Anti-Kin reply masterpost
Before I post it I want to thank anyone who submitted anything and especially @alonewarden for formulating the replies, our editors, and anyone else who may have somehow contributed to this post.
Ask: Otherkin isn’t real.
Answer: For this to have meaning, first you have to define real. If you are saying that it isn’t experienced, you will have to prove that not only do I not experience it, but that nobody else does either. Until you can do these things, your claim can be dismissed as easily as you make it.
Ask: You’re delusional/Otherkin is a delusion.
Answer: So first of all, you don’t define delusion, but I am going to give you the following; “An idiosyncratic belief or impression that is firmly maintained despite being contradicted by what is generally accepted as reality or rational argument, typically a symptom of mental disorder.”
Yes, otherkin is an idiosyncratic belief or impression that is firmly maintained despite what is generally accepted. There are a lot of people who do not accept my identity, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a thing I experience and will likely continue to experience. Your experiences and those of a bunch of others may differ from mine, but if we could only have mainstream experiences, feeling and living would become rather dull, now wouldn’t it. (Also, as for the mental disorder bit, prove that this hurts me more than it is a part of me that I care for and would not want to live without.)
Ask: Otherkin is a mental illness.
Answer: Otherkin is not a recognized mental disorder as of last time I checked the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual), but I am open to hearing of a legitimate scientific or psychological source that lists it as such.
Ask: If Otherkin want to identify as animals, we should have the right to treat them like animals (IE: hunting, euthanizing, forcing Otherkin to live outside or in a forest, etc.)
Answer: Amusingly enough, human beings are animals too. Treat us like you would other humans, because we are, even if our identity is slightly more complex than just that. (Sidenote: Your lack of compassion and encouraging harm to animals is something that really should be reported to the authorities, as that is a good indicator of a future serial killer.)
Ask: If my child ever came out to me as Otherkin, I would disown/abuse them/treat them like a biological animal.
Answer: Saying this so flippantly makes me hope you are never a parent whether or not your kid is otherkin. A proper parent loves their child unconditionally and encourages them to explore the world. I also hope you don’t come to own any animals, which are also, as fellow living beings, creatures whom you really should respect. I get that your point here is to grandstand, but I personally prefer not to brag about my failings as a human being and inability to perform essential human functions like reproducing and raising the product of that.
Ask: Species dysphoria isn’t real.
Answer: I would like to see your sources that prove that what many in the otherkin community claim to experience, isn’t a thing they experience. I expect that you will invent a device that can be proven to read minds or you can just track down everybody who has ever identified as otherkin and everybody who secretly thinks they are otherkin and claims or believes they experience this.. I expect that… but really, it’s up to you how you will prove this claim.
Ask: Species dysphoria mocks trans people/gender-identity related issues.
Answer: Dysphoria, amusingly enough, refers to something that is hard to bear. This may be shocking, but difficult experiences when it comes to living have actually existed for as far back as recorded human history. This is to say that dysphoria is something that any number of people have experienced all throughout human history in all sorts of ways and fashions. If we are really offending transgender individuals with this term, so is everybody else who has ever had it rough.
Ask: You are human (Implying that Otherkin don’t know we’re physically human).
Answer: Yes I am.
Ask: Otherkin [exist to] mock gender identities.
Answer: intentionalism aside (prove that we are all actually doing this), If your depth of exploration into these two subjects is so shallow that you think that, please, by all means, be offended.
Ask: Otherkin is a bad religion to follow (/somehow implies Otherkin is a religion.)
Answer: Otherkin would make a terrible religion. The beliefs are so ridiculously different from person to person that I don’t think you could actually form a cohesive structure around it. It also doesn’t really have any core tenants or beliefs. I think that if you are searching for a religion, you could certainly do better than ‘otherkin’
Ask: You’re just a bunch of teenagers (implying that there are no “adult” otherkin, or that the otherkin community is maintained by only teenagers/young people.)
Answer: Even if all otherkin were hypothetically teenagers… so what? This really doesn’t seem like a point that means anything unless you are trying to say that teenagers can’t have beliefs, feelings or identities.
Ask: Get help!
Answer: There are people posting vague asks on my blog and I don’t know why, help!
Ask: Do Otherkin know what reality is/how reality works? Have any Otherkin really been outside/got off Tumblr?
Answer: I would be deeply shocked if otherkin don’t have any concept of reality. That said, I would be shocked if any of us actually understood exactly how reality works, or you, or even the brightest minds humanity has to offer. I am confused at the second half of this though, are you implying that we were born, as infants, on Tumblr? That one cannot use Tumblr while outside? That “outside” is the “cure” to otherkin?
Ask: How could you identify as a fictional character, they aren’t real.
Answer: Contextually, you seem to be using real to mean physically of this world. Though they may not be of this world, they may be of another and they certainly have an impact on the hearts and minds of others. My identity may not meet your standards of reality, but that just means your cognition is limited to what is physical, not that I’m fake.
Ask: Why are all fictionkin always main characters? Why isn’t anyone a background character?
Answer: Character specific fictionkin is not only main or major characters, but it is easier to notice an identity that stands out than one that blends into the background. Since you wouldn’t inherently know what others would call your canon, you are more likely to recognize yourself from a place in the spotlight than one mired in shadow.
Ask: Why are all fictionkin from anime, the Hamilton musical, from Undertale, or another big part of pop/internet-culture?
Answer: As this is a positive claim, I would like to see proof, especially since I am aware of people who don’t seem to fit that particular mold.
Ask: Get another coping mechanism!
Answer: I am unsure of what you are claiming that I need help coping with that I don’t have other, actual, coping mechanisms for.
Ask: Wow, you guys must be closet zoophiles (/be sexually interested in biological animals!)
Answer: Why must we?
Ask: There’s no scientific proof of Otherkin existing.
Answer: Things exist before they are proven to exist, not the other way around.
Ask: Mythical creatures don’t exist, how could you identify as one?
Answer: To exist is to be objectively real or observable. Mythical creatures, by definition, exist in that they are observed in and through folklore. While they may not have an observable physical presence, they can still exist in the hearts and minds and tales passed down through the ages.
Ask: Godkin/Dietykin/Celestialkin are narcissists.
Answer: Aren’t we all to some extent?
Ask: Nounself pronouns are stupid.
Answer: Pronouns relate to gender identity, not otherkinity.
Ask: Factkin is stupid.
Answer: Yes, it is.
Ask: You can’t physically shapeshift into your kintype!
Answer: It’s a good thing I don’t believe I can then.
Ask: Astral limbs are fake.
Answer: Then you should have no trouble proving that I don’t experience them.
Ask: Otherkin is ableist.
Answer: Citation needed. I am going to assume that you are referring to us experiencing phantom limbs however, to which I will A thusly. Phantom limbs is shorthand for a phenomena called “Supernumerary phantom limbs” in which case one experiences limbs and appendages that are not typically a part of a normal human body as opposed to regular phantom limbs which are what a person should but does not have. If you are a disabled person who is complaining that the terms are so similar and are genuinely hurt by this, invent a new term to distance yourself from us. If you aren’t, stop using the plight of the actually disabled to push your agenda you manipulative shitlord.
Ask: Otherkin is just made up for a false sense of security!
Answer: I don’t feel any more secure in the world because I identify as an animal and sometimes, people like you make us feel less so. Even granting your premise though, there is nothing wrong with wanting a sense of security in this world which is such a dangerous place. There is nothing wrong with believing in an afterlife as a means of coping with ones anxiety over death.
Ask: Otherkinity goes against common sense.
Answer: Common sense is a bunch of prejudices and the like that people use to understand and interact with the world. It’s a poor tool for understanding the world around us, however, as evidenced in how science shuns common sense (which might tell us things like that the earth is flat or vaccines cause autism or various forms of racism). Thank you for disassociating me from such a potentially toxic concept as common sense.
Ask: Otherkin are just furries/furries who took things too far. Being a furry doesn’t actually mean you are that animal.
Answer: If what you were saying were true, all otherkin would identify as furries which doesn’t seem to be the case. Unless you can prove that all otherkin are furries, or that all furries are otherkin, there is no real link between the two except humans with some connection to animals.
Ask: You’re mentally ill, I care about your general well-being and I want you to get help.
Answer: Mental illness means to not be at full mental health. Are you at 99% mental health? Are you functioning on a day to day basis but for a second every week or so you get the sads? You are mentally ill. I know this is an exaggeration, but you really need to explain how this is a thing that so adversely affects my life that it needs to be cured.
Ask: Why don’t you bark or growl at people? Why don’t you walk on all fours? Why don’t you live in the woods?
Answer: Because I don’t feel like it.
Ask: Why are all Otherkin only “cool” (aesthetically pleasing, romanticized, popular, or well-known) animals?
Answer: Aesthetically pleasing is fairly subjective and most animals aren’t grotesque last I checked. People will romanticize almost any animal. An unknown animal wouldn’t get much recognition and might be hard to find.
Ask: Seriously though, you’re having an identity crisis and you should get some help.
Answer: I guess you could technically say that sometimes finding out our identities can be a source of stress, and we often get help in those instances. If we are doing it right, we seek out the help of people who are critical, yet supportive. Maybe, if you are concerned, you can be there for me, encouraging me as I explore. Unless you are just using this as an excuse to denigrate us…
Ask: What if someone’s kintype(/identity) is inherently harmful? Do they get an excuse to be harmful?
Answer: Someone is free to use their kintype as an excuse for why they think they do harmful things, but you are not obligated to accept that excuse and if they claim that their harmful actions are out of their control, you are free to just ignore and disassociate with them. This is not a uniquely otherkin thing, people use all sorts of excuses for their actions like being drunk or high.
Ask: Otherkin ISN’T LGBT.
Answer: Correct.
Ask: Otherkin are all suffering from clinical lycanthropy.
Answer: I am not suffering from clinical lycanthropy and I am otherkin. If you can’t establish a clear link between otherkin, who largely seem to believe that they cannot physically shift, and this illness, then it’s just a strawman. Even if you can prove that all clinical lycanthropes are otherkin, all you could hypothetically propose is that it causes otherkin, not the other way around.
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