Otherkin

A septagram, a common symbol for otherkinity

Otherkin are a subculture of people who identify as nonhuman, usually mythical creatures such as elves, dragons and fae. The object of an otherkin's identification is called their kintype. People may feel they are otherkin because of reincarnation, neurodivergence, archetypal resonance, or a number of other reasons. Most commonly, being otherkin is involuntary.

Otherkinity is arguably the largest and most visible alterhuman community. It has a long history, over which it has subsumed other groups such as the dragon and unicorn communities. Some people have also come to see it as an umbrella term that includes therianthropes and fictionkin.

Experiences

The following experiences are incredibly common, and commonly discussed, in otherkin circles. Most will experience some or all of these things, however none are exclusive to otherkin, or necessary to identify as such.

Awakening and questioning

See also: Questioning

As being otherkin is typically involuntary, people may undergo a realization and subsequent period of exploration. This is popularly referred to as awakening. Most people coming into the community have some idea of what they are, even if only a vague one. Many have experienced shifts, phantom sensations or abnormal instincts from a young age. While some otherkin know exactly what they are straight away, most discover the specifics over time. Common tools recommended for this include journaling, meditation, and studying real animal behaviour or mythology.

Thorough research has been considered an extremely important part of confirming one's kintype for most of the community's history. Many people expect other community members to be able to justify and answer questions about their identity when asked. However, the emphasis on this has decreased with newer generations. Some older community members criticize this trend, believing that it leaves people without the ability to introspect or think critically. Others have stated that the culture surrounding questioning is excessive, harsh and damaging.

Shifting

See also: Shifting

Many otherkin experience shifts, periods where their state of mind and perceptions become more like that of their kintype. Starting in the therian community, many people have attempted to define, categorize and list the types of shifts it is possible to experience. A particularly common type is the phantom shift, the heightened experience of phantom limbs.

Dysphoria

Some otherkin experience a sense of unease and unhappiness due to the mismatch between their physical body and that of their kintype. One might feel disconnected from their physical body and struggle with this discomfort. Alternatively, some otherkin may only undergo temporary moments of “not feeling quite right” in their bodies.

Species dysphoria has been compared to gender dysphoria, or an unease caused by a mismatch of one’s gender identity and sex assigned at birth. Some individuals who experience both species and gender dysphoria describe an overlap in the discomfort caused by the conditions.

Some report experiencing species dysphoria for their whole lives and prior to realizing their identities.

Memories and noemata

Otherkin may understand things about their kintype intuitively, or as a result of memories or memory-like experiences.

Memories

Some otherkin, particularly those who attribute their identity to a past life, have memories of being their kintype. They may have these from an incredibly young age, or they may begin to surface during awakening. Memories may be episodic (explicit recollections of events), somatic (decontextualized sensory information), or semantic (general knowledge and facts about that life). They may be emotionally charged, and in some cases, even painful or traumatic.

Recovering past life memories has been a preoccupation for many otherkin. Particularly in spaces where spiritual explanations predominate, it has been assumed that most if not all otherkin will acquire them during awakening. The Lostkin Project was one such group that made this assumption, being founded to "bring the Lostkin more fully to themselves". They collected techniques described on various otherkin message boards, such as meditation, energy work, ritual, looking for signs in dreams, and the use of specific crystals. Other groups have focused more on techniques for analyzing and validating memories as legitimate.

Some writers have admonished the fixation on memories and past lives. They have described how easy it is to falsely attribute feelings to past life circumstances or outright fabricate memories. On a broader community level, the trend has contributed to the misconception that having a past life is the only way to be otherkin. Additionally, some have stated that a focus on past lives can prevent a person from seeing the most important part of the otherkin experience - being Other right now, in this life.

Noemata

A noema, in the alterhuman community, is any knowledge a person has about their identity. Strictly speaking, memories are also noemata, however this word is mostly used for information to which the word 'memory' does not easily apply. This could be because the noema does not have memory-like qualities, or because the person in question sees their identity as psychological.

People with noemata may feel that they "just know" things about their kintype's appearance, habitat or actions; or they may describe it in terms of being "as if" a past experience caused something, even though no such experience occurred.

History

1970s - 1990s: Forerunners, mailing lists and coining

Many people consider the Elf Queen's Daughters (EQD) to be the forerunners of the otherkin community. Some time in the early 1970s, the EQD began writing letters to different covens and spiritual groups. Many of these letters were published in early issues of the pagan-focused Green Egg magazine. In 1979 and possibly 1980, the Silver Elves, then known as the Sylvan Elves, began to publish letters similar to the EQD, with a collection published in the book Magical Elven Love Letters. The Silver Elves used a septagram as an elven symbol, which later became adopted as a symbol for the wider otherkin community.

In 1990, an elf named R’ykandar Korra’ti started the Elfinkind Digest, a mailing list for other elves. However, as Korra’ti made the subscription to the Digest publicly joinable, many people who identified as creatures other than elves arrived. The word "otherkind" was coined to account for them - the "other" part meaning "as opposed to elvenkind".

1990s - 2000s: Moving to Web 1.0, encountering other nonhumans

Beginning in the late 90s, otherkin communities began to move onto personal websites, forums and newly emerging social media platforms. Many mailing lists created websites to more stably host content for their communities. After LiveJournal released its community feature, it also became a popular platform for otherkin and other nonhumans.

The House of Chimeras states that this was the catalyst for interactions between these various groups. Websites like Otherkin Resource Center and Shadow's Den also hosted information and links pertaining to therian, draconic, elven, vampire and angelic communities. As such hubs continued to serve as the common ground for these disparate groups, people came to see 'otherkin' as an umbrella term containing all of them. The therian community retained its own identity due to its size, but also contributed massively to otherkin culture in the following years. It introduced the concept of shifting, and many terms were derived from preexisting therian terminology, such as 'kintype' from 'theriotype'.

2010s: Tumblr, social justice and broadening visibility

Otherkin became incredibly active on tumblr starting in 2011, in spite of persistent harassment from trolls. This seemed to coincide with an increased desire for otherkin advocacy: people used tumblr to discuss the possibility of transspecies people being seen the same way as transgender people, and about options for physical transition. The otherkin community on tumblr became so prolific that many outside observers believed that otherkin were entirely a product of "tumblr identity politics".

As more people were introduced to the idea of otherkinity, the community had to contend with drifting understandings of the meaning of the word. An increasing number of people calling themselves otherkin identified with a nonhuman entity - frequently an abstract concept - rather than as it. Debate surrounding this phenomenon in 2014 lead to broader adoption of the word otherhearted (then 'animal-hearted'), and the coining of the word alterhuman.

On February 23rd, 2017, the word otherkin was added to Oxford Dictionaries.

Relationship to other communities

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Otherkin are often confused or conflated with other groups - historically furries, and more recently "kinnies". Additionally, many outside sources describe otherkin as transspecies, whether or not they self identify as such. Some otherkin believe the word alterhuman exacerbates this confusion, while others see it as a solution.

People from both inside and outside of the community have drawn comparisons between otherkin and the transgender community. Both anecdotal evidence and survey results point to a higher than average amount of otherkin being transgender. In the past, comparing nonhuman and transgender experiences has been controversial, however it is becoming increasingly accepted.

Otherkin have historically had overlap with plural communities.

In the public eye

Otherkin have drawn the attention of academics, journalists, documentarians, and regular internet users.

Academic research

The first paper published on otherkin was Danielle Kirby's Alternative worlds: Metaphysical questing and virtual community amongst the otherkin, in 2008. The paper served mostly to introduce otherkin to academics in general. Subsequent academics treated otherkin primarily as a religious or "quasi-religious" phenomenon. They also typically described therians as a subtype of otherkin, even in papers specifically about therianthropy. Other common themes in research included:

• the role of the internet in enabling the otherkin and therian subcultures
• how otherkin and therians form their identities and justify their legitimacy
• what otherkinity and therianthropy represent about society's attitudes towards the nonhuman

As of recently, more papers have begun to view nonhuman identities through a narrative identity lens. Contemporary researchers have criticized the past conception of otherkinity as religious. More attention is being paid to the experiences of individual otherkin and therians, rather than looking at the whole community as a phenomenon. This has included more attention on shifts, phantom limbs, and awakening, as well as non-spiritual reasons for identifying as nonhuman. Researchers have also advocated for larger sample sizes in future studies.

House of Chimeras states that academic inquiry has been "very positive and welcomed" by the community. However, some people have questioned the methodology and conclusions of some research. The strong early emphasis on otherkin and therians with spiritual narratives has been particularly criticized. Some otherkin and therians have written responses to specific papers, including Devin Proctor's We are Spirits of Another Sort and On Being Non-Human; and Nikky Jackson's Alter-humanity An Examination into other than human individuals.

Media

In 2013, the documentary What!? I Think I'm An Animal was released. A segment from it in which Naia Ōkami states that "on all levels except physical, [she is] a wolf" became infamous as a meme after it was posted to Vine. The show was received almost universally negatively by otherkin and therians, and has been held up in the community as a warning of the dangers of talking to the media.

Public reaction

Outsider reactions to otherkin have been predominantly negative.

Joseph P Laycock theorizes that negative reactions are because of the threat they present to the predominant social order:

"This anger seems to be inspired not by the deviant claims of the Otherkin but by the fact that they are able to find support for their beliefs and present a potential threat to the dominant nomos. A single individual with a deviant belief can be dismissed as a mental illness. However, when a community adopts a deviant belief system, substantially more effort is required to subjugate its worldview."