otherkinnews | Entries tagged with topic: a little off topic

Trigger warnings: None.

June: A UK official, Councillor Simon Parkes, has publicly stated that he believes that he has an extraterrestrial mother, and that he has fathered an extraterrestrial child. He has no concrete evidence that either of them exist. He's going to star in a documentary about his purportedly frequent contact with extraterrestrials. He states that he doesn't believe that this background interferes with his work on the council.

As far as I'm aware, Parkes hasn't participated in communities of people who identify as extraterrestrials (who call themselves starseeds) or other than human (otherkin).

Sources

Stuart Minting, "Whitby councillor claims to have fathered alien child." 2013-06-17. The Northern Echo. http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/10488568.Whitby_councillor_claims_to_have_fathered_alien_child/

"My 'mother' is a 9ft green alien, says councillor." 2012-03-23. The Scarborough News. http://www.thescarboroughnews.co.uk/news/local/my-mother-is-a-9ft-green-alien-says-councillor-1-4377481

idoubtit, "An extraterrestrial affair." 2013-06-19. Doubtful News. http://doubtfulnews.com/2013/06/an-extraterrestrial-affair/

hoyvinglavin64.livejournal.com

I'm working to raise funds for a film project some friends and I are working on. It's inspired in part by otherkin/fictionkin issues so I'd think people here might be interested. Please donate if you can and if you can't, then please share it around and spread the word! http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/book-girl

frameacloud

Trigger warnings: The linked page mentions occult spirituality, and blood.

See June 2013 in review on Vampire Community News by Merticus.

frameacloud

Trigger warnings: The linked article talks about spirituality at length, and about relationship problems.

Last May: On the Witches' Voice (WitchVox), a Neo-Pagan online news magazine, Rev. Natasha Hiller published an article about Earth Angels such as herself, who "are Angels that are incarnated here on Earth to teach others about love."¹ This article adheres closely to the description of Earth Angels used by (and I think invented by) Doreen Virtue, a New Age healer, author of the book Earth Angels. Hiller's article also refers to Virtue's writing.

Source

1. Natasha Hiller, "Earth Angels." 2013-05-19. http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usoh&c=words&id=15158

frameacloud

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/

frameacloud

Trigger warnings: Much about belief in paranormal phenomena and occult spirituality.

Last month, Ketrino updated an informal collection of information about a subculture of mermaids that emerged around 2006. They’re real people-- mostly teenage girls-- who hope to physically become mermaids by doing magic spells. Some of them claim to already be real mermaids. Ketrino compares them to otherkin and therianthropes, noting that they’re isolated from those groups. These mermaids sound like a different group of people than the mermaids who were at MerCon.

Sources

1. Ketrino T. Ghoe, “A study of mermaids and mermaid wannabes on the internet.” Created 2012-05. Updated 2013-04. Ketrino’s otherkin essays, rants, and other writings. http://ketrino.angelfire.com/merstudy.html

2. O. Scribner, “Mermaid convention.” 2012-08-12. Otherkin News. http://otherkin-news.livejournal.com/23389.html

frameacloud

Trigger warnings: Mentions of sexuality and occult spirituality. The linked webpages include some photos of people who are clothed but sexual, and so may be considered not safe for work.

The free alternative newspaper of the Capital Region of New York State, Metroland, recently ran an interview¹ with fine artist² Jason Martin, of Power Animal Systems. Martin performs music while costumed as an human-like wolf in a tight silver space suit, a “sexy spacewolf warrior,”³ one of a trio of such animal-masked performers.

Martin emphasizes that his artwork is a spiritual performance, involving supernatural entities that have appeared to him since his early childhood. In the interview, Martin said of his band, “It spoke to a lot of young people […] People inclined toward alternative lifestyle or ‘queerness’ got it right away. Everytime I put on one of these costumes, it’s not zentai, it’s not cosplay, it’s not furry, it’s not role playing […] It’s channeling entities. They’re real as individuals but also representations of all this encoded information, only a small percentage of which I understand.”⁴ The performances have more spiritual depth than simply wearing animal costumes for entertainment.

In his artist’s statement, Martin explains that Power Animal Systems “engages species-queer paganistic animism […] rituals, conjuring mysterious energies, removing anthropomorphism from its harmless, cartoon usage and connecting it to less safe, more real, quasi-mythical archetypes with Jungian undertones and erotic juxtapositions.”⁵ I’ve never encountered the phrase “species-queer” before… Google shows about 2100 results for it, so it’s had some use.

The Power Animal Systems had been booked to perform with Lady Gaga this spring, but that tour was cancelled.⁶

Sources

1. Josh Potter, “Into the third dimension.” 2013-02-28. Metroland. http://metroland.net/2013/02/28/into-the-third-dimension
2. Jason Martin, “Bio.” http://jasonmartinwebsite.com/bio.html
3. Potter.
4. Ibid.
5. Martin.
6. Potter.

merticus.livejournal.com

Demystifying ‘Real’ Vampirism For The Rest Of Us
An overview of modern vampirism for the general public
By Merticus; Atlanta Vampire Alliance [AVA] & Suscitatio Enterprises, LLC
February 10, 2013 – This article may be redistributed, translated, or adopted by other organizations provided there are no content modifications and full citation is included.
http://merticus.com/vampirenews/2013/02/16/demystifying-real-vampirism-for-the-rest-of-us/
http://www.atlantavampirealliance.com/educational/demystification.html

merticus.livejournal.com

‘Vampirism’ In A Case Of Dissociative Identity Disorder & Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Journal of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics; 2012 – Issue 81: Pages 322-323
Link: http://www.alphagalileo.org/ViewItem.aspx?ItemId=128321&CultureCode=en
Full PDF: http://www.researchgate.net/publication/230598656_%27Vampirism%27_in_a_case_of_dissociative_identity_disorder_and_post-traumatic_stress_disorder

Please note that ‘Clinical Vampirism’, ‘Autovampirism’, and ‘Renfield’s Syndrome’ do NOT appear in the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV + TR; 1994/2000) and ‘Vampirism’ will NOT be included in the forthcoming Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V; 2013) as a mental disorder, listed paraphilia, or under ‘Paraphilias Not Elsewhere Classified’.

If you personally self-identify as a “real vampi(y)re” please take a moment to answer the following question (divided for both Primary Practicing Sanguinarian (Blood Feeding) and Psychic (Energy Feeding) Self-Identified Vampires). If you identify as sexual, pranic, elemental, hybrid, eclectic, adaptive, living, or other identifiers sometimes ascribed to vampirism please choose the the category which best encompasses your primary feeding method: Sanguinarian (blood consumption, physical fluid-blood exchanges, etc.) or Psychic (psi/chi/qi/life energy feeding or manipulation, metaphysical, spiritual, etc.). *Note: This poll will be permanently relaunched in April 2013 and hosted via http://www.suscitatio.com; see “Projects” section of website.

Poll Link: http://merticus.com/vampirenews/2013/02/09/real-life-vampires-vampirism-mental-illness/

Vampire Community News (VCN) POLL CLOSED FEBRUARY 15, 2013 - ANALYSIS BELOW & AT LINK:
http://www.suscitatio.com/images/DiagnosedMentalConditionsAmongVampires-VCN+VEWRSAnalysis2013.jpg

merticus.livejournal.com

VVC Public Transcript Meeting - September 23, 2012 - PDF:
http://www.veritasvosliberabit.com/images/VVCPublicMeeting09.23.12.pdf

VVC Public Transcript Meeting - September 23, 2012 - MSWord:
http://www.veritasvosliberabit.com/images/VVCPublicMeeting09.23.12.doc

Voices of the Vampire Community (VVC)
Public Meeting – September 23, 2012

Attendees (21):

Belfazaar – House Of Mystic Echoes & New Orleans Vampire Association (NOVA)
Claycat – Independent Representative
DarkFess – Russian Vampire Community
Delores DeMuse – House Of Muses
Heidica Northernlight – Norwegian Vampire Community
Horus Sat – Italian League Of Real Vampires (ALIRV)
Isealdor – House Etherium & Vampire Realm Of Darkness
Ithril – Independent Representative
Lady Slinky – Vampire Community Message Board (VCMB) & Western WA Vampires
Legardored – Dutch Vampire Community & Independent Representative
Lucien von Wolfe – The Nightside Society
Merticus – Atlanta Vampire Alliance (AVA) & Suscitatio Enterprises, LLC
Mistress Mikyla – Vampire Church & Independent Representative
Octarine Valur – House Valur & South African Vampyre Alliance (SAVA)
RavenHarte – Clann Caladvwlch
Sanguinarius – Sanguinarius.org
Spurn – Danish Vampire Community
Sylvere ap Leanan – Gathering Dusk & Vampires-Fetlife
The Pink Lady – Vampirism eList & New River Valley Vampires Meetup
Victoria – Detroit-Area Vampire Meetup
Xeurika – House Quinotaur

Discussion Agenda:

a. Examining The Responses From The Vampire Community Accountability Questionnaire - http://veritasvosliberabit.com/images/VampireCommunityAccountabilityQuestionnaire-Responses-07.30.12.pdf (PDF) - A Four-Part Question: (1) Grandiosity, Narcissism, and Egotism to name just a few; how are these character traits among some self-identified real vampires advancing and/or hindering 'progress', education, and networking within the vampire community? (2) What responses most alarmed you from the Accountability Questionnaire, and why? (3) Does the vampire community possess the necessary motivation or skill set needed to effectively address the concerns and implement suggestions outlined in some of these responses? (4) If you believe change is needed, where and how should we begin bringing it about?

b. Unintended Consequences Of Facebook & Smartphone Social Networking - A Four-Part Question: (1) What are the pros and cons of Facebook groups for conducting vampire community discussions? (2) Do you believe that Facebook and other smartphone-centered social networking platforms are enabling behaviors and attitudes which would not have otherwise presented in more structured forums, blog, and static website postings? (3) Are self-identified vampires capable of achieving a broad environment of respect, cooperation, and non-combativeness without fragmenting into smaller tribes of like-minded individuals who choose to break off from the broader group? (4) Do you believe the time has come to evolve past the highly subjective distinctions between the OVC (Online Vampire Community) and VC (Vampire Community) now that most of us are connected by technology, smartphones, and blended online/offline interactions? In other words, should we more formally recognize that we are all sociologically part of the same community but share very diverse and sometimes irreconcilable differences in how we interpret our identity and/or practice our personal vampi(y)rism?

c. Donor Integration & Treatment In The Vampire Community - A Three-Part Question: (1) Under what circumstances, if any, should donors be actively involved in vampire community politics or activities? (2) As a vampire, how do you involve your donor(s) in vampire-related matters (albeit House, group, or socially) and how are they treated? (3) As a donor, do you believe your opinions matter within the vampire community and that you are treated fairly?

d. Goodwill & Philanthropy Among Vampires: What are different vampire groups, organizations, and individuals doing to assist their local communities (vampiric and non-vampiric)? What charities, long-term projects, and assistance is being given to others during difficult economic times and natural disasters? How can others help?

e. Other topics you’d like to bring up for discussion?

*** SEE LINKED TRANSCRIPT (PDF or MSWord) - 43 PAGES ***

merticus.livejournal.com

Vampire Community Accountability Questionnaire - The Responses
July 18, 2012 – July 27, 2012

Responses - Text & PDF: http://www.veritasvosliberabit.com/accountability.html

The purpose of this questionnaire is to objectively evaluate what issues are adversely affecting the Vampire Community (if any) and what steps can be taken in the future both as a larger body and individually to proactively address these issues for the betterment of all parties involved.

The Voices of the Vampire Community (VVC) would like to thank the 230 respondents to this questionnaire and encourage constructive discussions based on the opinions and ideas offered for review. Responses were collected by Merticus of the VVC on July 28-29, 2012 and made publicly available to the vampire community on July 30, 2012. The responses to this questionnaire were solicited from dozens of ‘real vampire’ related websites, groups, forums, mailing lists, and social media outlets and do not necessarily represent the views of the VVC or its members. The VVC assumes no responsibility over the use, interpretation, or accuracy of responses and claims made by those who chose to participate. This document may be reproduced and transmitted for non-commercial use without permission provided there are no modifications.

merticus.livejournal.com

Attention Sanguinarian, Psychic, & "Real" Self-Identified Vampi(y)res:

Vampire Community Accountability Questionnaire

http://www.veritasvosliberabit.com/accountability.html

The purpose of this questionnaire is to objectively evaluate what issues are adversely affecting the Vampire Community, if any, and what steps can be taken in the future both as a larger body and individually to proactively address these issues for the betterment of all parties involved. If you have something you'd like to say or suggestions you'd like to make, now is the opportunity for your voice to be heard.

We have received over 170 responses in the past week - if you have not completed your entry please do so ASAP. We will be closing this questionnaire to new responses on Friday, July 27, 2012 at 11:59 PM PT. If the form is not working on your computer/cell, you may alternatively submit your responses via e-mail to VVCNotification@gmail.com. We look forward to compiling your responses in both web/text and PDF format and distributing for review and discussion to the vampire community. If you have an opinion, complaint, gripe, weight to get off your chest, rant, compliment, idea, suggestion, etc. about ANY aspect of the O/VC (Online/Offline/Facebook/Groups/Houses/Meetups/Gatherings/etc.) please take a moment and put it in writing. You can type as much information as you wish in the corresponding fields.

Thank you!

houseofchimeras.livejournal.com

While far from current and new news this is something we came across that might be news to them.

We recently came across a person who is called “Jason The Horse.” He is a person who believes he is a horse (a work horse to be exact if we are not mistaken) in a human body via reincarnation. He has had been on twice on an online radio show, has had several articles online written about him, he has personally written a small book through Lulu about his experiences, and even has had his book reviewed by several people online.

So far, the word therian or otherkin has not really been mentioned outright and in full nor has Jason himself during at least the radio show stated outright that he is a horse therianthrope. However, other people have used the word therian in reviews and comments on his book as well as during the latest radio show a dragon otherkin called in and asked Jason his views on otherkin plus he speaks of meeting other people that are animals in human form, so from there it is apparent he knows of the community to some fair extent.

Here are some (there are more) articles about him -
http://www.examiner.com/article/jason-the-horse-the-soul-of-a-horse-trapped-a-human-body
http://www.coasttocoastam.com/guest/the-horse-jason/6862
http://www.theatlanticwire.com/entertainment/2011/10/what-if-you-are-horse-human-form/43470/

Here are the radio shows he appeared on -
http://www.coasttocoastam.com/guest/the-horse-jason/6862
(For people that one to listen in without becoming a member, you can at least listen to the most current interview at Sanguinus Audio Archive for free - http://www.sanguinarius.org/audio.shtml )

And here is his book What If You Are A Horse In A Human Form? -
http://www.lulu.com/shop/jason-the-horse/what-if-you-are-a-horse-in-human-form/paperback/product-18770009.html

- Spiridon

merticus.livejournal.com

Fortean Times - Special Creatures Of The Night Issue
"Fortean Bureau Of Investigation - Creatures Of The Night"
By George Binning - Issue 288 - Pages 40-42 - June 2012
http://www.forteantimes.com/

The Werewolf/Therian Community and Vampire Community is discussed on pages 40-42; including Greg's interactions with WolfVanZandt.

frameacloud

Trigger warnings: media attention. The end of the video shows some mild erotic artwork that's not safe for work.

Shown above: the complete episode of “Furries.”

January 3, 2012. The National Geographic TV series Taboo, focused on practices which are forbidden or at least not mainstream, aired an episode called “Furries.” It’s about the furry fandom, a very large community of people who like art, stories, and costumes depicting human-like animals. For many people who consider themselves furry fans, this interest is just a hobby, but some, it does mean something deeper about being animal-like themselves. The Taboo episode leans toward depicting the furry fandom as the latter, calling furry fans “people who love animals so much they want to become them. … people who believe they are part human and part animal.” And so on. The episode mostly presents furry fans in a friendly way, but is this portrayal of furries as animal-people accurate? Flayrah, a furry news blog, pointed out that the episode cites

“unnamed research to say that ‘up to 85% believe they’re not entirely human’ (presumably that of Nuka’s collaborator, Dr. Kathy Gerbasi, whose team has regularly surveyed Anthrocon in recent years).”¹

This is a surprising estimate, because experience in the furry fandom shows that the majority don’t identify as animals. I couldn’t find that particular “85%” statistic in Gerbasi’s work. I listened to the video, and it sounds like the narrator actually says “up to 25% believe they’re not entirely human,” a more reasonable statistic that does appear in Gerbasi’s article “Furries A to Z,” when describing the results of surveying the furry fandom:

“The second largest group was the ‘distorted unattained’ type (n = 51). This furry [fan] considers the self to be less than 100% human and would become 0% human if possible. This type comprised 25% of the furries [furry fans] who answered both key identity questions.”²

Gerbasi’s surveys show that a significant minority (25%) of people within the furry fandom do wish to become animals, so National Geographic’s portrayal is not inaccurate.

- O. Scribner

1. GreenReaper, “Video: National Geographic profiles fursuiters on ‘Taboo.’” Flayrah: Furry food for thought. 2011-12-19. http://www.flayrah.com/3773
2. Kathleen C. Gerbasi, Nicholas Paolone, et al., “Furries from A to Z (Anthropomorphism to Zoomorphism).” Society and Animals 16 (2008), page 215.

frameacloud

Trigger warnings: nothing that I can think of.

The Forest Voice, an independent magazine “for those among us who are nonhuman in nature,” has today released its first issue, “Walking Man's Road,” as a free downloadable computer file (PDF) designed to be printed out on letter-size paper. It's listed on ZineLibrary,¹ and the file itself is hosted on Mediafire.²

The editor of the magazine, a winged person named Tsu, is accepting art, articles, and other media for the next issue. The submission deadline for the upcoming Spring issue is on 2012-03-01. See this post for details.³

See also this related article, shown earlier on Otherkin News: Last chance to submit articles to zine glamourbomb (2011-11-30).

- O. Scribner

( Sources )

avianthrophile.livejournal.com

Trigger warnings: none.

Guest reporter Avia/Tsu here, updating with a couple of news posts with

waywind's permission.

To Dream, Perchance To Soar is the first published novel by Ashlyn Nafina, known to the otherkin community as

ccfeathers. Ashlyn has been writing since childhood, creating a number of stories for her friends inside the community, and this was not her first long story, but, it is her first that had been written and edited for publishing, with the hope that it will reach the otherkin community as well as others who might identify with the metaphor of the story.

Set in an alternate France, the story stars Parisian girl Aile Molyneaux, who has always known she was not complete without wings. When a strange aurora opens in the sky above her home city, and alien visitors, nicknamed les volants ("the flying ones") by the local people, arrive bringing tales of another world, all she can think about is the possibility that magic is really real... and that means she might too be able to become one of les volants.

But transformation is just the beginning of her story, because les volants, known as Ka'aulele in their own musical and magical language, see transformation as more than just a one-time thing. It shapes you and changes you in spiritual ways. And though Aile does not realise it, her desire to transform placed her in the center of a much bigger quest for change... maybe, related to the reason the Ka'aulele are there at all.

The story is deliberately designed to be sympathetic to the feelings of otherkin, while being at the same time an enjoyable spiritual adventure story for young adults and older.

To Dream, Perchance to Soar, nicknamed by its author as "Soar", is 412 pages long and $14.99 in print, available from Lulu (see Sources). An ebook version should be available in about one week from the author's website (see Sources).

Sources

1. http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/to-dream-perchance-to-soar/18725370
2. http://nafina.com/soar/

frameacloud

Magazine cover adorned with an old-fashioned illustration of a stag and a unicorn.

Trigger warnings: nothing that I can think of.

The Forest Voice, an independent magazine “for those among us who are nonhuman in nature,” will publish its first issue this winter. The editor, a winged person named Tsu, called for people to submit art and articles of various kinds for in the magazine:

“stories, poetry, art, quotes, essays, glamourbombs, recipes, anything you like. … Anything that blurs fantasy and reality (making it seem like you are writing as a physical nonhuman in this world) is particularly welcome, as I hope this zine will also be a glamourbomb, for people who don’t know about nonhumans.”

Are you interested in seeing your work in this magazine? Send it in, but hurry: submissions for this issue will close on the afternoon of December 1, 2011, after which the editor will begin accepting submissions for the spring issue.

- O. Scribner

frameacloud

Trigger warnings: spirituality and science together.

A study carried out by Dr. Jason Braithwaite and published in the journal Cortex last July showed that instability in the temporal lobe— even in sober, mentally “normal” people— correlate with out-of-body experiences (OBEs) as well as sensations of shape-shifting.

Braithwaite explains that the temporal lobe is the part of the brain that “interprets the sensory and other information coming in from the body and places it on a body map, giving us our sense of being inside our body, of looking out from our eyes. If this interpretation goes wrong, a hallucination can occur …”¹ Braithwaite performed the study upon “63 University students, 17 of whom (26%) claimed to have experienced at least one OBE in their lifetime.”² The subjects were healthy, mentally “normal” people who were not under the influence of drugs.

The questionnaire part of the study included asking the subjects questions from the Cardiff Anomalous Perception Scale (CAPS), which includes in the “body distortion” section the question, “Do you ever have the sensation that your body, or part of it, is changing or has changed shape?”³ The original research article does not state how many subjects answered “yes” to this specific question or scored high in the “body distortion” section of CAPS. However, it does state that subjects who had experienced an OBE were more likely to have experienced body distortion than subjects who hadn’t experienced an OBE.⁴

Braithwaite summarized some correlations found in the study: “OBEers reported significantly more perceptual anomalies … relative to the non-OBEers. … OBEers had a tendency to be more hallucinatory-prone compared to non-OBEers.”⁵

Readers interested in this study can download a PDF of Braithwaite’s original research article via the ScienceDirect database, accessible via your local or school library. Each library’s web-site has a different route to access the article databases; please ask your librarian how.

- O. Scribner

( Sources )

frameacloud

Trigger warnings for this article: none that I can think of.

On October 4, 2011, on Sweden's channel 5, a TV series titled Outsiders aired an episode about the furry fandom. This includes at least one furry fan who is also a therian.

You can watch the video itself on the official web site, in Swedish without subtitles, although some interviews are in spoken English:

To clarify how these terms are actually defined in our respective communities: Furry fans are not synonymous with therianthropes; their subcultures and priorities differ. People in the furry fandom do not necessarily identify as animals, in a spiritual way or otherwise. The furry fandom is primarily about appreciation of arts depicting humanized (anthropomorphic) animals. People who are therianthropes definitely do identify as animals, but they do not necessarily participate in the furry fandom.

According to Lanina, a therian in Sweden, this episode showed these people:

“- Big cat therian Pao …who wears cat ears and tail.
- A bunch of fursuiters, Swedish (person with snow leopard/wolf fursona), American (wolf fursona) and German (purple wolf fursona).

“During the entire programme they defined furry as ‘being spiritually connected to an animal’ or ‘wanting to be an animal’.”¹

Lanina then wrote a few blog posts in Swedish regarding the episode: “Outsiders om furries (Outsiders on furries),” offering a definition of furry fans. “Freakshow,” about wariness about appearing on TV. “Live and let live,” about Pao, who herself has a blog where she is trying to clear up misconceptions after the episode.

Thanks to Lanina for bringing this to the attention of the Werelist forums. I have cited Lanina with her permission.

- O. Scribner

( Source )

Profile

Otherkin News

About

Otherkin News is a collaborative, volunteer-run blog for sharing news for otherkin, therianthropes, fictionfolk, plural systems, and all sorts of alterhumans. You can join and post here about current events in our communities and newspaper articles that are about us. The person moderating this is

frameacloud. Everyone is welcome to subscribe and explore our tags.

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Otherkin News

News for all sorts of alterhumans

Entries tagged with topic: a little off topic

UK official believes he has ET family

Book Girl - A Modern Fairy Tale

Vampire community news for June 2013

WitchVox article on Earth Angels

More kinds of ear pointing body mods

Another mermaid subculture

Interview with Jason Martin of Power Animal Systems

Demystifying ‘Real’ Vampirism For The Rest Of Us

Real-Life Vampires, Vampirism, & Mental Illness

VVC Public Transcript Meeting - September 23, 2012

The Responses - Vampire Community Accountability Questionnaire

Vampire Community Accountability Questionnaire

Jason The Horse: What If You Are A Horse In A Human Form?

Fortean Times - Special Creatures Of The Night Issue - June 2012

National Geographic says furries want to be animals

Forest Voice zine released

To Dream, Perchance To Soar: a new otherkin novel

Last chance to submit articles to zine glamourbomb

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July 2025

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