Nonhuman packer discourse is making the rounds on theriantok again (for like, the third time this year), but I wanted to take it as an opportunity to mention a couple of interesting things Ive noticed from it.
Firstly, the majority of folks making a fuss about it (at least that Ive seen) are minors, or at least under the age of about 20. Individuals who have very clearly never interacted with real world, adult-oriented queer or furry spaces. I think this is pretty well known atp, but it's just so wild to me that something they're all so convinced is repulsive and dangerous, is something that I hardly see anyone else bothered by in other "weirdo" communities Ive explored.
Secondly, they really don't have... ANY solid reasoning as to why they think this is an actual problem. If you ask them to elaborate more in depth or even gently challenge their beliefs, their response is essentially "Well obviously this is gross, I shouldn't even have to explain to you why it is, and if you can't see that then there must be something wrong with you." If you ask them to provide credible sources that support their views, they will most likely either ignore you or block you without warning (ask me how I know). Personally, if someone provided me with credible, fact based evidence from a non-biased source that showed that nonhuman packers or similar possessions negatively influenced an individual's mental wellbeing or increased the likelihood of theriform animals being abused, then yes, I would absolutely change my opinion. But they are unable to provide anyone with this sort of information, and they know it. Their arguments are so clearly just regurgitated moral panic bullet points they heard from 16 year olds online that lack genuine knowledge about the community they claim to speak on behalf of.
I came across one comment the other day that said something along the lines of "If nonhuman packers ARE just about dysphoria, why haven't I see anyone try to give themselves a canine chest??" in what, I guess, was supposed to be some sort of gotcha moment to prove that nonhuman packers are purely sexual. But, if you've been active in the community outside of Tiktok or Instagram for any length of time, you know that this is a common way for canines to try and alleviate species dysphoria. It's not all that uncommon for beings to get stomach nipples tattooed onto themselves for this exact reason. And there are dozens of comments like this that make it clear there isn't widespread understanding of how the community exists in other corners of the internet or in real life. It just shows how dire the rift between younger and older therianthropes is.
It can be disheartening to see beings so openly reinforcing purity culture ideas and anti nonhuman identity rhetoric, but I have also noticed that they're certainly not without opposition. Individuals who do support the "weirder" aspects of alterhumanity are generally quieter about their opinions, but they're absolutely out there. Lots of my mutuals, some of whom have tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of followers, mostly adults. I stumble across them in comment sections or we chat about it in DMs sometimes, it's definitely not as black and white of a situation as a lot of younger creators would like folks to think, which does give me some reassurance
I know it isn't always easy, but please try to be kind to younger nonhumans, even when they're doing stuff like this. Most aren't being intentionally malicious, they're trying to do what they believe is right but lack the maturity and life experience to understand the full scope of what exactly they're saying. Divides and conflicts among us aren't going to be resolved unless we're all willing to sit down and earnestly hear each other out.
At the end of the day, do whatever you want. Life is short, don't make decisions about what you do with it based on superficial social media drama. Most people irl aren't going to care enough to make a scene over those sorts of things so long as you're being appropriate and respectful, and if they do then they probably weren't worth your time anyways. Wear nonhuman packers, get stomach nipple tattoos, engage in animalistic kink, tell your friends and family about therianthropy, make art, be weird and freaky and authentic. It makes the world a much more interesting place :)
