General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: I'm sorry, but trying to dictate someone's identity to them is always wrong. [View all]starroute
(12,977 posts)I would say that under the specific conditions of present-day American society, a white person assuming a black identity is going to raise issues of cultural appropriation. But on a larger scale, there is a revolution occurring in the range of ways people can self-identity, and we're all going to have to come to terms with that.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otherkin
Otherkin are those who identify as partially or entirely non-human. Some say that they are, in spirit if not in body, not human. This is explained by some members of the otherkin community as possible through reincarnation, having a nonhuman soul, ancestry, or symbolic metaphor. Some scholars categorize this identity claim as "religious", because it is largely based on supernatural beliefs. Adherents more typically deny the religiousity of otherkinism, referring to it instead as simply a congenital condition, or a state of being. . . .
With regards 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. There are occasional offline gatherings, but the otherkin network is an almost entirely online phenomenon.
Some otherkin (such as elvenkin) claim they are allergic to iron (and products of modern technology), whilst other otherkin (such as dragonkin) claim that having no allergies is a sign of being an otherkin. Some otherkin also claim to be especially empathic and attuned to nature. Some claim to be able to shapeshift mentally or astrallymeaning that they experience the sense of being in their particular form while not actually changing physically.
The therian and vampire subcultures are related to the otherkin community, and are considered part of it by most otherkin, but are culturally and historically distinct movements of their own despite some overlap in membership.