Factkin

Factkin (sometimes called factualkin or diaunthros) are individuals who identify as people who have truly existed, such as celebrities or historical figures. The term is similar to fictionkin, and there can be overlap between the experiences of the two. The identity is controversial in otherkin and alterhuman communities, with some believing that factkin are trolls, have ill intent, or have otherwise invalid identities. However, many factkin reject this, asserting that there are individuals who engage with the label in good faith.

The object of a factkin's identification is called their facttype.

Experiences

- Not always famous people [1]

- respect for the original person’s identity

- Not 100% based on reality - they don’t know every detail of their source’s lives [2]

- Overlap with fictionkin + differences between them

- https://ama-factkin.tumblr.com/post/713772449672626176/something-i-love-about-being-factkin

Etymology & History

Some state that the term factkin was invented by trolls, while others assert it was only popularized by them. Trolls commonly used the identity to mock otherkin and fictionkin [how commonly? when?], operating under the assumption that others would see identifying as a living person as nonsensical and conclude that otherkin have “gone too far”.^{[Citation needed]} Yukon believes these trolls intended to cause infighting in alterhuman communities.

In an effort to be separated from trolls, some started using the term factualkin, using a similar word that had been created by genuine members of the community. Additionally, in an effort to separate factual identification from inaccurate nonhumanity, the term diaunthro was coined in 2021 from the roots “di”, “auth”, and “thro”, meaning a copy of another real individual. These terms have not become as well known as the original factkin.

Reception

Factkin are generally associated with trolls and anti-otherkin sentiment. However, many factkin wish for their identities to become more legitimized. Tumblr user ama-factkin believes that misinformation is a major cause of this negative perception and urges people to talk to factkin themselves rather than make false assumptions about their experiences.

Factkin have been criticized for ethical issues, particularly identity theft. However, factkin state that identity theft is a serious and complex crime, and is usually done for personal gain, while factkinity is an integral identity that does not necessitate any harmful actions be taken. They believe genuine factkin do not intend to take credit for their facttype’s accomplishments, and do not attempt to pose as the “real” version of their facttype to the general public. Other concerns consider the agency of living facttypes; Alabaster of the Corvidae Collective believes that one could harm their facttype's mental health by expressing their factkin identity nonconsensually and publicly.

Some consider factkin to be less legitimate than factives, or members of plural systems who experience their primary identity as another real person. Silhouette of Fact-Anonymous believes that this is a false dichotomy rooted in respectability politics and false logic. They state that many people who support this dichotomy regard plurality as always disabling and rooted in trauma, concluding that bias against factives is rooted in ableism. Meanwhile, these same individuals oftentimes deny that the experiences of factkin carry the same seriousness as those of factives. According to Silhouette, this perspective falls apart when one acknowledges that many systems are non-disordered and that many factkin have trauma themselves. Additionally, they assert that bias against factkin also hurts factives, as many do not differentiate between the two.

Some do not believe that the label is accurate to factkin experiences, as the "-kin" suffix is oftentimes used to denote nonhumanity. Some also do not consider factkin to be alterhuman, seeing it as comparable to a traditional belief in reincarnation. However, ama-factkin defines facttypes as identities which one still retains, which is not true of all past life experiences. Additionally, they defend the label's use of the "-kin" suffix, stating that their experiences with factkinity and nonhumanity are more comparable than many assume.