hello. I have no intention to start any fight with this post, but this is something that needs to be adressed in the nonhuman/alterhuman spaces. Some of you are very reluctant to recognize that these communities also have hierarchies and opression inside them.
With this phrase I mean a lot of stuff. I want to talk specifically about species, race and gender here. This is not exactly a post about intersectionality, but you can understand it this way.
≈ 1347 words.
Starting with species.
I myself am birdkin, despite my host being a caninekin. I am talking about MY experiences inside these spaces. Consider this post as made by a non-canine.
My point here is: canines have privilege in these communities.
The alter/nonhuman communities do not have "species equality" or "species equity". Canine's experiences are usually considered "common experiences between all alter/nonhuman beings" and universal characteristics that a lot of us don't identify with.
Of course, this is NOT about me saying that "not everything online is for me and I'm mad about it !!". I am not saying that "I dislike" those experiences, and thus should only block them and move on. This is not a new thing and it has been happening since the beginning of these communities and their spaces.
There is no representation of non-canines in these communities. Specially not on tiktok, where felines also have a lot of space there; but I don't want to talk about tiktok here. And we all know why.
This is not a "you can't have that kin because it is bad". Don't even get started with this shit, same thing that most of yall did in the k9 discourse (I will talk about that later). It honestly seems like, as a non-canine, I'm not even in the same community as most of you. Some of the few spaces I have been, originally spaces exclusive for non-canines, have turned into "general alter/nonhuman servers" and then almost canine-exclusive servers. We also don't really have tags for us, since a LOT of you spam every kin you have in your tags while talking about a very specific experience, so we can enter tags like "birdkin" and find canine experiences there.
I am not saying that having a kin is wrong. I am not saying that "canines are faking nonhumanity because there are a lot of them" and I am not blaming you for having those experiences & sharing them. It's perfectly normal. But I have seen some of you say that we non-canines "should just block the tags and quit complaining", that we should simply "create spaces for us".
We want to be PART of the alterhuman and nonhuman spaces. We want to have visibility too !! We don't want to get confined with the same 20 critters in discord servers to talk about our experiences. We want ways to express without seeming like a completly strange thing to canines here.
And being honest, I really hate when people treat us like different beings. You wouldn't say "omg what a cool kin !" to a wolfkin, now, would you ? So why treat us that way ?
most of us are not human, but some of us constantly feel like in a zoo. "your kin is so rare !!", "this kin is very cool", "ooh a []kin !! This is new in this community". I know that some don't care, but why say that ? It seems like we are fundamentally different despite having common identities together.
I know that our experiences are new to you and you want to express that you find it cool that we are expressing it. But please say it in a way that does not "desalterhumanizes" us; in a way that does not makes us more different than you. I kindly ask that.
But this post is about adressing things. I also want to talk about race here.
There is racism inside the alterhuman communities.
if you feel ofended by that phrase, it means that you are a part of the problem.
I don't have any right to talk for BIPOC creatures in the community because I am white and with that I am biased and racist, even if I don't see why. Even in the small things.
I recognize that I still need to learn a shit ton of stuff and to unlearn various ideologies that I have learned through my life. Even if I am living in a south american country and not in the US or the UK. I still am racist in little things as a white person.
I am not saying that I love racism and being racist. I fucking hate racism. I have a lot of BIPOC friends and it's heartbreaking to hear them talk about opression and discrimination they suffer daily. But as a white person, I AM unlearnING racism. Not "have unlearned". It's a constant process.
and I don't want a gold star for that.
this should be a common thing. Critters that are trying to fight internalized racism and express that, while not being BIPOC, do not deserve a praise for that. They don't deserve anything extra for that. Everyone should do that.
Before saying that a BIPOC alter/nonhuman being is wrong about [] while talking about how white people inside these communities are excluding them, ask yourself first. Are you being racist without realizing ? What gives you the right to contest what they said ?
The k9 discourse is stupid. NO ONE is saying that "you have k9 as a kin, so you are wrong". This phrase is just another example on how WE, WHITE alterhumans and nonhumans twist BIPOC's words to make them better for US. This is racism. This is opression.
The same thing I said about "treating some fundamentally different than other people" earlier in the species stuff goes in here too. It's so weird to see someone say something like "ooh a black alterhuman !! I've never seen one !!" or "omg are you hispanic ? That's cool !! Hispanics in the nonhuman community are a rarity". Please, man. This is wrong in so many levels.
As a brazilian I have suffered with that too, but this is not a "I suffer just like you BIPOC do" statement. It's just that this kind of phrase affects a LOT of things in different contexts.
Again, I am not BIPOC. I am white. I have privileges and I try to educate myself on these privileges to fight them. But everyone should do that, specially as alter/nonhumans, who have access to a shit ton of information online. Specially you, that is reading this post right now. Educate yourself.
To end this post, I want to talk about gender.
Cis people do not need exclusive spaces in these communities.
The gender part of this is going to be brief in this post because I want to adress one thing specifically.
Trans and non binary people do not have privileges over cis people in alter/nonhuman spaces. I can't believe that I need to talk about this.
Please listen to trans and nb folks. PLEASE listen to us. It is so fucked to see someone say like "there are a lot of alter/nonhumans that are queer and we cishets have no representation here" you have it everywhere else. Most alter/nonhuman posts don't even talk about gender and sexuality.
This is different from the species thing I said earlier because those are inside alterhuman and nonhuman exclusive spaces. Cis people do not need exclusive spaces because they already have. Most spaces are transphobic in some way; even some trans spaces are transphobic too !!
Transphobia is a thing and we CAN'T forget that. I live in a country that is, for the 17th year in sequence (aka since 2008), the country where most trans folks are killed in the entire world. I know what I am talking about.
So what if we have a safe space online for ourselves ??? We almost don't have it IRL. Hell, most of us can die if we out ourselves to someone else. So WHY complain about that ????
"with 105 deaths in 2024, Brazil is the country that most kills trans people - the country has been leading the ranking of murders for 17 years".
Also, stop saying that women are "rare here". Or that cis men are too. This is very transphobic, even if you don't realize it; women are a minority, yeah, but what this phrase usually intends to say is that "I don't see enough cis women and cis men in these communities and I want to say that out loud so trans people will feel wrong".
This is all I have to say. Please don't start fights over this post. If you dislike it block me and move on.
I think this is the last post I will do on discourse.
remember when someone on this site said that transmascs wearing hoodies to cope with dysphoria is appropriation of transfem culture? the whole discourse should have ended then. I can't believe the blog who said that still regularly crosses my dash.
look at a radfems post about "trans males wanting access to women and women only spaces" and you look at the spaces in question and its like. the gynecologist. or domestic violence shelters. or like a trans discord server that isnt exclusively transfems and they claim to be accepting of trans men but theyre really not and they get really weird about the trans men in the server. like be serious with me yall cmon
you say something like 'a lot of people treat trans men like women' and some fuckass with an anime pfp will drop out of the sky into your notes to be like
'trans men wanna be oppressed so bad'
no
you just want an acceptable target for your misogyny
Saw someone say "Show me an example of masculinity that doesn't come with the implication that everyone else is lesser." and I am SO sick and tired of this narrative. I could say the same thing about femininity. I could very well say shit like "Show me an example of femininity that doesn't deride others for not performing it, or performing it incorrectly." I could, but I don't because I'm not an idiot who is unable to accept the fact that something that was a prison for me could be liberating for someone else. I had hoped most people would be aware that declaring entire ass gender identities and expressions as evil is no different than conservative bullshit, no matter which 'side' you're doing it for, but it seems I was wrong. I'm just so, so tired of this all.
Sorry sorry I’m sooooo late to the whole ISFF/suggestrogen debacle but I must say… as a trans guy who was on the frontlines calling her out for her transandrophobia I wiiiiiiish yall took that shit more seriously. Obviously I’m glad people took her defending pedophilia seriously, but like…. Idk…. It should’ve also been a dealbreaker how shitty she was about trans guys too. I hate that we’re seen as acceptable collateral in discourse.
its important to remember that the furry community isn't inherently nsfw and that furries in spaces with children arent inherently predatory and that children can be furries also. but its also important to remember that furry culture is built on kink & sexual liberation and to sanitize it and paint all furries who are Furries In a Sex way as 'degenerate' and staining the community or w/e is. also not good. and these two things can coexist
species dysphoria can be crippling, causing everyday life to be miserable and make simple tasks impossible.
since ive been a wolf my whole life, but i have also always lived in this human prison, i do have some tips to alleviate some of the discomfort that comes with species dysphoria.
1 . gear
gear like collars, paw socks, ears and a tail, and even more unique items like prosthetic teeth or makeup can help immensely.
gear works by assisting to align ones human body with their kintype.
i personally wear a collar almost 24/7, i only take it off to sleep sometimes.
2 . meditation
meditation is a grounding exercise used for centuries to center oneself and assist with deep spiritual growth.
resting in your den, outside, with your mate, or somewhere you feel safe, take 30 minutes to discover yourself. imagine your true self, your extra limbs, the lack of them. the extra fur or the gills.
remember who you truly are.
3 . physical alterations
cutting/dying ones hair to resemble their 'types fur or scale pattern can be extra affirming, because its not something you can take off (easily/quickly). its just you.
piercings/tattoos are also a great option for this if you have the money! angel fangs, a smiley, paw tattoos on your hands, a thelta delta on your wrist.... the options are endless!
4 . eating your 'types diet
and no, i dont mean ONLY that.
adding primal foods into ones personal diet can be species affirming, making them feel more at home and safe in their body.
nuts, berries, roots like ginger or potatoes, mushrooms, greens, and fruit. tough meat you have to rip through like beef jerky or dehydrated steak. ordering a medium rare steak with mushrooms at a restaurant is the best.
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