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Otherkin is a subculture made up of people who describe themselves as being non-human or having a connection to a mythical archetype in some way, usually believing themselves to be mythological or legendary creatures.The word is a neologism primarily used by members of that subculture, and is somewhat fluid in definition, and in its broadest sense includes those who consider themselves to be animals, aliens, extradimensional beings, and any other non-human entities.
Most otherkin believe that they have non-human aspects that are either spiritual or religious in nature. According to otherkin.net, some claim that they are human in a physical sense, but non-human ("other") in a mental or spiritual one.Some otherkin attribute this discrepancy to reincarnation or having the soul of another species.
According to otherkin.net, there are also otherkin who believe themselves to be biologically non-human, considering themselves to physically be members of the species they associate themselves with, or at least directly descended from the species through intermarriage with humanity. This belief is rarer within the subculture, and sometimes the subject of criticism from otherkin who do not share it.Other otherkin, without necessarily claiming to be genetically related to a supernatural being, profess to be physically influenced in some way by their non-human sides.
History and usage
The otherkin community grew out of the elven online community of the early-to-mid-1990s, with the earliest recorded use of the term otherkin appearing in early 1996; however, from the context it appears in, the term seems to have already been well-established in certain communities by this point. According to otherkin.net, the term was originally coined when it became clear that a new subculture of people identifying themselves as a number of different mythological creatures, such as fairies, unicorns, shapeshifters and satyrs, and not just as elves, was emerging.
However, the term has expanded in its meaning over time, and is often now used as a term to describe a number of distinct but related communities. Examples include the vampiric and therianthropic communities. Although some furry lifestylers (a subset of the furry fandom) also hold beliefs similar to those of the otherkin community, there is debate in the two communities over whether or not to consider them "otherkin" as well.
There is some overlap between many role-playing and otherkin communities, and some otherkin beliefs are similar to elements found in role-playing games and other fictional sources. Others at otherkin.net, however, stress the difference they see between pretending to be a non-human and actually believing oneself to be non-human.
Reactions
Outside of their own subculture, otherkin beliefs are often met with controversy; a critical mention of them was included in a first-year seminar titled "Nonsense in America: The Lure of the Irrational" offered by the The College of Wooster in the Fall of 2002.
When mental health professionals have encountered individuals who believe that they can transform into an animal or are otherwise non-human in some way, they have sometimes diagnosed the condition as clinical lycanthropy or some other mental disorder. Others outside of the subculture see a clear parallel between clinical lycanthropy and otherkin beliefs. There are currently no known psychological studies of the otherkin subculture evaluating the claims of either side.
Beliefs
Some members of the otherkin subculture have drawn parallels between their beliefs and transsexuality, resulting in the neologism trans-speciesism, the conviction that one is in a body of the wrong species. Certain otherkin further believe their "true form" is of the opposite sex, hermpahroditic, or physiologically sexless.
There is a tendency for people in the community to be accused of role-playing if their claims are considered to be more implausible than others; critics of this reaction at otherkin.net have labeled it "subculture intolerance". One example of a controversial subdivision of the otherkin subculture is the otakukin (or otakin) community, who, according to otherkin.net, associate with video games and Japanese media such as anime. Some otakukin state that the media they have associated with remind them of past lives, while others claim to have had the memories prior to exposure to the fictional references. Another example of a belief often met with skepticism by the otherkin subculture according to otherkin.net is those claiming to have been royalty in other lives, which is sometimes referred to as "elven princess syndrome".
See also
- Changeling
- Clinical lycanthropy
- Draconity
- Elenari
- Therianthropy
- Totemism
- Vampire lifestyle
- Were
- Skin-walker
References
Periodicals
- - A 1986 Circle News Network article citing the Silver Elves, and the older group, the Elf Queen's Daughters
- - Village Voice article
Books
- - Margot Adler's "Drawing Down the Moon" has a reference to the Elf Queen's Daughters, the precursors to the Silver Elves
- - More on the Silver Elves
- - One of Willow Polson's books has a chapter on otherkin
Notes
External links
"Otherkin"