Where do kemonomimi fit in?

[miqomineko]

Hi everyone. If you read any of my posts or my intro post you will know I identify as a nekomusume or cat girl which is a feline version of the greater category of kemonomimi which are mostly human appearing beings with animal ears and other traits. You'll also know, if you read those posts, I am very new to the idea of being otherkin. While being a neko has been part of me for most my life, until recently I just thought most people who wore cat ears a lot like me felt the same in that they wanted to be/felt right with the idea of being literal cat people and not being such made them dysphoric and feel not their true selves. Then I learned this is not how most others who wear cat ears feel and that how I felt and identified all these years could be considered otherkin. Ever since accepting this things have been really great for me. Seeing myself as a neko genuinely and presenting myself as such at all hours between getting dressed and going to bed has done wonders for me. Making me feel close to who I really am. But I don't know where I fit in as far as being otherkin.

I don't know where kemonomimi and the like fall under and it is a little stressful to me. I know it should not be but I guess I like knowing more about myself and meeting those similar to me so knowing exactly where I fall into the otherkin community would be helpful. Since I don't know too much yet I might just be missing it, but it doesn't feel to me like kemonomimi fit strictly under any of the categories of otherkin I can find.

I think we are most like therians because of the animal side. But idk if being kemonomimi is the same as being therian because I am partly feline, but I am not full cat kin either. So am I therian? I don't think kemonomimi fall that well under fiction kin either as while cat girls and other kemonomimi are most known from modern fiction, similar beings have existed in Japanese folklore for hundreds of years and animal people have existed in all sorts of folklore and legends for thousands of years all over the world. Plus I don't really identify as any particular race of nekomusume in fiction, nor do I identify as any fictional neko characters. So while maybe kemonomimi and neko could fit under fiction kin, I am not sure if it does. Then again since there is some similar beings in folklore maybe we fall closer to those like elf kin or angel kin whose kin types have a lot of basis in legends around the world but are not typically seen at all on this Earth (at least not in the modern era).

As you can see I have quite a dilemma. What do you all think? Any other kemonomimi here who has thoughts on this too? I also welcome the input of non-kemonomimi who knows more about all this than I do.

I know this probably doesn't matter I mean I am who and what I am regardless. But it is nice to have categories too especially right now since I am trying to find friends and resources and I really don't know where to even look.

 

[Shezep]

They'd be otherkin in general, since they are not human. Only full, earthly existing, or formerly existing, animals are therians. There's no need to try to squeeze into the fictionkin label if it doesn't apply to you. For example, werewolves would also be otherkin but not therian, because real wolves don't shape shift or walk around on two legs. Although a werewolf otherkin might also think of themself as therian if they identify enough with the full wolf experience. And when I refer to myself as a hawk therian I'm thinking of the full hawk experience, not the anthro version.

 

[miqomineko]

They'd be otherkin in general, since they are not human. Only full, earthly existing, or formerly existing, animals are therians. There's no need to try to squeeze into the fictionkin label if it doesn't apply to you. For example, werewolves would also be otherkin but not therian, because real wolves don't shape shift or walk around on two legs. Although a werewolf otherkin might also think of themself as therian if they identify enough with the full wolf experience. And when I refer to myself as a hawk therian I'm thinking of the full hawk experience, not the anthro version.

That makes sense. That is kind of how I thought about therians which is why I didn't really think I'd fit in to that definition. But I wasn't 100% sure either.

 

[Deleted member 55365]

I am kinda like you, I am a fairy but have always identified as part-animal (most my life self-identifying as a “fox-elf”). Even though I have come to the conclusion that I don’t really fit the label therian, doesn’t mean I don’t like to still hang out in therian places and relate to the therian experience.
You might not be considered a full animal or therian, but that doesn’t mean you cannot hang out wherever you like and still share your experiences and join in on the conversation
I have found so far in the community there are many people who wouldn’t be considered therians but still prefer/enjoy therian spaces as they do experience animality, a lot of fae seem to fall under that category especially fox spirits.

In the end it is also up to you which labels you prefer. Therianthropy means animal AND human, it’s in the word, a lot of therians experience anthro shifts or their experience is very much an animal overlay on a human which isn’t that far from kemonomimi. So you can go by cat-girl, and still join feline therian spaces. (I guess as long as everyone is open-minded, I have heard of people being more exclusive but I wouldn’t want to join their space anyway)
I have never heard of that term before, but I like it. Maybe it slightly applies to me even though I am not animal-human but animal-fae ^^

 

[miqomineko]

Kemonomimi 獣耳 (kemono 獣 = beast, mimi 耳 = ear) literally means beast or animal eared. And it has a very wide coverage. Generally kemonomimi are more human in appearance than anthro, so typically furry like characters would not be considered kemonomimi (though some more human ones might). The main definition that makes someone kemonomimi is being mostly humanoid in body but has the ears of an animal. This can also include other animal parts like the tail. As far as I know any humanoid being that has animal ears could pretty much be considered kemonomimi including elves. But they are not the same as like were creatures in that they tend to be their standard form all the time.

The most common types of kemonomimi are foxes (kitsune 狐) and cats (neko 猫) which is what I am. But there are many others. While the modern image mostly comes from anime and manga there are hundreds of years of folklore in Japan about both kitsune and neko taking human forms. For kitsune they would often take the forms of humans, especially women. And for neko it was said if a cat lived long enough it would grow to be human. Both of these human forms could be identified by their ears though which were hidden but if one paid enough attention they could be seen.

So that is basically what kemonomimi means.