Otherkin News

Content warning: For this article, none. For the linked article: Adult content (description of body modification to genitals). Spiritual beliefs being equated with mental illness. Profanity. Clumsy analogy to transgender people.

Last May: A blog re-posted an interview with Luke, a Daonine-Sithe elf otherkin. This interview was supposedly originally published in “Dirty Bristow, a now dormant magazine,” but there’s no date or issue number given for when it was originally published.

Luke’s interview is mostly made of dubious claims. As Disinformation pointed out, “he worships Corellon, God of the Elves – a deity created for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.” I haven’t seen anyone else use his slang “Innate Species Persona (ISP),” and a search for that phrase only brings up his interview. I haven’t found evidence of people in the otherkin or therianthrope communities doing extreme body modifications at all, particularly not the one he describes. He claims there were groups of supposed otherkin back to the medieval ages, but there's no evidence of this. His description of the typical dragon otherkin doesn’t sound like he's been in the dragon community. His interview is the only Google result for the group Political Inclusiveness for Xenontic Individuals (PIXI). I don't know what "Xenontic" means, but a search for it mostly brings up role-playing resources.


Sources

Danny Smith (?), “Elf Reforms – an interview with an Otherkin.” 2013-05-28. Edge Trinkets (blog). http://edgetrinkets.com/2013/05/28/this-is-from-dirty-bristow-a-now-dormant/

Matt Staggs, “An Interview With An Otherkin.” 2013-05-28. Disinformation (online magazine). http://disinfo.com/2013/05/an-interview-with-an-otherkin/

Trigger warnings: Voluntary surgical body modification. Links to web-pages that include photos of the gross stages of the process.

Between the mid 1990s and 2007, body modification artists began making people’s ears pointed, like those of elves. At least eight people have now had this procedure, which involves cutting, folding, and sewing the ear cartilage to the desired shape.

I’m not sure when ear pointing started, or by whom. When I wrote the previous article on Otherkin News about ear pointing, the earliest I found was in 2007.¹ In an interview in 2012, Tye Olsen claimed he got his ears pointed in 2004, saying they were one of the first couple sets ever done. He doesn’t name the artist, apparently for legal reasons.² (Odd, I thought it was legally wise to always credit an artist for their work.) Tattoo artist Katzen the Tiger Lady³ is said to have gotten her ears pointed “in the mid 1990s” by body modification artist Steve Haworth.⁴ (Haworth is the Guinness World Records’ “most advanced body modification artist”⁵ who did much of the innovative surgery on the late Stalking Cat.) I haven’t seen any clear photos of Katzen’s ears, but another ear pointing is in Haworth’s gallery.⁶

The artists are still exploring new techniques for ear pointing. All methods result in smaller ears, because they only work with the cartilage that’s already there. The methods that had been used by body modification artists Russ Foxx, Steve Haworth, and Brian Decker, result in an ear with a flattened pocket inside the tip. Two new methods were recently created that result in different looking pointed ears than that. Brian Decker created a new method that makes an ear with a more natural looking helix running along the tip.⁷ Samppa Von Cyborg created an entirely different method of reshaping the entire ear, not only pointing the tip, but also removing the lobe.⁸

Please correct me if I have made any errors in the above, regarding crediting artists, or finding out who created a method.

I still haven’t heard of anybody in the otherkin or therianthrope communities who have gotten ear pointing surgery.

- O. Scribner


Sources

1. O. Scribner, “Ear-pointing surgery.” 2011-04-08. Otherkin News. http://otherkin-news.livejournal.com/7821.html

2. Shannon Larratt, “Video interview with Tye Olsen.” 2012-10-04. BME: Tattoo, Piercing and Body Modification News. http://news.bme.com/2012/10/04/video-interview-with-tye-olsen/ Or:
PangaeaPiercing, “Tye’s surgically modified pointed elf ears- THE MODIFIED WORLD.” 2012-09-28. http://youtu.be/1PNR7RJCYGk

3. Steve Gilbert, ed. “Enigma interview.” Based on interviews from 1996 and 1999. http://tattoos.com/enigma.html

4. Shannon Larratt, “Full ear reshaping by Samppa.” 2012-10-4. BME. http://news.bme.com/2012/10/04/full-ear-reshaping-by-samppa/

5. Steve Haworth. http://stevehaworth.com/main/

6. Steve Haworth's gallery. http://stevehaworth.com/main/?page_id=334

7. Shannon Larratt, “Refining the ear pointing procedure.” 2013-02-14. BME. http://news.bme.com/2013/02/14/refining-the-ear-pointing-procedure

8. Shannon Larratt, “Pointing versus shaping.” 2012-10-10. BME. http://news.bme.com/2012/10/10/pointing-versus-shaping/

Trigger warnings: criticism of otherkin.

I thought that I would post a link list like this every month, but the otherkin community has been so creative recently that I find it hard to keep up! Scarcely any time after my previous link list, I’ve already got a long list of new articles and projects. Maybe I should post a link list here on a weekly basis instead of monthly?


New articles introducing otherkin-related concepts

“Cladotherianthropy,” by Pantairin, of Chimera. 2011-07.
A cladotherianthrope is one whose animal side is a generalization of all animals within a taxa, such as an entire genus, rather than a species. A very well-written introduction to the definition and history of this concept.

“A short history of soulbonding,” by Tatsuya Rokurou, of the Flatlanders.
This article is written with the assumption that the reader is already familiar with multiplicity. In 2001, the first mention of “soulbonding” (mentally communicating with fictional characters). An overview of this concept’s changing relationship with fan-fiction and multiplicity. The development of related concepts of “muses” and of “otakukin.” How the definition of “soulbonding” changed in 2003, and problems with that definition: it assumes that every soulbonding relationship is the same, which is false in actual practice.


New articles criticizing otherkin, and new responses to criticism

“Otherkin troll bingo!” by Tsu. 2011-11-12.
A list of the phrases that people most commonly use to discredit otherkin, followed by a list of short responses from an otherkin correcting misconceptions in all of those. Both parts were created by a bird otherkin.

“We are not sick and dangerous, for the record,” by an anonymous otherkin. 2011-10-27.
An otherkin described being otherkin to mental health counselors, and they responded positively. They don’t see it as disassociation, schizophrenia, or anything harmful. It just exists, so the responsible thing to do is to deal with it existing as best possible.

“The parable of the were-duck,” by Aura Escher. 2011-08-24.
A vampyre criticizes therians for claiming to be animals, saying that therians are not animals in any real way. Escher expresses the opinion that what therians fool themselves into mistaking for their “animal side” is actually something else which is present in all humans, and not an “animal side” at all.

“Confessions of a former otherkin,” by BellaDonna Saberhagen. 2011-11-13.
A personal reflection by a Neo-Pagan who once self-described as fairy, describing how inexperienced Neo-Pagans often initially go through a phase of deluding themselves and one another into believing excessively far-fetched things, including that they are dragons, werewolves, angels, or even gods, who will play a part in the end/transformation of the world. Saberhagen advises the reader to take caution with spirituality, and accept being human.

“The skeptical otherkin #3: How inappropriate,” by Feathertail. 2011-11-21.
An otherkin asks, how do we determine whether the use of an idea is cultural appropriation?


Articles on what it's like to be a...?

“Motionless claws,” by Citrakāyaḥ. 2011-07.
What it’s like to be a cheetah therianthrope.

“Certata: From the blue fleet,” by Earth Listener, of Chimera. 2011-11.
What it’s like to be a blue glaucus sea-slug therian.

“Tell me what it is like to be a swangirl,” by Tsu. 2011-11-18.
What it’s like to be a swan.

Untitled (swangirl), by Tsu. 2011-09-06.
On how the human and swan sides get along without clashing. On being autistic and otherkin.


Other new articles
“People are only visible when they’re encouraged to speak,” by an anonymous author. 2011-11-12.
The otherkin and therian community mostly limits itself to conversation in English. As a result, we hear less or not at all from people in non-English-speaking parts of the world.

“From fictionkin to animalkin,” by Mist Weaver, of the Chimeras. 2011-06.
Written by a fictional animal member of a plural system. Assumes the reader is already familiar with the concepts of fiction-kin, therianthropy, and plurality.

“More thoughts about monsters,” by Tsu. 2011-10-17.
On the sacredness of that which is seen as different, strange, wrong, unacceptable, or scary. Whether you are a monster or not, you deserve to exist.

Untitled (mythology), by Tsu. 2011-08-28.
On the value of mythology

“The upside-down of grounding,” by Child Of The Fae. 2011-11-15.
The metaphysical anatomy of this Fae otherkin differs from the standard metaphysical anatomy of a human. This creates a challenge when performing metaphysical acts such as “grounding.” Assumes the reader is already familiar with the concepts of metaphysical anatomy, otherkin, and grounding.


New foreign-language articles

“Otherkin – dziwactwo czy fantastyczny sposób na życie? (Otherkin – a quirk, or a fantastic way to live?),” by Ewelina Czarnecka. 2011-08-29.
(In Polish.) An introduction to otherkin for outsiders. This polite and not sensationalistic article is in a women’s online magazine, We-Dwoje, which is otherwise mostly about fashion and health.


New art

Otherkin comic, by Drakmanka. 2011-11-13. Very nice.


New Podcast

The Pagan Musings podcast is having a show about otherkin, interviewing three otherkin: “Arthur,” Stormcrow, and Lupa.


New projects

The Beyond Awakening blog focuses on exploring otherkin-related topics that have had relatively little written about them. The latest essay prompt is titled “Challenge: Energetic Health.” Meirya asks otherkin to write about how their metaphysical energetic anatomy differs from that which is defined as “normal and healthy” in most literature on the subject.

Waoterlelie is running a survey, and is asking for otherkin to take a Meyers-Briggs personality test, and then send in their results.


New web-sites

Walking Between Worlds, a collection of essays written by two anonymous Vanir elves: one, an otherkin, the other, her spirit companion.


New blogs

The Other Problems, or, Dear Solace: A secrets and advice Tumblr. Anonymously send in your otherkin-related secrets or pleas for advice. The person running this blog is familiar with both psychology and otherkin, and patiently offers very wise advice to any who ask for it.

It Was Never Perfect But It Was Always Right, an otherkin-inspired work of ongoing fiction that has only just begun.

I Want To Go Home: Send in pictures of places that feel like Home, pictures of places for which your otherkin side feels homesick.

Little Otherkin Things And Problems. Short blurbs summarizing small things that are distinct to otherkin experience, whether joyful or sorrowful.


Other new link round-ups, like this one

“Link roundup and some news,” by Meirya. 2011-11-26.
Includes some summaries of how the otherkin community has been changing recently.

“Non-human blogs, resources, and projects,” by Tsu. 2011-11-26.


Thank you

Thanks to Earth Listener for telling me about several of these new things. Thanks to Tsu and Meirya for also collecting lists of new links on their blogs. When the otherkin community is so wonderfully creative and active, I appreciate any kind of help for keeping up with the fast pace!

- O. Scribner

Trigger warnings for this article: voluntary surgical body modification, links to web-pages that include photos of the gross stages of the process.

In the past few years, at least five people have had a kind of body modification or cosmetic surgery called “ear pointing” to make their ears have a pointed shape, like an elf.

In October 2007,¹ Kimberleigh “Kimmie” R., had her ears pointed by a professional body modification artist, Russ Foxx. They took a couple of weeks to heal, and she posted photos of it in various stages of healing.² With Kimmie’s permission, her friend “Laminterious” posted some of photos of Kimmie’s ear-pointing on Instructables.com a few months later, with commentary explaining the importance of taking time to decide and do research before getting any kind of body modification.³

Also during the time of October 2007, a website purportedly that of a cosmetic surgeon named Dr. Lajos Nagy claimed that Nagy had performed over a thousand ear-pointings, but Nagy’s site appears to be a hoax.⁴

In January 2010, Russ Foxx posted before-and-after photos of more ear pointing on at least two unnamed people,⁵ and put out a request for other people who wanted ear-pointing surgery.⁶ He hasn’t posted anything about it since then, so I don’t know if he’s done more ear-pointing.

On the seventh of this month, the ABC Good Morning America show talked about ear pointing.⁷ They showed two more people who’d had ear-pointing: Jordan H., who explains that she contemplated the surgery for eighteen months before having it done, and an unnamed woman with a Mohawk. Both of them had their ears done not by Foxx, but by another body modification artist, Steve H. of Phoenix, Arizona. (If the above video is no longer available, the Daily Mail wrote a summary of some of the key traits of the episode.)⁸

The commentary provided by ABC includes some exaggerations that could create confusion. They claim that ear-pointing is a craze sweeping the nation, the latest fad popular among the kids.

However, as far as I can see, five adults constitute neither a craze, nor kids. The two ear-pointed people who have publicly talked about their ear-pointing have said that they thought about their decision for over a year before they did it, and that they were well aware of the risks involved. All five of them had their ear-pointing performed by expert body modification artists. The five ear-pointings happened over several years. So long as ear-pointing is not an impulsive choice performed on minors by unskilled people—as ABC was trying to suggest—then I don’t see anything to worry about.

I have not seen any articles where these ear-pointed people openly say that they are otherkin. Surprisingly, despite our unusual self-identifications, extreme body modification seems very rare in our community. Over the years, I’ve seen the topic come up for discussion many times, and I’ve often heard otherkin musing about or making plans for such things, but I’m not aware of a single otherkin who has written publicly about any extreme body modifications they’ve had, including ear-pointing. (That is, not counting tattoos or piercings. Those aren’t rare among otherkin.) I’d like to be proven wrong about this, but I’m also not interested in outing anybody’s private life.

- O. Scribner, 2011-04-08

( Sources )

Trigger warnings for this article: information loss. Work-safe.

Last April, Geocities announced that it would shut down its website hosting service, but it gave no date.¹  The deadline has now been given: Geocites will shut down on October 26, 2009.²  You don’t have long to archive your favorite sites on Geocities.  How can this be done most efficiently?  What sites might you want to save?

If Firefox³ is the web browser that you use, you can quickly find Geocities sites in your bookmarks (favorites) with an add-on such as Enhanced Bookmark Search⁴.  If you usually browse the web with Internet Exporer instead, you could import Explorer’s bookmarks into Firefox, in this way: in Firefox’s menu, go to Bookmarks, Organize Bookmarks, File, Import.

This isn’t the quickest way, but you could download the sites manually, by hitting the “Save” button on each page within a site.  (In most browsers, “Save” will be in the menu on the upper left, under “File.”  The drawbacks to this method: it’s tedious, and it doesn’t capture web page elements made with Cascading Style Sheets.  CSS is included in downloads made by a Firefox add-on called Save Complete.⁵)

It would be faster to download sites automatically using a program to do the work for you, such as an offline browser.  I tried HTTrack Website Copier⁶, and I was sufficiently satisfied with its results that I didn’t try out some of the other free offline browsers I’d noticed in a Google search.  (The others were Webreaper, Wget, and PageNest.⁷)  HTTrack is a GPL offline browser for the operating systems Windows and Linux. HTTrack is easy to use: you give it an url (website address), or even a whole list of urls in a text file.  (I’ll provide such a list at the end of this article.  This method is the fastest because it requires less of your involvement, but it can cause problems with sites that don’t have an index page.)  Then, all by itself, the program downloads the entire site, including the sub-pages, pictures, and anything else it finds in there.

After you download a back-up of a site, make sure you skim through it to make sure it’s all there.  Sometimes Geocities says “Service temporarily unavailable,” and so those pages will fail to download.  There are a couple of reasons why this problem is happening: maybe Geocities is getting overloaded with traffic because everyone is rushing for their last chance to download their favorite sites… or maybe Geocities’ service has always been unstable. 

If your own website was hosted by Geocities, I hope you’re planning to move to another web host.  Free web hosts are more common these days, so you can choose among them for the traits that suit you the best.  The daily-updated website http://www.free-webhosts.com⁸ is a good way to compare free web hosts.

You can use Google to comb Geocities for web sites on specific topics.  Type in your search terms, and then include the words “site:geocities.com” in that search (without the quotes).

 I spent more time trying out keywords that could bring up sites on therianthropes and otherkin,⁹ animal-people and persons who consider themselves to be other than human, often in spirit.  I discovered many more sites in addition to those that I described in my previous article.   I have archived all the following Geocities sites, so if you miss out on this, you can ask me for a copy of the ones that you need. ( Read more... )