Otherkin?

[Checkmite]

I suspect the vast majority of self-identified otherkin know well how unusual their belief sounds to normals and don't really insist that others validate it for them or get ragey when light is made of the situation.

 

[marplots]

I suspect the vast majority of self-identified otherkin know well how unusual their belief sounds to normals and don't really insist that others validate it for them or get ragey when light is made of the situation.

I'm a "normal" - yea!

Wait. Do I get to feel good about that or sad because I'm not fringe and interesting?

 

[Aridas]

I'm a "normal" - yea!

Wait. Do I get to feel good about that or sad because I'm not fringe and interesting?

Which do you want to feel?

 

[Checkmite]

I'm a "normal" - yea!

Wait. Do I get to feel good about that or sad because I'm not fringe and interesting?

"Normal" is a neutral word; it is case-specific and refers to the state of the majority of people when it comes to a certain condition. If you want to feel either special or indignant about the word depending on your particular circumstances that's a choice you'll have to make for yourself.

 

[Soapy Sam]

Do otherkin people self identify with (for example) slugs, or is it just sexy tee-shirt critters like wolves or dragons? You don't often see slugs on a tee shirt.

 

[Myriad]

Do otherkin people self identify with (for example) slugs, or is it just sexy tee-shirt critters like wolves or dragons? You don't often see slugs on a tee shirt.

Damn. Now I want a Three Slug Moon shirt, and I don't have the graphic arts skills to make one.

 

[Biscuit]

Not anymore, apparently.

http://oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/literally

Yes, changed "literally" to include metaphorical use.

That literally did not say it was included. It literally said that non literal use is not accepted in formal English.

As for otherkin I think people have to much time on their hands. They didn't have to deal with this childish nonsense in 1800's because people had **** to do.

 

[Biscuit]

The thing that gets me riled up about this is that the only means by which they could develop the very idea that they are a fox or wolf or dolphin in a human body is because they are actually *********** humans! The very concept of categorizing, naming, and assigning attributes to every animal we see is, to the best of our knowledge, a uniquely human quality. The ability to transmit the concepts is uniquely human.

That is unless there are a bunch of foxes out there biting their tails trying to convince the other foxes that they are humans or dolphins or whatever.

 

[Aridas]

Do otherkin people self identify with (for example) slugs, or is it just sexy tee-shirt critters like wolves or dragons? You don't often see slugs on a tee shirt.

I... wouldn't be too surprised if there were a couple that identified with slugs, actually. It's not just the "sexy" critters, either way. The "sexy" critters do tend to be more common, though, from what I remember, though I was mostly limited in my observations to dragon communities.

For a list from this site that I found on a very quick search and haven't and don't intend to check the veracity of... Wolves, Foxes, Jackals, Lions, Leopards, Tigers, Bears, Bats, Hawks, Eagles, Orcas, and Horses are the most common earthly animals that otherkin identify with. Of the others listed on the site, I heard more about angels, vamps, and dragons, myself.

 

[Aridas]

The thing that gets me riled up about this is that the only means by which they could develop the very idea that they are a fox or wolf or dolphin in a human body is because they are actually *********** humans! The very concept of categorizing, naming, and assigning attributes to every animal we see is, to the best of our knowledge, a uniquely human quality. The ability to transmit the concepts is uniquely human.

That is unless there are a bunch of foxes out there biting their tails trying to convince the other foxes that they are humans or dolphins or whatever.

This... seems a bit like misplaced anger. Again, they tend to fully acknowledge that they're physically human, and many would likely agree with you that the only reason that they could consider themselves otherkin is because they're in a human body. Well, body with intelligence, at least. Many of the dragonkin considered the dragon that they were connected with to have been at least somewhat intelligent.

 

[Bikewer]

One learns something new every day.... I admit that though I was reasonably familiar with the furries I had not heard of "otherkin". Which is surprising since we have a lot of friends and acquaintences in the local pagan community and in retrospect I'm certain some of these folks must be....

I don't have any attraction to the furry thing... But I admit that on some of my "artistic photography" sites.... I see an occasional little kitty-girl, usually Japanese... And they are...Well, adorable.

 

[Biscuit]

This... seems a bit like misplaced anger. Again, they tend to fully acknowledge that they're physically human, and many would likely agree with you that the only reason that they could consider themselves otherkin is because they're in a human body. Well, body with intelligence, at least. Many of the dragonkin considered the dragon that they were connected with to have been at least somewhat intelligent.

It makes me angry that people ignore the amazing things around them and instead pretend to be the reincarnated souls of intelligent dragons. I wish people would explore what is actually here and not throw open the gates to these bizarre fantasies. I like dogs, a lot. I will not live without dogs in my house, I will do anything for a dog, I do not think I am a dog.

tim minchin's storm usually calms me down

 

[luchog]

I... wouldn't be too surprised if there were a couple that identified with slugs, actually. It's not just the "sexy" critters, either way.

I would be surprised. Otherkin simply identify with something they find "cooler" than themselves; something that they consider stronger, sexier, more interesting, more desirable than themselves. Hence the prevalence of mythological creatures and fictional character Otherkin. Perhaps there's a few out there who see slugs this way; but i doubt it. It's a way of escape from their difficulties coping with what they see as the pains deficiencies of their own lives. Interestingly, IME there is a disproportionate number who also identify as transgender (this seems to be true among furries as well).

 

[luchog]

Again, they tend to fully acknowledge that they're physically human, and many would likely agree with you that the only reason that they could consider themselves otherkin is because they're in a human body.

Tend to... but there's a substantial minority who insist (whether they actually believe it, or simply want to believe it) that they're not physically human, they just "take human form" or project an illusion of being human; either for survival purposes (the masquerade), or because it make it easier to interact with "real humans".

 

[Orphia Nay]

I probably should apologise about the flippant nature of he OP. I thought the whole matter was utter BS. It clearly isn't.

I think flippancy is the right response to this, personally.

Unless you're discussing it one-on-one with a believer, in which case insults aren't going to help.

 

[Checkmite]

Tend to... but there's a substantial minority who insist (whether they actually believe it, or simply want to believe it) that they're not physically human, they just "take human form" or project an illusion of being human; either for survival purposes (the masquerade), or because it make it easier to interact with "real humans".

I believe this is called "clinical lycanthropy", although I could be wrong.

 

[Delvo]

Is this statement correct? I don't think either of us know too many otherkin, and I would not like to put words in their mouths or project experiences onto them which they may not agree with.

I think flippancy is the right response to this, personally.

Unless you're discussing it one-on-one with a believer, in which case insults aren't going to help.

Patchbunny has called himself/herself "a fur" before, in another thread, and could be reading this one but not (yet) posting in it.

My wife was in an Otherkin phase when I met her; she rather strongly identified with fairies, to the point of making fabric wings to wear around the house and sprinkling me with glitter after our first meeting and telling me "Now you're enchanted with me." A few sidelong glances convinced her to tone down the fairy references, and now, twelve years later, she mostly just gets the wings and glitter out on Halloween.

When she wrote the word, did she replace the "i" with an "e"? That makes it a completely different thing. It's like magick.

Do otherkin people self identify with (for example) slugs, or is it just sexy tee-shirt critters like wolves or dragons? You don't often see slugs on a tee shirt.

How about tunicates: "I wish I could exude glue from my skin and find the perfect rock to smack my head into and stay there for the rest of my life; have you ever wondered what it's like to digest your nervous system?" I'm betting that they stick to species that are fairly close to human rather than those that are really far off. And that makes sense: of course the more like you something else already is, the easier it is to identify with.

I believe this is called "clinical lycanthropy", although I could be wrong.

Anything "lyc" or "lycan" (including when vampires in the "Underworld" movies call werewolves "lycans") is specific to wolves.

It comes from the same Proto-Indo-European root as "lupus" and "wolf": something like "uolüp" or "wolup". Germanic languages dropped the second vowel/syllable whereas Latin & Greek dropped the first. The "p" at the end also got converted to an "f" in Germanic languages and a "c/k" in Greek. Greek spells the remaining vowel sound with a letter that looks like "y" but sounds like a German "ü" or French "u", a sound which doesn't exist in English but is best approximated by "u/iu/ui/ew/oo"; we only equate the letter "y" to "i" because of stuff that happened in English within the last few centuries.

 

[Graham2001]

Basically, furries. Watch the CSI episode.

I remember after the night that aired in Perth (Australia) I went to the major local Role Playing group (Tabletop, not live) and overhearing a conversation about that episode where it was stated that they "Got the terminology right..."

 

[luchog]

Patchbunny has called himself/herself "a fur" before, in another thread, and could be reading this one but not (yet) posting in it.

Well, I consider myself a "furry", in that I'm a fan of art and pop-culture media involving anthropomorphic animals of various sorts. Even been to a few cons. Definitely not in any way an Otherkin, though. I've found that, in my admittedly limited experience, the two groups don't really overlap all that much.

I remember after the night that aired in Perth (Australia) I went to the major local Role Playing group (Tabletop, not live) and overhearing a conversation about that episode where it was stated that they "Got the terminology right..."

And not even all of that.

 

[catsmate]

I really wish their centrifuge that will purify DNA from a forensics sample, run the PCR for you then load, run and analyze the gel all in under 5 minutes was real.

And the computer stuff, and the magic photo enhancement................

my long-in-use-name for Star Wars fans - and alliterative:
Trekkies and
warties and furries, oh, MY!!!!!!!!!!

'Warsies' is more usual.

Do otherkin people self identify with (for example) slugs, or is it just sexy tee-shirt critters like wolves or dragons? You don't often see slugs on a tee shirt.

I know one who identifies with snails.

I remember after the night that aired in Perth (Australia) I went to the major local Role Playing group (Tabletop, not live) and overhearing a conversation about that episode where it was stated that they "Got the terminology right..."

Yeah, CSI, where two minutes Googling constitutes 'research'.