terms for movements & transitions into, away from, or alternative to (ortho)humanity
including alternatives to the term “dehumanization” that don’t imply loss of humanity = becoming less than humanity
these terms can be used to describe both voluntary / involuntary and ontoeuphoric / ontodysphoric changes in
behavior
mentality
physicality
metaphysicality / spirit
social perception by self / others
etc
————
humanization
becoming more human or human-like
similar to “anthropomorphization”
example: some therians feel humanized in a dysphoric way; orthohumans assume their equal depth of emotion is a human product instead of a sign of equal personhood of our own.
orthohumanization
becoming more orthohuman or orthohuman-like
“orthohuman” is the exact opposite of “alterhuman”, as some humans are actually human or partly human in an alterhuman way — eg. factfolk, fictionfolk, archetropers, some otherkin/therians, some pluralities, etc
exhumanization
becoming less human or human-like, especially after being human(-like) or humanized first
originally pitched as “imhumanization”, but changed to “exhumanization” per @paperdragonsong ‘s suggestions
ahumanization
having never been human, human-like, or humanized at all
synonymous with “nonhumanization”
example: a theriform animal is ahumanized or nonhumanized; it has never experienced being taken for human or being raised with formative human influence
alterhumanization
becoming more alterhuman or alterhuman-like — whether to replace, transform, or add alongside orthohumanity
Filling a lexical gap: dysphoria & euphoria in alterhumans
Dysphoria and euphoria are a defining facet of alterhumanity for many people, but the current prevailing terms, species dysphoria and species euphoria, are highly limited in scope and carry the implication that any alterhuman-related feelings of this kind worth naming are caused by identifying as a nonhuman living thing. This terminology fails to acknowledge dysphoria and euphoria experienced by human-identifying alterhumans and those with non-"identify as" identities, and can feel alienating for those who identify as something nonhuman that would not typically be considered a "species", such as an object or concept. It also does not provide any lexical framework to describe the wide range of alterhumanity-derived dysphoric and euphoric experiences often discussed in the community.
People in all alterhuman demographics deserve to have a way to distinguish their experiences from "typical" types of dysphoria and euphoria experienced by orthohumans (non-alterhumans), so I am proposing a new set of terms:
Alterdysphoria: Feelings of unease, wrongness, dissatisfaction, or alienation that stem from one's alterhuman identity.
Altereuphoria: Feelings of joy, comfort, catharsis, or affirmation that stem from one's alterhuman identity.
A dash may be added after the prefix (e.g. "alter-euphoria") for ease of legibility/pronunciation if desired.
EDIT 11/26: I've changed these to my original inclination of just using "alter", which I initially didn't use because it's a different root language than dysphoria and I was worried it would be misconstrued as dysphoria/euphoria experienced by alters, but after thinking it over I don't see that really being an issue given how well-used the word alterhuman is. It's a much more intuitive option than using "onto" but if people prefer that I will change it back!
Alterdysphoria and altereuphoria are umbrella terms that include species dysphoria and euphoria as well as dysphoria and euphoria due to being otherhuman, concept- or objectkin, otherhearted, fictionfolk, plural, or any other type of alterhuman.
Common types of alterdysphoria or altereuphoria someone may experience are:
Physical, related to one's current physical body
Ability, related to things one can or cannot do in their current body and/or environment
Mental, related to one's emotions, interests, or thought processes
Sensory, related to one's sensory experiences (or lack thereof)
Gender, related to one's internal or perceived gender
Cultural, related to one's cultural environment
Social, related to social interactions/relationships with others
Perceptual, related to how one is perceived by others
Environmental, related to one's physical surroundings
Reality, related to the contents, history, physical laws, etc. of one's current subjective or objective reality
Examples of each of these types is under the cut at the bottom of the post. When discussing these experiences in contexts where it is clear someone is referring to alterhuman-derived feelings, the "alter" can be dropped for brevity (e.g. reality dysphoria, perceptual euphoria). The distinction is for clarity of communication only. For example, a person who experiences height dysphoria due to their alterhuman identity could choose to distinguish it from transgender height dysphoria by using the phrase "height alterdysphoria".
Differentiating alterhuman-related feelings from other origins of dysphoria and euphoria does not denote a hierarchy or binary between alterhuman and non-alterhuman experiences. Many alterhumans have dysphoria or euphoria with unknown or mixed origins, and those experiences can absolutely be considered partially or entirely alterdysphoria or altereuphoria if doing so feels helpful. Any alterhuman who feels these terms are useful to them can use them in any relevant context.
Some examples of alterdysphoria not objectively covered by the "species dysphoria" term are:
Physical or gender dysphoria experienced by anyone due to a human kintype
Dysphoria experienced by those with nonliving kintypes due to being in a living body
Dysphoria experienced by those with non-corporeal kintypes due to being in a physical body
Social or cultural alienation experienced by those with a connection to other worlds, time periods, or societies
Disconnect or distress experienced by anyone with a hearthome due to their current surroundings
Disconnect or alienation experienced by those with a connection to a world/time period/etc with different flora, fauna, landscapes, or physical laws from present-day Earth
Disconnect or distress experienced by otherhearted people when others discuss/treat their hearttype in a dismissive or disrespectful way
Physical, age, or gender dysphoria experienced by system members while fronting in their host body
Disconnect or distress experienced by system members when they are presumed to be another alter/facet/etc
Alienation or distress experienced by plural systems when they are presumed to be a singlet
Disconnect or distress experienced by fictionkin/fictives when their personality or age is perceived differently from their identity
Disconnect or distress experienced by canon divergent fictionkin/fictives when interacting with their source or fandom
Distress or discomfort experienced by fictionkin/fictives when seeing or interacting with doubles
Disconnect experienced by anyone with exomemories/exotrauma (events that were not experienced by their current physical body)
Disconnect or distress experienced by endels when someone or something "reality checks" them
Alienation experienced by mediums or spirit workers due to having a different subjective reality from others
Any kind of alterhumanity-derived dysphoria experienced by nonhumans that feels unrelated to their species
Alienation or distress experienced by any alterhuman when they are presumed to be orthohuman
Some examples of altereuphoria not objectively covered by the "species euphoria" term are:
Affirmation experienced by anyone when dressing up or depicting themselves as their human kintype
Euphoria experienced by objectkin and conceptkin when engaging with their kintype
Joy or comfort experienced by someone with a hearthome upon visiting or looking at that place or somewhere similar
Joy or affirmation experienced by archetropes from doing activities that align with their identity
Comfort experienced by fictionfolk when engaging with their source media or fandom
Joy experienced by an otherhearted person when engaging with their hearttype
Affirmation experienced by a fronting member of a system when being referred to with their own name and pronouns (instead of the ones typically used for their host body)
Joy or comfort experienced by an otherlinker when shifting as their linktype
Any kind of alterhumanity-derived euphoria experienced by nonhumans that feels unrelated to their species
Euphoria experienced by any alterhuman upon having their identity affirmed by others
This is by no means an exhaustive list, alterdysphoria/altereuphoria is an inclusive concept and there is theoretically no limit to the types of situations these terms can cover.
I hope that this terminology can provide a clearer, more inclusive framework for identifying and discussing these kinds of experiences!
EDIT: Since I've been asked, if you are alterhuman you automatically have permission to use these terms wherever you want and don't need to credit me! My intention for this concept/terminology is that it should be community-owned and accessible, the only reason to link me to it would be to use this post to explain what it means :)
Example of dysphoria/euphoria types below:
Example identity: Unicorn otherkin
Physical alterdysphoria: Lack of hooves
Physical altereuphoria: Wearing a tail
Mental alterdysphoria: Enjoying the taste of meat despite being an herbivore
Mental altereuphoria: Being introverted feels emotionally similar to being a solitary creature
Ability alterdysphoria: Unable to channel magical energies
Ability altereuphoria: Running & jumping
Sensory alterdysphoria: Inability to hear very quiet sounds
Sensory altereuphoria: Wearing hard-soled shoes to mimic the click of hooves
Gender alterdysphoria: Unicorn genders are not recognized by human society
Gender altereuphoria: Using unicorn-related neopronouns
Cultural alterdysphoria: Unicorns are protectors of the earth, but many humans are disrespectful of nature
Cultural altereuphoria: Joining a local climate activism group
Social alterdysphoria: Unicorns socialize like equines, so typical human socialization feels unintuitive
Social altereuphoria: Talking to equine therians and orthohuman equestrians, and interacting with horses
Perceptual alterdysphoria: Presumed to be entirely human by others
Perceptual altereuphoria: Consistently wearing unicorn accessories in order be be associated with unicorns by others
Environmental alterdysphoria: A city is nothing like a forest, living there feels alien
Environmental altereuphoria: Buying houseplants
Reality alterdysphoria: This world contains no unicorns or other magical creatures
Reality altereuphoria: Playing an immersive fantasy video game
Hey, human alterhumans! We have a tag to post in!!
#human alterhumanity
Hey alterhuman tumblr! We wanted to give a shout out to @through-lines for starting off the "human alterhumanity" tag, to discuss experiences of being alterhuman that intersect with being human.
We think this is really cool, seeing how the alterhuman tag is very lively and full of nonhuman experiences and essays and jokes and community, but there's not nearly as much coverage of human alterhuman experiences.
And there's a ton of different ways to be human and alterhuman! Human fictionkin have been a part of this community for over a decade - check out A Timeline of the Fictionkin Community by House of Chimeras!
And human alterhumanity is not limited to fictional characters - our good friend Rani has a post listing a variety of different alterhuman labels that don't indicate nonhumanity or fictionality, and there's more in the notes!
@elamarth-calmagol Boy am I glad you asked! (genuine) A quick, non-exhaustive list off the top of my head:
Otherhearted: identifying strongl
We want to see more human alterhumans talking about themselves! We have so many wonderful, interesting things to talk about, and it's a shame that we haven't had a place to collect it all. We want to find and make community with other human alterhumans, to have a space to talk about our experiences, which are as important and impactful to us as nonhumanity is to so many others!
It's a little lonely in that tag right now, only us and a few friends posting about our identities, but we already have some good stuff in there! And we'd really love to see more people using it!
So, if you're alterhuman and identify as human, and you want a #tag to talk about your experiences and how your humanity intersects with your alterhumanity, go forth and tag #human alterhumanity !!
in the left eye im a person. i was born in south korea in the 70s. got adopted. grew up in the suburbs in illinois. had some bad shit happen, died, kept walking. grew old, didnt grow up. died again, and wound up in a world where none of that was real.
in the right eye im a construct. i was "born" in 2010 in a couple different states. product of a depressed gay teenagers imagination. an oc if you wanna call it that. he roleplayed as me for years. kept asking the character questions, put himself in my shoes through all the worst parts of my life. some bad shit happened- to him, to me. he asked me for help. i listened, and woke up in a world where i was suddenly real.
i have my own memories. i share all of my hosts like theyre mine. I know what fuckin happened- at home and here. i know what ive seen.
... having double vision gives me a headache.
sometimes i can close an eye to get through the day. i can just see whats useful and cut the crap. sometimes i get hit on the head and both eyes jolt open. i dont know how to do somethin i should. i know how to do somethin i shouldnt. i run into hosts old google docs w notes about "me", or he starts reminiscin with an old rp buddy.
it hurts like hell. makes me dizzy. makes me wanna puke.
i get jealous of ppl who can see the same world w both eyes. other fictives who can do source calls and get an answer. ppl with total source separation. other headmates who aint fictive. 'normal' people.
but i cant talk about it with most people. especially the normal ones
cause some of those people? they want me to cut out an eye. they say if i just look at things through the right eye and stop havin a left ill be okay and the pain will stop. they want me to be a cyclops.
thing is in the real world? the world in my right eye? a cyclops dies when its born. its a birth defect with how their brains form. they never split so they only have one eye, and they croak if they have to breathe. some of these fuckers know that. they want me to stop breathing. some of them dont, but it dont matter.
even if i stabbed out my eye and dug a knife in there until all of it was gone- every nerve and muscle and splintered bone- id never be a cyclops. id still have a split brain and 2 sockets. id just have a hole where an i used to be.
thats not the answer. i know theres gotta be one. ill find a way to clear my vision someday. see one thing through both eyes.
for now ive got double vision. and i think i can live with that
Shoutout to alterbeing selfshippers that aren't (just) therians and otherkin.
Otherhearted, otherlinks, otherhumans, archetropes, daemians, soulbonders, and all sorts of alterbeing identities that I might've missed.
Your F/O(s) are more than happy to explore these identities with you, and perhaps some of them may even be one or more of these themselves!
Edit: This post is about alterbeings that don't get nearly as much representation as therians and otherkin. Please do not derail this post to talk about otherkin and/or therians.
Ranger Gatsby writes about being outside of conventional humanity while still human.
Horses look a lot like zebras, don’t they? Four powerful legs ending in one single toe, long muzzles, deep chests, manes gracing their necks. They look related, they look like they function the same way. When you look at how a horse moves and how a zebra moves side by side, you can compare them easily.
This doesn’t mean horses are like zebras. No matter how similar they look on the outside, taking a peek behind their eyes will reveal a different truth. Horses have strong family bonds. A horse will follow the head of its herd to the ends of the Earth because horses are wired to stick together. Zebras? They don’t care. They hang out in herds as a survival strategy but they won’t care if another zebra is taken from the herd. If they don’t want to follow the herd, they just… won’t. This change in how their brains are wired dramatically impacts the human relationship with each animal. Humans can connect with horses, communicate well with them. Humans and horses get each other in a way that allows them to work together. That isn’t the same way for humans and zebras.
I’m, as far as I know, a member of the species Homo sapiens sapiens. I look pretty much like any other 50something human man. I dress in a manner that is obviously strange, but the appearance of my body does not distinguish me. I could blend into this world quite easily, if not for the fact that my wiring is painfully, painfully wrong. In the culture my body belongs to, there’s certain things humans just aren’t supposed to do or be.
Humans do not perceive live animals as food. In fact, if an animal is presented as food with its head visible, humans are expected to turn their nose up at it.
Humans do not jump to violence as a way to resolve disputes with their peers. Humans are good communicators, and they can always call upon an authority figure if violence must be applied.
Humans are not a part of the ecosystem or food chain. Humans have evolved beyond this, developed technologies to set themselves apart. Any identification with the world around them must be from a distance, as an outside observer.
Humans are not governed by instincts. Humans are logical beings, who can discard these thoughts and act in a well-reasoned manner to achieve their goals.
I can’t live up to these expectations, I can try my very hardest and I can slip into the role of Modern Human In Suburban Florida. If nobody looks at me too hard, it sometimes even works! They see a human doing human things from across the street and I completely blend into the background.
But it’s an act, it’s all an act. The way I move my body is all wrong. I keep my back a bit too straight and my eyes dart across my field of vision a bit too often. When I feel threatened, I whip around and reach for my hip. The way I view the area around me is all wrong. I scan my surroundings for sources of food, water, and shelter. I take note of where someone malevolent could be concealed, and of where someone benevolent would have stashed supplies for lost travelers. I can’t remember that the road to my house was laid one day for cars to drive on, I think it’s a river meant to carry the steady, measured thud thud thud thud of human boots. The way I get ready for my day is all wrong. I forget my keys and remember shelf-stable foods, a supply of fresh water, a bandana to cover my face from prying eyes. The way I view myself is all wrong. I cannot see myself as separate from every other thing. The alligator outside is more powerful than me and he could tear my flesh from my bones if he chose to. The deer are possible sources of sustenance. The roads are my nervous system, the rocks and dirt are my bones. When I die my body will feed all life around me, as all life feeds me today.
People who get to know me on a deeper level start perceiving this wrongness. I’ll react inappropriately or say something everyone perceives as too morbid, too aggressive. They’ll start to wonder why I flinch when no one flinches. Why I eat so much meat and why I don’t feel any dissonance about it. I fall into the uncanny valley the tiniest bit. I swear to God, people know what I am. They lack words for me but they perceive my habits. When they look at me they cannot see a mirror. They see my wiring, as distant and cold to them as that of a zebra.
When I try to remedy this by entering alterhuman communities, I can’t reach out and connect with folks there easily either. Even though the term “alterhuman” was always intended to include strange human experiences, I’m told I’m not nonhuman enough. I’m too close to normalcy. My flat face and feet stand out as I stand up on two long legs. The fire behind my eyes was lit by my hands using tools I crafted. I am not animal enough, not instinctual enough, not Other enough. I’m told to leave them to their safe spaces where they don’t have to deal with normal human beings. All they see is my skin, bare of stripes and solid, in the shape of a domesticated horse.
This leaves me in a strange between-state. Much too wild to be Human, much too human to be Animal. When others cast their gaze upon me, they search for whatever makes me most dissimilar to them, while ignoring the connections. These experiences have led me to conclude that, on some fundamental level, I am not of this world. None of us are of this world. We might not show it in long muzzles and fur and claws and sharp teeth, but the way we operate is somewhat alien to you! Everyone’s a product of their environment, and we aren’t an exception to that. The Wasteland has shaped us into something that cannot fit the human mold any more than a dragon or a tree could.
Something I learned as I explore my species identity is that species dysphoria isn’t exclusive to a nonhuman-or-human dichotomy. I often see species dysphoria discussed in context to nonhumans who feel dysphoric at the thought of being perceived as human or having human traits. The same goes for humans in our community, mainly those who experience dysphoria resulting from assumptions of nonhumanity or a sudden development of nonhuman traits.
The kind of species dysphoria I’m discussing is only partially based on perception, not so much from other parties but specifically from oneself. It pulls from experiences that are thrust upon me through cameo shifts, specifically. I’m often forced into the circumstance(s) of being what I am not, and that struggle is what motivated me into posting this.
As a member of both groups, there’s parts of humanity and nonhumanity respectively that I can’t imagine being while having those experiences (generally) at the same time. In a way, I’ve developed an aversion to various kinds of humanity and nonhumanity that I don’t fall into.
I’ll explain what I mean with a few examples under the cut.
First example: Although I experience human alterhumanity, how I experience it still matters. I can’t one-and-done it simply because my experience applies to humanity generally. Such is the case of muir parallel life as Miracle, a median collective of X-Men. Wei belong to one of two active groups of human beings on Earth-767A: Homo sapiens superior, aka Mutantkind. There’s more than enough non-mutant humans in this fictomere, but to be a non-mutant human— and not the mutant human(s) that wei are— would be very dysphoria-inducing.
In this case, muir x-gene is inherently tied to the kind of humanity wei experience. Even though I’m human here, and the Marvel Universe holds infinite possibilities, wei can’t see muirselves being anyone or anything else in that context because of muir mutant status. It’s not interchangeable with any other form of humanity.
Second example: I linked Redguards for a while. Being a Redguard is now a significant part of my otherhumanity, and it’s never left me since. I appreciate this experience because I had difficulty mapping out this fictomere (The Elder Scrolls) when I started exploring my alterhumanity. There’s plenty of other humans in TES, though. Nords, Bretons, Imperials, etc. There’s some early humans in there too. That said, I belong to none of those groups. To be anyone but a Redguard would invoke dysphoria, even though we’re all human beings. Regarding Redguards, the culture, history, and people are all important to me; I’ve identified with them for so long that I chose to be one of them. I can’t see myself as any other kind of human under this fictomere.
Third example: This one’s specific to my nonhumanity. Although I’ve experienced being a wide array of species, there’s many more that I don’t belong to. Take my animality for instance. From aquatic and semi-aquatic animals to canines, there’s plenty of bases to cover in terms of what I’m not. Regarding one of my foremost species, I am an african lion. I take a lot of pride in being a big cat (pun intended), and I love learning more about my species as time goes on.
However, I can’t see myself as any other species of panther with the exception of paleolithic cats that I flicker into on occasion. I’ve experienced being other living species of panther before, those being a mountain lion, a leopard and a golden tiger. But the longer I stayed in those forms, the more uncomfortable I became. I had to be an african lion. “African lion” is also specified because I can’t see myself as an asiatic lion, either! I am distinctly Panthera leo leo.
Same thing goes for temporary identities. As I mentioned before, not every animal I am is a permanent experience; some experiences are flickers. One such example is my cat flicker, specifically a Somali Cat. I take this form whenever I need to decompress. It solely exists for my own comfort. Despite breed specifics being irrelevant to a reason like that, I’m ridiculously thorough. If I’m going to be something, I need to know the specifics. I can’t just be any other cat; I’ve got to flicker into a ruddy Somali tomcat. Otherwise, it’s not going to feel right at all.
Fourth example: I’m probably being redundant at this point, but I’ll end it off with this example. I’m draconic. Though I’m not draconic in every fictomere I have, it’s still crucial that each potential experience aligns with my personal concept of draconity. This is reflected through the following qualities: associated with fire or the sun, thrives in desert-like habitats (if leaning on the more animalistic side), lithe and serpentine in form, capable of flight (wings are not required), usually sophont, is a part of or referenced in a fictional civilization, and of course, appearing golden or at least a warm yellow.
Despite being my namesake, this is why I’m not a liondrake in terms of species. Though they apply to four of these qualities, their appearance doesn’t align with my draconity whatsoever. Usually, a draconic species applies to me if it manages to check off at least three out of seven boxes on this list. However, the possibility of me being that species isn’t always guaranteed. I’ve fallen out of several draconic fictotypes before, and that’s because those experiences didn’t suit me. I’m very particular about how my draconity exists, and I’m sure there’s some folks who can relate.
And species dysphoria doesn’t end there either, I imagine! As conceptkind, there’s no shortage of things that I can’t fathom being. I am the genre of fantasy, regardless of the medium. I am also the following concepts: magic, mythopoeia, and imagination. I’m all of these wondrous things, but as of now, I am only these concepts. I get dysphoric at the thought of being other concepts.
Species dysphoria is a deeply uncomfortable and personal subject to tackle, but I think assessing my dysphoria helps me self-regulate in a way? On average, I don’t choose what I shapeshift into; that means anything is possible in my phantom body. This makes differentiating between actual identities/experiences I have and cameos or other unexpected shifts difficult. Keeping track of what I think is certainly not me makes that a bit easier to navigate, especially since I have a lot of ‘types to sift through as a shapeshifter.
