New terms! Paranthrope, and species differentia (UPDATED!!!)
I've been struggling with a term to describe my experiences, and I finally came up with some!
I've thought about expanding these terms, but I'm not sure that I want to create subterms when there are already so many.
I've used a term which I've heard Devin proctor use who has looked into the alterhuman identity, which he has referred to as "open bodied identification". It can include nonbinary identities, neurodivergence, etc. While I do enjoy this term, I'd like to come up with something which is a bit less of mouthful.
The creature that I am kith/kin with is nonhuman in appearance and biology, but I often see it as "being human" despite the major differences, as it is "me" a human, but in personality and not biology. So I came up with the umbrella term paranthrope (and as such, paranthropy) to describe my feelings, as para on the dictionary website is defined as "<Greek para-, combining form representing pará (preposition) beside, alongside of, by, beyond".
Paranthropy, being a paranthrope is NOT a choice, as that would fall under copinglink. Paranthropy is not something a person chooses, but is a sense of being out of place with human biology and human identity, or that is indifferent from human/nonhuman dichotomies. For some such as myself, we had to literally learn and be taught to "identify as human" and to see ourselves as "humans" or that we are members of the current human species.
I was always autonomous about what species I am, and I didn't automatically get the whole "human" thing, I basically saw myself as not a human, but also not a nonhuman, just a creature having an experience in this thing the humans who I view as my parents call life. I had no reason to see myself as human or nonhuman.
It's kind of like autokin where one simply identifies as themself without a specific label attached.
I had to literally be forced to consider myself fully human, something that has caused a lot of dysphoria.
Identifying "with" humans is still paranthropy, as identifying with=/= as.
Paranthrope, being an umbrella term, means someone who feels alongside humanity, and yet beyond, such as a different species of human (such as homo erectus, homo habilis, or an imaginary version of human that is vastly different in physical appearance, biology, origin, etc, such as those depicted in "All Tomorrows" by C. M. Kosemen), neither human or nonhuman, human plus something nonhuman, or intermixed.
In short, paranthropy is the ambiguous/neutral/indifferent view of one's identity in terms of human and nonhuman, a neutral or ambivalent sense of identity that does not fit into human/nonhuman exclusive boxes such as in my case, a creature in general, but not any specific one.
The body a paranthrope may feel they should have might not be attributed to being another species in particular, but more so a body in which they could be free to be themselves, a body that may feel more like them. The body in which I feel I should have not an identity as a set creature per se, but just as way for me to be myself without the pressures of society being placed due to an obvious nonhuman appearance and a biology vastly different than many creatures on this current Earth.
Paranthropes may not feel entitled about their identities, as the indifference/ambiguity over species would typically nullify any sense of entitlement.
If a person merely wants wings, claws, and a tail, or wants superpowers yet their identity/reasons for wanting such abilities is not rooted in the sense of being "other than human/species neutral", this would not count as paranthropy, as said person's identity would still very much remain human.
To expand, it could be used to describe feelings of "not deserving" to be human, or that one "should have been" something other than human, yet not necessarily having a nonhuman identity, such as someone who identifies as "speciesless".
It can also mean someone who sees themselves as human, yet perceives their "personhood" as being at odds with their biology and thus not "human", such as myself feeling certain aspects of my biology "go against" my personality and prevents me from being "who I am". Thus, my being in my ideal body would allow me to be the human that I am, but in a body biologically defined as "other than human".
Thus, "paranthrotype" would be the identity of said individual that doesn't fit in the category of "human" as we see it now, an identity which is neither human or nonhuman, a hybrid that is an indistinguishable blend of the two, or which is "from" human without being human specifically, such as the human imagination or said individual's personality that contrasts with certain aspects of their biology, yet still remains "them" without the "human" attachment.
Though I did think of a term "species differentia" (weird I know!) to describe those who feel estranged or different from humans without the species dysphoria. I know of voidpunk, but this term would be used for those that have not been (or have no memory of being) victim to dehumanization. So those who do not have a conscious history of dehumanization, yet feel other from humanity. It could also be used for those that are alterhuman, yet have no species dysphoria.
Species differentia can also be used to describe a past experience with feelings of "nonhumanity" without species dysphoria, but could still be applied to those who now have species dysphoria. An individual can have species differentia and species dysphoria, but that changes depending on mood, self image, etc. You can have species differentia, but if something comes along that makes you feel species dysphoria, that would still count because the dysphoria was not present earlier, but the nonhumanity/different humanity was.
What do you think? Repost if you think this applies to you!