Anetiel Wrote:...No flying spaghetti monster 'kin? <!-- s
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Wouldn't that be an interesting 'kin type! <!-- s:lol: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_lol.gif" alt=":lol:" title="Laughing" /><!-- s:lol: -->
Anetiel Wrote:This was what I was wondering about. I'm not otherkin, but I thought I was one for a while. My want to be part of the otherkin community was more important than personal honesty back then and a part of me knew I didn't really identify as the things I thought I was. It took me a little while to admit that.
From my own experiences, I never really felt a need or longing for a community where I could fit in. I found the communities after the fact, thought they seemed useful and interesting so I joined up and have been here ever since.
I think for some people who currently identify as 'kin that it's really a longing to fit in anywhere. Problems in their real lives (either past history or currently) seem to be prevalent in the communities. Please don't misunderstand, I don't believe everyone on forums is a fake, just simply that in my time here I've noticed a large pattern of health issues, family problems, etc. It could add to people identifying as Otherkin, or it could simply be a coincidence, but it is something I've noticed. Probably because I myself don't seem to fit that 'norm'!
Many are young folks who are just coming into their personal identities and are trying to figure out who they are and not identifying as human 1. makes them unique in their real lives and 2. gives a quick answer to some burning questions (mostly questions like 'why don't I belong?' which every teenager experiences).
Personally, I think it's amazing when someone can be brutally honest with themselves and admit that they are not 'kin. It helps keep others grounded in that being Otherkin is not cool or special, it just is.
Anetiel Wrote:An interesting point I'd like to make, given this history, is that, because I'm not otherkin, I don't know what it's like to be otherkin. For that reason, I wouldn't know that "completely different feeling" you describe, so correlating a lifelong urge to fly with my interest in angels seemed a perfectly valid reason to call myself an angelic. I'm sure other people come to the conclusion of being otherkin for similar reasons.
For me, it's like the difference between loving dolphins and identifying as a wolf. It's hard for me to explain it, I apologize, but for me there's a deep feeling of being intrinsically connected to wolves and the ocean that feels deeper, more spiritual and like I'm wired more for wolves and the sea, than just liking wolves and swimming. When I found the terms there was a resonating inside of me that connected with the words and I realized why I felt different than most humans around me.
At the end of the day, it could all be in my head, and I fully acknowledge that. However, that doesn't change the fact that I experience phantom limbs, etc. or how choosing to identify as a seawolf makes me feel. Besides, we'll never know if Otherkin are "real" or not. All we have to go on are experiences and what we believe.
Anetiel Wrote:It makes more sense to me that mental and phantom characteristics would show before an initial interest in a specific creature. If past life is any indicator, an otherkin would have some sort of bare knowledge about their specific 'kin-type even before they discovered what it was. Correct me if I'm wrong though.
Exactly. However, it's not always the case. For some, myself included, I just was until I had a name for the feelings. I lived my life and just felt odd in human society, like I didn't fit in and was something different.
My counter-argument is, how could someone realize what they are experiencing (phantom limbs, past life memories, etc.) if they don't have a name for the sensations? It's like asking which came first the chicken or the egg, there's a good point for both answers. Otherkin is the same way; it's hard to know
what you're experiencing if you don't
know what you're experiencing, only
that you're experiencing these things. Does that make sense?