What Otherkin is NOT

dragonade4kin:

Going by the original definition of “one who believes their soul is not human”, or someone from another world portrayed here in fiction in the case of fictionkin, here’s what otherkin is not:

• A religion. While someone’s reasons for believing they are otherkin may involve religion, otherkin in and of itself not a religion in any way.
• A fad. While some people on Tumblr sure try their hardest to make it look this way, the term otherkin has been around for over 25 years. That’s half a century and certainly not a fad.
• A mental illness. While some otherkin may have neurological differences, that’s not what makes them otherkin, nor does being otherkin make them mentally ill.
• A gender. Otherkin has absolutely nothing to do with people outside the gender binary, and people with things like “stargender” or “faegender” or “deergender” are trolls or misinformed. Otherkin also don’t “invade trans spaces”, and one can be otherkin and trans. Anyone claiming to be opressed for being otherkin is a troll or making an utter fool of themselves.
• A coping mechanism. While otherkin can certainly use aspects of their kintypes to cope with different circumstances, otherkin is not inherently a coping mechanism. Copingkin are not otherkin, and while they have every right to exist they need another term for themselves.
• A reason to be an asshole openly. Just because you’re not human inside doesn’t mean you have to go around rubbing how much better you are because of it in people’s faces. If you’re trying so hard to show how much better you are for being nonhuman spiritually, you’re being just as bad as the people you claim to be above if you do this openly. If you have friends who feel the same way and you discuss it in private, fine. If you use it as internal dialogue to boost your self esteem, fine. Just don’t do it in public, please.
• A fursona. Some otherkin may use their kinselves as fursonas, but that does not mean all otherkin are furries or all furries are otherkin. The same goes for cosplayers and fictionkin. Just because someone cosplays, they’re not automatically fictionkin, just like not all fictionkin want to cosplay.