Catalogue of nonhuman communities.Author: Orion Sandstorrm. Index:
Fans of "furries," anthropomorphic (human-like) animals. "Furry" is also a word for the people in this group. Many of them roleplay [online] as a character which is a certain [anthropomorphic] animal, and not necessarily because this animal has deep spiritual meaning for them, or because they feel they are personally other than human- although furry fans commonly feel that being something physically other than human could be fun. The Furry Fandom is a hobby, not a spirituality. The community is primarily about the visual art around which it is based. Community has a reputation for being sexually attracted to anthropomorphic animals, although this does not apply to all individuals within it. Commonly, there is a great deal of overlap between Furry Fans and Furry Lifestylers, in which case they are collectively called Furries.
Furry lifestylers are people who, in some way, deeply identify with a certain animal. Depending on the individual's definition, this may be because they feel the animal symbolically conveys their personality (or vice versa) or that in spirit they are an animal of that type, or their totem (or spirit guide) is an animal of that type, or (rarely) they had a past life as an animal of that type. They express this animal in day-to-day life with subtle mannerisms, [online] roleplay, and general fondness for it as with a favorite animal. As said before, there's such crossover between Lifestylers and Fans that sometimes they are indistinguishable and are described with only one word. At other extremes however, there is strife between the two, because some Fans think the Lifestylers are too spiritual/strange, and some Lifestylers think the Fans too shallow.
Someone who is human and animal, but switches between them (shapeshifts, shifts) and possibly has a 'hybrid' form in-between both, which would be considered anthropomorphic. Most commonly this shapeshifting is only on a mental level (m-shifting) indicated by changes in sensation (such as 'phantom limbs,' and enhanced physical senses such as hearing) and mindset. Rarer, there are those who [claim to?] physically shapeshift (p-shifting) although such claims are typically viewed with suspicion even within the community, despite how p-shifting is a goal that most aspire to. Characteristic is that Therianthropes are the most likely of all these to have the desperate desire/need to physically become something else. Unrelated to any particular religious movement, although Native American religions seem common.
Meaning Werewolf. There are two very different definitions for someone real who is called a lycanthrope. • Draconic or Dragon-kin.
Someone with a dragon spirit. Not as specific as it sounds, what with 'dragon' being a far broader term than any word has the right to be. May mean they had a past life as a dragon- more like Otherkin, or they shapeshift into a dragon- more like Therianthrope, or they just identify with dragons- more like Furry Lifestyler, or they just like the idea of being a dragon but don't take it too seriously- more like Furry Fan. In most cases, they view dragons as strong, noble, and no more "evil" than humans are. • Vampire or Vampyre.
Someone who considers themself a vampire. There are psychic vampires, who drink people's energy. There are other vampires who genuinely feel the need to drink blood. (I'd like to see a list of the different types, haven't found one yet.) So far as I've seen, they're universally Gothic. • Multiple Personality and Multiple Personality Disorder.
• A Multiple has more than one personality (also defined as a mind, or a spirit) in a single body. Some of these personalities may well be non-human, of one of the types listed elsewhere on this list, although in most cases they are human. Multiple Personality is when all these interact with one another in a healthy way, may even outperform a "singleton," and has not been formally recognized by psychology, although it has been thoroughly acknowledged by those who know most about it. ;) Multiplicity may have stronger roots in metaphysics than psychology.
The term originally referred only to Elves and other humanoids, but it's nearly been made into an umbrella term to include various other non-humans- Draconics, Therianthropes, Vampires, and some Furry Lifestylers. Otherkin with a non-human spirit usually explain it as a past life which they may or may not recall. Otherkin which claim a physically non-human lineage usually explain it as a result of intermarriage with [insert humanoid or shapeshifter here] in their ancestry; this occurs frequently in legend. The Otherkin movement originally arose from the Neopagan movement; however, Otherkin is detached from religion, so now individuals you meet may be of any other faith, from Christian to Hindu. • Angelkin or Angelous or Angelus.
Someone with a non-human spirit, which is angel-like, either in their whole nature (really are angels of one kind or another) or appearance (just a winged humanoid, as angels are often depicted). They're not necessarily from the heaven we know of, but religious arguments start over them nonetheless. They might describe themselves as fallen, or they might see themselves as like the Starseeds- here to help the world- or that they're just here now for whatever reason. • Starseed or Starfolk or Starpeople.
Someone with a non-human spirit: alien and/or higher being (fourth dimensional). They almost always explain themselves in terms of reincarnation, and believe they are here to heal the world and help bring it to its New Age. • Walk-In.
Someone whose current spirit is not the one that was originally born into that body; the original either left and the body was taken up by its new resident, or both spirits are cohabiting it as per a Multiple. The Walk-In may or may not be nonhuman, and may retain the memories of the prior bodily occupant. Some Walk-Ins say they didn't even notice when the transition happened; others were very much aware of it, and have been very different people before and after. Some Multiples have members who were walk-ins, who arrived without anyone else departing.
About.Last updated: August 15, 2004.
Thanks to: Original location of this file: http://orion.animaltracks.net/compare.html This article may be distributed freely, so long as it remains intact and unaltered by other persons, and the name of the original author retained. This article was created to increase awareness of pathways which operate on certain similar concepts, and to be helpful for individuals who wish to broaden their social horizons of people like themselves. It is written toward an audience which is already involved in one or more of the communities listed, and who is curious about other communities which may be appropriate for them. Entries listed in rough order of descending obscurity, as perceived by me in my own experience, and by observation of what order they seem to be in for other people. Your personal experience with that may vary. This was chosen over alphabetical order for organizational reasons so that kinds like one another can be placed together. Chronological order is out of the question, as it's impossible to make without specific dates. The definitions in this article are very general, and any given person might be able to fit under more than one of these groups, and might fit better under a different category than as they generally/currently describe themself. This article is meant to help encourage outward growth from a single community.
the intent is to increase awareness of diversity, not stifle it. that's another entire project. please visit the links listed for that information. that's another entire project. Spirit. In this article, the word "spirit" is used to mean simply and conveniently the nonphysical self, the part that is what it is regardless of the body's form, the core part that "makes you you," regardless of individual beliefs about whether the spirit/soul technically exists, if every person has one, and so on. The word "mind" or "psyche" did not entirely suit the purposes here, so "spirit" was used instead. Suggestions for an alternate, readily-understood word that conveys the concept without raising controversy would be appreciated. Nonhuman. In this article, the word "nonhuman" is used due to a lack for a general catch-all term for the sort of communities listed. Transspecies could be another word. In most cases, the individuals who exist within these communities don't consider themselves to be totally without human characteristics- a human body and upbringing, if nothing else. Being human and being "other" are not mutually exclusive. Community. In this article, the word "community" is used to also include the concepts of "group" and "subculture," and those are exchanged as synonyms. Roleplay. A roleplayer is someone who, in a game, is pretending to be someone and/or something other than they are in their real life. They don't take this seriously, although certain ones of their characters may be very important to them. Much like creating an interactive story, well-played characters can seem like people all of their own. And despite what Jack Chick tells you, it has nothing to do with religion. Roleplaying is a hobby, not a spirituality. Sometimes online, it may be difficult to distinguish a roleplayer pretending to be a nonhuman from someone who takes non-humanity seriously. Also, many nonhumans use roleplaying to express themselves, often in a virtual environment. (Some nonhumans will also use the word "roleplayer" in different sense, as a derogatory term for a "wanna-be" or "poseur.") |
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Last updated: 12/09/2006
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