Alterhuman is an umbrella term, not a synonym!
Nowadays, I see a lot of folks using alterhuman as a catch-all for not being human. While nonhumanity certainly falls within alterhumanity, alterhumanity does not exclusively refer to species nor is it synonymous with nonhuman identities (ex: therianthropy).
Alterhumanity includes but is not limited to:
Fictionfolk: An umbrella term that encompasses all individuals of fictional origin or hold a personal connection to fiction. This includes fictionkind, fictives, fictionhearted individuals, folks with fictional hearthomes, imagithropes, etc.
Factfolk: An umbrella term that encompasses all individuals whose identity or overall alterhumanity originate from past or present people, places, things, etc. within this world. This includes factkind, factives, faitkind, faitives, facthearted individuals, etc.
Otherlinkers: Individuals who choose and create, or “link”, various altertypes to incorporate into their personal identity. Some otherlinkers aim to become the subject of their linking, whereas others may choose a specific framework they want the subject to fall under (such as linking it as a hearttype, a hearthome, a paratype, etc). The term otherlink gets its roots from the term copinglink(er), which refers to individuals who choose kintypes, theriotypes or some other altertype(s) to cope with a specific experience or behavior. Two more forms of otherlinking include funlinking (linking for fun) and aeslinking (linking based on aesthetics or appearances).
Otherhumans: Individuals whose species is human but not in context to humanity as we see it in its current state. Some examples include human fictionkind and archaeosapient early humans or neanderthals.
Imagithropes: Individuals whose identity/ies are created and/or formed, wholly or partially, through some form of imaginative play. This can include fantasy play, roleplay (tabletop, text, live action, etc), fanfiction, writing, art, and more.
Heartedness: A broad experience in which an individual may not identify as someone or something, but has a deep, personal connection with that person, place, or thing. This includes folk who are otherhearted/otherkith/synpaths, talehearted folk, and folk who have hearthomes (fictional or not).
Archetropy: An identity in which one heavily identifies with or generally experiences an archetype, trope, or pre-established character model in a way that is central to their identity.
Plurality: The state of more than one person within a body. That said, not all who are plural may relate their plurality to alterhumanity. Whether or not this framework applies depends on an individual basis.
Dæmonism: The practice of communicating with one's internal dæmon, a thoughtform stemming from one's subconscious. A dæmon is also given a sentient form, typically a nonhuman animal of sorts. Can be considered as a form of plurality but depends on the individual and their relationship to their dæmon(s).
Soulbonding: A practice in which an individual forms a personal bond or connection to a fictional character and communicates with them from their headspace or soulscape. Can be considered as a form of plurality but depends on the individual and their relationship to their soulbond(s).
Furry Lifestylers: A subset of the furry community whose position in the subculture carries into their daily life. Some members have described it as "furry as a way of life", in which being a furry is inseparable and intrinsic to oneself.
Past lives, parallel lives and/or future lives also apply as alterhuman experiences and may intersect with previously listed experiences.
I have alterhuman terms of my own to take into account as well:
Archaeosapiens: Individuals whose alterhuman identity is intrinsically rooted in prehistory, antiquity or mythic accounts of history. Although I don’t use it for myself anymore, I can say as the person who coined it that species is not central to archaeosapience; it is the distinct connection to one’s time that’s central. Anyone of any species can be archaeosapient. Note: Archaeosapiens are similar to the Paleofolk community and may also overlap with it, depending on the individual and their relationship with time displacement.
Ontoplanarity: In referral to ontoplanar, which describes individuals who originate from planes and realities outside of this Earth. While one could relate this term to alienkind and spacekind, ontoplanar focuses one’s own point of origin rather than one’s species. In that regard, anyone of any species can be ontoplanar.
There’s also human alterhumans who aren’t specifically otherhumans. The idea that humankind as we know it is completely alienated from alterhumanity is a misconception, likely tying into the assumption that “alterhumanity = nonhumanity”.
I originally discussed this in the Alterhuman (Tumblr) Community but I felt as though I should make this information publicly available, especially with how the term has been sifting around lately. I’m not the first to bring this up, far from it even. If anyone who’s learned something from this wants to know more, here’s some posts to check out:
The finalized coining of the term Alterhuman/AHPI (x)
Aster’s discussion on alterhuman as an umbrella, particularly its conflation with otherkin (x)
Rani’s discussion on umbrella terms in the community, addressing erasure in folks’ usage of both alterhuman and fictionfolk (x)
Rani’s explanation on the difference between nonhuman and alterhuman as terms (x)
A thread of terms and experiences that tie into the alterhuman community (x)
I understand being excited to find a community that speaks to you. We’ve all been there!
That said, inclusive language is important. Even more so when the terms we use were already inclusive to begin with.
I think the best example I’ve seen to address this phenomenon is Aster’s example referring to queer and its usage. Queerness is vast. It is not synonymous with one specific experience in the LGBTQ+ community. That much is understood online.
In the same vein, alterhumanity is just as vast. It is not synonymous with nonhumanity, be it therianthropy or otherwise. It can be alienating for your peers to see it centralized as that experience alone. Alterhumanity is an ocean of possibilities and perspectives that should be recognized alongside nonhumanity. I encourage folks to look at it in full, if not use terms that specifically highlight what you experience instead of framing alterhumanity as only that experience.
