Therianthrope, heavy on the -anthrope
Dec. 3rd, 2025 04:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
professionaljaywlkerIn 2025, particularly on tumblr and on tiktok, from what I can see of it, there is a peculiar detachment in the nonhuman part of alterhuman communities from the concept of "being human".
While historically, being a therian or otherkin was often understood as being an animal or mythical beast stuck in human skin, there is now a whole movement for removing that distinction, of being physically nonhuman, either by reclamation of the body as itself nonhuman, by transition, by belief, and probably many other i'm not thinking of.
This has been a very popular change. Many people who have experience just like me now call themselves physically nonhuman for a reason or another. I can understand the mindset : it was never uncommon for therianthropes to reject their human body, to hate it. We are, whether some like it or not, the species dysphoria, species transition community. Many, many therianthropes and otherkin have wished, or tried, to physically shapeshift.
But truth is, it bothers me.
I've got many qualms with parts of how that community puts itself in place: it is one that is often dangerous to the stability of my perception of reality, as a schizospec person, with many, many untagged psychotic triggers. It rubs salt in the wounds that i now see people claiming they "have never met a psychotic person who had been hurt by untagged physical nonhumanity". Yeah guys. because we fucking left. For our own sake. As you told us to do.
But that's not really the point of this post. It mostly bothers me because it has been concurrent to a mindset in the therian community where reality has no impact. People are only their avatar online. Their experiences are solely the ones inside their brain. They can feel they are a falcon/a dog/a unicorn/a pokemon. In fact, they're typing with their paws right now. Let's make a pack on discord where we all roleplay running into the wood with our real forms ! Less and less long form essays, more and more shallow memes. People shouldn't have to write, they can just feel. Being a therian is just feeling. feeling, feeling, feeling, in a void, devoid of all outside yourself.
I'm studying for a master's degree. I am an adult, with my own money, my own choices to make. I'm balancing my birdhood with my very real human life. My therianthropy isn't just feelings. It has consequences. It will impact where I live. What job I do. Who I love. How I love. How I socialize. What I care about. What I do about it. I don't. fucking care that you're a dog online frankly.
And frankly, that one isn't even the fault of the actual physical nonhumans ! I see many who are in fact talking about the problems of living as something perceived as human while not being. But it has given an out to all the people who were desperately searching for an excuse to completely negate this very border line that makes the alterhuman community who we are. Many, many people have tried to remove any connection to humanity from therianthrope, alterhuman, and other community, but the truth is i don't think it's possible and i don't think it's interesting.
I think the best conversations about our lives will always revolve around how we are not humans, in a human world. We cannot absolve ourselves from living in reality, because if we do so, then we just... stop talking about ourselves. People complain over and over and over again that the community doesn't feel like it used to, doesn't feel like a community, like helping each other, but it's because the biggest part of it has sanitized the very paradox of our existence into being borderline taboo to mention. So for sure it feels completely shallow.
Old forums are ripe with people discussing real things. Jobs. Family. How to find a home in a place that feels like territory. How to deal with ugly instincts. How people found each other and loved each other despite the odds. Political views tied to feeling like an animal and wanting our future to be better, both for us and our theriomorphic counterparts. Growing up. Deaths. Real way to alter your life to feel like you. Real goals for nonhuman transitions. Spiritual beliefs and worship. There is something you can hold, you can cling to. Helped by the fact it doesn't just fade away, for sure. You go on a forum, and some guy-wolf from a dozen years ago shows you the forest past his backyard. There is a "people lived here, people still do" feeling to this. One that made me think perhaps I could figure it out too, which is painfully absent from particularly the tumblr community and part of what made me leave.
At least the tiktok kids are actually outside doing shit. What's a dog even doing online. That tells me nothing about you. You are no more like me, by posting pictures of cute dogs, no more relatable, than any orthohuman who does. In fact the orthohumans also posts about paws and ears and whatever. Because that is in the fact the shallow side, the easy side. It's the fun side. It's not the one that makes us therians. The fantasy is not what makes us therians. It's living it.
I think we should go back to calling ourselves therianthropes, heavy on the -anthropes. I think no one is fully nonhuman in a human world we are forced to participate in. If you're physically nonhuman, then you're still socially human. If you manage to flee to the most unknown place, undisturbed by any human presence, you will still have been marked by humanity. We are imprinted animals, to our cores, and i think denying that is just kind of avoiding the question of why we even need a word. If you're all that nonhuman, fully untouched by humanity, then there should be no difference between you and a theriomorphic animal. But there is. that's what the -anthrope is for. I think the real important part about the -anthropy part of therianthropy was never whether it's human skin or socialization or whatever. It was about coping with a human world that sees us as human. That's what's partially human, why we are weres. Because we're animals moonlighting as humans whether we want it or not.
As a closing note, i'm sure many would dislike this. Because being human is icky. Because we don't want, or don't perceive ourselves to be human. Because some of us have been harmed by humans, or "being human", or pretending to be. Well, godspeed I guess. Hope that gets you somewhere, because from what we currently see, i'm not optimistic.
While historically, being a therian or otherkin was often understood as being an animal or mythical beast stuck in human skin, there is now a whole movement for removing that distinction, of being physically nonhuman, either by reclamation of the body as itself nonhuman, by transition, by belief, and probably many other i'm not thinking of.
This has been a very popular change. Many people who have experience just like me now call themselves physically nonhuman for a reason or another. I can understand the mindset : it was never uncommon for therianthropes to reject their human body, to hate it. We are, whether some like it or not, the species dysphoria, species transition community. Many, many therianthropes and otherkin have wished, or tried, to physically shapeshift.
But truth is, it bothers me.
I've got many qualms with parts of how that community puts itself in place: it is one that is often dangerous to the stability of my perception of reality, as a schizospec person, with many, many untagged psychotic triggers. It rubs salt in the wounds that i now see people claiming they "have never met a psychotic person who had been hurt by untagged physical nonhumanity". Yeah guys. because we fucking left. For our own sake. As you told us to do.
But that's not really the point of this post. It mostly bothers me because it has been concurrent to a mindset in the therian community where reality has no impact. People are only their avatar online. Their experiences are solely the ones inside their brain. They can feel they are a falcon/a dog/a unicorn/a pokemon. In fact, they're typing with their paws right now. Let's make a pack on discord where we all roleplay running into the wood with our real forms ! Less and less long form essays, more and more shallow memes. People shouldn't have to write, they can just feel. Being a therian is just feeling. feeling, feeling, feeling, in a void, devoid of all outside yourself.
I'm studying for a master's degree. I am an adult, with my own money, my own choices to make. I'm balancing my birdhood with my very real human life. My therianthropy isn't just feelings. It has consequences. It will impact where I live. What job I do. Who I love. How I love. How I socialize. What I care about. What I do about it. I don't. fucking care that you're a dog online frankly.
And frankly, that one isn't even the fault of the actual physical nonhumans ! I see many who are in fact talking about the problems of living as something perceived as human while not being. But it has given an out to all the people who were desperately searching for an excuse to completely negate this very border line that makes the alterhuman community who we are. Many, many people have tried to remove any connection to humanity from therianthrope, alterhuman, and other community, but the truth is i don't think it's possible and i don't think it's interesting.
I think the best conversations about our lives will always revolve around how we are not humans, in a human world. We cannot absolve ourselves from living in reality, because if we do so, then we just... stop talking about ourselves. People complain over and over and over again that the community doesn't feel like it used to, doesn't feel like a community, like helping each other, but it's because the biggest part of it has sanitized the very paradox of our existence into being borderline taboo to mention. So for sure it feels completely shallow.
Old forums are ripe with people discussing real things. Jobs. Family. How to find a home in a place that feels like territory. How to deal with ugly instincts. How people found each other and loved each other despite the odds. Political views tied to feeling like an animal and wanting our future to be better, both for us and our theriomorphic counterparts. Growing up. Deaths. Real way to alter your life to feel like you. Real goals for nonhuman transitions. Spiritual beliefs and worship. There is something you can hold, you can cling to. Helped by the fact it doesn't just fade away, for sure. You go on a forum, and some guy-wolf from a dozen years ago shows you the forest past his backyard. There is a "people lived here, people still do" feeling to this. One that made me think perhaps I could figure it out too, which is painfully absent from particularly the tumblr community and part of what made me leave.
At least the tiktok kids are actually outside doing shit. What's a dog even doing online. That tells me nothing about you. You are no more like me, by posting pictures of cute dogs, no more relatable, than any orthohuman who does. In fact the orthohumans also posts about paws and ears and whatever. Because that is in the fact the shallow side, the easy side. It's the fun side. It's not the one that makes us therians. The fantasy is not what makes us therians. It's living it.
I think we should go back to calling ourselves therianthropes, heavy on the -anthropes. I think no one is fully nonhuman in a human world we are forced to participate in. If you're physically nonhuman, then you're still socially human. If you manage to flee to the most unknown place, undisturbed by any human presence, you will still have been marked by humanity. We are imprinted animals, to our cores, and i think denying that is just kind of avoiding the question of why we even need a word. If you're all that nonhuman, fully untouched by humanity, then there should be no difference between you and a theriomorphic animal. But there is. that's what the -anthrope is for. I think the real important part about the -anthropy part of therianthropy was never whether it's human skin or socialization or whatever. It was about coping with a human world that sees us as human. That's what's partially human, why we are weres. Because we're animals moonlighting as humans whether we want it or not.
As a closing note, i'm sure many would dislike this. Because being human is icky. Because we don't want, or don't perceive ourselves to be human. Because some of us have been harmed by humans, or "being human", or pretending to be. Well, godspeed I guess. Hope that gets you somewhere, because from what we currently see, i'm not optimistic.
no subject
Date: 2025-12-03 11:06 pm (UTC)Agreed. Call me biased since I'm pretty adamant about being both human and nonhuman, but I can't imagine separating my identity from human society and the experiences I have in it. When I started exploring my nonhumanity, my first thought is how this experience intersected with my racial identity and how that might exist alongside my nonhumanity. The culture I was raised within is still significant to me, nonhumanity included. I think folks would get more out of this experience if they considered intersectionality, particularly how their position in society affects and/or shapes their identity.
Sure, no one needs to be super eloquent about their experiences. I'm not saying people need to become Aristotle or whatever, but feelings are just the beginning of any identity. No one's really trying to see what else they can do to further their relationship with their identity, and that goes for the community at large, not just nonhumans. It's frustrating, especially when folks take to anti-intellectualism when this is expressed in communal conversations. "I hope you like posting essays and being super eloquent, or else you're not considered valid enough!" except it was never about validity! It was about talking about our experiences and actually treating those experiences like they're relevant to your life! You don't need to write essays to do that, but people sure love to act like there's an overabundance of it when most personal essays nowadays barely get shared unless it's about discourse!
Although I can understand where folks are coming from with wanting to stand firm on their nonhumanity on all fronts, I've also seen how this stance has led to a few folks using their nonhumanity as an excuse to ignore the social and political circumstances of their surroundings. So not only is it disinteresting to see constant "I'm just a silly puppy wuppy :3" posting and nothing of substance, it's also worrying to me how nonhuman identity is slowly but surely being treated as detached from the world we live in. The fact of the matter is: none of us can afford to separate our identities from the societies we live in. As you mentioned, everyone's been imprinted. Everything we perceive, believe in, and take part in is shaped by our experiences as members of society. Treating nonhumanity like it exists in a vacuum pretty much ignores what makes an identity an identity. Even when one's identity factors escapism, what was the deciding factor? Who or what are you trying to destress from? Nothing exists in a vacuum, no matter how laidback you are about it.
The memes, validity posts and other staples of modern internet culture didn't bother me at first. But the more I've been blogging on Tumblr, the more apparent it is that a lot of Tumblr users don't care to explore their identity beyond surface level. The most seriousness I've seen is whether or not it's "normal" for one's identity to entail something; if not that, it's whether or not something is "valid", which is a can of worms I've come to hate. I just stick to checking out the blogs of my friends or blogs that share the kinds of things I want to see more of in our spaces (alterhuman-art and fictionfolklore are a couple examples of this). There's not a whole lot of 'em, but something's better than nothing.
Nowadays, I gear my attention towards dissecting my own identity and posting about that. Occasionally, I'll share what resources or knowledge if need be in Tumblr Communities, but that's about it. Journaling here has been nice for clearing my thoughts, but creative approaches to my alterhumanity turned out to be my best way of connecting with my alterhumanity. Creative nonfiction based on various exomemories and other noemata, brainstorming draught work for pterripi (pegasi) and writing it out as a form of self-expression, creating self-inserts and personal fiction based on said s/is for vaguetypes and linktypes that I want to reinforce, making crappy but satisfying art of myself, etc. Aside from creative pursuits, I try to incorporate my many forms into my interests or my daily practices as affirmations. I love to read, and I often read nonfiction, so I read about draft horses when I'm in the mood for it. Partially out of my own curiosity, but mostly to get a better understanding of my theriform counterparts and find where exactly I fall amongst them. I've also been shaping my exercise routine around strengthening my leg muscles and stamina to feel like a draft horse. Even the job I hate is helpful in the sense that it's labor-intensive; despite being the bane of my existence, I still feel as though I'm doing as a draft horse does and can find that little bit of satisfaction in an otherwise stressful environment.
no subject
Date: 2025-12-14 06:08 pm (UTC)big fan of this, thank you
no subject
Date: 2026-01-02 03:32 pm (UTC)And tumblr itself is very badly designed for conversation; eternal nested reblogs, mostly, where the context is easily lost. Was this conversation today or ten years ago? Who knows? It’s a mystery!
Re: “People shouldn't have to write, they can just feel. Being a therian is just feeling. feeling, feeling, feeling, in a void, devoid of all outside yourself.”
Mori: DUDE, we noticed this at a DID con we went to and it gave us the screaming meemies. It felt like we’d entered a gross hugbox that encouraged us to regress to some sanitized ideal of childhood and turn off our critical thinking. Haaaaated it. And that was in person!
no subject
Date: 2026-01-14 04:19 am (UTC)This is also related to what Liondrakes says about the "silly puppy wuppy" stuff (though I might be reading more into the phrasing than they meant). What I've seen of such behavior often seems like an attempt to seek refuge from the world in lack of maturity, never growing up. But it's like trying to say "la la la, can't hear you" when a fire alarm's going off. Not only are you not dealing with the issue, you can't even really block out the noise.