Otherkin Are People Too; They Just Identify as Nonhuman

[KamaAina]

http://www.vice.com/read/from-dragons-to-foxes-the-otherkin-community-believes-you-can-be-whatever-you-want-to-be

Otherkin are people who identify as partially or entirely nonhuman. A dragon, a lion, a fox—you name it—there is probably someone out there who feels like they are more these things than they are human. The otherkin community can be found lurking on Reddit, Tumblr, TV Tropes, and other online forums.

The popularity of the otherkin phenomena seems to have been steadily increasing—particularly on Tumblr—since 2012. But what does it mean to truly believe you're nonhuman? Do people genuinely wake up one day and think that they are a fox or is this just a bizarre form of escapism? Is it body dysmorphia or fantasy?

I spoke to John on Reddit, a 19-year-old from Knoxville, USA, known on the web as Noslavic. He introduced himself: "I am a red fox-kin who was, as we call, awakened about a year ago." He said that awakening felt, "at the very least, relieving," because "everything seemed to come together for me.

"I started getting odd dreams where I would change physically into a fox, and they were very realistic—honestly. And after a while, in real life, it felt quite real, like I actually had a tail, I actually had ears, I actually had paws.

[steve2470]

1. I wonder what the APA has to say about that nt