If otherkinnery has a place in social justice discussions, then it’s only in so far as religions and other belief systems have place in them. And you’re in luck, lots of liberals/SJ’ers actually care about religious diversity and freedom of religion (just look at how they all flock to defend Islam). So IMHO if you frame your kinnery in terms of a belief system (rather than in terms of personal identity*) then you might have better luck in the SJ circles plus people may view you as more honest/sensible than the average tumblrkin (because you’d be admitting that your experience is subjective and quite possibly has nothing to do with universal truth at all — but regardless of that you have the right to live with your beliefs).

(*Imagine if, say, a Christian phrased their beliefs in terms of identity. Imagine they said they identify as someone who is inherently Christian, that it can’t ever change because it just can’t and he has no choice at all because it’s simply true, and imagine he should be allowed to do all the things his beliefs tell him without criticism because it is supposedly a part of his inherent identity.)

I think it’s really sneaky and bastardly that some otherkin and plurals try to edge their  way in as an identity group on par with other oft-mentioned identity groups (you know who I’m talking about), in order to have a slice of that attention and support that they receive. Problem is that you’re not justified in receiving a comparable amount of support/understanding from the wide audience. Of course you want to think that you are, but you’re not. As a group you’re somewhere on par with various new religious movements, like the Raëlians. You deserve about as much special accommodation and outsiders “educating” themselves about your condition as they do.

Now why is that?

Obvious. Because you have no proof and your explanations are outside of this world. If you think your claims of your experiences should be enough then obviously you don’t understand how the real world works. (People [the “wide audience”] should have  more important concerns than things that can’t even be verified as legitimate concerns.) Things like reincarnation, spirits or “co-consciousness” (“headmates”), and even species dysphoria (for the “psychological” otherkin) aren’t even coming close to being considered real. They don’t even sound likely.

I personally support reincarnation research and looking further into things like species dysphoria and whatever other things that may explain some people’s claims. Not that I really believe we might get some positive results but it would be closed-minded not to try at all. Everything is possible, after all. Just some things are more likely to be possible than others, and we don’t actually have a shortage of likely explanations for certain otherkin and plural claims.

swanblood:

Written by me. The link goes to a PDF… it’s a little too long text to put in a post.

Please spread this around, the idea is to educate people…

“Why do I care? Because nonhuman identities are not often represented in conversations about identity. Because the identity is not treated seriously, not in the social justice community and definitely not in the rest of society, even though it can be the core of someone’s identity, and a lot of stress can be caused through the problems of having this identity, and the problems of society not accepting it.”

For anyone who thought swanblood was one of the more rational ones.

Apparently otherkinnery has a place in social justice discussions. /tired sigh

aerational:

hello tumblr, i am ae. i figure i will mass introduce myself as i set up this blog. i am an otherkin, a machine/robotkin if you would like to be more precise. i am interested in the nonhuman/otherkin/trans*/lgbtqa+/social justice/identity communities as a whole. you can expect to see me around more often. make note that i contribute on a psychological, humanitarian, as well as neurological basis.

a calm, analytical body and mind means that i have a “thick skin”, so to speak, as well as a sense of humor. i am also completely aware of what i am getting myself into and the current collective assorted stances on issues. i am an observer first, after all.

these tags will not be used in such a gratuitous manner again. excuse this incident.

“i contribute on a psychological, humanitarian, as well as neurological basis”

What does that mean?

haamer:

At some point it becomes acceptable to punch people for pulling this kind of bullshit, right?

http://the-roulette-system.tumblr.com/tagged/Headmate

“Hello, there. my name is meaghan. i suffer from d.i.d: Dissociative Identity Disorder. I have a system of eight personalities in my head other than my own.”

http://saptarishi-mandalam-system.tumblr.com/tagged/Headmate

“My name is Jenna. I suffer from D.I.D or Dissociative Identity Disorder. We are a system. A human with seven different personalities.”

Both proceed to post FULL CHARACTER PROFILES of their “alters”, complete with anime-style illustrations and “typing quirks” and other fancy bullshit. Apparently all of the three listed headmates are also otherkin (two foxes and a panther).

THIS ISN’T DID, THIS IS ROLEPLAYING. YOU PEOPLE ARE DISGUSTING.

kinspeak:

If people could single boost this to spread it to the world, I would be much appreciative of the gesture. 

For anyone who is upset by negative opinions about their identity or the identities of others, the following is an open letter and will contain plenty of that. It’s not a rant, but a request for discussion. Just a heads up. 

Dear non-kin, 

I would like to speak with you, if you are open to it. I would like your opinions, no matter the flavour or strength. Indeed, if those opinions are what I, as an otherkin identified person, would consider offensive or hurtful, I would in particular appreciate hearing them.

Here’s the deal. Otherkin bother you. Maybe not you specifically reading, but we certainly pluck the strings of a lot of folks’ nerves. On one hand I can understand why this is, on the other, the harsh, unwelcoming hurtful attitudes toward otherkin identified people across the Internet are a bit unsettling and difficult to really grasp.

Know that you are more than welcome to hate, disbelieve, reject, put down, or have whatever opinion you like about otherkin. That’s your business. You are more than welcome to spread misinformation. You are more than welcome to assume we are not people worth communicating with based on the fact we talk about feeling non-human. 

But I am hoping in this to have some kind of discussion about why we are so intolerable, whether you truly in your heart are terribly irked by otherkin (or your idea of what otherkin are), or just trolling for lawls, or anything else.

For anyone not aware, we are people who identify as non-human, to some degree. Of course we have human bodies. We do not all believe we were reincarnated, or possess the souls of non-human species, but some of us do. Others feel their identity is neurological in origin, or psychological. The cause is not particularly important in this; what is important is that we are people who believe that on an integral level we are not entirely human, even though our bodies are human. 

In the past seven years of my time in the otherkin communities, and particularly of late, a sample of the opinions I see from non-kin go something like this: 

“I cannot abide otherkin.”

“Otherkin are escapists suffering a delusion.”

“They are offensive and appropriating transgender and other important issues to get attention. Who the fuck do these people think they are?”

“They are insane.”

“Those otherkin make me laugh. Their existence is a joke.”

“The world is going to hell, people actually think they are faeries.”

“Otherkin do not exist. Non-human identity is impossible.” 

“How can these people be this stupid?”

“They are over dramatic, angsty losers who take D&D too seriously.”

It’s small stuff, for a lot of you reading. We ought to get over it, move on, this is just the Internet after all, yes? There would be some truth in that it is good not to take things too seriously, and alone someone calling you stupid isn’t the end of the world. For sure, I agree. It’s kind of hurtful, but it’s not like life is rainbows all the time. A lot of can be taken as small stuff. It becomes bigger in a few instances: 

a) when you are continually receiving harassment or seeing this kind of sentiment;

b) when it is accompanied by long essays about how your very serious experiences are not valid and so you are not worthy of being treated with respect or deserving of support;

c) when people refuse to speak with you on the basis of your otherkin identification;

d) when by way of identifying as non-human, writing about your experiences, and seeking support, people begin to accuse you of being damaging and offensive when you’re just looking for said support;

e) when you recognize the fact that non-human identity is an intense experience, that can alienate a person from their peers, and present unique challenges, with few places that person can go to where they will be understood, accepted, and supported in those challenges.

Maybe because you do not take us seriously, you do not realize the kind of impact some of these attitudes can have on a person. If you think we are pretending for attention, than maybe you also feel that behind our monitors we shrug hate off because we’re playing a game. Except that we are not playing a game, so this is not the case. We are intelligent, feeling individuals, like you. 

Big or small, I would like to understand the negativity. I would like to understand why people feel we are insane, and have an opportunity to answer to that. I would like to know why you feel our existence is offensive and destructive, I would like to know why we are appropriating other communities and experiences and thus damaging their reputations and efforts to be taken seriously themselves. I would like to know why we are not worthy of being taken seriously.

For anyone who takes up the challenge, or signal boosts this, thank you. I cannot express my thanks enough through words. I would like to open this dialogue, if the world will open it with me.

I am not anonymous in this.

I am Aethyriek.

(Although, I am not a member on tumblr. kinspeak will forward responses to me, if anyone would like to utilize the submit/ask, or reblogging works fine. 

As a footnote, I’m also not a part of the social justice community on tumblr, so some terminology and etiquette will be lost on me and I notice that irks some people. Heads up, I am fallible.)

riaroft:

anon asks on livingplural (a ‘healthy multiplicity’ blog)

q: Got a little who grew up in pack culture. Sex and romantic relationships are male + female = kid. That’s it. Any pamphlets on sexuality and how it doesn’t have to be just this for littles? She can handle nudity and sex, she just doesn’t get why you’d do it beyond those reasons.

q: For the Anon, I might suggest “A Kid’s First Book About Sex” by Joani Blank. It doesn’t deal much with reproduction, but rather bodies, pleasure, and consent. It doesn’t shame either enjoying sex or not enjoying sexual stimulation.

q: Anon with the cubmate, here. “A Kid’s First Book About Sex” is a good reference, but not what we’re searching for (thanks though). We need more, “How straight/vanilla is not all there is- for kids.” 

thegreatwhiteguilt:

sjbarbwire02890:

Just found out recently that one of my best friends is plant otherkin, now that I think about it, it makes A LOT of sense, and coincides with their personality.  I’m very curious about that type. Any ideas or advice they could use, or any information you can give me would be great. I’ll pass it on, plus I’m interested in plant otherkin. :)

How can one’s personality coincide with a plant? “My best friend buries their feet in the dirt, stands out in the sun all day and asks me to pour water on them every so often.” Do they bleed chlorophyll too?