•I know there's been a lot of talk about fighting back against racism and discrimination in the alterhuman community (which is statistically a mostly white online community). Though I cannot stress enough that most of the racism I and other poc folks in the alterhuman community see is not your average gun toting, right wing extremist racism. It's racism that most white people wouldn't see as a real issue, it's racism that flies under the radar because most other than those targeted by it don't see an issue with it.
•I've been the target of both intentional racism and what many white people would call """"unintentional"""" racism. The latter is much more prominent in the alterhuman community, and what I have been the target of the most here. I've mainly retreated to my own poc alterhuman server as a result of being mistreated in this manner, the wider alterhuman community is not a safe space for poc folks unless white folks recognize and call out racial discrimination that flies under the radar. I don't feel that the wider alterhuman community is a safe space for my being as an indigenous mesoamerican and ethnically jewish individual. I don't even talk about being the latter much because being two things the current political climate really hates is downright dangerous for my being and makes my being a major active target. The fear is real. Though anyways.
•Racism that I have seen more commonly these days in the alterhuman community are as follows, (I'll explain these as well in case the initial statements aren't already self explanatory).
•Bodily white people using words like "mutt", "mixed breed", "savage", and "half breed" to describe themselves or their 'types. (These are words that have been used to maliciously target people of color, myself included. People claim to use those words in non offensive ways, 'savage' can sometimes be used in non offensive ways, however words like these have an incredibly dark history for folks of color, and are used in a negative, racist context towards us. I have been called all of these things with the intent of being dehumanized and harrassed. They're not to be used lightly, and they're certainly not for white people, who have never been the target of these words, to use).
•Thinking dehumanization and being called an animal is always a good and positive experience in the otherkin sense. (It's not for everyone, especially those who have been the target of racially charged dehumanization, who have negative experiences with being seen more as an animal than as a human being with rights and feelings. There's a positive way for someone like my being to be called an animal, and there's a negative way. Sometimes I can't tell what's positive and what's negative. I don't want to be dehumanized, despite being nonhuman, that's not a positive experience for my being. I don't want to be called an animal by others, and don't assume that many poc have a positive experience with being called that either).
•Arguing with and/or dogpiling alterhumans of color for bringing up problems about certain slurs, concepts, imagery, and beliefs. (This has happened to my being on more than one occasion, specifically regarding the word 'savage', a derogatory term used to target people of color, though used a lot to dehumanize indigenous peoples. Some think that just because it decribes their kintype, it's always an okay word to use. If someone doesn't want you to use an offensive term around them, don't go 'erm, actually!!!!!' and proceed to defend your right to use it around that individual. If someone doesn't want you to talk about something racially charged around them, don't fucking talk about it, and certainly don't argue with them about semantics. Leave it be).
•Blatant cultural appropriation, such as claiming to be entities from closed cultures. (One example is the unspeakable spirit, I'll call it the wendy's double bacon and egg cheeseburger for laughs. Spirits from closed cultures do not interact with people other than those of direct lineage to said culture. I've seen a lot of Native American and Voodoo practices, concepts, and entities stolen by white people who just don't care. They just like they aesthetic and the look, it's incredibly shallow. Respect the beliefs and wishes of people from closed cultures, or you're just a fucking racist, simple as that. Quit pretending to be something that you will never be).
•Claiming that your kintype is your 'spirit animal' or that you work with 'spirit animals'. (I don't know what's up with a lot of white alterhumans and their obsession with the 'spirit animal' concept. First of all, "spirit animal" isn't a real indigenous term, it was a word made up by some idiot white dude who didn't understand sacred indigenous relations with animals. Second of all, if you're not indigenous, you don't get to have a 'spirit animal', don't pretend to have a native american connection to animals and use a word that wasn't created by indigenous peoples. You can have connections with animals and animal spirits, though don't pretend that connection is something from indigenous cultures).
•Claiming to be the subject of an indigenous person's reverence because of your kintype. (I have seen this around, I have seen bodily white people making these claims, and no, you are not the subject of our reverence, fuck off. We don't 'honor' white people, you're not involved in our ceremonies, you're not the subject of our prayers, and you're not sacred. The very thought of white people genuinely thinking this makes my stomach turn as someone who actively participates in indigenous culture. You're just an ignorant, self centered pos if you think indigenous people should honor you).
•There are other types of under the radar racism in the community that I haven't covered, and feel free to point other things out, though none of the above is okay. None of the above should be present in spaces.
•Virtue signaling is not enough. Making posts online that gain some traction is not enough. Real, lasting change needs to happen on the wider community level and the smaller community level. Call out any kind of racism whenever you see it happening, remove offenders from communities and don't try to defend their racist behavior. When a person of color has a concern about something that may be racially offensive, fucking LISTEN and don't automatically think that their feelings are invalid. White folks in the community need to be more mindful of what they say, racism should not be happening in this community to begin with, though it happens because it flies under the radar, because privileged people aren't mindful of what they say, because it's just 'not a big deal' to those who aren't the targets.
•Don't say "It's not that deep" when someone brings up that something is offensive towards people of color, especially if you're not the one being targeted by a statement, an action, or an image. That kind of racist thought process is what makes many poc alterhumans feel unsafe in majority white alterhuman spaces. That kind of shitty mentality is why unchecked racism is allowed to thrive in some alterhuman spaces, that shitty mentality is why many poc alterhumans don't feel safe around majority white spaces, that shitty mentality is why you don't see my being around large alterhuman spaces anymore.
•Yes, some of my words are aggressive. Yes, I am vauging at racists in the community. Yes, I am angry. Because I and many other folks of color have been essentially pushed out of the wider alterhuman community because of racist behavior, because our feelings weren't considered worth hearing, because community admins prioritized their favorites and best buddies over the concerns of people of color. I don't get to be a real part of big communities anymore because of anti indigenous racism. I don't get to be a real part of big communities anymore because of antisemitism. I don't get to be a part of many big communities anymore because some would rather see my being as the angry latina stereotype rather than confront their own racism and make a real change. I don't even get to be loud and proud about being as mixed as I am because I'm the active target of right wingers and an entire government administration that would do anything to see my being beaten and deported.
•People like myself are angry right now, we're being targeted right now, some of poc are in downright dangerous and life-threatening situations. The LAST thing alterhumans of color want to see right now is racism in a community that's supposed to be safe, that's supposed to accept us with open arms. Being the target of racism in communities that are supposed to be safe, when there's already a viscious political climate targeting us is a horrific betrayal. I'm not here to sugarcoat this, I'm not here to be nice about racism, I'm not here to gently walk you through things you should already know, I'm here to raise awareness. If you're intimidated by my words, if you're intimidated by my reality as a mixed indigenous person, or if you're even angry at my words, then maybe you need to reevaluate whether you're an actual ally to people of color or not.
•I just want to see change in this community. I just want myself and other alterhumans of color to feel welcome in the wider alterhuman community again. So many of my poc friends have brought up instances of racism they've faced in the alterhuman community, and it's infuriating that they were targeted in such a way. Real change isn't going to happen unless a community wide shift happens. That change isn't going to happen until white folks in the community really start minding what they say. That change isn't going to happen unless individual communities take a much harder stance on racism. Take my words how you will, look at my being how you will, hate my being if you must. Just make a real change so myself and other poc alterhumans can feel safe here again.
hello! thank you for making the post about the M word (word for mixed breed dogs + animals that is a slur when used in reference to human-bodied beings). do you have recommendations for other words or phrases that refer to mixed breed dogs that therians + other alterhumans can use in place of that word? the only one that i'm personally familiar with is "mongrel," which has also been used as a racist slur.
It depends on what specifically you're trying to get across.
If you're trying to introduce yourself or share your information, saying something like "Im a crossbreed between a [blank] and a [blank]" is hundreds of times kinder than saying "Im a mutt."
If we're in the topic of names and pronouns, I don't know of anything specifically mixed breed, but I also feel urged to say I don't feel clarifying within your **pronouns** that you are mixed breed is the most important thing. Would you tell somebody "This is my mutt" or "this is my puppy" when referring to an actual dog. Canidae related names and pronouns don't have to scream "mixbreed". You dont have to be the "Dog alter named mutt" (example from a racist white friend whou wouldn't change it after I asked multiple times), but simply the dog alter with pup/bark pronouns and a name like Canidae. That's pretty cool.
I usually see therians and alterhumans use mutt pronouns when they have "dark" or "graveyardy" aesthetics. Not always, but, its often the the/it/rot/corpse/blood/pound crew that also has a mutt thrown into their pronoun list. If your person or aesthetic REQUIRES you to specifically use a mixed dog because just saying dog isn't "dark" or "edgy" enough, maybe ask yourself why that is. Mixed dogs are what? Less pure? Less tame? Scarier? Its almost like there are direct parallels to why this slur is used against mixed humans.
In cases like that, I recommend using terms that describe the dog in some way. snarl/growl/howl/bark are words that fit into the aesthetic above, still give the doglike vibe, and to not single out mixed-ness being the reason they have their vibe
As for other terms, I am literally begging individuals to start coining stuff themselves. You don't need terms like BPDMUTT, MUTTFAG, etc. Especially when the description or definition is "Those who have BPD and relate to being a mutt!" (and yes, Ive messaged people who coin things like this, and yes, every one I've messaged has said they know its a slur but THEY mean mutt in a special alterhumanity way so it doesn't even count.
So much of the alterhuman community is coining. You can literally make up a word that means alterhuman or therian or other of a species with mixed breeds. And hopefully when you do, your community can work so that the word you decide to make for mixed does not become synonymous with "dark", "dangerous", "scary", "unsure", or "untamable". Because I'm fucking tired of people using mine.
to be honest, i’m not used to so much internet attention. most of the interaction is just likes, which i deeply appreciate, but i feel like i can only be my canine self when i have multiple other identities as well. i am a werecanine, at the end of the day. i still am integrated into human society to some degree, and still live a “normal” human life. i will admit that im not as connected to nature or the wilderness as some of my mutuals or followers are. i like my mate and our human house, but we still build nests and use animalistic terms with each other. i like my major and my jobs that aren’t related to nature, but i still consider myself someone who is interested in conservation. im not the biggest fan of nature walks or hikes, but i do love my fish tank. i would love to hunt and fish, but i also love eating chocolate from the comfort of my home. it fluctuates a lot, and its also hard to find balance in it at times. just a little crumb of reflection for today.
Hello internet ! You can call me Sylvain, Chase, or just Servaal in no particular order of preference. This is mostly an art blog ; If you’re looking for kemonomimi, furries, and Mii characters with a side of drivel text, then you’ve come to the right place ! I do post Gacha Life 2 stuff on occasion when I don’t have anything to post, I hope that’s okay !
I am a self-taught digital artist. My main interests at the moment include Tomodachi Life : Living the Dream, Wii Sports/Resort, Fire Emblem: Three Houses, and general character creator websites. I don’t use tone tags very often, but I’ll use ‘wwww’, 🗿 or “^^” to indicate that I’m not mad or am trying to be goofy. I also have a typing quirk where I add a space between some punctuation marks.
I’m trying to buckle down and do some serious worldbuilding, this world is called Ingenium ✦ Ingenium. Related content for my story will be tagged with the title. You might take an interest to it if you like Fire Emblem : Three Houses, or Warriors (cat book series)
I also have a Tomodachi Life LTD sideblog, it’s @friendcollection51 ! It’s where I’ll be dumping my island shenanigans and updates.
Drawing request status: closed
Art trade status: open
𓇬 I do not consent to my artwork being used for generative A.I. 𓇬
We’ve been thinking, the response to being dehumanized are often divided into “no, I’m still human!” and “fine then, I’m nonhuman and I’m proud, deal with it”. We understand why nonhumans tend to be the latter, but we seem to go with the former. To us, both options are correct. To us, maybe the difference is caused by our species identity because most of us are human.
Nonhumans would challenge the norm that only humans deserve respect. Obviously we can’t say for sure if other people see it the same way too, but the “I’m still human” side, at least when we say it, challenges the norm of what counts as human in the first place. At least when we see it, these are two sides of the same “we deserve respect too” coin.
The ways we’re human can vary. Most of us are close to standard human save from a few things like being someone that most people consider a fictional character. Some are born nonhuman but has lived with/as humans for long enough to see themselves as human too. Some others are born human, but forced into nonhumanity in some fashion and it barely changes how they identify on the inside. In general, we tend to be tied to humanity in some way and it’ll feel wrong for at least the majority of us to completely divorce ourselves from it.
This is just a guess, but maybe we lean this way at least partially because we’re multiply marginalized. Other than being alterhuman, we’re also queer, neurodivergent, and part of a racial and religious minority among other things, and these groups are very often dehumanized by those in positions of power and privilege. This may have ended up planting this idea in our subconscious revolving around fighting our way to get our humanity to be recognized, and it informs how we tend to navigate through alterhuman communities. Being loud about our human alterhumanity in hopes of reaching other folks and being recognized as alterhuman too, even when we don’t fit the norms of a given space in some way.
I think sometimes I’m envious of those with uncomplicated ‘type.
Sure, dragon is a rather common ‘type, at first glance.
Once you dive deeper, you’d understand how diverse, how wildly different, how not alike many of us are.
I talk a lot to the community about that diverseness, constantly reminding. But sometimes, I wonder if people talk about the common ‘type because it is easier.
I have several “common” identitype. But because the variation of ways they are, the connection I have towards the respective subcommunity is tentative at best. Pokemon is one of the more common fictionfolk sources, but all I have is an archetrope of one. I can sit in their space and feel approximately like one of them, but I am not.
I can’t really even begin conversation with foxfolk, because my feeling is layered underneath my Naruto hearttype, my foxness is a paratype that got folded into a enfield-kitsune heartlink. I made it unique, and whole, but I’m also left with loneliness.
Amongst the dragons, there are a lot of things other dragon likes to talk about that I feel more or less aligned with sometimes. Hoarding, territoriality, or liking of precious stones, etc, etc. Like people talking about attraction in definitive terms, sometimes I can connect, sometimes it’s so nebulous, I wonder if I’m some sort of fluid attraction type. Demiattraction still seems like a good label.
As a dragon, I have divinity, I am shapeshifting, and I have largely avian instead of reptilian features and behaviors. Not to say I feel lizard can’t describe me, but I am far more comfortable amongst birds. I don't have any scales, membranous wings, or any sort of breath weapon. Other dragons can find comfort in most dragon things out there, but the common ones only give me discomfort and alienation, especially all the focus on scales and fire. Even not as a breath weapon, the element of fire feels like a rejection, because I am different, I am other.
Belonging, that’s the word. I flitted between places to places, finding that taste. The various spaces all itch my need to connect to something inside me. These places can offer an understanding of my various pieces, but they are in pieces. To have the most common type within the larger alterhuman community, yet unable to fit in with the supposed grouping at times, it is, well.
It feels rather like my situation with my ethnicity and race. Seeing people talk about their experience as PoC and how that interacts with their alterhumanity makes me want to say something too. It makes me want to be a voice within the community as well, to tell others that they aren’t alone. Ironic, considering all that I’ve talked about here. Or not so, considering this is the exact hang-up.
I’m Asian. I can’t tell you the specifics, and I won’t. It feels far too limiting, far too constricting, far too concrete. It is so, so complicated. Maybe it won’t have to be, maybe people would understand. I don’t understand what it means to be PoC, I just know I am categorized as one. I know the cultures tied to me, I know the history, I have the behavior and way of thinking, but not wholly. I am Asian American. I know there are others that share my confusion over one’s own cultural identity.
Something familiar, something alien.
You don’t belong anywhere.
Reflecting back to the top, I suppose I find those that are able to talk in definite terms about their race and ethnicity in connection to their alterhumanity inspiring. I just don’t know if I can replicate that.
Thinking about my ethnicity is uncomfortable. I’ve been an outlier amongst my ethnic race, and yet I’m an outlier still when in other spaces. I don’t think I know what being especially different means when I’ve always been different. If you are always experiencing gray, what even is black or white to you?
are you an alterhuman/otherkin of any kind? are you also a POC that's searching for a community that isn't racist and exclusionary? I may have a discord server for you!
I'd love it if you checked out the POC's alterhuman hang out! its an all inclusive server centered on alterhuman/otherkin people of color like you!
we are:
inclusive of all alterhumanity and otherkin experiences
inclusive to contradictory labels and experiences
inclusive of all types of plurality and systems
and ready for you to come and join us!!
I hope to see you there, have fun!
Check out the POC's alterhuman hang out community on Discord - hang out with 5 other members and enjoy free voice and text chat.
