Otherkin ~ Human but Not

Since you're starting this thread, would you mind explaining what this is? I looked at the wikipedia page and it's only given a very brief overview. Is there more to it or this pretty much it?

Otherkin are a community of people who see themselves as partially or entirely non-human. They contend that they are, in spirit if not in body,[SUP][2][/SUP] nothuman. This is explained by some members of the otherkin community as possible through reincarnation, having a nonhuman soul, ancestry, or symbolic metaphorOtherkin largely identify as mythical creatures,[SUP][4][/SUP] with others identifying as creatures from fantasy or popular culture. Examples include: angels,demons, dragons, robots or androids, elves, fairies, sprites, plants, aliens,[SUP][5][/SUP][SUP][6][/SUP][SUP][7][/SUP] and cartoon characters.[SUP][8][/SUP] Many otherkin believe in the existence of a multitude of parallel/alternative universes, which would explain the existence and the possibility to relate to fantastical beings and even fictional characters.[SUP][9][/SUP]
With regards to their online communities, otherkin largely function without formal authority structures, and mostly focus on support and information gathering, often dividing into more specific groups based on kintype.[SUP][9][/SUP] There are occasional offline gathers, but the otherkin network is an almost entirely online phenomenon.[SUP][9][/SUP]
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I had no idea something like this existed, as such, I don't know enough to form an opinion. Just at a glance, though, my first honest impression is that it strikes me as rather silly. I'm willing to hear people out, though. I'm especially interested in what 'metaphor' this might be and what the spiritual beliefs are. How does one happen upon this?
 
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TheDaringHatTrick said:
Since you're starting this thread, would you mind explaining what this is? I looked at the wikipedia page and it's only given a very brief overview. Is there more to it or this pretty much it?

I had no idea something like this existed, as such, I don't know enough to form an opinion. Just at a glance, though, my first honest impression is that it strikes me as rather silly. I'm willing to hear people out, though. I'm especially interested in what 'metaphor' this might be and what the spiritual beliefs are. How does one happen upon this?
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Otherkin are basically people, humans, who feel different from the majority of humans. Their explanation? They aren't actually human. They have a human body but not a human soul or mind/psyche. Where did this other soul/mind/etc come from? This is where they differ. They can be anything from animals from creatures from mythos to, basically, aliens from other planets. They have specific names for these types as well.

How did I happen upon this? *shrugs* Too much time on the internet. That's how.
 
TheDaringHatTrick said:
Since you're starting this thread, would you mind explaining what this is?
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A group of socially awkward individuals get together and find kinship in their inability to interact with normal people. Somewhere along the line they perform feats of mental gymnastics that would leave the Chinese Olympic team in awe and decide that, because they are incapable of relating to other human beings, they must be animals (or, in other cases, aliens, elves, other trademarked fantasy races, and even specific characters from pop culture) trapped in human bodies. This often gives them justification to do offensive or creepy things when interacting with other people and never, ever learn to use the same social conventions as the majority of people.
 
thedaringhattrick said:
"Otherkin are a community of people who see themselves as partially or entirely non-human. They contend that they are, in spirit if not in body, nothuman. This is explained by some members of the otherkin community as possible through reincarnation, having a nonhuman soul, ancestry, or symbolic metaphor. Otherkin largely identify as mythical creatures, with others identifying as creatures from fantasy or popular culture. Examples include: angels,demons, dragons, robots or androids, elves, fairies, sprites, plants, aliens, and cartoon characters. Many otherkin believe in the existence of a multitude of parallel/alternative universes, which would explain the existence and the possibility to relate to fantastical beings and even fictional characters. With regards to their online communities, otherkin largely function without formal authority structures, and mostly focus on support and information gathering, often dividing into more specific groups based on kintype. There are occasional offline gathers, but the otherkin network is an almost entirely online phenomenon."
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I actually think the bolded is true. But I'm not sure if otherin really are a "different" breed.
 
I have always felt like I didn't belong, like things didn't make sense or I was living in a cruel world with insane rules.
But that is due to my strong idealism. I think I would feel like that anywhere or at any time.
I never thought I wasn't actually human because of it.
 
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Eh I don't know if it's legit or not, but I don't think it really matters.

So what if somebody is a bit different from society? What's society gonna do about it? Make them miserable? That's kind of a dbag thing to do isn't it, and hence also a motivation to not be like society hmm?

I see it kind of like this:
"Be like me, or I will dislike you!" vs. "If I were like you I'd dislike people that are not like myself which would make me kind of an ass, and I'd rather be lonely than be an ass."
 
is this some kind of justification for escapism?

"I feel different than others, so i'll call myself not human!"
 
rawr said:
is this some kind of justification for escapism?

"I feel different than others, so i'll call myself not human!"
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Better than calling yourself defective IMO.

I get this a bit as well. Some ways I'm just different, but most of the time I'm not bothered enough to give it a name. I kind of identify with it though because at times I just don't feel human, since at times humans do stuff that makes me go "HOW DO I EVEN??"
 
i am not my body. i am not my mind.

i admire people who can give life their own meaning... anyone who can find a meaningful and joyful connection to this universe regardless of space and time is pretty awesome in my opinion...

i know this one lady who by her own definition is a reincarnated mermaid... she even makes a living giving readings/blessings/life coaching as a reincarnated mermaid/sensitive... i really admire what she does and how brave she is to put herself out there like that and how she completely claims it.

on a side note i totally weird her out lol... i’m a bit sensitive too and as much as i am friendly with her she will go out of her way to avoid me... other people around me seem to f*ckin love her, but to me she comes off as kind of a bitch... i’ve tried reading her, but i can’t... i think she maybe can’t read me as well and that throws her off... nevertheless i think she’s cool for herself...
 
sprinkles said:
Eh I don't know if it's legit or not, but I don't think it really matters.

So what if somebody is a bit different from society? What's society gonna do about it? Make them miserable? That's kind of a dbag thing to do isn't it, and hence also a motivation to not be like society hmm?

I see it kind of like this:
"Be like me, or I will dislike you!" vs. "If I were like you I'd dislike people that are not like myself which would make me kind of an ass, and I'd rather be lonely than be an ass."
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Agreed. I think it's a delusion, but it's not a delusion that's hurting anyone. The general public loves attacking anyone who's different; furries bronies, asexuals. Sub-cultures which mean no harm to anyone else and are just trying to find their own way in life.
 
I want to like them because I like to imagine things and pretend too, but there's a lot of assholes in that group.
 
I would say that while the concept of Otherkin is certainly interesting, it seems that the reasons given for feeling non-human probably have more biological explanations that are rooted in actually being human. I would be quite skeptical if someone told me they were from a parallel universe. Parallel universes exist in theory only, and may be more likely than lets say an afterlife, but that doesn't mean that people, or souls, can move between them. I would find these people interesting to talk to, for at least a little while, but wouldn't take them seriously.
 
To take the last post, "How do you know you're human?" Let me change that only slightly. "How do you know you have a human soul?" (soul/spirit/essence/true self/whatever) Can you prove it? Can you show me?

I feel different in a lot of ways and this is one of them. I don't share the same belief in the concept of a separate and eternal soul. To me, the concept is egoist and divides us further from the connected world. So, yes someone claiming to have a cat soul strikes me as crazy--but not any crazier than the rest of you. :)

I think it's funny how we draw such arbitrary lines for what is weird--where religion stops and occult begins. When I see other Christians laughing at the beliefs of another sect such as Mormons, it makes me want to slowly spell out all how otherwise unlikely and far fetched each point of their beliefs are. Is it really so much harder to accept that Joseph Smith was guided to translate what he found than it is to think a virgin gave birth to the savior of man? If faith has called you to believe such things then why is it so hard to accept that this has happened to someone else only slightly differently?

Symbolically, it is not unusual for people to have a totem animal. It would be difficult to pin down exactly how important or how real this is to the average person because it exists in a spectrum. Yet those who only barely accept the concept of a totem do not shun those who accept it as more real. Often they even grant more respect to those who feel more strongly connected to it and this contributes to further exaltation of Native Americans. So, why the Native American and not the Shinto practitioner? Why the Shintoist and not the werewolf? Then why not the otherkin?

From an external perspective the gaps between all of these things seem so much smaller than the gaps that are perceived by those inside. I see it only as another way we divide ourselves--the pursuit of identity by the individualists who have claimed an otherkin self and the "us and them" position of those who deem it nonsensical or weird.

Canon for any group is by many only accepted conditionally through indoctrination and it is reinforced group identity that yields conforming belief. In retrospect we often hear them say, "It seemed crazy to me at first." As they mold to the group identity, they accept the change in themselves as being the result of new knowledge and experience so the ego can experience it with ownership yet so many of their stories sound similar.

I propose that if you hang out with people who have been abducted by aliens that eventually, you will begin to doubt and wonder whether you too had been abducted by aliens. Your unconscious would cry out for it.

We know this is true because we see it happen to other people all the time but when it comes to our own memberships, the ego tells us that ours is real and theirs is not--that we are somehow less susceptible to the psychological forces that we perceive as vulnerability in others.
 
sentientsixpence said:
To take the last post, "How do you know you're human?" Let me change that only slightly. "How do you know you have a human soul?" (soul/spirit/essence/true self/whatever) Can you prove it? Can you show me?
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Or souls in general. I like the word spirit because its etymological orgin at least makes sense, which is from the latin word spiritus, which literally means breath, or to breathe. At least this can be taken figuratively to be an animating life force. Although, soul also has a similar meaning by origin. It does seem that there is more than meets the eye, and perhaps there is something "extra" that makes life possible, but no one is able to identify what that actually is without going into metaphysical speculation.
 
[MENTION=9350]sentientsixpence[/MENTION]

I concur.

I'd also say that it's not always important to know what is exactly true because it doesn't always even matter. For some definition of 'cat' I'm sure that a human can be a cat. Cats have brains, evidencing that in general it is possible for a brain to induce catness. If a human brain managed to mimic cat instinct mechanisms, it would have cat instincts.

Saying that cat instincts can only exist in cats is merely taxonomic and arbitrary since another brain which is made of the same material, works by the same physics, and produces similar results would essentially be a cat brain for all practical purposes.

Like if you were to build a synthetic cat that is exactly identical to a cat that was born. Made of the same stuff and arranged the same way down to a single atom. Is it not a cat?
 
sentientsixpence said:
Canon for any group is by many only accepted conditionally through indoctrination and it is reinforced group identity that yields conforming belief. In retrospect we often hear them say, "It seemed crazy to me at first." As they mold to the group identity, they accept the change in themselves as being the result of new knowledge and experience so the ego can experience it with ownership yet so many of their stories sound similar.

.
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This eerily sounds like MBTI or Jungian Theory. At first I was highly dubious of the entire system, but I've let myself become more and more enticed by it and remember that I first got involved as a means to try and understand myself, kind of how someone curious about religion would go to church looking to find peace of mind and their god only finding themselves indoctrinated and potentially ostracized if indoctrination failed. Many people seem to take it to be fact, while it is only one way to look at the human psyche.
 
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