Otherkin generalizations and diversity

Summary: Here are some examples of the diversity of beliefs in the otherkin community. These should clear up the misconceptions shown in common inaccurate generalizations about otherkin.

There are many kinds of otherkin, with many kinds of beliefs about themselves. (In this article, I’m using “otherkin” to mean both otherkin and therianthropes, because we don’t have another word that means both.) I’ve been active in the otherkin community for more than ten years, so I speak from experience about this. Each of the examples I give here are from more than one otherkin who I have known.

• There are otherkin who don’t like being called non-human, because they know their bodies are human, and they think of themselves as human in many important ways. There are also otherkin who don’t like being called human, and call themselves non-human. There are even otherkin who think their bodies aren’t altogether human.

• There are those who say they’re otherkin because they have the soul of another kind of creature. There are also otherkin who think that their soul couldn’t be that different from any other person’s. There are even otherkin who don’t believe in personal souls at all.

• There are those who think of their otherkin identity as their gender. (For example, “My gender is elf.”) [ETA: There are also people who describe their gender as “elf,” or some other archetype from mythology or nature or anything, but who don’t call themselves otherkin.] There are also otherkin who don’t feel like being otherkin has anything to do with their gender.

• There are otherkin who are adamant that being otherkin isn’t a mental illness, and that they aren’t mentally ill in any way. There are also otherkin who say they have mental illnesses, themselves. There are even otherkin who think that being otherkin is a mental illness, or at least a mental difference.

You can disagree with any or all of the above views that otherkin have held. You even have the right to feel angry, offended, or concerned about them. What’s important is that you need to acknowledge that there are otherkin who have such different views than one another. This diversity does exist in the otherkin community.

Please take the above into consideration before you make generalizations about otherkin. It’s not accurate to say “all otherkin know they have human bodies,” because quite a few of them don’t. It’s not right to say “otherkin are defined as people with non-human souls,” because many otherkin don’t believe that. It’s not true to say “no otherkin have mental illnesses,” because plenty do.

I’m tired of seeing one person after another write inaccurate generalizations about otherkin. Those writers don’t know any better. They haven’t had enough experience with parts of the community that believe different things than they do. I hope this clears up some misconceptions.