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| Otherkin are people who believe themselves to be mythical creatures, such as dragons. Which is why we need to pull a skyrim on these guys and send them to extinction. | |||
| ] known as the ''Elven Star'' or ''Fairy Star'' is used by some members of the otherkin subculture as an identifier.<ref name="fieldguide">{{cite book |author=Lupa | title=A Field Guide to Otherkin | publisher=Immanion Press | pages=25–26, 50, 52 | year=2007 | isbn=978-1-905713-07-3 }}</ref>]] | |||
| '''Otherkin''' are those who see themselves as partially or entirely non-human. They contend that they are, in spirit if not in body,<ref>{{cite book |title=The Psychic Vampire Codex: A Manual of Magick and Energy Work |year=2004 |publisher=] |isbn=1-57863-321-4 |author=] |author2=] |quote=/--/ Some feel that their difference is purely spiritual, while others believe there is a genetic difference between themselves and humanity. /--/}}</ref> not ]. This is explained by some members of the otherkin community as possible through ], having a nonhuman ], ancestry, or symbolic ].<ref name=fieldguide /> Scholars categorize this identity claim as "]", because it is largely based on metaphysical beliefs.<ref name=laycock /> | |||
| ==Description== | |||
| Otherkin largely identify as mythical creatures,<ref>{{cite book |title=Vampires in Their Own Words: An Anthology of Vampire Voices |year=2007 |publisher=] |isbn=0-7387-1220-5 |author=] |page=25}}</ref> with others identifying as creatures from fantasy or popular culture. Examples include: ]s, ]s, ]s, ], ], ], ],<ref name=reale>{{cite book |title=Real Energy: Systems, Spirits, And Substances to Heal, Change, And Grow |year=2007 |publisher=Career Press |isbn=1-56414-904-8 |author=] |author2=Phaedra Bonewits |pages=196–197}}</ref><ref name=villagevoice /><ref name="ascensionmagic">{{cite book |first=Christopher |last=Penczak |title=Ascension Magick: Ritual, Myth & Healing for the New Aeon | publisher=] |pages=416–417; 441 |year=2007 |isbn=0-7387-1047-4}}</ref> and ] characters.<ref name=kirby>{{cite book |title=Exploring Religion And The Sacred in A Media Age |year=2009 |publisher=] |isbn=0-7546-6527-5 |author=Kirby, Danielle |editor=Christopher Deacy; Elisabeth Arweck |chapter=From Pulp Fiction to Revealed Text: A Study of the Role of the Text in the Otherkin Community}}</ref> Many otherkin believe in the existence of a multitude of parallel/alternative universes, which would explain the existence and the possibility to relate to fantastical beings and even fictional characters.<ref name=questing /> | |||
| With regards to their online communities, otherkin largely function without formal authority structures, and mostly focus on support and information gathering, often dividing into more specific groups based on kintype.<ref name=questing>{{cite book |title=Through a Glass Darkly: Collected Research |year=2006 |publisher=] |url=http://ojs-prod.library.usyd.edu.au/index.php/SSR/article/view/259/238 |author=Kirby, Danielle |editor=Frances Di Lauro |chapter=Alternative Worlds: Metaphysical questing and virtual community amongst the Otherkin |isbn=1920898549}}</ref> There are occasional offline gatherings, but the otherkin network is an almost entirely online phenomenon.<ref name=questing /> | |||
| Some otherkin (such as elvenkin) claim they are allergic to iron (and products of modern technology), whilst other otherkin (such as dragonkin) claim that having no allergies is a sign of being an otherkin.<ref name=villagevoice /> Some otherkin also claim to be especially empathic and attuned to nature.<ref name=villagevoice /> Some claim to be able to ] mentally or ]—meaning that they experience the sense of being in their particular form while not actually changing physically.<ref name=fieldguide /><ref>{{cite book |title=Shadow Magick Compendium: Exploring Darker Aspects of Magickal Spirituality |year=2008 |publisher=] |isbn=0-7387-1318-X |author=Raven Digitalis |page=178}}</ref> | |||
| The ] and ] subcultures are related to the otherkin community, and are considered part of it by most otherkin, but are culturally and historically distinct movements of their own despite some overlap in membership.<ref name=fieldguide /> | |||
| ==Etymology== | |||
| "Otherkin" as an adjective had been defined in the '']'' (1981) as "a different or an additional kind of, other kinds of".<ref>{{cite book |title=]: O.3, Volume 0 |year=1981 |publisher=] |isbn=0-472-01153-7 |author=Sherman M. Kuhn |page=344}}</ref> | |||
| The earliest recorded use of the term ''otherkin'', in the context of a subculture, appeared in July 1990 and the variant ''otherkind'' was reported as early as April 1990.<ref name="fieldguide" /> The word "otherkind" was initially coined from the word "elfinkind", to refer to non-elf others who joined the communities.<ref name=timeline /> | |||
| ==History== | |||
| The otherkin ] grew out of the ] ] of the early-to-mid-1990s.<ref name="veilsedge" /> | |||
| The oldest ] resource for otherkin is the ''Elfinkind Digest'', a ] started in 1990 by a student at the ] for "elves and interested observers".<ref name="timeline">{{cite web |url=http://orion.kitsunet.net/time.pdf |title=Otherkin Timeline: The Recent History of Elfin, Fae, and Animal People |date=2011-05-31}}</ref> Also in the early 1990s, ] such as alt.horror.werewolves<ref name="cursewere">{{cite book |title= The Curse of the Werewolf: Fantasy, Horror and the Beast Within |author= Chantal Bourgault Du Coudray |publisher= ] |year= 2006 |isbn= 1-84511-158-3}}</ref> and alt.fan.dragons on ], which were initially created for fans of these creatures in the context of ] and ] literature and films, also developed followings of individuals who identified as ] beings.<ref name="fieldguide" /><ref name="Cohen">{{cite book| last=Cohen| first= D. |year=1996 |title=Werewolves |location=New York |publisher= ] |isbn= 0-525-65207-8 |page=104}}</ref> | |||
| On 6 February 1995, a document titled the "Elven Nation Manifesto" was posted to Usenet, including the groups alt.pagan and alt.magick.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://groups.google.com/group/alt.magick/msg/e5adba21569abd19?dmode=source&hl=en&pli=1 |title= The Elven Nation Manifesto.....everyone must read this!!!! |date=1995-02-06 |publisher=alt.magick}}</ref> On Usenet itself, the document was universally panned and considered to be either a ] or an attempt to frame an innocent party. However, enough people contacted the original author of the Elven Nation post in good faith for a planned mailing list to spin off from it.<ref name="veilsedge">{{cite book |first=Willow |last=Polson |title= The Veil's Edge: Exploring the Boundaries of Magic |publisher=] |page=95 |year=2003 |isbn=0-8065-2352-2}}</ref> | |||
| Rich Dansky (who worked on the development of '']'') said that after the game's release the darkfae-l ] had "a rampaging debate on the list over how the folks at White Wolf had gotten so much of their existence right", adding, "Finally, one of the list members came to the obvious conclusion that we'd gotten it right because we ourselves were in fact changelings." Dansky denied this.<ref name=villagevoice>{{cite web| title=Elven Like Me: Otherkin Come Out of the Closet |first=Nick |last=Mamatas |publisher=]|location=New York |date=February 20, 2001 |url=http://www.villagevoice.com/2001-02-13/news/elven-like-me/}}</ref> | |||
| ==Reaction== | |||
| Outside viewers may have varying opinions about people who identify as otherkin, ranging from considering them animal-human relationship pioneers, to psychologically dysfunctional.<ref name=reale /> Reactions often range from disbelief to aggressive antagonism, especially online.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Vampyre Almanac 2006 |year=2006 |publisher=] |isbn=1-4116-6084-6 |author=Th'Elf |editor=] |chapter=Otherkin}}</ref> | |||
| Otherkin have been called one of the world's most bizarre ]s,<ref>{{cite book |title=Essentials of Marketing Management |page=48 |publisher=] |year=2010 |author=Geoffrey Lancaster |author2=Lester Massingham |isbn=0-415-55346-6}}</ref> and a ] (and a "quasi-religion"<ref name=kirby />) that "in some of its forms, largely only exists on the ".<ref>Dawson, Lorne L.; Hennebry, Jenna. "New Religions and The Internet: Recruiting in A New Public Space". Essay published in several books: | |||
| * Lori G. Beaman. ''Religion and Canadian Society: Traditions, Transitions, and Innovations''. ], 2006. ISBN 1-55130-306-X | |||
| * Lorne L. Dawson; Douglas E. Cowan. ''Religion Online: Finding Faith on the Internet''. ], 2004. ISBN 0-415-97021-0 | |||
| * Lorne L. Dawson. ''Cults and New Religious Movements: A Reader''. ], 2003. ISBN 1-4051-0181-4</ref> Although otherkin beliefs deviate from the definition of "religion", they share the primary interest in the paranormal.<ref name=kirby /> Religion scholar Joseph P. Laycock argues that the otherkin community serves existential and social functions commonly associated with religion, and regards it as an alternative ] that sustains alternate ].<ref name=laycock>Joseph P. Laycock. . ''Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions''. Vol. 15, No. 3 (February 2012), pp. 65–90. ]</ref> | |||
| It has also been said that they represent a widespread dissatisfaction with the modern world, and that they have taken fairy lore out of its social context.<ref name=villagevoice /> | |||
| ==See also== | |||
| {{div col|cols=3}} | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| {{div col end}} | |||
| ==References== | |||
| {{reflist|2}} | |||
| ==Further reading== | |||
| *{{cite book |title=Reinventing Ourselves: Contemporary Concepts of Identity in Virtual Worlds |year=2011 |publisher=] |isbn=0-85729-360-5 |author=Anna Peachey |author2=Mark Childs |chapter=Ch. 4: Liminal Phases of Avatar Identity}} | |||
| *{{cite book |title=Your Next-Door Neighbor Is a Dragon |year=2009 |publisher=] |isbn=0-8065-2759-5 |pages=272 |author=]}} | |||
| ==External links== | |||
| {{wiktionary}} | |||
| *{{dmoz|Society/People/Otherkin}} | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
Revision as of 03:27, 4 November 2014
Otherkin are people who believe themselves to be mythical creatures, such as dragons. Which is why we need to pull a skyrim on these guys and send them to extinction.