"Otherkin"?

Not sure if this is an existing thread, but what exactly are otherkin and those who know, what's your opinion on them?

 

Otherkin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

---------- Post added 29th Jan 2015 at 07:34 AM ----------

I think they must be great at RPing.

Seriously, I think this is stupid. 'Otherkin' and 'furries' both. They should get help if they legitimately think they're something that they're not.

I'm not sure why I think this way. I guess I just don't understand it. I mean, you can be a furry or otherkin, I just don't wanna fucking see it. Like, if you think you're half-dragon, I don't care, I just don't want you to dragon it up near me. I don't give a flying fuck if you dress up as a wolf, I just don't wanna see your costume.

Je m'excuse, if I have offended.

 

Thanks Johnny Canuck!

Not to offend anyone at all, but it sounds a bit odd to me... I guess I'm still ignorant as to how people actually come to terms with their "otherkin" selves.

 

I think that in most cases they're delusional.

I think they sometimes value the traits of the things they claim to be, like a dragon's power and ferocity, but for some reason think that means they are one. Most of them don't even follow these traits either, they just tell people "fuck you, I'm a dragon" and then proceed to act perfectly human.

But in the vast majority of cases it's because of the so called "Special Snowflake Syndrome."

What's worse is that lots of otherkin claim they're also trans or that being otherkin is itself a form of trans. Makes us look like jokes.

 

Somehow that reminded me people who says they are okay with gays but then tell don't rub your gayness into my face or be gay elsewhere... like when they see two guys holding hands walking down the street or hug each other in a park bank.

One might argue one of them is real while other is a delusion... Funny how some people like to think gays as mentally ill people or they are immoral perverts just "choose" to act that way...

Billions of people on Earth believe in a God, no matter how they call it, which has no scientific or logical proof of existence... So they also shouldn't pray, talk about religion or build Churches/Mosques?

They might be right or wrong but talking this scornful way doesn't make any point more valid or make anyone more right about what they think.

 

@White Knight:
There are seven billion people on Earth. I'm bound to not like some of them. At least I'm mature enough to accept them, or not think of them any less than you or I. Different strokes, I guess.

People can practice what they wish, but it doesn't mean I have to like it.

 

Here's the thing, at least in my opinion.

Being gay is a thing, thinking you are something that is not possible is delusion. If I walked around claiming I was the Queen of the entire world, would you humor me and do as I say or just say that I'm delusional? It's also comparable with a dude who is only sleeping with women who keeps saying "No, I'm gay, I swear. I -love- the dick!" You're basically saying that you are something that you are not and that is delusion.

 

I have a problem with people claiming intolerance, prejudice and oppression because they're "otherkin" and comparing it to what trans people face, and saying that they're a tree born in the wrong body. And don't get me started on transablism.
I think it's pushing tolerance and the concept of identity a little too far. Just because you say you're something does not make you that thing. I mean, feel free to be a cat in your mind, but don't compare it to "real" issues. (I guess there was no way to say that in a PC way, but it's how I feel.)

 

Thanks for the replies guys.
I can understand the all-round negative opinion on otherkin, the only times I've ever come across one is when they have super special snowflake syndrome, and claim that being against them is ableist.

But now I'm hearing about something called "Therian"? I have no idea anymore. Apparently some otherkin claim to feel astral "wings" or "tails" and that they're incredibly spiritual.

I can understand believing all animals have souls and shit along those lines, but... Identifying as... Ghost-kin? Wut? What qualities does a ghost have that it shares with you?

I feel so ignorant of this. How are they in any way related to transgender people? Animals aren't a gender, they're a species. Oh the confusion!

 

I am......bewildered by Otherkin and Otherkin culture. I think it is horrible how they try to identify with trans* people and their battles. I think Otherkin are more often than not deluded and need help and support from professionals.

 

First of all...

We need to separate "Otherkin" and "Furries". The two may overlap at times, but I know many Furries who don't claim to be what they dress/act as -- it's just that, a way of expression, a way to be truer to their more primal or natural desires/inclinations; things they cannot be, for one reason or another, as themselves in their actual daily life. If anything, it's a sense of escapism -- and some pretty interesting-looking costumes to boot.

I'm not a Furry, mind you, but there are plenty, who are far from 'delusional' or 'mentally ill'. Several on this very forum, I'll remind you...

Otherkin, to keep it short, there's some underlying issue to it. Some just want to be more unique than they already are, some are bored and need stimulation in their life, and some may have some kind of condition. Whatever it is, if it doesn't interfere with their ability to be productive, so be it. It's their way of coping, as I'm sure, all of us, have our own questionable or even, to others, silly endeavors.

 

This and reaction to a news couple of weeks back was the main reason why I wrote that long winded vent/rant.

Liking or disliking something is very human... even gays, other religions... However no matter what is the reason for dislike, it doesn't call out for breaking others hearts as long as they are only minding their own business/not hurting other people. Looking to other side sometimes is the greatest good we can do.

 

I'm not touching this one at all. Nope nope nope. Not even with a ten foot pole.

 

Wow! Woah! What is with the furry hate? Furry isn't the same thing as otherkin so why are they being lumped together here? Not personally into furry but a lot of my friends are. They don't hurt anyone and they don't have mental problems! Wtf?! :tantrum:

As for otherkin... Who cares? Let them be too! I have my conflicted feelings about it... (Namely that it often seems like a parody of real transgender issues...) but I don't go around bashing these people! It's a harmless subculture at best and doesn't deserve a bunch of hate and judgement from anyone! :dry:

 

This was simply a place to express your opinion on them, I don't know how furries came into it either considering they're a completely different culture. But, sure there are some who have merged the two.

I'm not all for otherkin as I am for furries, it seems to be something you have to be immersed in to actually believe it. No hate on them at all, of course. Everyone's free to do as they wish, unless they're intentionally an asshole.

 

Oh no, if I came across as lumping furries with otherkin I aplogize, because I know they're not. I never really saw a reason to hate furries either and they mostly keep to their own community and aren't loud or forceful about their interests while otherkin often are.

I'm also not trying to bash anybody here. I was asked for my opinion and I gave it. I don't go around telling otherkin that they're delusional to their faces and I absolutely don't tell them to kill themselves like I see people doing a -lot- on the internet (and sometimes IRL). I do think they have a lot of stuff to figure out, though.

 

But being an asshole, who happens to be a Hydra is WHO I AM!

Y n0 1 undurrstandz?

 

I have huge worries about otherkin, namely that they appropriate trans experience.

I have been quite sarcastic about it previously. Just look for the "I am a tofu stir fry" thread.

 

Embarrassingly, I was into the "therian" thing years ago, back when I was in high school. I've always been kind of a weirdo and felt separate from others, and I think I just wanted something to connect to, and spiritually I was drifting and wanted more meaning to my life. At that time transgender issues didn't come into it because transgender issues were not something most people were even aware of. Otherkin was seen as something separate and "therian" was more like a cousin to "furries." At the time my understanding was therian was like, having been an animal in a past life, which is not much of a stretch from various religious belief systems. Therefore, I never grasped the "I am a dragon" or "I am Elrond" and so on that Otherkin claimed, because those things well, they aren't real.

I feel like some people in these subcultures may be ill, sure, but they may also just be very lonely and highly imaginative people who are looking for something to fill a void. Many of the people in the Therian community I connected to online fit that descriptor. Things may have changed, now, though. And it's absolutely wrong for someone who considers themselves Otherkin to equate it with transgender issues. Otherkin to me is more like a spiritual belief rather than a condition. It doesn't bother me if someone wants to claim they are a sea serpent or a mermaid or what have you, but please do not claim that you are "repressed" or "discriminated against" because yes, people think you're weird, but no, you do not have your rights challenged or taken away from you in any form.

 

Otherkin are people that believe their souls are something other than human. They've got nothing to do with the furry community, although some of them are members of both.

I don't care unless they equate their struggles with that of the trans community or something like that. I think it's odd then they claim to feel phantom wings and such. Maybe I feel so strongly because I dated one. She was a wolf therian and sometimes this otherkin stuff can be contagious. The way I see it is; you've had so many years as human, you can't blame 'mental shifts' and such for actions.

If it is ruining their life; they need help. Otherwise, I think of it like a religion and leave them to it. It's obviously a form of escapism for some people. It's easier to come to terms with undesirable traits by labeling it as something other than human. Hey, as a trans guy, I've felt weird sensations down there, but I don't call it phantom limb or anything like that. I think it would disrespectful to guys thar have actually lost their junk.