First lecture on therianthropy, and launch of the Therianthropy Research Group

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Trigger warnings: None.

March 5, 2013: At the American University in Washington, D.C., Trevor Addie delivered a guest lecture before an anthropology class (ANTH-331 "Taboos")¹ of twenty people.² Addie delivered a lecture called “Therianthropy: A state of being.” (The lecture is shown in the Youtube video, above.) Addie has a Bachelor of Arts in Justice, with a minor in Anthropology, awarded in 2012³, and is going to law school next. Trevor is also an affiliate of the Therianthropy Research Group, which says that this “appears to be the first ever lecture on Therianthropy.”⁴

The lecture introduces the basics of the experience of therianthropy and the community around it. For the lecture, Addie worked with three people who identify as therians: Wolfstorm, a science student and wolf; Prowl, a computer tech and tiger; and Graytooth, an athlete and prehistoric beardog (Amphicyon cynelos). Addie explains the difference between therianthropy and similar things, such the furry fandom, clinical lycanthropy, and “otherkinism.” Addie lists a few types of shifts that therianthropes describe experiencing, and looks at the significance of the community demographics, and emphasizes the community’s overall attitude of shyness about any public recognition of therianthropy. In the discussion segment at the end, the audience asks some thoughtful and surprising questions.⁵

The Therianthropy Research Group says that the lecture “was also the first public announcement of our research group. Going live on our site the day before, we felt it was the ideal time to be announced to the community.”⁶ The Therianthropy Research Group says of its plans to research therianthropy,

“We aim to conduct professional research with full ethics backing in a hope to try and find not only common themes among the experiences of those who are self-identified therians, but also try and investigate finding a potential cause of therianthropy and bring some understanding in both the scientific communities and society in general about who a therian is and what they experience. […] Together we plan to conduct our own research in our free time with hopes of benefiting the community as a whole. Our research will be conducted according to the scientific method to minimize any biases. We have ethics backing from the University of Northampton; however this does not mean the university shares our opinions, so anything you see on this site is purely a result of our own work.”⁷

Five academics made the Therianthropy Research Group. This includes Timothy Grivell, a postgraduate who wrote an undergraduate dissertation about therianthropy, and has been active in the therianthrope community since 2009. Grivell wrote,

“My main aim in researching therianthropy so far has been to distinguish it from phenomena that are labelled as mental disorders; I take a critical attitude towards such labels, especially when individuals are able to live fully functional lives. I intend to build on the initial, exploratory work to look at the wider implications; what does the existence of therianthropy mean for society, and how can society be better equipped to understand therianthropy? I hope that my research can help to increase both awareness and understanding of therianthropy.”

Dr. Helen Clegg, a senior lecturer in Psychology, says,

“In 2011, I discovered the Therian community through Tim Grivell […] I plan to develop my research into therianthropy by exploring related experiences, such as mental shifts and phantom limbs, developing an understanding of how and why some people become therians whereas others do not, and focusing on a non-pathologising approach to these experiences.”

Elizabeth Roxburgh is a Chartered Psychologist who “was awarded her PhD by the University of Northampton for research exploring the phenomenology and psychology of spiritualist mental mediumship,” and has much interest in parapsychology and spirituality.

Emily Bemelmans, an undergraduate, active in the therianthrope community since 2004, says, “I am fascinated about how humans can feel like they are an animal and whether just human traits are being misidentified or if it really is possible to ‘be’ that specific animal.”

Mario Cintron, an undergraduate, active in the therian community since 2006, says,

“My major interest in therianthropy research involves potential cognitive links for the experience of phantom limbs that many therians report. Are phantom limbs experienced through the same neurological pathways as physical limbs? What kind of activity occurs in the brain when these feelings intensify?”⁸

Mario Cintron wrote a transcript of Addie’s lecture. You can download the transcript from the web-site of the Therianthropy Research Group: here.

- O. Scribner



Sources

1. TherianEdu, “Therianthropy: A state of being.” Published 2013-05-10. Youtube. http://youtu.be/ZMEkuOW5pjs or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMEkuOW5pjs Video.
2. “News.” Posted 2013-05-12. Therianthropy Research Group. http://www.therianthropyresearchgroup.org/index.php/news/
3. “Affiliates.” Therianthropy Research Group. http://www.therianthropyresearchgroup.org/index.php/about/affiliates/
4. “News.”
5. “Affiliates.”
6. “News.”
7. “Home. (Welcome to our site! So what is the Therianthropy Research Group?)” Therianthropy Research Group. http://www.therianthropyresearchgroup.org/
8. “About.” Therianthropy Research Group. 2012-11-24. http://www.therianthropyresearchgroup.org/index.php/about/
9. “Affiliates.”