Never heard of this. Sounds like complete nonsense, just a load of people who have a pathological urge to feel like they're special, different and this is the only way they can deny their basic mediocrity.
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I just read about otherkin, those who claim they are. Are they roleplaying or do they actually believe in it?
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Still, I don't appreciate punching down. Transracial stuff and otherkin are not the same thing. Please stop equating the two. I know a lot of trans people in my life who would be very upset to read that their friends are being accused of working against them. Hell, many otherkin are transgender, so that makes no sense.
As far as my story goes... I started hearing voices in my head and believing there really was a spirit inside me in my teens, around 10th grade I think? The spirit was a green bara wolf (which alone should tell you how fucked up I was) and he told me all those nice things about how there was a dragon spirit inside me and how I would transform into one if I just gave in, or how I was about to transform into Wargreymon and shit, and stood naked in the middle of the room waiting expectedantly.
Obviously nothing happened because I was just suffering from a mental illness. What exactedly, I don't know. But it probably stems from being both physically and verbally abused nearly every day of my life until my late teens. I heard that sort of thing has a tendancy to fuck people up and cause their brains to look for an escape, even if it obviously batshit insane stuff.
Now I am over it and just suffer from normal chronic depression like a lot of my fellow millenials, hooraaaaaay. (Thank goodness for prozac)
But nah, it was a green and black Western dragon I thought was inside me. I should upload the pic later haha.
Obviously nothing happened because I was just suffering from a mental illness. What exactedly, I don't know. But it probably stems from being both physically and verbally abused nearly every day of my life until my late teens. I heard that sort of thing has a tendancy to fuck people up and cause their brains to look for an escape, even if it obviously batshit insane stuff.
Now I am over it and just suffer from normal chronic depression like a lot of my fellow millenials, hooraaaaaay. (Thank goodness for prozac)
Lmao, I was sorta asking for this TBH.
But nah, it was a green and black Western dragon I thought was inside me. I should upload the pic later haha.
I remember specifically Bulbagarden Forums (a Pokemon fansite) passed a rule that basically said, hey, don't debate the ezosten
I'm not a fan of religion but I can't blame folks for believing in an element that possibly permeates their entire life since birth.
Interesting read, thanks for sharing. I'm glad you do feel better now atleast! (And like all millenials includes me too!) But you betrayed Wargreymon for Charizard? Good choice!
And I'm sure some "transracial" people are transgender too. That doesn't mean it's a legitimate thing or that it doesn't ultimately hurt transgender acceptance.
It doesn't matter if you think it's "punching down" or not. A person believing they are a different race or species on the inside is not the same as gender identity, and transphobic people absolutely compare the latter to the former, lumping trans people in with them.
Technically it was. Animal spirits were common in ancient shamanism so one could say the concept predates modern religion although the traditions are clearly not as old.
I'm not sure why we're giving people who punch down at trans folks by equating them with otherkin any credence in the first place.
If otherkin weren't a thing, it's not like they'd suddenly see the light regarding trans issues. Just because otherkin are an easy target for those sorts of people doesn't mean we reward them by going, "Yes, those people are weird. But we're nothing like them. You should laugh at them."
It's a fairly unempathetic viewpoint considering that there's plenty of indication that being otherkin is a coping mechanism for trauma or depression or mental illness or even body dysmorphia. Don't let these people co-opt a group of people who are often extremely vulnerable minorities by agreeing with them.
There's not an ingrained issue of privilege and arrogance like there is with transracialism. I wouldn't equate the two at all.
User banned (1 week): inflammatory point of comparison
It may incidentally hurt transgender acceptance but that doesn't mean it doesn't have a right to exist and be acknowledged. That is the exact same excuse some gay and lesbian people use to exclude transgender people. The irony is thick.
Yes, they believe in it in a way.
And roleplay it, half unintentionally.
Subculture!!
It's less a tangential adolescent phase and more a loose school of thought lol.
And roleplay it, half unintentionally.
Subculture!!
It's less a tangential adolescent phase and more a loose school of thought lol.
For some of them, yeah.
For others though, it's genuine mental illness.
If you can't see why people that say they're really magic fox dragons or Sephiroth shouldn't be given the same legitimacy as LGBT people then honestly I can't help you.
I don't think the existence (I use that word loosely) of otherkin make the bigots any more emboldened, or their arguments more effective. No bigot honestly cares about Raven Amberwing's alleged dual existance as fey/human or Rachel Dolezal's... issues. And the people who listen to the bigots don't really care, either. They just... fundamentally do not view transgender identities as valid. I don't subscribe to the idea of "its giving them ammunition to attack us" because they don't need ammunition. In the absence of anything convenient, they just make their own arguments that are just as effective because the substance of the argument doesn't matter.
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The argument that transracial people are the same or similar to otherkin is mind boggling to me. It betrays a fundamental misunderstanding of why transracial shit is fucked up.
Also, stupid social conservative arguments shouldn't determine how we treat people.
Also, stupid social conservative arguments shouldn't determine how we treat people.
Of course the actual bigots don't need reasons to be bigots, but a lot of people are still very ignorant about gender dysphoria and trans issues in general, and without being properly educated or doing their own research, they could come to misguided conclusions about trans people and buy into transphobic rhetoric because of things like otherkin that muddies the waters. Nicole is absolutely correct here. It's difficult enough to educate people on trans issues as it is, we don't need to make it worse for them.
Moreover, it's just never a good idea to feed into delusions in general.
You're gonna lose a TON of people when you don't qualify a sentence in your thread title, like "don't believe they are".
Put this in your OP:
I don't wanna be brutal, and I certainly don't judge individuals, but the rise of such a concept feels very much like it must have arisen from the current impending pandemic of personality disorders and cultural dysmorphia which characterizes our current late capitalist world.
Put this in your OP:
I don't wanna be brutal, and I certainly don't judge individuals, but the rise of such a concept feels very much like it must have arisen from the current impending pandemic of personality disorders and cultural dysmorphia which characterizes our current late capitalist world.
I know plenty of people who are ignorant on trans issues, who can't tell apart gender identity from sexual preference. They don't know a thing about otherkin. Heck, apparently people on this forum don't know about otherkin - and if you post on a gaming forum you're already more online than 90% of the population. An argument equating trans folk to otherkin is as nonsensical as people who used to claim marrying goats was a natural progression for same sex marriage. It only "works" because the guy being convinced has already bought into the core premise - trans identities are invalid. If I got a wizard to erase other kin from the internet's collective memory things wouldn't get any easier for trans people.
It's not about feeding delusions. It's about not telling people - like the poster in this very thread - that their response to trauma or illness is hurting other people.
I dunno. Pragmatic arguments when it comes to things like this always leave a bad taste in my mouth. The argument that we should treat innocent third parties in a certain way to potentially protect ourselves, it makes sense pragmatically and I understand why people may feel this way and don't blame them for feeling this way, but I think it's a bad road to go down.
Interesting post, thank you for sharing that.
I was unaware something like otherkin existed until this thread, now I understand more.
There's some really interesting meditation techniques involving modern shamanism and wicca-esque animalism. Identifying yourself with an animal concept you can use as positive reinforcement of what you want to improve on, or to make the meditation feel more spiritual.
Often these are visualisation techniques, and once you get good at it you snap back out and your head is still in that animal frame of mind for a few minutes. It is a lot of fun to explore in meditation and you can learn a lot about how your brain works.
It does seem to be something to do with a need for spirituality and identity, often amongst vulnerable people, but it is worrying that it's often a mask for dysmorphia, trauma or psychosis. Society needs better mental care in general.
That said, being mentally different is fine as long as you can still get by in society. As an Aspie I'll never go after people who are doing their best to make their own unique mental state work.
Often these are visualisation techniques, and once you get good at it you snap back out and your head is still in that animal frame of mind for a few minutes. It is a lot of fun to explore in meditation and you can learn a lot about how your brain works.
It does seem to be something to do with a need for spirituality and identity, often amongst vulnerable people, but it is worrying that it's often a mask for dysmorphia, trauma or psychosis. Society needs better mental care in general.
That said, being mentally different is fine as long as you can still get by in society. As an Aspie I'll never go after people who are doing their best to make their own unique mental state work.
User Banned (1 Week): Inflammatory False Equivalences Surrounding Gender Identity
I'm torn. On one hand, I would argue that to be "otherkin" would be harmful to transgender people and in line with the Rachel Dolezals and transagists of the world. On the other, where do we draw the line? A cisgender person can't really fully conceptualize the existential angst of being transgender, in the same way that a binary trans person wouldn't be able to fully conceptualize the angst of someone who's genderfluid, or nonbinary, or agender, or third gender. An argument for invalidity because of non-understanding seems incredibly exclusionary to me.
I mean, it's not like we've cracked the code and can effectively point out that a certain set of neurons firing in a specific way is indicative of real pain and suffering. All I can do, I think, is take people at their word and respect it, even if bad faith actors slip through the cracks.
I mean, it's not like we've cracked the code and can effectively point out that a certain set of neurons firing in a specific way is indicative of real pain and suffering. All I can do, I think, is take people at their word and respect it, even if bad faith actors slip through the cracks.
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