# Can one be "otherkin" if they don't know what kin? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 1, 2013, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-be-otherkin-if-they-dont-know-what-kin/672804 "2013-11-01T00:13:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Blackberry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blackberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackberry)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2013, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-be-otherkin-if-they-dont-know-what-kin/672804/21 "2013-11-01T21:03:41Z")
Someone please tell me that these people don’t actually they literally \*are \*these other creatures, and it’s just some kind of (still weird and creepy) symbolic or spiritual thing to them. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2013, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-be-otherkin-if-they-dont-know-what-kin/672804/22 "2013-11-01T21:08:07Z")
> [@Weedy](#): > > Is it like otherkin are literally not human? Cos if you aren’t human, you must be something, even if you don’t know what that is. > > Or is it they they have a spiritual affinity for something not human. I don’t see how you can have an affinity for something without knowing what it is. > > I tend to assume otherkin are the latter, because I can see how someone might feel that way. But maybe your friend thinks it’s the former. > [@Blackberry](#): > > Someone please tell me that these people don’t actually they literally \*are \*these other creatures, and it’s just some kind of (still weird and creepy) symbolic or spiritual thing to them. To be on the safe side, always assume the craziest version is the correct one. Also, being symbolically a fire drake isn’t nearly as cool as really being one. ---
**Author:** ![Rowanchilde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a698b9/32.png) [@Rowanchilde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rowanchilde)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2013, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-be-otherkin-if-they-dont-know-what-kin/672804/23 "2013-11-01T22:13:52Z")
You can most definitely be a descendent of the elemental world without identifying with a certain species. Human arrogance, as usual, wont allow the thought that there may be another life form that may be smarter than us. We haven’t even discovered all the species on our own planet/plane! What makes you think you know and can fit comfortably inside the basic dragon/tinkerbell stereotype? I believe there was a time when the unseen world and our world co-existed peacefully. And (egads!) interbred. t’s not so much a matter of reincarnation but bloodline. In other words you probably weren’t reincarnated from your previous life as an elf. It’s more lkely you have Fae blood runnng through your veins much the same way as other DNA from grandma. Although I have no problem wth the theory of Otherkin I personally don’t think I have any but sympathetic ties. Unfortunately, in too many cases (and possibly your internet friend’s) it’s just a shock thing… But don’t discount it out of hand. There’s a lot we don’t know about, well, a lot… ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2013, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-be-otherkin-if-they-dont-know-what-kin/672804/24 "2013-11-01T22:24:32Z")
I’m a Time Lord otherkin. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2013, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-be-otherkin-if-they-dont-know-what-kin/672804/25 "2013-11-01T23:26:09Z")
> [@Rowanchilde](#): > > We haven’t even discovered all the species on our own planet/plane! Snakes, for one. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2013, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-be-otherkin-if-they-dont-know-what-kin/672804/26 "2013-11-01T23:35:23Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > I’m a Time Lord otherkin. “You LOOK human.” “No, YOU look TimeLord. WE came first.” Are there other sapient lifeforms around? Not inconceivable. Would be a pleasant surprise. But why want to _be_ them? And why should I suppose the dragons and elves and dolphins and animal guides and astral-plane travelers and aliens would be any superior in smarts or morality? ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2013, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-be-otherkin-if-they-dont-know-what-kin/672804/27 "2013-11-01T23:39:07Z")
I knew a guy who claimed he was a Dragon, and that he went through periodic ‘reboots’ and ‘changes’. As I learned over time, what was really happening was that he had monstrous high blood pressure and was likely having mini-strokes and seizures. (He would talk about passing out and waking up with no memories, and it slowly coming back to him.) I tried to warn him, I tried to get him to seek medical help. But he would have none of it. The greatest insult I ever made to him, one which helped along our enstrangement, was to call him…_“Human”_. And then of course, one day he was found dead of a heart attack. Because he ignored his medical conditions and the repeated warning signs. Because he had ignored my warnings. Because he had convinced himself he was physiologically becoming something greater. So you’ll have to excuse me if I see such things as nothing more than a mental illness. ---
**Author:** ![Mrmanface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mrmanface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrmanface)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2013, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-be-otherkin-if-they-dont-know-what-kin/672804/28 "2013-11-01T23:53:10Z")
> [@Lasciel](#): > > So, [otherkin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otherkin). > > Basic idea = I don’t feel like a human, instead I feel like an x. Where x is usually a mythical or fantasical creature like a unicorn or pixie or phoenix or something. > > I have an internet acquaintance who is otherkin, identifies herself as a firedrake, and we were talking about existential angst, and I was telling her that I often felt disassociated from humanity - like I was on the outside watching, or that everyone else had some sort of playbook that I didn’t get. I personally attribute this to being antisocial, a loner, and my own mental/emotional disturbances, but she latched on to it and claimed \*me \*as an otherkin also. > > I informed her that I don’t actually believe that otherkin are other than human (she knows that from before and just says I’m insufficiently spiritual) and that in addition to that, I don’t have any sort of creature or being that I \*do \*identify with. > > She claims that isn’t necessary. I was skeptical. She informs me that I’ve always been too skeptical, and that I’m too physical and “rational” for my kin to identify itself to me, and that if I embrace the movement and give it time, one will appear. I countered that I thought the whole point of otherkin was not that you didn’t think you were human, but that you \*did \*think that you were a whatever. We left at a (friendly) impasse. > > What says the Dope? > > bonus fun question: if you were to be required to be otherkin (if that’s not your cuppa, then say it is an initiation, or an infiltration of the group for a report or study) then what do you think you would claim to be? What would you cite as physical or mental or emotional “proof” of your kintype? Absolutely and clinically insane. ---
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-be-otherkin-if-they-dont-know-what-kin/672804/29 "2013-11-02T00:53:00Z")
A close friend of mine was chatting with a girl who identified as otherkin some years ago, and when she asked about whether he ever felt drawn to those beliefs, he told her he was half dragon and half marshmallow: self roasting! I don’t think she thought it was funny. I sort of assumed that the beginning of belief in otherkin-ness was a feeling of isolation and alienation, and the animals or mythical beings or fictional characters they glommed onto happened after. The otherkin who believe they’re actually Pokemon characters or whatever seem particularly weird to me. ---
**Author:** ![gracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@gracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gracer)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-be-otherkin-if-they-dont-know-what-kin/672804/30 "2013-11-02T10:46:20Z")
It sounds to me like your friend needs the [false-consensus bias](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False-consensus_effect) to feel legitimated. She thinks many people feel the way she does, even if they aren’t aware of it. By extending the rules of who can be otherkin, more people can be like her and she appears less crazy. Whether the majority of other otherkins agree with her doesn’t really matter. Her strategy is probably successful in making her feel better about her own problems/insanity. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-be-otherkin-if-they-dont-know-what-kin/672804/31 "2013-11-02T14:43:06Z")
> [@gracer](#): > > It sounds to me like your friend needs the [false-consensus bias](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False-consensus_effect) to feel legitimated. She thinks many people feel the way she does, even if they aren’t aware of it. By extending the rules of who can be otherkin, more people can be like her and she appears less crazy. > > Whether the majority of other otherkins agree with her doesn’t really matter. Her strategy is probably successful in making her feel better about her own problems/insanity. I don’t understand this, even though I agree this sounds like a likely hypothesis. I would think that otherkins would want to keep their numbers low, because the whole concept of “otherkin” only makes sense if it’s rare and special. If everyone is “otherkin”, then what does it mean to be “human”? What is the point of living life as a human, if no one identifies as such? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-be-otherkin-if-they-dont-know-what-kin/672804/32 "2013-11-02T15:00:07Z")
> [@Lasciel](#): > > identifies herself as a firedrake > [@JRDelirious](#): > > why chose something _that does not exist_ except in the _humans_’ imagination? Who says firedrakes don’t exist? I can make one any time. It’s easy. Just get a male duck, douse it with gasoline, and strike a match. Though why someone would want to identify with a burning, presumably dead, aquatic fowl of the opposite gender is beyond me. QUACK! ---
**Author:** ![gracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@gracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gracer)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-be-otherkin-if-they-dont-know-what-kin/672804/33 "2013-11-02T15:01:00Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > I don’t understand this, even though I agree this sounds like a likely hypothesis. I would think that otherkins would want to keep their numbers low, because the whole concept of “otherkin” only makes sense if it’s rare and special. If everyone is “otherkin”, then what does it mean to be “human”? What is the point of living life as a human, if no one identifies as such? I think partially in being aware of your “otherkinness” you can be special, and also in what otherkin you are. **Rowanchilde** , upthread, believes we humans and “the unseen world” once interbred. Presumably, that would mean many people are otherkin without realising. Rowanchilde is special, because he/she realises this. I also think it might be that to the OP’s friend, it’s important that people she cares about are similar to her. The way you [general you] sometimes think if the people you care about only really understood/knew the facts they would share your political position. Because someone you love can only be a good, special person like you, right? In the end, if it really is just you, then you’re crazy. If it’s _actually_ normal, then you’re still special because you are more aware. Just the way I see… ---
**Author:** ![Lasciel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lasciel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasciel)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-be-otherkin-if-they-dont-know-what-kin/672804/34 "2013-11-02T15:37:35Z")
> [@BleizDu](#): > > Is your friend new to identifying as otherkin? > Because I don’t know any serious long term otherkin or therian people who will decide for someone else that they are otherkin/therian. > > Some people see themselves as just generic “canine/angel/whatever” instead of “red wolf/alien from this or that planet”, but someone who simply feels non human in some ways but who lacks the beginning of an identification with something else, wouldn’t be seen as otherkin/therian by the majority of them, no. > > (Plus the otherkins/therians I know don’t think they are not human or that it’s a spiritual thing anyway.) That’s kindof what I thought as well. I don’t know that she’s new to identifying, she’s just a little more enthusiastic about it than others I have encountered in passing. And the “spiritual” thing is more her trying to make sense of how I can be creative and enjoy fiction about unworldly things, but don’t actually believe in any of them, or in anything religious. In her considered opinion 😃 I am repressing all of my impulses towards the divine by my suspicious and pragmatic nature, and the pressure is causing it to spill out into my reading tastes and creative spark. > [@gracer](#): > > It sounds to me like your friend needs the [false-consensus bias](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False-consensus_effect) to feel legitimated. \*\*She thinks many people feel the way she does, even if they aren’t aware of it. \*\*_By extending the rules of who can be otherkin, more people can be like her and she appears less crazy._ > [@gracer](#): > > I think partially in being aware of your “otherkinness” you can be special, and also in what otherkin you are. > I also think it might be that to the OP’s friend,\*\* it’s important that people she cares about are similar to her. The way you [general you] sometimes think if the people you care about only really understood/knew the facts they would share your political position. Because someone you love can only be a good, special person like you, right? > \*\* > In the end, if it really is just you, then you’re crazy. If it’s _actually_ normal, then you’re still special because you are more aware. I agree with \*\*gracer \*\*here, but only with the bolded parts, not the italicized parts, unless you’re counting other people’s opinions of her/otherkin. But thinking on it, that analogy to the political/religious views does hold a lot of weight - she likes me, she feels like she’s supposed to be ‘helping’ me in some metaphysical sense, and so perhaps she feels more freedom to help me figure out where I belong than she would a random existential stranger on the street. Sadly for her, it isn’t going to stick, but at least I feel a little more confident in pushing her off because I don’t think I’m a hydra or an oliphaunt or a whathaveyou. (I am going to tell her the jokes about the firedrake and the self-roasting otherkin - she’ll think they’re funny.) ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-be-otherkin-if-they-dont-know-what-kin/672804/35 "2013-11-02T19:54:26Z")
Divorced American living in England? Much-younger husband married her in order to rescue her from having to go back to the US upon her visitor’s visa’s expiration, later divorced her in order to go rescue a younger needy princess he’d met in World of Warcraft? Reiki practitioner and poetess? If that fits, the Puss’n’Boots head hanging from my car’s rearview mirror was a present from her. I haven’t talked to her for about ten years, though. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-be-otherkin-if-they-dont-know-what-kin/672804/36 "2013-11-02T20:09:06Z")
Have you tried not being otherkin? ---
**Author:** ![Mrs.Cake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2acd7d/32.png) [@Mrs.Cake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrs.Cake)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-be-otherkin-if-they-dont-know-what-kin/672804/37 "2013-11-02T21:58:17Z")
I know I’m just a big ol’ skeptic, but it sounds to me a lot like an extension of every kid who burns inside with the knowledge that s/he is Harry Potter or equivalent, special, unique, chosen, not of this world. Any day now Hagrid will appear to confirm it. in the meantime, you hug that knowledge to yourself, and as you get older and nobody shows up to show you that were, in fact, Neo or Jesus or Buffy or whatever, you either shrug it off and talk Trek on the internet or dig in harder and find a new explanation - otherkin! ---
**Author:** ![Scribble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scribble/32/3317_2.png) [@Scribble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scribble)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-be-otherkin-if-they-dont-know-what-kin/672804/38 "2013-11-02T23:43:45Z")
Maybe I’m crazy, but I’d make a bet that DNA analysis would show that she’s pure human. I’d also make a bet that psychological analysis would show that she’s pure nutbag. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2013, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-be-otherkin-if-they-dont-know-what-kin/672804/39 "2013-11-04T04:05:40Z")
The few otherkin I’ve met online did not think they were physically the creature in question, but that they had the soul of said creature, trapped in a human body. So it’s beyond simply identifying with them, but not to the level of actual delusions about physical reality. They seemed less like crazy people and more like people with very odd spiritual beliefs. ---
**Author:** ![Truman\_Burbank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@Truman\_Burbank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truman_Burbank)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2013, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-be-otherkin-if-they-dont-know-what-kin/672804/40 "2013-11-04T04:59:18Z")
> [@BrianJ](#): > > Sounds like someone has been watching [Grimm](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grimm_(TV_series)) 😃 Or reading too much Andre Norton…🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-be-otherkin-if-they-dont-know-what-kin/672804.md?page=1)