Although the specifics of the definition of "otherkin" can vary depending on the individual, it's generally regarded to mean when one identifies as being partially or entirely nonhuman. Also under the otherkin umbrella is "fictionkin," in which someone identifies as something that is fictional, most commonly a fictional character or species. Some people opt to go the route of calling fictionkins that they have a very strong connection with an "ID", although many people who do this reject the otherkin label, at least on these specific identities.
Somewhat similar to the otherkin phenomenom, "therian" describes those who identify with a nonhuman animal- often attributed to spiritual, psychological or emotional reasons, but the reasoning behind their identity is not the focal point.
An umbrella term that can encompass all of these ideas into one is alterhuman, which describe a set of individuals who have experiences or an identity that they perceive as being other than, alternative to, or differently human. This not only includes otherkin and therians, but also sympathetic identities like otherhearted people and souldbonders, differently human identities like transhumanists and rewilders, and even system-exclusive experiences like nonhuman and/or introject alters.
While some classify their identity as being spiritual, symbolic or metaphorical, others will attribute it to neurodivergence or general psychology.
My history with Otherkin
I discovered the otherkin community sometime around 2014 through- you guess it, Tumblr- and I haven't been able to let go of it ever since. I don't remember exactly how I came across otherkin back then, but I imagine it was fairly easy for me to do so because it was the new hot trend to jump on back then, so naturally I also had to get in on it. Little did I know that, almost an entire decade later, it would still have such a big impact on my life.
Even as social media begins to view it as something "immature" and "childish," or something that only terminally online teenagers do. Even as I age, I still find myself identifying heavily as certain things that are beyond the human experience, and I think that this will remain an important part of myself as a person for a long time coming.
A lot of my reasons for kinning are for psychological and emotional reasons, especially when it comes to my identity problems as a result of my mental illnesses, but I'm not opposed to exploring the spiritual side of my kins one day either.
Doubles with any of the identities under any of the relevant tabs are welcome and I'd like to kiss if you don't mind.
