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{{infobox identity | {{infobox identity | ||
| flag = Otherkin.jpg | | flag = Otherkin.jpg | ||
| meaning = The sunrise/sunset colors are an embodiment of the new beginnings, ends, and ones deepest sense of self. The variety of colors represents otherkin diversity, and the seven-pointed star is the classic Otherkin seven-pointed star that's been used for decades. | | meaning = The sunrise/sunset colors are an embodiment of the new beginnings, ends, and ones deepest sense of self. The variety of colors represents otherkin diversity, and the seven-pointed star is the classic Otherkin seven-pointed star that's been used for decades. | ||
| name = Otherkin | | name = Otherkin | ||
}}'''Otherkin''' are a subculture of people who identify as something other than human. Each individual discovers for themself how and why they are otherkin.<ref name="scribner simple">{{Cite web|url=https://frameacloud.tumblr.com/post/708359714734489600/simpleintro|title=A Simple Introduction to Otherkin and Therianthropes|last=Scribner|first=Orion|date=February 11, 2023|website=frameacloud.tumblr.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230524164119/https://frameacloud.tumblr.com/post/708359714734489600/simpleintro|archive-date=May 24, 2023|access-date=December 10, 2023}}</ref> Most otherkin believe they are nonhuman in a spiritual way, or otherwise somehow non-physical, such as from reincarnation, psychology, trans-species dysphoria, or metaphor.<ref name="fieldguide" /> | }}'''Otherkin''' are a subculture of people who identify as something other than human. Each individual discovers for themself how and why they are otherkin.<ref name="scribner simple">{{Cite web|url=https://frameacloud.tumblr.com/post/708359714734489600/simpleintro|title=A Simple Introduction to Otherkin and Therianthropes|last=Scribner|first=Orion|date=February 11, 2023|website=frameacloud.tumblr.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230524164119/https://frameacloud.tumblr.com/post/708359714734489600/simpleintro|archive-date=May 24, 2023|access-date=December 10, 2023}}</ref> Most otherkin believe they are nonhuman in a spiritual way, or otherwise somehow non-physical, such as from reincarnation, psychology, trans-species dysphoria, or metaphor.<ref name="fieldguide" /> Many otherkin know that they are physically human, in that they look like humans, were born like humans, and live in the way that most humans do. However, some otherkin believe their own bodies are different from most human bodies, such as having genes from supernatural ancestors, for example.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Psychic Vampire Codex: A Manual of Magick and Energy Work |year=2004 |publisher=Weiser Books |isbn=1-57863-321-4 |author=Michelle Belanger |author2=Father Sebastiaan}}</ref> | ||
Joseph P. Laycock, assistant professor of religious studies at Texas State University, considers the belief to be religious,<ref name="laycock">{{Cite journal|last=Laycock|first=Joseph P.|date=February 2012|title=We Are Spirits of Another Sort|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/nr.2012.15.3.65|journal=Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions|volume=15|pages=65-90}}</ref> but most otherkin firmly disagree with being classified as a religion. This is because otherkin are not a formal organization with leaders or members, they do not agree on any cosmological or spiritual beliefs (some otherkin do not believe in spirituality at all), and otherkin independently come to the conclusion that they are other than human, sometimes without even knowing anybody else felt that way. By definition, otherkin is not a religion, and is not similar to a religion.<ref name="scribner simple" /> | Joseph P. Laycock, assistant professor of religious studies at Texas State University, considers the belief to be religious,<ref name="laycock">{{Cite journal|last=Laycock|first=Joseph P.|date=February 2012|title=We Are Spirits of Another Sort|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/nr.2012.15.3.65|journal=Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions|volume=15|pages=65-90}}</ref> but most otherkin firmly disagree with being classified as a religion. This is because otherkin are not a formal organization with leaders or members, they do not agree on any cosmological or spiritual beliefs (some otherkin do not believe in spirituality at all), and otherkin independently come to the conclusion that they are other than human, sometimes without even knowing anybody else felt that way. By definition, otherkin is not a religion, and is not similar to a religion.<ref name="scribner simple" /> | ||
Some but not all otherkin may consider themselves under the umbrella term "alterhuman", a word coined in 2014 "as an umbrella term and identity for anyone who feels they have an identity beyond the scope of how one might typically think of 'being human.'"<ref>https://frameacloud.tumblr.com/post/729561151173738496/a-list-of-some-alterhuman-identities-and-groups</ref> | |||
==Description== | ==Description== | ||
Otherkin may identify as real or mythical creatures,<ref>https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/features/why-be-human-when-you-can-be-otherkin</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Vampires in Their Own Words: An Anthology of Vampire Voices |year=2007 |publisher=Llewellyn Worldwide |isbn=0-7387-1220-5 |author=Michelle Belanger |page=25}}</ref> with others identifying as creatures from fantasy or popular culture. Examples include: angels, demons, dragons, elves, fairies, aliens,<ref name=reale>{{cite book |title=Real Energy: Systems, Spirits, And Substances to Heal, Change, And Grow |year=2007 |publisher=Career Press |isbn=1-56414-904-8 |author=Isaac Bonewits |author2=Phaedra Bonewits |pages=196–197}}</ref><ref name=villagevoice>{{cite news| title=Elven Like Me: Otherkin Come Out of the Closet |first=Nick |last=Mamatas |newspaper=The Village Voice|location=New York |date=February 20, 2001 |url=https://www.villagevoice.com/2001-02-13/news/elven-like-me/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230522190012/https://www.villagevoice.com/2001-02-13/news/elven-like-me/ |archive-date=17 July 2023 }}</ref><ref name="ascensionmagic">{{cite book |first=Christopher |last=Penczak |title=Ascension Magick: Ritual, Myth & Healing for the New Aeon | publisher=Llewellyn Worldwide |pages=416–417; 441 |year=2007 |isbn=0-7387-1047-4}}</ref> and cartoon characters.<ref name=kirby>{{cite book |title=Exploring Religion And The Sacred in A Media Age |year=2009 |publisher=Ashgate Publishing |isbn=0-7546-6527-5 |author=Kirby, Danielle |editor=Christopher Deacy; Elisabeth Arweck |chapter=From Pulp Fiction to Revealed Text: A Study of the Role of the Text in the Otherkin Community |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/exploringreligio0000unse_q7d1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307225941/https://archive.org/details/exploringreligio0000unse_q7d1 |archive-date=17 July 2023 }}</ref> 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.<ref name=questing /> | Otherkin may identify as real or mythical creatures or things,<ref>https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/features/why-be-human-when-you-can-be-otherkin</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Vampires in Their Own Words: An Anthology of Vampire Voices |year=2007 |publisher=Llewellyn Worldwide |isbn=0-7387-1220-5 |author=Michelle Belanger |page=25}}</ref> with others identifying as creatures from fantasy or popular culture. Examples include: angels, demons, dragons, concepts, elves, fairies, objects, aliens,<ref name=reale>{{cite book |title=Real Energy: Systems, Spirits, And Substances to Heal, Change, And Grow |year=2007 |publisher=Career Press |isbn=1-56414-904-8 |author=Isaac Bonewits |author2=Phaedra Bonewits |pages=196–197}}</ref><ref name=villagevoice>{{cite news| title=Elven Like Me: Otherkin Come Out of the Closet |first=Nick |last=Mamatas |newspaper=The Village Voice|location=New York |date=February 20, 2001 |url=https://www.villagevoice.com/2001-02-13/news/elven-like-me/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230522190012/https://www.villagevoice.com/2001-02-13/news/elven-like-me/ |archive-date=17 July 2023 }}</ref><ref name="ascensionmagic">{{cite book |first=Christopher |last=Penczak |title=Ascension Magick: Ritual, Myth & Healing for the New Aeon | publisher=Llewellyn Worldwide |pages=416–417; 441 |year=2007 |isbn=0-7387-1047-4}}</ref> and cartoon characters.<ref name=kirby>{{cite book |title=Exploring Religion And The Sacred in A Media Age |year=2009 |publisher=Ashgate Publishing |isbn=0-7546-6527-5 |author=Kirby, Danielle |editor=Christopher Deacy; Elisabeth Arweck |chapter=From Pulp Fiction to Revealed Text: A Study of the Role of the Text in the Otherkin Community |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/exploringreligio0000unse_q7d1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307225941/https://archive.org/details/exploringreligio0000unse_q7d1 |archive-date=17 July 2023 }}</ref> 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.<ref name=questing /> | ||
With regard to their online communities, otherkin largely function without formal authority structures, and mostly focus on support and information gathering, often dividing into more specific groups based on kintype.<ref name=questing>{{cite book |title=Through a Glass Darkly: Collected Research |year=2006 |publisher=Sydney University Press |url=http://ojs-prod.library.usyd.edu.au/index.php/SSR/article/view/259/238 |author=Kirby, Danielle |editor=Frances Di Lauro |chapter=Alternative Worlds: Metaphysical questing and virtual community amongst the Otherkin |isbn=1920898549|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200622023520/http://ojs-prod.library.usyd.edu.au:80/index.php/SSR/article/view/259/238 |archive-date=17 July 2023 }}</ref> There are occasional offline gatherings, but the otherkin network is mostly an online phenomenon.<ref name=questing /> | With regard to their online communities, otherkin largely function without formal authority structures, and mostly focus on support and information gathering, often dividing into more specific groups based on kintype.<ref name=questing>{{cite book |title=Through a Glass Darkly: Collected Research |year=2006 |publisher=Sydney University Press |url=http://ojs-prod.library.usyd.edu.au/index.php/SSR/article/view/259/238 |author=Kirby, Danielle |editor=Frances Di Lauro |chapter=Alternative Worlds: Metaphysical questing and virtual community amongst the Otherkin |isbn=1920898549|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200622023520/http://ojs-prod.library.usyd.edu.au:80/index.php/SSR/article/view/259/238 |archive-date=17 July 2023 }}</ref> There are occasional offline gatherings, but the otherkin network is mostly an online phenomenon.<ref name=questing /> | ||
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==History== | ==History== | ||
The otherkin community has origins that go back to the 1960s, in Pagan spirituality groups of those who called themselves elves.<ref name="timeline"/> The word "otherkin" was created in 1990 by a group of people who identified as elves, to include people who identify as beings other than elves.<ref name="timeline"/> The otherkin subculture grew out of the elven online communities of the early-to-mid-1990s.<ref name="veilsedge">{{cite book |first=Willow |last=Polson |title= The Veil's Edge: Exploring the Boundaries of Magic |publisher=Citadel Press |page=95 |year=2003 |isbn=0-8065-2352-2}}</ref> The oldest Internet resource for otherkin is the ''Elfinkind Digest'', a mailing list started in 1990 by a student at the University of Kentucky for "elves and interested observers". Also in the early 1990s, newsgroups such as [https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/alt.horror.werewolves alt.horror.werewolves]<ref name="cursewere">{{cite book |title= The Curse of the Werewolf: Fantasy, Horror and the Beast Within |author= Chantal Bourgault Du Coudray |publisher= I.B. Tauris |year= 2006 |isbn= 1-84511-158-3}}</ref> and [https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/alt.fan.dragons 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 came to have participants who identified as mythological beings.<ref name="fieldguide" /><ref name="Cohen">{{cite book |last=Cohen |first=D. |year=1996 |title=Werewolves |location=New York |publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=0-525-65207-8 |page=[https://archive.org/details/werewolves00cohe_0/page/104 104] |url=https://archive.org/details/werewolves00cohe_0/page/104 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307234549/https://archive.org/details/werewolves00cohe_0/page/104 |archive-date=17 July 2023 }}</ref> | {{infobox identity | ||
| flag = Acute heptagram.svg | |||
| meaning = A heptagram, also called the Elven Star or Fae Star, the most common symbol to represent otherkinity. | |||
| name = | |||
}} | |||
The otherkin community has origins that go back to the 1960s, in Pagan spirituality groups of those who called themselves elves.<ref name="timeline" /> The word "otherkin" was created in 1990 by a group of people who identified as elves, to include people who identify as beings other than elves.<ref name="timeline" /> The otherkin subculture grew out of the elven online communities of the early-to-mid-1990s.<ref name="veilsedge">{{cite book |first=Willow |last=Polson |title= The Veil's Edge: Exploring the Boundaries of Magic |publisher=Citadel Press |page=95 |year=2003 |isbn=0-8065-2352-2}}</ref> | |||
The oldest Internet resource for otherkin is the ''Elfinkind Digest'', a mailing list started in 1990 by a student at the University of Kentucky for "elves and interested observers". Also in the early 1990s, newsgroups such as [https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/alt.horror.werewolves alt.horror.werewolves]<ref name="cursewere">{{cite book |title= The Curse of the Werewolf: Fantasy, Horror and the Beast Within |author= Chantal Bourgault Du Coudray |publisher= I.B. Tauris |year= 2006 |isbn= 1-84511-158-3}}</ref> and [https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/alt.fan.dragons 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 came to have participants who identified as mythological beings.<ref name="fieldguide" /><ref name="Cohen">{{cite book |last=Cohen |first=D. |year=1996 |title=Werewolves |location=New York |publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=0-525-65207-8 |page=[https://archive.org/details/werewolves00cohe_0/page/104 104] |url=https://archive.org/details/werewolves00cohe_0/page/104 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307234549/https://archive.org/details/werewolves00cohe_0/page/104 |archive-date=17 July 2023 }}</ref> | |||
==Otherkin, transgender, and nonbinary identity== | ==Otherkin, transgender, and nonbinary identity== | ||
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| frequency = 0.1% | | frequency = 0.1% | ||
}} | }} | ||
* '''Name(s):''' Kingender (from otherkin + gender) | * '''Name(s):''' Kingender (from otherkin + gender) | ||
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*[[Gender variance in spirituality]] | *[[Gender variance in spirituality]] | ||
*[[Nonbinary gender outside of the transgender community]] | *[[Nonbinary gender outside of the transgender community]] | ||
==External links== | ==External links== | ||