Otherkin

This article is about the subculture. For the band, see Otherkin (band).

An acute heptagram is a common symbol for the otherkin community

Otherkin is a subculture of individuals who identify as partially or entirely nonhuman. An umbrella term for this would be alterhuman. Some otherkin believe their identity derives from non-physical spiritual phenomena, such as having a nonhuman soul or reincarnation.^[1] Some otherkin give non-spiritual explanations for themselves, such as unusual psychology or neurodivergence,^{[2][additional citation(s) needed]} or as part of dissociative identity disorder or being plural.^[3] Many otherkins say they are physically human, but not all.^{[2][4]: 66–72}

The otherkin subculture developed primarily as an online community during the 1990s.^[5] It had partly grown out of some small groups of people who described themselves as elves during the 1970s and 1980s.^[1][6] Since the late 2000s, the word has come to be treated as an umbrella term for some other nonhuman identity subcultures.^{[5]: 23–24}

Etymology

The word "otherkin", in the context of a subculture, was created in July 1990 by participants of a mailing list made for elves and other mythological creatures.^{[5]: 23–24 [7]} It came along with the variant "otherkind," which appeared first in April 1990.^[8] Mailing list participants used both interchangeably for a while.^{[6]: 193 [9]: 50} Over the following decades, the word "otherkin" entered common usage enough to be later added to the principal historical dictionary of the English language. In 2017, the Oxford English Dictionary defined otherkin as "a person who identifies as non-human, typically as being wholly or partially an animal or mythical being."^[10][11]

Coincidentally, the word "otherkin" also existed in the Middle English language. The Middle English Dictionary (1981) defines the adjective "otherkin" as "a different or an additional kind of, other kinds of".^[12] Additionally, "otherkin" has appeared in multiple works of fiction as a term unrelated to the subculture.^[13][14][15]

Terms and identities

A collection of therian accessories, including masks, tails, and a collar.

The term "otherkin" includes a broad range of identities. Otherkin may identify as creatures of the natural world, mythology, or popular culture.^[16] Examples include but are not limited to aliens, angels, demons, dragons, mermaids, elves, fairies, horses, rabbits, foxes, wolves, cats, dogs, and fictional characters.^{[17][18][19][20]} Rarer are those who identify as plants, machines, concepts, or natural phenomena such as weather systems.^[4][21] The identity "transspecies" is used by some.^[22]

Therianthropy

Main article: Therian subculture

The term "therianthrope", commonly called "therian", refers to individuals who identify as an animal on any level, whether it be spiritual, psychological, or even physical.^[23][24] This identity is typically considered involuntary and integral to the self.^{[5]: 23–24} The species of animal a therian identifies as is called a "theriotype".^[25][26] While therians mainly attribute their experiences of therianthropy to either spirituality or psychology, the way in which they consider their therian identity is not a defining characteristic of therianthropy.^[27]

Terminology

Something specific an otherkin identifies as is called a "kintype". A common grammatical construct within the otherkin community is to add the suffix -kin to the end of what they identify as, making it a personal identifier. For example, someone who identifies as a dragon may be called "dragonkin".^{[citation needed]} Someone who strongly identifies with but not as an animal or other entity is called "otherhearted". For example, someone who identifies with dogs may be called "doghearted".^{[5]: 176 [28]}

Community

Otherkin communities online largely function without formal authority structures and mostly focus on support and information gathering, often dividing into more specific groups based on kintype.^[20] There are occasional offline gatherings, but the otherkin network is mostly an online phenomenon.^[6][20]

The therian and vampire subcultures are related to the otherkin community, and are considered part of it by most otherkin but are culturally and historically distinct movements of their own, despite some overlap in membership.^[25]:13 The word "alterhuman" exists as an umbrella term which intends to encompass all of these subcultures, as well as others such as plurality.^{[5][29][30][28]}

Symbols

A regular {7/3} heptagram, known as the "Elven Star" or "Fairy Star"

A common symbol for otherkin is a seven-pointed star, specifically a regular {7/3} heptagram, known as the "Elven Star" or "Fairy Star".^[6]: 146 Otherkin have used it for decades. One early use of it was by the Silver Elves in an article they published in the summer 1986 issue of Circle Network News.^{[9]: 52–53}

Religious and spiritual beliefs

Joseph P. Laycock, assistant professor of religious studies at Texas State University, considers otherkin beliefs to have a religious dimension, but asserts that "the argument that Otherkin identity claims conform to a substantive definition of religion is problematic".^[31] Many otherkin themselves reject the notion that being otherkin is a religious belief.^{[6]: 94 [31]}

Some otherkin claim to be especially empathic and attuned to nature.^[18][32][33] Some claim to be able to shift mentally or astrally, meaning that they experience the sense of being in their particular form while not actually changing physically.^[9][34] Moreover, the claim to be able to physically shift is generally looked down on by the community. They may also describe being able to feel phantom limbs/tails/horns that coordinate with their kintype.^[25][32] Some otherkin claim to also go through an 'awakening' that alerts them to their kintype.^[25]

Many otherkin believe in the existence of a multitude of parallel universes, and their belief in the existence of supernatural or sapient non-human beings is grounded in that idea.^[20]

History

1970s

The earliest recorded instance of a group that would be considered otherkin were the Elf Queen's Daughters, a group who considered themselves elves.^[35] Arwen and Elenor, also known as "The Tookes" founded the group sometime in the late 60s or early 70s and began publishing letters from their home in Oregon throughout the 70s.^[8] Some of these letters would appear in Green Egg magazine, a contemporary neo-pagan publication. By 1977, the Elf Queen's Daughters would stop publishing letters. In 1979, a later group known as The Silver Elves would visit the Elf Queen's Daughters home and live with them for a month.

1990s

The first otherkin presence on the Internet was the Elfinkind Digest, a mailing list for "elves and interested observers", created by a student at the University of Kentucky in 1990.^{[36][9]: 50} In the early 1990s, newsgroups such as alt.horror.werewolves (AHWW)^[37] and alt.fan.dragons on Usenet, which were initially created for fans of these creatures in the context of fantasy and horror literature and films, also developed followings of individuals who identified as mythological beings.^[9][38]

2000s

On 15 December 2006, the Minneapolis-based newspaper Star Tribune published an article about dragons that included a section about the otherkin blog Draconic.^[39] The article took quotes from the mission statement of the blog, written by site founder Chris Dragon.^{[citation needed]}

2010s

On 7 April 2010, the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter published an article titled "Ibland får jag lust att yla som en varg" ("Sometimes I get the urge to howl like a wolf") in which Lanina, founder of the Swedish language otherkin and therian forum therian.forumer.com, described the basics of what it is like to be a therian.^[40] The article is the first known article to offer a description of "therian" identity by a major European newspaper.

In 2011, the International Anthropomorphic Research Project (IARP), a Canadian-American multidisciplinary research group, expanded the scope of its annual International Furry Survey to include otherkin and therians for the first time.^[41]

Research

Danielle Kirby published one of the first pieces of academic research on otherkin in 2006, which served to introduce the community to other academics.^[20] Kirby described otherkin as sharing ideas with the neopagan movement, however she called this an "interim classification", and warned that "to construe this group as specifically neo-pagan or techno-pagan obscures the focus of the participants".^[20] Subsequent research has treated the otherkin community as having an essentially religious or spiritual character.^{[1][26][31][42]}

Starting in 2016, scholars have utilized a narrative identity approach, investigating how otherkin come to understand their experiences.^[4][25][23] Reviewing prior research, Stephanie C. Shea criticizes the prevailing conception of the otherkin subculture as being, or being alike to, either a religion or a spirituality.^[43]

In four surveys of furries (with a sample size of 4338, 1761, 951 and 1065 respectively), depending on the sample, between 25% and 44% responded that they consider themselves to be "less than 100% human", compared to 7% of a sample of 802 non-furries surveyed at furry conventions.^[44]

Public perception and media coverage

Perception of individuals who identify as otherkin varies and is subject to individual interpretation.^[17] Reactions often range from disbelief to aggressive antagonism, especially online.^[45]

Otherkin have been called a religious movement (or a "quasi-religion")^[46] that "in some of its forms, largely only exists on the Internet".^[47] Although otherkin beliefs deviate from the definition of "religion", many individuals share a primary interest in the paranormal, but many do not.^[46]

Joseph P. Laycock argues that the otherkin community serves existential and social functions commonly associated with religion, and regards it as an alternative nomos that sustains alternate ontologies.^[31] Professor Jay Johnston feels that nonhuman identity "is perhaps not so much pathological as political".^[48]

According to Nick Mamatas, they represent a dissatisfaction with the modern world, and they have taken fairy lore out of its original context.^{[18][needs update?]}

See also

• Changeling – Creature in European folklore
• Clinical lycanthropy – Delusion of being a non-human animal
• Depersonalization – Anomaly of self-awareness
• Dysphoria – Profound state of unease or dissatisfaction
• A Field Guide to Otherkin – 2007 non-fiction book
• Mermaiding – Swimming dressed in a mermaid costume
• Quadrobics – Form of physical exercise
• Tulpa – Entity manifesting from mental powers
• Walk-in – New Age concept
• Wolf – 2021 Irish-Polish drama film

References

1. Cusack, Carole (18 November 2016), "Spirituality and self-realisation as 'other-than-human': the Otherkin and Therianthropy communities", Fiction, Invention and Hyper-reality, New York : Routledge, 2016. | Series: Inform series: Routledge, pp. 54–71, doi:10.4324/9781315582283-11, ISBN 978-1-315-58228-3
2. Michelle Belanger; Father Sebastiaan (2004). The Psychic Vampire Codex: A Manual of Magick and Energy Work. Weiser Books. p. 274. ISBN 1-57863-321-4. Some feel that their difference is purely spiritual, while others believe there is a genetic difference between themselves and humanity
3. Schechter, Elizabeth (March 2024). "Introducing Plurals" (PDF). Journal of Cognition and Neuroethics. 9 (2): 95–141.
4. Shea, Stephanie C. (13 July 2020). "Exploring Other-Than-Human Identity: Religious Experiences in the Life-Story of a Machinekin". Religions. 11 (7): 354. doi:10.3390/rel11070354. ISSN 2077-1444.
5. Bricker, Nat L. (May 2024). Mental health and well-being of nonhuman-identified individuals: The role of minority stress and resilience (PhD thesis). Palo Alto University. ISBN 979-8-3844-3281-4. Retrieved 15 February 2026.
6. Proctor, Devin (2019). On Being Non-Human: Otherkin Identification and Virtual Space (PhD thesis). The George Washington University. ISBN 978-1-392-06041-4. Retrieved 15 February 2026.
7. "Why be human when you can be otherkin? | University of Cambridge". www.cam.ac.uk. July 2016. Archived from the original on 7 March 2026. Retrieved 15 February 2026.
8. Scribner, Orion (5 September 2024). Otherkin Timeline: The Recent History of Elfin, Fae, and Animal People (Version 2.1 ed.).
9. Lupa (2007). A Field Guide to Otherkin. Immanion Press. ISBN 978-1-905713-07-3.
10. McCluskey, Megan (24 February 2017). "Oxford Dictionary Adds 'Squad Goals,' 'Yas' and 'Drunk Text'". Time. Archived from the original on 20 July 2023. Retrieved 15 February 2026.
11. "Otherkin – definition of otherkin in English Oxford Dictionaries". 8 April 2017.
12. Sherman M. Kuhn (1981). Middle English Dictionary: O.3, Volume 0. University of Michigan Press. p. 344. ISBN 0-472-01153-7.
13. House of Chimeras (21 March 2021). Academic Publications, Non-Academic Publications, Media, Art, and Fiction Related To Nonhumanity.
14. Bear, Elizabeth (2007). Whiskey & water: a novel of the Promethean Age. New York: ROC. ISBN 978-0-451-46149-0.
15. Bangs, Nina (2008). Eternal pleasure. A Leisure book. Copyright Paperback Collection (Library of Congress). New York: Leisure Books. ISBN 978-0-8439-5953-6.
16. Michelle Belanger (2007). Vampires in Their Own Words: An Anthology of Vampire Voices. Llewellyn Worldwide. p. 25. ISBN 978-0-7387-1220-8.
17. Isaac Bonewits; Phaedra Bonewits (2007). Real Energy: Systems, Spirits, And Substances to Heal, Change, And Grow. Career Press. pp. 196–197. ISBN 978-1-56414-904-6.
18. Mamatas, Nick (20 February 2001). "Elven Like Me: Otherkin Come Out of the Closet". The Village Voice. New York. Archived from the original on 16 May 2015. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
19. Penczak, Christopher (2007). Ascension Magick: Ritual, Myth & Healing for the New Aeon. Llewellyn Worldwide. pp. 416–417, 441. ISBN 978-0-7387-1047-1.
20. Kirby, Danielle (2006). "Alternative Worlds: Metaphysical questing and virtual community amongst the Otherkin". In Frances Di Lauro (ed.). Through a Glass Darkly: Collected Research. Sydney University Press. ISBN 1-920898-54-9. Archived from the original on 2 January 2014. Retrieved 15 February 2026.
21. Beusman, Callie (3 August 2016). "'I Look at a Cloud and I See It as Me': The People Who Identify As Objects". Vice Media. Archived from the original on 22 December 2020. Retrieved 15 February 2026.
22. Grivell, Timothy; Clegg, Helen; Roxburgh, Elizabeth C. (2014). "An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of Identity in the Therian Community". Identity: An International Journal of Theory and Research. 14 (2). Routledge: 113–135. doi:10.1080/15283488.2014.891999. S2CID 144047707.
23. Bricker, Natalie (25 April 2016). Life Stories of Therianthropes: An Analysis of Nonhuman Identity in a Narrative Identity Model (Thesis). Lake Forest College Publications. Archived from the original on 15 July 2023.
24. Blom, Jan Dirk; Sharpless, Brian A. (July 2025). "A systematic review on clinical therianthropy and a proposal to conceptualize zoomorphism as a diagnostic spectrum". Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews. 174 106193. doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2025.106193. hdl:1887/4254975. ISSN 0149-7634. PMID 40350004.
25. Baldwin, Clive; Ripley, Lauren (7 August 2020). "Exploring Other-Than-Human Identity: A Narrative Approach to Otherkin, Therianthropes, and Vampires". Qualitative Sociology Review. 16 (3): 8–26. doi:10.18778/1733-8077.16.3.02. hdl:11089/38377. ISSN 1733-8077.
26. Robertson, Venetia Laura Delano (13 January 2014). "The Law of the Jungle: Self and Community in the Online Therianthropy Movement". Pomegranate. 14 (2). doi:10.1558/pome.v14i2.256. ISSN 1743-1735.
27. Laycock, Joseph P. (2012). "We Are Spirits of Another Sort". Nova Religio. 15 (3): 65–90. doi:10.1525/nr.2012.15.3.65. There is a not a finite list of Otherkin "types," but some of the most common include faeries and elves, vampires, therianthropes (individuals who identify with animals and shapeshifters), angels and demons, and "mythologicals" (legendary creatures such as dragons and phoenixes).
28. Ziemna, Joanna (November 2024). "Self-Creation of Other-Than-Human Identities: A Netnographic Analysis of Identity Labels in the Alterhuman Community on Tumblr". Avant. 15 (2). doi:10.26913/ava2202406. ISSN 2082-6710.
29. "Otherkin are the internet's punchline. They're also our future". The Daily Dot. 25 September 2020. Archived from the original on 20 November 2020. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
30. Jackson, Nikky (2019). Alter-humanity: An examination into other than human individuals through the lens of identity (MA thesis). Lancaster University. Retrieved 15 February 2026.
31. Laycock, Joseph P. (2012). ""We Are Spirits of Another Sort": Ontological Rebellion and Religious Dimensions of the Otherkin Community". Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions. 15 (3): 65–90. doi:10.1525/nr.2012.15.3.65. ISSN 1092-6690.
32. Luiggi-Hernández, José G.; Fein, Elizabeth; Bradley, Jennifer; Pelly, Jenna; Roberts, Sharon E.; Gerbasi, Kathleen C. (March 2025). "The jackal in the city: An empirical phenomenological study of embodied experience among therians and otherkin". The Humanistic Psychologist. 53 (1): 40–58. doi:10.1037/hum0000350. ISSN 1547-3333.
33. Plante, Courtney N.; Reysen, Stephen; Roberts, Sharon E.; Gerbasi, Kathleen (March 2018). ""Animals Like Us": Identifying with Nonhuman Animals and Support for Nonhuman Animal Rights". Anthrozoös. 31 (2): 165–177. doi:10.1080/08927936.2018.1434045. ISSN 0892-7936.
34. Raven Digitalis (2008). Shadow Magick Compendium: Exploring Darker Aspects of Magickal Spirituality. Llewellyn Worldwide. p. 178. ISBN 978-0-7387-1318-2.
35. "Elf Queen's Daughters and the Silver Elves". Faerie Lore. 13 March 2011. Archived from the original on 27 September 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
36. Jenni Bergman (2011). The Significant Other : a Literary History of Elves (PDF). Cardiff University. p. 225.
37. Chantal Bourgault Du Coudray (2006). The Curse of the Werewolf: Fantasy, Horror and the Beast Within. I.B. Tauris. ISBN 1-84511-158-3.
38. Cohen, D. (1996). Werewolves. New York: Penguin Books. p. 104. ISBN 0-525-65207-8.
39. "Dec 15, 2006, page E2 – Star Tribune at The Minnesota Star Tribune". Newspapers.com.
40. Lerner, Thomas (7 April 2010). ""Ibland får jag lust att yla som en varg"". Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 9 September 2011. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
41. "International Furry Survey: Summer 2011". Furscience. Archived from the original on 24 May 2023. Retrieved 15 February 2026.
42. Bador, Damien (2019), "J. R. R. Tolkien et Ferdinand de Saussure: un héritage en fiction", Tolkien et la Terre du Milieu, Éditions Rue d'Ulm, pp. 55–74, doi:10.4000/books.editionsulm.4020, ISBN 978-2-7288-0679-9, S2CID 246344364
43. Shea, Stephanie (June 2019). IDENTITY AND BELIEF: An Analysis of the Otherkin Subculture (MA thesis). University of Amsterdam. Archived from the original on 20 August 2023. Retrieved 15 February 2026.
44. Plante, Courtney N.; Reysen, Stephen; Roberts, Sharon E.; Gerbasi, Kathleen C. (2016). FurScience! A Summary of Five Years of Research from the International Anthropomorphic Research Project (PDF). Waterloo, Ontario: FurScience. p. 78. ISBN 978-0-9976288-0-7. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 April 2022. Retrieved 15 February 2026.
45. Th'Elf (2006). "Otherkin". In Sebastiaan van Houten (ed.). The Vampyre Almanac 2006. Lulu. ISBN 1-4116-6084-6.
46. Kirby, Danielle (2009). "From Pulp Fiction to Revealed Text: A Study of the Role of the Text in the Otherkin Community". In Christopher Deacy; Elisabeth Arweck (eds.). Exploring Religion And The Sacred in A Media Age. Ashgate Publishing. pp. 148–149. ISBN 978-0-7546-6527-4.
47. Dawson, Lorne L.; Hennebry, Jenna. "New Religions and The Internet: Recruiting in A New Public Space". Essay published in several books:
    • Lori G. Beaman. Religion and Canadian Society: Traditions, Transitions, and Innovations. Canadian Scholars' Press, 2006. ISBN 1-55130-306-X
    • Lorne L. Dawson; Douglas E. Cowan. Religion Online: Finding Faith on the Internet. Routledge, 2004. ISBN 0-415-97021-0
    • Lorne L. Dawson. Cults and New Religious Movements: A Reader. John Wiley & Sons, 2003. ISBN 1-4051-0181-4
48. Johnston, Jay (2013). "On having a furry soul: transpecies identity and ontological indeterminacy in Otherkin subcultures". In Johnston, Jay; Probyn-Rapsey, Fiona (eds.). Animal Death. Sydney University Press. pp. 293–306. doi:10.2307/j.ctt1gxxpvf.23. ISBN 978-1-74332-023-5. JSTOR j.ctt1gxxpvf.23. Archived from the original on 17 August 2023. Retrieved 15 February 2026.

Further reading

• Anna Peachey; Mark Childs (2011). "Ch. 4: Liminal Phases of Avatar Identity". Reinventing Ourselves: Contemporary Concepts of Identity in Virtual Worlds. Springer. ISBN 978-0-85729-360-2.
• Baker-Whitelaw, Gavia (21 July 2015). "Meet the people who don't identify as human". The Week.
• Proctor, Devin (April 2018). "Policing the Fluff: The Social Construction of Scientistic Selves in Otherkin Facebook Groups". Engaging Science, Technology, and Society. 4: 485–514. doi:10.17351/ests2018.252. ISSN 2413-8053.
• Proctor, Devin (2019). On being non-human: Otherkin identification and virtual space (PhD thesis). George Washington University. ProQuest 2211490902.
• "Why be human when you can be otherkin?" University of Cambridge, Research published 16 Jul 2016
• "Otherkin are the internet's punchline. They're also our future". The Daily Dot, article published 26 September 2020

External links