Anti-Anti-Otherkin

Anti-kin have become tediously repetitive, so I’m going to make a single anti-anti-otherkin post and copy the link when I need it. I will be adding all my counter arguments to this post as they come up.

Hence forth I will expect anti-kin to come up with new material every time they come at me. If they don’t all they’ll get is a link to this. I know you can do. The greatest asset of humanity is their creativity. Your unimaginative rhetoric is an insult to your species.



If I’m forgetting anything, please let me know and I will edit.

WHAT OTHERKIN IS

I’ll start by defining otherkin to the best of my ability, so we’re all on the same page. Otherkin are people who identify as one or more non-human entities in a spiritual or psychological sense.

See also my post The How and Why of Otherkin.

There are many categories within the otherkin umbrella.

Therians identify as animals which are known to exist in this world, as opposed to “fantastic” creatures such as dragons. This usually includes extinct species. Alternately, therians may be defined as identifying with any animal which is “feral”, or non-sapient. Which excludes some fantastic creatures, again such as dragons.

Fictionkin identify as creatures or characters from works of fiction. Usually this is explained by means of the Multiverse Theory. Legitimate science (in Quantum Physics) holds that there appear to be an infinite number of parallel universes, and that in theory everything exists somewhere in one universe or another. This would naturally mean that all fictional universes are real somewhere. Fictionkin often believe themselves to be reincarnated from one of these other universes.

There are a number of groups of people often conflated with otherkin, who are not.

Copinglinkers, as defined by @who-is-page are people with a non-human identity (or in some cases, relation) which is consciously created. The creator is able to change and pick who/what they identify as/with as need dictates. This identity can be created by anyone, and thus, is not dictated by one’s mental health, or, who have a consciously created coping mechanism which centers around knowingly, willingly, and actively identifying as (or in some cases, with) the user’s choice of a non-human entity.

Copinglinkers ARE NOT OTHERKIN, though they are similar, and may or may not be considered part of the community. It is of course possible for someone to be both.

Factkin are people who identify as a real person. Usually, someone who is still alive. Less commonly, they identify as someone who is dead, which is just what reincarnation is. Factkin ARE NOT OTHERKIN. They also, in this dragon’s opinion, don’t make any sense and are disrespectful both of the real people they identify as, and the otherkin community.

Dissociative disorders are also wrongly conflated with otherkin. The American Psychiatric Association has explicitly addressed this issue.

OTHERKIN AND MENTAL HEALTH

The APA defines mental illness as follows:

Mental illnesses are health conditions involving changes in thinking, emotion or behavior (or a combination of these). Mental illnesses are associated with distress and/or problems functioning in social, work or family activities. Mental illness is common. In a given year: nearly one in five (19 percent) U.S. adults experience some form of mental illness

one in 24 (4.1 percent) has a serious mental illness

one in 12 (8.5 percent) has a substance use disorder* Mental illness is treatable. The vast majority of individuals with mental illness continue to function in their daily lives.

For our purposes here, the important element to note is that in order to be considered a mental illness, a given condition or state of being must both involve a change in thinking (emotion, behaviour, etc.) and be associated with distress and/or problems functioning. Just one or the other does not count.

The Diagnostic and Statistics Manual (DSM) is the definitive manual for diagnosis of mental illness, used by the APA. It literally contains the official definitions of all documented mental illnesses.

The section labeled “Identity Disorder” in the third edition was changed to “Identity Problem” with the release of the DSM-IV in 1952 because they were considered less significant, not worthy of the name disorder and usually not clinically relevant. In 2013 with the DSM-V, the section was removed entirely. Atypical identities are considered harmless, and so common as to be considered normal. This includes otherkin.

Furthermore, as established above, the diagnostic criteria for almost all mental illnesses includes that in order for a condition to be considered an illness it must either cause the individual emotional distress, or significantly impair their ability to function normally.

Dissociative Disorders, as opposed the imaginary “identity disorders” which people who are stuck in the 1950′s reference, require that one be dissociative, which is a very specific clinical phenomenon not typically present in otherkin.

Clinical Lycanthropy and Cotard Delusion are dissociative disorders in which one is detached from reality and believes one’s self to be literally and physically not human, or not living, respectively. These bear no resemblance to otherkin. In fact, I shall include a quote from an expert on that subject:

“As regards the existence of [otherkin] communities, online or otherwise, where like-minded people join each other to exchange experiences and ideas on their affinity with animal or supernatural identities, I can only say that we cannot have enough of those groups. Human experience and behaviour is so diverse, and only so little of it tends to be presented as ‘normal’ in the media, that communities such as these should be embraced and encouraged by us all. In my area of expertise, i.e., psychotic disorders, it is well-known that some 10–15 percent of all people in the general population experience auditory hallucinations, and that close to a full 100 percent experience some sort of hallucination during their lives (i.e., auditory, visual, olfactory, or otherwise), but that only 1 percent are diagnosed as suffering from schizophrenia spectrum disorder.”

— Dr. Jan Dirk Blom, expert in clinical lycanthropy , “Understanding the Otherkin.” The Daily Dot, Feb. 22nd 2015.



I am aware that the Daily Dot is not a psychiatric journal, but that does not alter one wit Dr. Blom’s credentials. I am also aware the good doctor probably does not believe in reincarnation, but this section is about invalidating the tired claim that otherkinity is a mental illness, nothing else. I’ll deal with what otherkinity is elsewhere.

In short, according to the consensus of 69,783 people with PhD’s, if you are otherkin, fictionkin, or anything else, and also have a job, normal relationships, housing, and food; then being otherkin does not correlate to mental illness.



Calling it mental illness is factually incorrect. Telling people to stop engaging in healthy aspects of normal personality is both stupid and abusive. But please, my dear anti-kin, if you wish to suggest that you know better than the entire APA, keep digging that hole and humiliate yourselves further.



OTHERKIN AND SCIENCE



On at least one occasion I have heard versions of the phrase “otherkinity isn’t backed by science”.

You don’t say? Well of course this changes my whole outlook. That was sarcasm if you weren’t sure.



Last I checked, a religious/spiritual belief isn’t really expected to be backed up by science. That’s what “faith” means.

OTHERKIN AND SPIRITUALITY

In a majority of cases, otherkinity is a spiritual belief, no different from any other. It is usually, though not always, a variation on reincarnation, and one with a tremendous history. While the term only dates to the 90s, the community dates to the 50s and the concept is ancient. The Celtic bard Taliesin was what we now call otherkin.

As a spiritual belief, one absolutely cannot say with any certainty whether or not these experiences are real, and they do not require proof or evidence. Belief in sufficient.

WHO OTHERKIN ARE

The median age of otherkin appears to be somewhere in the early 20′s. We are most certainly not all teenagers. We are also not mentally ill, or “just using this as a coping mechanism”. I know numerous kin who are successful professionals or college students.

I am an ordained minister with a pagan church, founder of an internationally known non-profit organization, and I work as an editor. I used to conduct workshops for businesses and non-profits on gender inclusion practices, and educational panels on gender identity for psychology graduate classes. I am still friends with a psychology professor at a local college.

In short, we’re competent adults who know what we’re about.

OTHERKIN AND THE TRANSGENDER COMMUNITY

Now and then I hear some bullshit about this subject.

As someone who is both transgender and otherkin, there is no real conflict. The issue comes primarily from people who are neither, using fake profiles online and pretending to be one or both, and acting the fool to make us look bad, and then going back to their real identity and holding their own comments up as an example to hurt one or both groups.

Transgender identity is biologically valid and supported by the medical establishment. Otherkinity is (usually) a spiritual belief, and is also completely validated by the DSM-V.



Do not tell me I have to pretend to be other than I am for your comfort and convenience. That is what gay white men did to trans people (and the rest of the queer community, actually) after Stonewall. Because it was easier for them to gain legitimacy if they ditched the rest of us. I will not have it happen to otherkin.



ON KIN TROLLS

There is a whole style of otherkin hate which involves making a secondary social media account, pretending to be otherkin, posting inflammatory or ridiculous things, and then going back to a main account, and using one’s own made up bullshit as an example to make otherkin look bad.

Otherkin have nothing to do with gender. No one wants their kintype used as a gender. No one wants pronouns based on a kintype.

Plant kin exist, but they don’t want you to stop mowing the grass, picking flowers, or eating vegetables.

If anyone otherkin has a problem with you eating meat, they’re making vegans look bad, and have nothing to do with kin.

Fact kin may really believe what they’re saying, I don’t know, but they’re not otherkin, so it doesn’t matter.

These are all things which otherkin hating trolls made up, and believing any of it is particularly foolish. Please use a little reason before you go harassing people for what some other asshole said.



FURTHER READING

List of Published Literature Supporting Kin