Otherkin News

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 7: Recently, a misconception has circulated that all otherkin are white, wealthy, middle-class, American teenagers. This stereotype goes with a variety of conjecture about why otherkin are supposedly inventing mythologies about themselves.

To combat this misconception about the demographics of otherkin and the ways that they live, an otherkin named Sareth (roguesareth) revived a blog titled Mundane-Kin. The goal of Mundane-Kin is "to dispel the stereotype that all otherkin are asocial, basement dwellers, or bored teenagers" by publishing articles by otherkin describing their everyday lives (source).

Mundane-Kin's info says, "The purpose of this blog is to dispel the stereotypes and assumptions most people have about otherkin by showcasing who we are in our everyday, mundane, lives." The blog asks for articles about how otherkin and therians "incorporate their otherkin/therian identity into their everyday life, how it can be used in a positive manner, lessons that can be taken from the negative, or how your nonhumaness has perhaps helped you in some way or inspired a hobby or project" (source). The blog was created a year ago, but became inactive for a while.

Sareth specifically requests "articles about being otherkin that are not white middle class teens."

The Mundane-Kin blog has not yet received any articles or questions. If you're interested in submitting an article to Mundane-Kin, the blog has a list of "do's and don'ts for submission" and a more detailed guide for submissions.

Content warnings: For this post on Otherkin News, none. For the linked OtherkinRants blog, profanity. It could unpredictably have virtually any kind of topic that could be upsetting.

June: A blog named OtherkinRants opened on Tumblr.com for venting about one’s frustrations in the otherkin community. The blog accepts asks and submissions, whether anonymous or not. The administrator(s) occasionally state that they have cut off certain exchanges or banned certain topics in order to prevent flame-wars and harassment, so it's not that kind of blog.

Source

OtherkinRants. http://otherkinrants.tumblr.com

(The earliest extant post in its archive is from 2013-06-18: http://otherkinrants.tumblr.com/post/53343148402/into-the-fray )

Content warnings: Transgender transition (not graphic). Extreme body modifications (not graphic).

August 5: An advice blog for trans men, The Art of Transliness, answered a question regarding the difference between a transgender person's transition (hormone replacement therapy and gender-confirming surgeries) vs. the extreme body modifications of the Cat Lady.

Source

Zak and anonymous, Untitled post. 2013-08-05. The Art of Transliness (blog). http://theartoftransliness.com/post/60407878804/hey-youre-great-my-pops-a-pretty-smart-older-adult

Content warnings: None.

August 29: Author and mermaid enthusiast Carolyn Turgeon interviewed a person with a mermaid soul, named Cynthia Rivers. Rivers has been very active in the online part of the real mermaid community for years. She runs a blog for it. She's an officer in a helpful mermaid group in the virtual reality setting of Second Life. She eventually got herself a mermaid tail, which she wears in her pool. Excerpt from interview:

“ … he asked if I believed in mermaids. ‘I have to,’ I replied, ‘I am one.’”

The mermaid community is separate from the otherkin community. It apparently sprang up with little mutual contact between them.

Source

Carolyn Turgeon, “Cynthia Rivers, Mermaid and Mermaid Blogger.” 2013-08-29. I Am A Mermaid. http://iamamermaid.com/2012/08/29/cynthia-rivers-mermaid-and-mermaid-blogger/

Content warnings: For this article, none. The linked web-site contains some images that are unsettling because of how they blend human and animal bodies: body horror, the uncanny valley, and artistic representation of injury to humans and animals.

August: A fine artist and therianthrope named M. Bolalek (“your-deer”) created a web-site titled The Artist Bestiary. The web-site is “a collection of art and artists merging the human and the animal,” “approached from a therian perspective,” to “inspire and inform within the therian community.”

Bolalek wrote, “At the moment, there are seven entries, with at least 40 more to come, as well as intermittent critical analysis and musings. I am aiming tentatively for an update schedule of 2 to 3 entries per month for now.”

Some of the artwork showcased in The Artist Bestiary will be familiar to Otherkin News readers, because we have also made note of some of the latest fine art that blends human and animal. Please see the “art” tag on Otherkin News for ours. For example, I'm pleased to see that we both reflect upon Art Orienté Objet's intriguing transformation-as-performance-piece May the horse live in me (mine, theirs). Between both blogs, we'll miss less innovation, and be more enriched. I look forward to seeing more discussion of therianthropic explorations in fine art.

- O. Scribner



Sources

M. Bolalek (your-deer), The Artist Bestiary. http://artistbestiary.wordpress.com

M. Bolalek (your-deer), “About.” The Artist Bestiary. http://artistbestiary.wordpress.com/about/

M. Bolalek (your-deer), “The Artist Bestiary.” Your-deer. http://your-deer.tumblr.com/post/58836997334/the-artist-bestiary