Otherkin
Otherkin are a subculture of people, primarily Internet-based, who identify in some way as other than human. Otherkin often believe themselves to be mythological or legendary creatures, explaining their beliefs through reincarnation, having a nonhuman soul, ancestry, or symbolic metaphor.[1]
Common creatures otherkin identify as include angels, demons, dragons, elves, fairies, vampires, lycanthropes, and extra-terrestrials, among others.[2][3]
Outside of their own subculture, otherkin beliefs are often met with disbelief.[4]
History of the Otherkin Community
The oldest Internet resource for otherkin is the Elfinkind Digest; a mailing list started in 1990 by R'ykandar Korra'ti at the University of Kentucky for "elves and interested observers". Also in the early 1990s, newsgroups such as alt.horror.werewolves[5] and alt.fan.dragons on Usenet, which were initially created for fans of these creatures in the context of fantasy and horror literature and films, also developed followings which identified as mythological beings.[1][6]
On 6 February 1995, a document entitled the Elven Nation Manifesto was posted to Usenet, including the groups alt.pagan and alt.magick. On Usenet itself, the document was universally panned and considered to be either a troll 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 mailing list to spin off from it.[7]
The modern otherkin subculture grew out of these elven online communities of the early-to-mid-1990s[7], with the earliest recorded use of the term otherkin appearing in July of 1990 and the variant otherkind being reported as early as April 1990.[1] The therian, vampire, and draconic subcultures are related to the otherkin community somewhat, and are considered part of it by most otherkin, but are culturally distinct movements of their own despite some overlap in membership.[1]
References in Popular Culture
Most references to otherkin outside of their own subculture take place in the context of neopagan and vampire literature. In addition to the sources referenced elsewhere in this article, otherkin have been referred to in the following metaphysical sources:
- The Psychic Vampire Codex, The Vampire Ritual Book, and Psychic Dreamwalking by Michelle Belanger.
- Real Energy by Phaedra and Isaac Bonewits.
- The re-enchantment of the west by Christopher Hugh Partridge.
- Handfasting & Wedding Rituals by Raven Kaldera and Tannin Schwartzstein.
- Inner Alchemy: Energy Work and the Magic of the Body and Multi-Media Magic: Further Explorations of Identity and Pop Culture in Magical Practiceby Taylor Ellwood.
Otherkin have also been mentioned in two academic books on religion: Cults and New Religious Movements by Lorne L. Dawson, and Religion Online by Dawson and Douglas E. Cowan, in an anthropology course at Hofstra University, and in the following works of fiction:
- The BBC radio play Looking for Angels: Otherkin by Laura Wade.
- Colors insulting to Nature by Cintra Wilson, published by Harper-Collins.
- MESSAGE FROM BUNNY_5 by Dave Teeuwen, published in the online peer-reviewed literary magazine The Harrow.
The term otherkin has also been referred to in The Dictionary of Disagreeable English by Robert Hartwell Fiske and The Official Dictionary of Unofficial English by Grant Barrett.
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e Lupa (2007). A Field Guide to Otherkin. Immanion Press. pp. 25–26, 50, 52. ISBN 978-1-905713-07-3.
- ^ Mamatas, Nick (2001). "Elven Like Me". The Village Voice, New York. 46 (7): 35.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ Penczak, Christopher (2007). Ascension Magick: Ritual, Myth & Healing for the New Aeon. Llewellyn Worldwide. pp. 416–417, 441. ISBN 0738710474.
- ^ "Nonsense in America:The Lure of the Irrational". Wooster.edu.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|accessdaymonth=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ Chantal Bourgault Du Coudray (2006). The Curse of the Werewolf: Fantasy, Horror and the Beast Within. I. B. Tauris. ISBN 1845111583.
- ^ Cohen, D. (1996). Werewolves. New York: Penguin. p. 104. ISBN 0-525-65207-8.
- ^ a b Polson, Willow (2003). The Veil's Edge: Exploring the Boundaries of Magic. Citadel Press. p. 95. ISBN 0-8065-2352-2.