. (We can also observe other ways the community has changed from those, but I digress.) This shows that psychological-identifying otherkin have always been a part of the community and that, despite what you think, appropriate ways to identify as otherkin used to be much broader than they currently are.

And, lastly, since we’re touching on written pieces…there have been written materials on specifically psychological-identifying otherkin since before 2010. As in, long before your “only the last four years!” nonsense. This includes personal writings from psychological-identifying otherkin who have been in the community for decades (you know, because those people do, in fact, exist) as well as articles written from a more informative view, such as Liesk’s A Comprehensive Introduction to a Psychological View of Therianthropy (2006).

*winks and finger guns* I could go digging into the academic texts I own regarding otherkin, but I think I’ve proven my point.

If only I’d been involved in this community just a couple of years earlier, then I could have just circumvented this all and used my own experiences as proof!

askalioness

i think i might be otherkin but i dont exactly know what animal im kin with [it has pointed ears, lot of fur, and a tail]- is that still ok? ((sorry for bothering)) ((ive also had like. mental connections to dogs and other animals since i was a child so))

Heya anon! No bother at all! My best advice to you is simply research. I also recommend you join a therian or otherkin forum as opposed to getting your information from tumblr (trust me, some of the resources on tumblr aaaare… questionable). Bear in mind while you research your behaviour, your attitude towards others, if you’re drawn to any particular habitat and so on. Don’t just base your kintype on any phantom shifts you have- look at the way you view and approach life too! Also, bare in mind that otherkinity is identifying AS an animal, not with one. I identify as a canine, but i identify heavily with dragons. I’ll reblog this post with a link to a post i made in the past on how to research your ‘type :3

ablackdogsblog

https://mexywolf.tumblr.com/post/143981275392/figuring-out-your-theriotype

here we are! If you take a little stroll through my blog, you’ll see some other posts which may help too ^^

askalioness

reblogged to the wrong blog 😳look through the ask blog for informative posts, and the personal for... uh. shitposts? lol

Heya anon! No bother at all! My best advice to you is simply research. I also recommend you join a therian or otherkin forum as opposed to getting your information from tumblr (trust me, some of the resources on tumblr aaaare... questionable). Bear in mind while you research your behaviour, your attitude towards others, if you're drawn to any particular habitat and so on. Don't just base your kintype on any phantom shifts you have- look at the way you view and approach life too! Also, bare in mind that otherkinity is identifying AS an animal, not with one. I identify as a canine, but i identify heavily with dragons. I'll reblog this post with a link to a post i made in the past on how to research your 'type :3

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