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Business claims to offer transformation
Sep. 14th, 2013 08:00 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
frameacloudAugust: A business called Haunted Curiosities not only claims to interview vampires and werewolves, it also shows what it claims to be an authentic video of a physical shape-shift into a wolf-man-like creature. The business also sells expensive supernatural “transformations,” which require the buyer to be flown to another country in person. For more information, see the exposé at Disinformation.
Frater Isla, “Haunted Curiosities’ Guide to Duping Goth Kids and Twilight Fans.” 2013-08-15. Disinformation. http://disinfo.com/2013/08/haunted-curiosities-guide-to-duping-goth-kids-and-twilight-fans/
frameacloudLast May: A therianthrope* named Wolf VanZandt (author of The Therian Timeline) created a web-page on the psychology of therianthropes. His page, “The Mind of the Were,” tells about their common experiences (such as mental shifting), information about them collected from surveys, and some possible explanations for why they are this way. There’s also an audio version of that page.
* A therianthrope is a person who identifies as an animal.
Wolf VanZandt, “The Mind of the Were.” Created 2013-05. Updated 2013-07-20. The Therian Timeline. http://theriantimeline.com/therianthropy/the_mind_of_the_were
New book on mystery big cats
Jun. 14th, 2013 07:55 amframeacloudLast May, George Monbiot's book Feral was published. An extract of the book was published in The Guardian, a British newspaper. The extract is about sightings of non-native big cats in Britain.1 Cryptozoologists (people who study sightings of questionably real animals, where we need more proof that these animals are real) call these sightings "mystery big cats" or "alien big cats." Monbiot wrote about the lack of proof for the mystery big cats:
"Of the photographs and fragments of footage I have seen, around half are evidently domestic cats. Roughly a quarter are cardboard cut-outs, cuddly toys, the result of crude Photoshopping or – as the surrounding vegetation reveals – pictures taken in the tropics. The remainder are so distant and indistinct that they could be anything: dogs, deer, foxes, bin liners, yetis on all fours. [...] That is about the extent of it: no photos, no captures, no dung, no corpses [...] not even a verifiable footprint. The Beasts of Britain have evaded police helicopters and armed response teams (it beats logging car crime), a five-week hunt by the Royal Marines, a succession of big cat experts and bounty hunters and the mass deployment of tracking, attracting and sensing technologies."2
There have been many sightings of mystery big cats, and many attempts to collect proof of them, but no proof has yet been found. Monbiot asks whether these sightings might represent some sort of wishful thinking. Doubtful News, a news blog that takes a skeptical look at supposedly paranormal current events, spoke approvingly of the book.3
The subject of mystery big cats is relevant to this blog. Around 2002, a big cat therianthrope named Barakus Leviathan expressed a belief that the mystery big cats might be therianthropes who can physically shape-shift into animal form.4 I have heard similar views expressed by therianthropes who have faith that physical shape-shifting might be possible.
1. George Monbiot, "Big-cat sightings: Is Britain suffering from mass hysteria?" 2013-05-21. The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/21/big-cat-sightings-mass-hysteria
2. Ibid.
3. Sharon Hill (idoubtit), "British big cats: Where's the evidence?" 2013-05-22. Doubtful News. http://doubtfulnews.com/2013/05/british-big-cats-wheres-the-evidence/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=british-big-cats-wheres-the-evidence
4. Barakus Leviathan, “A.B.C.: Alien Big Cats.” Circa 2002. The Draconcat. http://barakusdraconcat.tripod.com/id4.htm
Neurological perspective on OBE, shifting
Nov. 26th, 2011 02:58 pmframeacloudA 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.
( Sources )
frameacloudHere's a list of some new projects, articles, blogs, and translations from the past few months. (And, in some cases, some that I discovered only in the past few months, but which existed earlier than that. I assume they could use a little publicity.) I intend to post a summary of new otherkin creations of this kind each month from now on. The highlights of the projects listed here include: plans to bring recognition for otherkin by means of something resembling the OpenID system, a couple articles about surgical body modification for otherkin, and several articles exploring whether being otherkin should be diagnosed as a mental variation.
NEW PROJECTS
Tsu, a winged person, is collecting entries for the first issue of a new otherkin ’zine, The Forest Voice. Tsu told me via e-mail that when finished, this will be available in both PDF and print-on-demand. The theme for the issue is “walking man’s road: the difficulty of living as nonhuman in the human world.” Do you have any writing or art to offer?
Trigger warnings: homesickness, but it's not currently described in a vivid way.
Spectrum-X, a mage, wants to write a “directory on post-human/species modification,” an organized collection of links that tell how people can physically transform themselves by means of virtual reality, costumes, and surgery. Send ideas! There’s not much to see there yet, but the directory will be at this web-site.
Trigger warnings: body issues, surgery. Currently not graphic, but may become graphic later.
NEW ARTICLES
“Feathertail’s otherkin FAQ,” by Feathertail, 2011-10-05,
Another introduction to otherkin, this one offering genuinely common questions with quite brief answers, well organized in sections: the basics; how to relate to otherkin; otherkin and religion; otherkin-ness and you.
Trigger warnings: none that I can think of.
“‘Non-human,’” by an anonymous bird otherkin, 2011-10-30.
On problems with calling ourselves “non-human:” it defines us by what we are not; and it denies our humanity, which is not the best solution.
Trigger warnings: none that I can think of.
“The skeptical otherkin #1: ‘Otherkin are delusional,’” by Feathertail, 2011-10-17.
An otherkin considers various aspects of how one can argue that otherkin are delusional.
Trigger warnings: mental health issues, ableist language.
“The skeptical otherkin #2: Relatively speaking,” by Feathertail, 2011-10-22.
Should otherkin be silenced so the concept won’t spread? Examining a slippery slope fallacy.
Trigger warnings: vividly describes religious intolerance.
“Transspecies diagnosis,” by Rua, 2011-09-27.
Rua, a sidhe, argues that the DSM-IVTR criterion for gender identity disorder (transgender) matches otherkin so closely that one need only swap the word “gender” for “species.” Rua argues that if we could get transspecies recognized as a mental “disorder,” it could be a step toward getting otherkin accepted as something for real… and acknowledges that this would be sort of an ironic way of accomplishing this.
Trigger warnings: gender issues, body issues, mental health issues, ableist language.
“Redefining p-shifting,” by Tsu, 2011-10-25.
Tsu argues that otherkin should consider surgery and virtual reality as a real way to attain physical transformation. Gives a few speculative examples.
Trigger warnings: body issues, surgery. Not graphic.
“I love you all; how can I help,” by Feathertail, 2011-10-21.
Forming plans to create an OpenID system for non-human avatars in virtual and augmented reality, as a way for otherkin to achieve mainstream recognition.
Trigger warnings: none that I can think of.
“Here’s how I can help,” by Feathertail, 2011-10-25
Sequel to the above article.
Trigger warnings: none that I can think of.
“Deconstruction of an idea,” by Feathertail, 2011-11-09.
Further thoughts on how to create an OpenID system for non-human avatars. Considering the role of a personality quiz in constructing such a thing.
Trigger warnings: none that I can think of.
“More on tagging,” by Feathertail, 2011-11-12.
Further thoughts on how to create an OpenID system for non-human avatars.
Trigger warnings: none that I can think of.
“The otherkin (Die Anderen - Otherkin),” by Apu Kuntur (Stefan N. K.), no date.
A dragon/seraphim otherkin points out the connection between dragons and angels: seraphim, the Biblical “fiery flying serpents.”
Original German, and English translation.
Trigger warnings: vivid description of metaphysical experiences.
“I, an angel? Flying With Angel Wings - The Path to Myself (Ich, ein Engel? Auf Engelsflügeln zur Erkenntnis),” by Apu Kuntur (Stefan N. K.), no date.
More thoughts on the similarities of dragons and angelic seraphim.
Original German, and English translation.
Trigger warnings: vivid description of metaphysical experiences.
NEW FOREIGN-LANGUAGE ARTICLES
“Pride – ett tal (Pride—a speech),” by Susitar, 2011-08-06.
(In Swedish.) Transcript of a speech about therianthropy, delivered at a Pride event by a wolf therian.
Trigger warnings: gender issues, body issues.
“Ich bin ein Drache (Die Otherkin-FAQ) (I am a dragon [The otherkin FAQ]),” by Apu Kuntur (Stefan N. K.), no date.
(In German.) Based on, but not completely a translation of, Baxil’s Draconity FAQ in English.
Trigger warnings: ableism.
NEW TRANSLATIONS OF ARTICLES FROM ENGLISH INTO FOREIGN LANGUAGES
Laopa produced a Spanish translation of Wolf Van Zandt’s article "History of therianthropy and the therian community," which was originally in English.
Trigger warnings: mental health, metaphysics, brief description of some unhappy conflicts in the community.
“Smokowatość FAQ (Draconity FAQ),” by Baxil, Polish translation by Nufuwyr.
About those who call themselves dragons.
Trigger warnings: ableism.
NEW BLOGS
Kin Diet, by (author not stated?), first post 2011-10-02.
A collection of recipes selected to please various types of otherkin and therians.
Trigger warnings: this link sometimes describes and includes photographs of foods likely to make certain readers feel uncomfortable, including meat and blood.
- O. Scribner
frameacloud2009-05-14, from the Herald Weekend Post, a South African newspaper est. 1846:
An artist, Guy Thesen, is having an exhibition in the Knysna Fine Art Gallery this May, called Considering Therianthropes. His original sculptures and paintings are inspired by the therianthropes (meaning “human-animals”) in ancient cave paintings made by the local San people.1 You can watch a video about Thesen’s exhibition, where he talks about the symbolic meanings of his own therianthropic art, as well as that of the San.2 (Video makes sound, but is otherwise “safe for work.”) He gives a fascinating lecture about how the therianthropes in rock art are thought to be based on the sensations that people have while they’re in trance, which are interpreted in art as physical transformations. You can read more about the inspiring cave paintings in the book Capturing the Spoor: An Exploration of Southern African Rock Art, by Eastwood & Eastwood.3 Some of the phenomena of the trance described sound similar to those in metaphysical traditions in other parts of the world.
- O. Scribner
