Hot take: but I think alterhumans and non-humans should really get into anti capitalistic and communistic mindsets,
I believe that everyone should start becoming self-sufficient and not relying on capitalism for gear and affirming items,
Throughout the years I have realized how much people rely on buying things in order to feel affirming to their type / animal side, it makes me upset considering I'm someone who makes my own gear and species affirming items,
I see way too many people buy tails that are unethical, I see people buy plastic items that come from manufacturing factories that pollute the air and the water, I see things that scream future landfill within this community and it makes me upset,
Even if you're not good at making gear you should at least learn, you shouldn't rely on capitalism and corrupted practices to get gear that is supposed to be closer to your animal identity,
This self-sufficient mindset also goes to growing your own food and learning to protect yourself when things get dangerous, the world is becoming darker and we need to learn to get stronger, we need to learn to be a community, and we need to learn to rely on ourselves and our community when the government and justice system can't save us,
Also read a book, eat that knowledge like it's a forbidden ancient secrets and you're a powerful wizard learning those forbidden ancient secrets.
It seems like the goal for a lot of tumblr alterhumans and therians is to perfectly map out their identites onto origin terms and labels that all feel distinctly different. I definitely think my draconic identity could look like a classic kintype from one angle and otherlink for another, whereas my robot identity could look either fitting under the otherkin label, some kind of fictionfolk label or even a hearttype label. I'm sure some of my identites could even look orthohuman (i.e those coming from self-insertion and the like) from certain angles. Like I dunno I don’t think this shit is inherently straightforward I think it depends.
Say it with me everyone: NOT. EVERY. FICTIONFOLK. INDIVIDUAL. HAS. A. SOURCE.
Fictionfolk =/= identifying with something from a fictional source!!
Fictionfolk = Any person/being/individual whose identity has a fictional component
Please stop implying that every single fictionfolk person has a source or is fictionkin/fictionhearted
do any of my fellow Sea Monsters, Sirens, Fairies, Merfolk, or anything of that sort get a prey drive? whats it like for you? mine has been really bad lately, i cant stop thinking about it. my phantom teeth are taunting me.
I have a question for both people who identify as alterhuman and non-human,
What is your stance on paraphilia and why do people not like paraphilias (this also includes the big three)?
Personally I am someone who has paraphilias and fully believe that people can express themselves without harming others with their paraphilias,
I fully believe that it's no different than someone having mental illness or disabilities (hell I can even go as far as saying it's just like any normal sexual orientation) and if it doesn't cause people harm why even care if someone has it,
Yes I'm aware that some individuals have used their paraphilias to harm others, but that doesn't mean that everyone who has a paraphilia is a ticking Time bomb ready to hurt someone, you can say the same thing as someone being gay committing a horrible crime but you can't say that every gay person is like that, obviously that would be homophobic, so why say that every person with a paraphilia causes harm?,
I know a lot of the hate originally comes from ableism, saneism, fascism, and purity culture,
But I've also seen people who don't even know what paraphilia is or even care that it doesn't mean action actively attacking others and harassing others for something that doesn't even cause harm within the altarhuman community, It genuinely saddens me seeing echo chambers of hate that is caused by uneducation and ignorance of the very thing that they supposedly hate, yet the same individuals are okay with prey drive and other instincts that are animalistic/ non-human, it baffles me with the hypocrisy a little bit, this is why I asked the community what their stances are and how they feel about paraphilias,
No hate please, I want everyone to educate each other in a respectful matter, everyone is entitled with their own opinions but we will be respectful about it,
are constelics valid? i was always wondering this and my friend (whose otherkin) seems to not like them. i’m a little confused as to what they are too.
Hey there, grey friend with sunglasses!
Admittedly, I don't know many of the new terms being coined for some types of identities, so I had to look this one up.
According to the coiner, constelic refers to folks whose identities are picked up later in life, and are generally not permanent. Constelic identities (or stels) are not something you're born with, and whether or not you choose your stels depends on the person and/or the individual stels. Stels can last anywhere from a very short amount of time (around a week) to a lifetime (though this is uncommon).
Honestly, sounds like it occupies some of the space between linktypes and flicker identities. I'm not an expert on any of these, as I don't experience them, but I'm not surprised to see an overlap there.
My take on whether or not something is valid is this: if it is a good-faith identity that is actually being experienced by someone, and it isn't harming them or anyone else, then yes. We should always approach these things with curiosity and empathy, rather than ire, since both the human and nonhuman experiences are so diverse and unique.
To your friend, if they wish to listen: From one otherkin person to another, I would ask you to look inward and figure out what about this identity bothers you. Then, read about it, and seek to understand them before you make a call on whether they are valid.
Tl;dr: Constelic is just another form of alterhumanity that someone could experience. There is no good reason to call it invalid, if you ask me. Be curious and always seek to understand first.
On "Just a Hearttype", Kintype Exclusivity and Coining Culture
As time has gone on the (majority) of labels have expanded their purpose. Hearttype, for example has gone from a particular expression of affection towards something that isn't you to an expanded and ambiguous catch-a-lot term that's only real repeating definition is 'closer to like than to as', which, doesn't mean much.
Functionally, it's more of an ambiguous category catching all types of identites in its net, or serves as a large and fluid border between KFFer and the more solid or even more 'real' kintype identites. This is where ideas of identites being "just otherhearted" comes from.
Conversely, we also have coining culture if you don't find a term that fits you, you're heavily encouraged to make a new term. Sometimes these labels tend more of the side of gender coinings which leans towards personal elements or aesthetics but many others are terms that fall between other terms. Terms that are 'between' kintype and hearttype. Or kintype and otherlink, or theriotype and hearttype or fictionkin and fictionflicker, for just a few examples.
However the big ambiguous term and several, small precise terms do share a common purpose and that is to avoid designating many of these experiences to being kintype or theriotype. To push people away from these terms and redirecting them to terms that carry less weight. Being a 'lesser kintype' was not the primary purpose of the otherhearted label, nor is it what everyone as a whole is using it for but that is what it's used in many cases, I'd even say in it's most common form; a step-back from kintype through the veil of 'likeness' even if the person might have some 'as-ness' as part of the identity too.
It's a similar issue with some coined terms. If someone with a non-clear-cut identity is using a microlabel we don't see as a form of the more looked-up-to theriotype or kintype, we don't have to acknowledge that identity as a potential expression of theriotype or kintype. That person can go into their own corner with their own personal identity that we'll probably ignore because that's for them not for us. Coined terms rarely go past the coiner.
That's not to mention that some the fringes of terms such as otherhearted and otherlink (especially copinglink) being identified with KFFers. KFFers being suggested they use otherhearted (not what the term was originally used for, and who knows if that KFFer isn't or won't actually discover a more conventional kintype or as identity down the line) to terms such as Copinglink which are more of an origin term, than anything else, but those with 'links' are still treated as having identites that are less important than involuntary identites (this likely being the remains of a time where the concept of 'kin to cope' was attributed to KFFers and trolls. I think the need to differentiate kin and linktype on a community level comes from this and although these origins are accepted in community spaces they are still not quite seen as equal. Not to mention 'coping' as a term already has a negative connotation.)
Going back to the like vs as dichotomy these are also ambiguous to the point they don't really mean anything solid. Most people who use the 'kintype' still have ways they are 'like' their kintype (some people even insist you need to be like your kintype) and many people who use 'otherhearted' can easily find times where they might identify 'as' their kintype (perhaps through roleplay or through cameoshifts.) Although some people write out lists and detail what could be meant as 'like' or 'as' what it comes down to is personal differentiation.
What is being like something and what is existing as something are lines you have to draw for yourself. For some people working this out is easy. They know what they are and thus deserves to be called a kintype and what isn't and is probably something else. (Terms like copinglink aren't as relevant here since they typically demand full knowledge of the chosen becoming process.) For a lot of these people the lines they have drawn are deeply meaningful and help explain their identity better. But for many others the like vs as division just causes confusion and useless cycles of putting yourself on one side of the binary or the other. Sometimes feeling closer to like and sometimes closer to as or having traits of both or just having the terms not feel different to them in their mind. When that's the only real differentiating factor between terms like kintype and hearttype this can feel extra invalidating because of how hearttype is constantly framed as being secondary to kintype. Are you really what you think you are or are you only kinda like it? Are you sure this is an actual kintype or 'just' a hearttype? As someone whose been there it's not pleasant.
For people who do feel stuck trying to define and re-define their own labels there is a second option, and that is to coin your own personal term that encompasses the exactness of your identity. This might finally end the cycle of doubt but:
1. This isolates people into small groups or individual bubbles because of the specificness of the identity.
2. Potentially aestheticises the identity reducing it to a snappy label so others can understand it rather than embracing it's depth.
3. Yet again pushes away people with more ambiguous identites or whose identites aren't seen as strong enough away from the kintype or theriotype labels.
I've seen mention that they feel as if they need to be physical therians or otherkin to be seen as 'real' enough and although that's not true I can see where it comes from. If you know you are physically something then sorting as from like becomes easier, there's more certainty there. It can be more difficult for those with psychological or symbolic origins (to some any symbolic identity is seen as otherhearted or anything but otherkin).
Honestly I just wish more people would try out kintype and theriotype labels even if they feel their identites don't fit perfectly, even if you don't feel like that thing all the time, even if you feel a bit like and a bit as, even if you think you only wish or long to be something instead of actually being it. Because the way we've turned otherhearted into something amorphous and pushed people into coining words so their 'in-between' reflections of identity sit outside of mainstream labels.
I say this in full understanding that both the otherhearted label and newly coined labels can be deeply meaningful to a lot of people. I have nothing against people who use these labels and I'm glad so many people have these labels to describe their identity or parts of their identity.
This is about the overall community reaction to be protective of theriotype and kintype as the most respected identites and this has lead to awkwardly pushing out people whose identites don't bare enough certainty or permanency, seem too metaphorical or just aren't strong enough to really count as truly living up to what it means to have a theriotype or a kintype. I could also bring this back to anti-puppyposting or moodboard making and how some people see academic effort as a sign as a more authentic identity I wouldn’t be surprised if they were related at all.
"What can I do with this" feels better and earnestly more applicable than "what is this?" In terms of figuring out what types I have. Moving away from the "always inside you" or "born this way" type narratives that seem to have characterised alterhuman soul searching. Sometimes you're not looking for some deeply held long lost secret, there's no deeply held inner box for you to unlock, you've just got to pin-point hazy expirences that are meaningful to you and make them make more sense.
I've had distinct wing shifts for a while but pushed them away because there wasn't enough proof of what they meant in any direction and I'm at a point where I've got to tie it back to something else or make something up. It's important that this also DOESN'T make me a linktype or a linker, linking is a distinct culture and not an excuse to push otherkin with less magical sounding expirences out of mainstream spaces.
