Short answer: No.
Long answer: Definitely not.
It’s impossible to diagnose an entire, extremely diverse community with a single overarching disorder or disorder symptom, first of all. On top of that, given that many otherkin will openly admit that their beliefs or hypotheses could very well be incorrect, and will relentlessly question what they themselves think, they don’t fit the definition of a delusion, much less have the symptoms of an entire disorder.
There’s also the fact of the matter than many otherkin identify religiously or spiritually, which cannot be classified as a delusion. For more information on why religious and spiritual beliefs aren’t inherently delusions, I would recommend clicking here.
Remember kids: unless you’re someone’s hired and professionally trained psychologist, you cannot reliably diagnose them with anything
I’m going to slap you with the DSM so hard that you’ll have ‘Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders’ stamped on your face, backwards.
No, and no. Otherkin is not an LGBT identity, and anyone who tells you otherwise is just a troll.
Noun-pronouns were coined by nonbinary individuals, and are used by transgender/non-binary individuals who cannot find any other pronoun sets that will not aggravate their dysphoria. Those pronouns are in no way an “otherkin thing,” despite popular belief.
No. Otherkin has never and will never be a gender. Otherkinity has nothing inherently to do with gender identity. The only people who are harming transgender individuals are the anti-otherkin trolls who like to perpetuate the idea that otherkin is a gender to prove a non-existent point.
No we aren’t, and no it doesn’t. The word “dysphoria” can refer to a multitude of things, gender dysphoria only being one of many. Trans people do not have a monopoly on the term.
We–the otherkin community–are not responsible for other people’s actions. We are not responsible for the trolls that try to “prove” the community is transphobic and ridiculous, we are not responsible for the anti-kin who insist that otherkin is a gender–even when they’ve been informed multiple times that it isn’t–and we are not responsible for those who would seek to delegitimize transgender individuals through using a caricature of what it means to be other (or what they think, or you think, it means to be otherkin). We are not these people’s mothers, we are not their babysitters, and you are only shifting the blame away from actual transphobes in an attempt to justify their actions when you make a comment like this.
Don’t use our community as a scapegoat for the consequences of these individuals’ actions…especially considering many of us have taken to regularly correcting posts which equate an otherkin identity to that of a gender identity when, all things considered, we don’t have to.
No. Different communities, different things. Some otherkin may be furries, some otherkin may be roleplayers, and some otherkin may be furry roleplayers, but at the end of the day: roleplayer =/= otherkin and furry =/= otherkin.
No. For more information, click here.
No. A coping mechanism is something you have, while otherkin is something you are. You are probably confusing otherkin with copinglinkers–if you don’t know what that is, scrolls back up to the top and click the definitions link, or click here.
Technically no. But if you go around claiming all otherkin have [blank] disorder/disorder symptom, you’re using the terrible stigma associated with mental illness in order to delegitimize and demonize otherkin, then that is ableist.
Many P-Shifters force themselves into the community, despite not fitting the definition of otherkin. From there, p-shifters do things which are, to be frank, dangerous, malicious, and irresponsible.
P-shifters generally fall into one of three categories: people who are genuinely mentally ill and need medical attention, con artists, and abusive individuals looking for victims and a power trip. All of the above are dangerous when you bring into consideration that p-shifters usually target the most vulnerable, young members of the otherkin community and frequently manipulate their targets into attempting various “methods” that can very well be extremely dangerous.
Besides being dangerous, p-shifters also spread various kinds of misinformation in an attempt to look wiser and more influential than they actually are. This includes things such as definitions of otherkin which make little to no sense, claiming that all otherkin are p-shifters, the sort of stuff which will ‘validate’ their words in the eyes of those they try to target and harm.
No. Surveys in the last few years actually seem to support that the largest age group in the otherkin community is the 20-25 bracket.
No. The word “otherkin” was created in 1999 on a listserv, and the community itself traces its roots back to mailing lists in the 1960’s-1970’s. For a more complete look at the community’s history, I would recommend Orion Scribner’s Otherkin Timeline.
They aren’t. There are plenty of otherkin which are not “cool” animals. I’m seriously–I’ve seen a fruitfly, a sea slug, and a number of other “unusual” or “unattractive” animals. You most likely haven’t seen them because of any number of reasons: your only experience with the otherkin community is skimming the #otherkin tag on Tumblr.com, they aren’t that out and about on non-forums, etc.
No.
No. There is no singular Native American culture. There are many different groups, each with their own unique cultural aspects and beliefs, all of which deserve respect. Some may find otherkin ridiculous, some may agree with otherkin on one level or another, and some may not care one way or another, but otherkin are not appropriating from these individuals’ cultures.
It is important to remember that there is no single, set belief held throughout the otherkin community. It is a melting pot of individuals all with different beliefs–and while some may explain their identity through religious beliefs, the community is in no way stealing and renaming the beliefs of other cultures and religions.
Okay, so let me be very clear: people can only appropriate from an otherkin if that otherkin explains their identity through a cultural belief, or through the religious beliefs from a closed religion. Someone cannot appropriate from the otherkin community because 1) it is not a closed community and 2) there’s no single, shared belief system.
The same logic applies to the oppression question: otherkin are not oppressed for being otherkin, unless that ties directly into their cultural beliefs or something similar which they do experience oppression for.
We aren’t–you’ve confused us for furries. But does it matter either way?
No. It’s your right as an artist, and you deserve to have your request respected. However, keep in mind that many people (kin and non-kin alike) use #me in order to express that they relate to a piece of art on a personal level, or that it depicts something which reminds them of themself. Sort of like how I would tag #me in essentially any drawing depicting someone beating the shit out of a Nazi–it’s because I, too, want to punch a Nazi; it’s not because I identify as whoever is depicted in the drawing.
I’ve probably seen you mention it considering I’m a part of the otherkin community, and therefore frequently see things aimed at the community, and no, you are not in the right.
