Therianthropy

[Kilik]

I recently learned about groups of people who call themselves "therianthropes" or "otherkin".

Apparently some people say they are actually animal souls in a human body.

Others say they actually morph into animals and are were-based

Some seem to really go on and on about how humans are so stupid and animals are so much better creatures. That they conciously maintain the balance of nature on purpose.

A few sites I found for starters
http://www.playspoon.com/twi/shifting.html
http://therianthropy.thepsionguild.net/WWpther.html
http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Canopy/1927/greenspiral/resource.html
http://www.geocities.com/shenjukan/Therianthropes.htm
http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Arcade/4626/ww2def.html
http://www.topsitelists.com/start/wingedwolf/topsites.html

"I was not meant to be born human. Well, perhaps I was, but I am still doing a great deal of searching as to the reason why. So, you ask, if I was not meant to be born human, in what form should I have been brought into this maniacal world? A wolf? Yes, as a wolf. For all intents and purposes, I am. The only part of my that is not, is my physical form. This visceral character entraps, rather unmercifully, the heart and soul and psyche of canis lupus, the wolf."

"I can forgive my ancestors for ******** in their nests"

They're always seeming to be bringing this up. THey always say humans **** where they live so animals are better.

Alot of sites out there on it anyways

[AWPrime]

I know of them. They range from; 'this is kinda cool' to 'my soul is not human, but I love you all anyway' to 'I hate humans'


Kinda like religion.

[Lothian]

Kilik ,

It is true, I am a therianthrope. I have the soul of a sheep.

As I explained to the judge, “What we were doing was beautiful and perfectly natural for soul mates. It was not the perverted act as made out by the prosecution�

[JJEagan]

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION, HUMAN: Long brown hair, blue/grey/green eyes with brown flecks, 135 lbs, 5'7", female.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION, WERE: A medium sized silver-coated female wolf, with classic timber wolf coat pattern. Or...a very large, firey, wyvern-like bird of prey with a really aggressive temper.

HUMAN CAREER: Stay at Home Mom, Homeschooler

HOBBIES/INTERESTS: psionics, paranormal investigations, teaching, reptile husbandry, sf, f, and horror novels, Everquest, organic gardening, camping, cooking, and participating in 40 or so mailing

FAVORITE WERE SAYING/QUOTE: "werf?"

FAVORITE PERSONAL QUOTE: "Ok.....and?"

FAVORITE SONG: "FireDance!" by Mothertongue

FAVORITE BAND: Tough one. Sisters of Mercy, I guess.

FAVORITE WERE SONG/BAND(S): Fav. Were song--the ubiquitous "Wolf and Man" by Metallica. I also like Mercedes Lackey's "Golden Eyes".

I really hope that her children (pups?) don't go in for this.


:jaw:

[SwissSkeptic]

You can find a discussion about the elf and dragon sorts of otherkin in this thread (http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=48316), including a link to the incredibly sad example of Rebecca's Faerie Princess Page :(
(For those too lazy to go there, she describes her various attempts to "get back home" by committing suicide)

[Ashles]

Run a Google search for 'furries'

Read the links.

Be afraid.

[JJEagan]

Do you think these people believe they can shape shift? I think they play too much Everquest.

[SwissSkeptic]

Originally posted by Ashles
Run a Google search for 'furries'

Read the links.

Be afraid.

Interviewer: And when did you first notice these... shall we say... tendencies?

Confessor: Well... I was about seventeen and some mates and me went to a party, and, er... we had quite a lot to drink... and then some of the fellows there ... started handing ... cheese around ... and well just out of curiosity 1 tried a bit ... and well that was that.

Interviewer: And what else did these fellows do?

Confessor: Well some of them started dressing up as mice a bit ... and then when they'd got the costumes on they started ... squeaking.

[Ed]

I am going to write a book about these new ageish faddy things. I think that I have the idea down and can explain it fairly simply to a broad audience. The title of the book will be:

Unstable Chicks and the Guys that want to Pop Them

It will be a short book. Come to think of it, the title says it all. Never mind.:D

[Ashles]

Some more information:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Furry_fandom
Pleasures of the Fur (http://pressedfur.coolfreepages.com/press/vanityfair/)
Invasion of the Furries (http://www.xydexx.com/anthrofurry/furries.htm)
What are Furries? (http://www.furries.info/)

http://store.rabbitvalley.org/image_cache/2168.jpg

[UrsulaV]

Furries are generally pretty harmless--it's basically like a SF/fantasy fandom made up of people who grew up on Beatrix Potter, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and the Lion King. I'm an artist, I paint a lot of cute animals, and the big furry conventions are my big money-maker of the year. There's honestly not much difference between them and the other cons, though--you get people wearing wolf ears instead of pointy ears, or dressed up as foxes instead of as Boba Fett, (dragon T-shirts straight across the board) and the people who stand at the dealer's table and tell you about their winged dark elf character at excruciating length are no more or less tedious than the ones who stand there and tell you about their winged tiger character. The fanfic is presumably equally terrible, the art show runs the same gamut of "Fabulous!" to "I have no idea what was in your head and I'm a little frightened to ask."

The furry cons do tend to raise a lot of money for the local animal shelters, though, so there's that, although I dunno if it's that's due to generalize generosity, or to the fact that it's much harder to resist someone wandering around with a cuddly ferret asking for money for to save the ferrets, than someone wandering around with an illiterate adult asking for money for a literacy campaign.

It's a living, anyway.

The people who think they have the spirit of a were-chicken are pretty much the furry lunatic fringe--teenage self-dramatization accounts for most of it, and attempts to get people to turn into chickens on camera meets the hedging and angsting that we're all no doubt familiar with.

[delphi_ote]

Originally posted by Ed
Come to think of it, the title says it all.

Not yet.
Unstable Chicks and the Unstable Guys that want to Pop Them
There. How's that?

[AWPrime]

Furries and Therianthops are in some ways quite simular but calling one the other can cause a fight.

[jmercer]

Originally posted by Ashles
http://store.rabbitvalley.org/image_cache/2168.jpg

Odd, and disturbingly attractive for a cartoon representation of a non-human... and how did you happen to have it handy, hmm? ;)

:D

[bruto]

My ex wife thinks I'm a jackass. Does that count?

[jmercer]

Only if you have the same equipment as other equines. :D

[Ashles]

Originally posted by jmercer
Odd, and disturbingly attractive for a cartoon representation of a non-human... and how did you happen to have it handy, hmm? ;)

:D
I... er... I... a friend... research...

Look an airship!

*runs*

[LFTKBS]

UrsulaV, why are furries/therianthropes/otherkin all pretty much gross or ugly? Seriously, what's the deal? I try not to spend any time with them, so I defer to your judgment.

[UrsulaV]

*laugh!* I dunno, I've met a few who were hot. Most of 'em just seem like ordinary people. Depends on the sample size, I suppose--I haven't really noticed any major difference vs the standard run of fans anywhere.

Assuming we COULD get qualitative measurements of hotness vs. furry, and assuming those measurements did indicate that furries were less physically attractive (presumably we'd need a double blind test, since the notion of being associated with furry fandom is exceedingly unattractive to some people and could skew the results) then I could hazard a theory that you'd be more likely to engage in a fantasy life about things that don't conform to standards of human beauty if you don't yourself--but since I'm not actually sure that the masses of furry fans are any less attractive than the masses of SF or anime fans, I can't really speak to it.

On a purely aesthetic sense, the furry fandom is overwhelmingly male, and I've always thought women scored higher in an absolute aesthetic scale than men, so maybe it's skewed that way--but that's probably just me. *grin*

[LFTKBS]

Originally posted by UrsulaV
Most of 'em just seem like ordinary people.

Except for the crippling delusion, of course. :)

[kedo1981]

Reading Ursula’s post I got to thinking
How many ways are there to use the moronic beliefs of WOO WOO’s to make MONEY
“say it like Mr. Crabs on the sponge Bob cartoon�?

[UrsulaV]

...believe me, anybody going into art for the money has waaaaaay worse delusions than merely thinking that they were a platypus in a past life.

[misawafan]

Originally posted by Kilik
"I was not meant to be born human. Well, perhaps I was, but I am still doing a great deal of searching as to the reason why. So, you ask, if I was not meant to be born human, in what form should I have been brought into this maniacal world? A wolf? Yes, as a wolf. For all intents and purposes, I am. The only part of my that is not, is my physical form. This visceral character entraps, rather unmercifully, the heart and soul and psyche of canis lupus, the wolf."


An example mid-morph:

http://i.rollingstone.com/assets/rs/8/229/images/00327529_med.jpg

(Perhaps this should be in one of the bigfoot threads...)

[Ashles]

Just out of interest - all of these people who reckon they are really animal in humans body, is it always creatures like wolves and foxes and tigers (and, *snort, chortle* dragons)?

Are they ever badgers or worms or haddock or gerbils or sparows or lemmings?

Why are there no were-budgies or lycangaroos?

And I love this:
From this site (http://www.topsitelists.com/out.cgi?area=start&user=wingedwolf&nocheat=1073776857&ID=1&url=http://therianthropy.thepsionguild.net)
Whatever the causes, therianthropes generally show characteristics of their theriotype as the animal REALLY is, rather than how the animal is stereotyped. A were-owl would not necessarily be wise, a were-wolf would not be vicious or ravenous, and a were-coyote would not necessarily be obsessed with trickery. Real weres tend to be very concerned with environmentalism, conservation, and of course animal-rights and the Endangered Species Act.
Yeah right. Wolves into endangered species. Of course.

And since when were coyotes into 'trickery'?

[Kilik]

I thought this quote was funny for some reason

" I remember kindergarten; when the other children were playing house, I always wanted to play the part of the family dog."

[Blackwell]

Originally posted by UrsulaV
...believe me, anybody going into art for the money has waaaaaay worse delusions than merely thinking that they were a platypus in a past life.


Pfffftt. Tell me about it - that's why I'm a graphic/web designer. Closest thing to art that I could do while still getting paid.
Nice illustrations on your site, by the way. Are you familiar with conceptart.org? Check out the art posted in their forums. There's some stuff there that's probably right up your alley.

/end threadjack

[UrsulaV]

Originally posted by Blackwell
Pfffftt. Tell me about it - that's why I'm a graphic/web designer. Closest thing to art that I could do while still getting paid.
Nice illustrations on your site, by the way. Are you familiar with conceptart.org? Check out the art posted in their forums. There's some stuff there that's probably right up your alley.

/end threadjack

Hey, neat! I think I'd heard of 'em, but never checked it out. Thanks!

[LostAngeles]

Originally posted by UrsulaV
Furries are generally pretty harmless--it's basically like a SF/fantasy fandom made up of people who grew up on Beatrix Potter, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and the Lion King. I'm an artist, I paint a lot of cute animals, and the big furry conventions are my big money-maker of the year. There's honestly not much difference between them and the other cons, though--you get people wearing wolf ears instead of pointy ears, or dressed up as foxes instead of as Boba Fett, (dragon T-shirts straight across the board) and the people who stand at the dealer's table and tell you about their winged dark elf character at excruciating length are no more or less tedious than the ones who stand there and tell you about their winged tiger character. The fanfic is presumably equally terrible, the art show runs the same gamut of "Fabulous!" to "I have no idea what was in your head and I'm a little frightened to ask."

The furry cons do tend to raise a lot of money for the local animal shelters, though, so there's that, although I dunno if it's that's due to generalize generosity, or to the fact that it's much harder to resist someone wandering around with a cuddly ferret asking for money for to save the ferrets, than someone wandering around with an illiterate adult asking for money for a literacy campaign.

It's a living, anyway.

The people who think they have the spirit of a were-chicken are pretty much the furry lunatic fringe--teenage self-dramatization accounts for most of it, and attempts to get people to turn into chickens on camera meets the hedging and angsting that we're all no doubt familiar with.

Thank you for getting to this before me. I've seen the furry community. I know several furries. They're normal people, they're fun people. It's a goddamn fandom. Which means that you will have a lunatic fringe. Star Wars has "Jedis," Star Trek has... well have you seen "Trekkies?"

http://rikoshi.gd-kun.net/furry.html

Just have that and be warned about language and subject matter. It's still a pretty accurate (and amusing) look at the fandom.

[AWPrime]

Originally posted by LFTKBS
Seriously, what's the deal?

Their a loosly linked fandom, like Star Wars, it can go very bad (those would be the Furverts, shudder.....) but must are regular people.


And with humans such as 1inChrist can you blame them.;)

[Jyera]

Consider these 3 statements.

1. "I'm actually a wolf trapped in human body. "
2. "I'm actually a girl trapped in a guy's body."
3. "I'm actually a guy trapped in a girl's body".

Is statement 1 really that weird, after all?
Is there anything wrong with our people, society or environment?

[Ashles]

Originally posted by Jyera
Consider these 3 statements.

1. "I'm actually a wolf trapped in human body. "
2. "I'm actually a girl trapped in a guy's body."
3. "I'm actually a guy trapped in a girl's body".

Is statement 1 really that weird, after all?
Uh, yes.

The others are humans.

We have some concept of the personality and drives of members of our own species, even those of the opposite sex.

Whereas we can anthropomorphise animals so delightfully, but it bears little relation to the reality of being a wolf which we can never experience, and in reality probably wouldn't want to.

Is there any indication that wolves are anything other than non-sentient instinct-driven simple animals?

[AWPrime]

Mourning?

[bruto]

I think we should make a distinction here between furries and therianthropists, even if one tends to blend with the other at times. People who like to dress up in fur suits and pretend they are cartoon animals, and even the ones who do this with a degree of obsessiveness, or who do so for sexual thrills are one thing; although they may be what we would consider kinky or weird or silly, or even a little crazy, they have not demonstrated the kind of anti-rational nuttiness of those who actually believe that they are idealized animals in the wrong body, with all the claptrap that that community seems to have invented to go along with it. If you believe that, what won't you believe? Somewhere along the way we have passed from the relatively benign wackiness of "fandom" into a realm of real delusion and potentially dangerous stupidity.

[Pup]

Originally posted by Jyera
Consider these 3 statements.

1. "I'm actually a wolf trapped in human body. "
2. "I'm actually a girl trapped in a guy's body."
3. "I'm actually a guy trapped in a girl's body".

Is statement 1 really that weird, after all?
Is there anything wrong with our people, society or environment?

And I'd add in infantilism ("I'm really a baby girl in an adult man's body") and the various reincarnation beliefs as well ("I'm really a Roman gladiator or whatever in a 21st century body"). And there's probably more.

There seems to be a glitch in the human mind that makes a small minority of people believe they're not really who they are. Of course there are the mild hangers-on for whom it's a novelty with no real importance, but at the heart of it there are some people for whom it's a deep-seated belief that they "know" is true, against all odds and reasoning. And that emotional "knowledge" (belief) remains, even if they skeptically and objectively admit that there's no logic or evidence for it. Though human nature being what it is, I think most of them are more likely to buy into a ready-made belief-system which others have developed as a handy explanation.

When we get to the point that we can understand the human brain better, I wonder if we'll come up with some way to figure out what's going on.

[LostAngeles]

Originally posted by bruto
I think we should make a distinction here between furries and therianthropists, even if one tends to blend with the other at times. People who like to dress up in fur suits and pretend they are cartoon animals, and even the ones who do this with a degree of obsessiveness, or who do so for sexual thrills are one thing; although they may be what we would consider kinky or weird or silly, or even a little crazy, they have not demonstrated the kind of anti-rational nuttiness of those who actually believe that they are idealized animals in the wrong body, with all the claptrap that that community seems to have invented to go along with it. If you believe that, what won't you believe? Somewhere along the way we have passed from the relatively benign wackiness of "fandom" into a realm of real delusion and potentially dangerous stupidity.

Well see not all of them dress up in fursuits. Some just like the style, some just like to RP as a fur, and some just really like the Disney movie, "Robin Hood."

They like anthropomorphic animals.

[Dr Adequate]

Originally posted by Ashles
Is there any indication that wolves are anything other than non-sentient instinct-driven simple animals? Yes. From the OP:A wolf? Yes, as a wolf. For all intents and purposes, I am. The only part of my that is not, is my physical form. This visceral character entraps, rather unmercifully, the heart and soul and psyche of canis lupus, the wolf. A fascinating insight into the mind of a wolf. I never knew that wolves were such pretentious tossers.

[bruto]

Originally posted by Dr Adequate
Yes. From the OP: A fascinating insight into the mind of a wolf. I never knew that wolves were such pretentious tossers.

All that howling and baying. A bunch of divas.

[Jyera]

Originally posted by Jyera
Consider these 3 statements.

1. "I'm actually a wolf trapped in human body. "
2. "I'm actually a girl trapped in a guy's body."
3. "I'm actually a guy trapped in a girl's body".

Is statement 1 really that weird, after all?
Is there anything wrong with our people, society or environment?
I thought ... A person with a guy body is simply a guy.
A person with a girl body is a girl.
A person with a human body is a human.

So I find all 3 statements weird and wrong.
And I find the general tolerance towards people who make statements such as (2) and (3) disturbing.

Until the person succeed in changing the body from a male body to a female body, the person should stop saying s/he is a girl/female.

Similarly, the people who profess to be wolves, should show themselves with physical evident of being a wolves. Until they are able to do so, they should NOT lie that they are wolves.

[Jyera]

Originally posted by bruto
I think we should make a distinction here between furries and therianthropists, even if one tends to blend with the other at times. People who like to dress up in fur suits and pretend they are cartoon animals, and even the ones who do this with a degree of obsessiveness, or who do so for sexual thrills are one thing; although they may be what we would consider kinky or weird or silly, or even a little crazy, they have not demonstrated the kind of anti-rational nuttiness of those who actually believe that they are idealized animals in the wrong body, with all the claptrap that that community seems to have invented to go along with it. If you believe that, what won't you believe? Somewhere along the way we have passed from the relatively benign wackiness of "fandom" into a realm of real delusion and potentially dangerous stupidity.

Agree.
And in this modern age?

[Jyera]

Originally posted by Pup
...snipe...There seems to be a glitch in the human mind that makes a small minority of people believe they're not really who they are. Of course there are the mild hangers-on for whom it's a novelty with no real importance, but at the heart of it there are some people for whom it's a deep-seated belief that they "know" is true, against all odds and reasoning. And that emotional "knowledge" (belief) remains, even if they skeptically and objectively admit that there's no logic or evidence for it. Though human nature being what it is, I think most of them are more likely to buy into a ready-made belief-system which others have developed as a handy explanation. ...snipe...

Agree.

And I think "ready-made belief-system" is more than just traditional sources such as religious group.

TV programmes, and general advertising contributes as well.

[Soapy Sam]

I'm really an aging dimwit in an aging dimwit's body.

You know- sometimes truth isn't stranger than fiction.