Otherkin News

Content warnings: none.

May 19. A blogger named Sarah "SapphireWind" Cluck wrote an informal article called "Have you heard of therianthropes or otherkin?" She explains what therianthropes and otherkin are, and tells about her own experience as a dragon otherkin.

Content warnings: none.

A skeptical Finnish-language blogger wrote an entry that covers some basics about otherkin. Google Translate handles it poorly, so I'm not sure of the article's thesis or attitude.

Source

Ez. "Seikkaluja internetin harhamaassa: oletko sinäkin oikeasti eläin?" May 28, 2014. Tämä Päivä (Today). (Personal blog.) http://tamapaiva.blogspot.fi/2014/05/seikkaluja-internetin-harhamaassa.html

Content warnings: None.

October: A dragon otherkin named DLF wrote an article called "Otherkin and Roleplay," asking, "Is there a link between otherkin and roleplay?"

Source

DLF (justanotherkin), "Otherkin and roleplay." 2013-10-10. Justanotherkin (personal blog). http://justanotherkin.tumblr.com/post/63648310657/otherkin-and-roleplay-pt-1
(I linked to this article with permission from DLF.)

Content warnings: None.

October: Mistwolf wrote an article in Spanish called "La Mano Transhumana." Mistwolf also translated the article into English as "The Transhuman Hand." The article "is a proposal for cooperation among different communities involved in an identity search, the Otherkin, Therian, and the Real Vampire community." Mistwolf uses the word "transhuman" to include all of those peoples. The article offers guidelines for how the communities can cooperate in constructive ways.

Source

Mistwolf, "La Mano Transhumana (The Transhuman Hand)." Noctalium. 2013-10. https://noctalium.wordpress.com/textos-comunitarios/la-mano-transhumana-1-0/

Content warnings: None.

August 16: A dragon otherkin who goes by the moniker Dragonslorefury wrote an article to address some of the common questions that people have when they first hear about otherkin. Posted on Dragonslorefury’s personal blog on Tumblr.com, the article is titled “An FAQ on Otherkin for the Perplexed Observer.” Dragonslorefury’s article addresses issues of escapism, the difference between otherkin and therianthropes, and the role of Tumblr in the otherkin community. Dragonslorefury supports this with references from writings on otherkin by other authors, including Lupa's book A Field Guide to Otherkin.



Source

Dragonslorefury, “An FAQ on Otherkin for the Perplexed Observer.” 2013-08-16. Just An’Otherkin. http://justanotherkin.tumblr.com/post/58429596952/an-faq-on-otherkin-for-the-perplexed-observer

(The linked article lists its own trigger warnings.)

August: A trans woman and otherkin in the otherkin community named Jewelfox wrote an essay titled "Why trans* people hate otherkin (and otherkin hate fictives)." Jewelfox explains that why people who have unusual identities tend to disparage other kinds of unusual identities, and why that doesn't help them the way they think it does. She argues that although they're trying to defend their own legitimacy, they're unknowingly supporting the system that oppresses them, in vain hope to get mercy from it.

You can read the whole article. There are good insights in the comments, and on this other post about the essay.



Source

Jewelfox, "Why trans* people hate otherkin (and otherkin hate fictives)." 2013-08-07. Jewelfox. http://jewelfox.dreamwidth.org/2013/08/07/why-trans-people-hate-otherkin.html

Trigger warnings: mental illness (clinical lycanthropy), violence, religion (Catholicism, exorcism, demonic possession).

July: A cryptozoologist named Malcolm Smith wrote an article about a clinical lycanthropy patient who was last heard of in 1992. The subject is William “Bill” David Ramsey (b. 1943-). Since childhood, Ramsey occasionally had situations in which he believed he was becoming a werewolf, during which he behaved inappropriately and violently, and sometimes had hallucinations. These episodes were so severe that he was sometimes arrested and hospitalized. Ramsey was successfully cured of this problem by an exorcism in 1989. For this reason, demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren interpret Ramsey’s condition as demonic possession rather than mental illness. Smith cites from two sources about the Warrens and Ramsey. Michael notes that he could find no information about Ramsey after his interview in 1992.

Here’s some extra context that Smith did not bring up. The below is based on my own research on werewolves and clinical lycanthropy.

Ramsey’s references to moon phases have more similarity to his contemporary pop culture imagery of werewolves than old folklore. His condition had even less resemblance to the behavior of actual wolves. This factor makes it more likely that Ramsey’s beliefs were a mental syndrome rather than a supernatural phenomenon, even if one believes the latter is possible.

I find it odd that Ramsey is not mentioned in the psychological literature on clinical lycanthropy. Perhaps this is only because Ramsey chose not to enter a mental hospital, fearing the stigma. The literature on clinical lycanthropy only talks about people who were admitted to mental hospitals. The lack of formal documentation for this case (aside from the Warrens’ book), and the lack of information about Ramsey after 1992, give me cause to question whether Ramsey’s case might be a complete fabrication.

It’s important to understand that clinical lycanthropy is a psychological syndrome, not a specific mental illness. In the definition of lycanthropy established by Keck, et al., the belief of becoming an animal isn’t connected with any specific mental illnesses. It could happen together with any of them. A person with clinical lycanthropy doesn’t just believe they’re an animal: they really believe they’re physically changing, usually against their will, and they lose control over their behavior.

This case makes me wonder if the scarcity of clinical lycanthropy in psychological literature-- as noted by Keck-- might be because the subjects go to exorcists for help instead of mental hospitals. One of the common features of clinical lycanthropy is that the subject believes that they’re possessed by a demon.



Sources

Malcolm Smith, “The English werewolf.” Malcolm’s musings: Anomalies. 2013-07-31. http://malcolmsanomalies.blogspot.com.au/2013/07/the-english-werewolf.html

(Smith primarily cites from this: Ed and Lorraine Warren, Werewolf: A true story of demonic possession. St. Martin’s, 1991.)

Paul E. Keck, et al., “Lycanthropy: Alive and well in the twentieth century.” Psychological Medicine 18 (1988), p. 113-120.

Trigger warnings: spirituality, religion.

July: The "Ask Papabear" column of the Furry News Network blog responded to a confused anonymous question about otherkin, therianthropes, and religious doctrine.

Source

Papabear, "What Is the 'True' Definition of Otherkin and Therian?" 2013-07-31. Furry News Network. http://www.furrynewsnetwork.com/2013/07/what-is-the-true-definition-of-otherkin-and-therian/