Thoughts from a Greymuzzle
After posting that I was looking for friends, I realize just how out of touch I am with the current therian community. Like, wow - I understand it's been some time but the amount of new identities, terminology, views... it's a lot to process.
Now, I might just have some old-school way of thinking but, I feel like therianthropy is no longer what it used to be. To clarify, I'm all for one being who they are; I stand by the statement 'only you know who you are'. Yet, I can't help but notice there are so many who seem to be reaching and searching for something that just isn't there in hopes of validation and acceptance.
I'm probably going to get some hate swung my way for voicing my opinions right now, but I need to clarify them for anyone who may be or already is following me because I do not align with the current beliefs of therianthropy.
Therianthropy to me is 'identifying as an animal'. Not with an animal, not feeling like an animal, not associating with an animal just cause I like it's aesthetic or think it's cool. And - nothing against those who do because polytherians are a thing but, for crying out loud, 20? 30? 50+? You might as well identify as the whole animal kingdom at that point. Because how? Again, I'm old school and maybe I just don't fully understand, but as a therian myself, as an animal, I can't imagine feeling that many multiple instincts pulsing inside of me. I mean, the contradictions in carnivore and herbivore alone would drive me insane.
This is most definitely where I'm about to get some hate now, but I want to continue. I fully believe that therianthropy at this time has become nothing but a fad and a trend that younger, impressionable individuals hopped on because it was cool. Why be a human when you can say you're a black wolf/arctic fox/otter/bear/snake/cicada, right? And identity is what you make of it so, gods forbid, someone tells you that you can't identify as that, right? That's invalidation.
I am 30 years old. The therian community used to be something I was proud to be a part of. Because everyone questioned everything. Not because there was gatekeeping but because no matter what it is, there will be fakes and trolls. So naturally, you want to question someone who comes claiming they're something else. Now, I will admit, I did witness some gatekeeping within the community, but the overall questioning is healthy. It's a process of self-growth. How are you going to know yourself if you don't question yourself?
I did. Even when I knew I was a wolf, I still spent over 3 years questioning myself. I kept track of everything I did, everything I felt, every experience I had and you know what happened - self validation. I was a wolf, through and through.
Back then, the community was more focused on authenticity. Being true to yourself. Now it just seems to be an aesthetic for who can look the coolest. Quads and masks are ok; healthy ways of expression, but they aren't the defining definitions of a therian.
I have prey drive; the urge to hunt, to stalk, to sink teeth into flesh.
I itch under my skin. I struggle to sometimes talk because language is foreign to me. I struggle to understand social cues because my eyes are trained to watch body language. I growl when angered, snap to correct someone misbehaving, whine/whimper when injured, nuzzle for comfort.
All of these things come naturally to me because I am an animal. I am a therian. I am a wolf.
If you don't feel any kind of instincts associated with the animal you identify as, I personally think you're misusing the term therian.
But at the end of the day, that's my own opinion. All of this is just my own viewpoint. To clarify, only you know what you are. But I will still encourage each and every person who is nonhuman to question everything. Ask yourself why you feel you are x creature/being. And don't just settle for 'I feel like it'; dig deeper than that. Reach inward and truly analyze yourself.
Question. Grow. Progress.
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