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Caramellatte · 2025-03-17 15:14

Pi said exactly what I've been trying and failing to express the whole time I've been on TG. They worded it way better than I ever have.

Exactly that. It feels great to see it. I'm so relieved.

zip-bomb-dog · 2025-03-17 15:56

I do agree that gatekeeping gets us nowhere. Therianthropy is already such a difficult thing to experience that therian pups need support, and the therian community should always strive to be a welcoming place to all involved. Even those exploring their identities, if they decide in a couple years that therianthropy isn't how they want to express themselves, or that they don't actually align with therian values and identities, that's okay! Hopefully they'll come away more educated and more intelligent about this community. If we "lose" a therian, hopefully we'll gain an ally. Smile

One thing I don't like to see, on the other end of the therian spectrum, is therians who endlessly "belittle" non-therians. I understand disapproving of people who create trouble or perpetuate stereotypes or bully therians, but it gets to a point where I see therians belittling those who may be open to learning! Even if a kid isn't a therian, keeping them as an ally and educating them on therianthropy is one of the best things we can do for the community. Gatekeeping and saying "oh, the normies just don't get it and they never will" makes people defensive; being defensive will make them aggressive, and then you've just created a whole new source of hatred for therians rather than having a logical discussion on the internet about what you experience and how they can relate. Everyone has felt out of place or misunderstood at some point, even those who are not therians. Appeal to that! Educate instead of shaming! we can show them that even if you leave a community, you can keep friends and maintain healthy social interactions.

StormyPica · 2025-03-17 18:03

I agree with Pi 100%, and also agree with Zip’s latest comment. It isn’t bad to be therian, it isn’t bad to not be therian. It isn’t bad or good or anything to be a therian who spend most of their time inside, or outside, city or forest. Besides the health consequences of being inside for prolonged periods of time, of course. But I mean morally.

Therians come in all ages and abilities, psychological and spiritual, and every therian’s life is different. There is no one “right way” to live as a therian, the right way is what’s best for you, with your body and abilities and situation, and what brings you the most joy and connection. Helping the earth is something we should all do also, but again, that’s going to look different for everyone and that’s ok.

Hopefully this made sense.

Siris · 2025-03-18 6:17

i actually made a post that i feel delves into a lot of the underlying here a while back not to push my own thread it is just a lot to type over again

*big_cats_runner* · 2025-05-20 15:46

(2025-03-15 18:40)Volchara Wrote: Hi everyone!
I am Volchara

Therianthropy used to be a designation of the fact that a person feels like a beast
And now therianthropy has turned into...spiritual
And any attacks of brutality are considered not normal
Some even say that therianthropy is not a forest, not green clothes
But "spiritual"
And this is very common in our Russian therian community
Like...some of these spirital have forgotten what it really is!
If they are animals, but they sit on their asses at home and write on the Internet what very spiritual animals they are - then they are not animals at all
An animal is such only when it finds any way to feel free and truly not human, and does this to be happy
If a "therian" just complains about his life, says that he would like to be a dog, then this is just a desire to run away from problems
Yes
Therianthropy is definitely not green clothes and the goblincore style, it is not a quad, not quad gear
It's all about traveling, finding your place in nature, perhaps helping your animal relatives)
Of course, you can wear goblincore clothes, love this style
You can freely wear quad bike equipment to feel more animalistic and so that others know what kind of animal you feel like
Yes, every theri can do all this! Of course
But this does not imply therianthropy
But it can brighten it up)
I would like all newbies to know about this
Because...sometimes you want to weed out those who really don't understand what it is and how terribly bad it is sometimes and how harmful it can be
Personally, I've been going wild lately and am going a little crazy because of this
It's both exciting and bad

More about spiritual ones
I don't mind, okay
But sometimes spiritual animals cross the line! And they call some psychological theri sick, which really offends me and some of my friends

But many newbie "therians" hide behind the fact that they are spiritual and therefore do not justify their experience in any way
Which looks strange
I hope everything will be weeded out soon

I hope many will agree with me

there are a lot of reasons that a therian couldn't do these things or wouldn't want to. I follow a therian who has a condition that makes it hard for them to even walk, making it very difficult for them to be in nature. there are also therians who are housecats or dogs who live in houses or other domestic pets that feel most comfortable inside a house. some of us, like me, have a strong human side and don't mind being inside for too long, and some of us, again like me, have a creature who has a very similar brain to a human (I'm a mermaid). also, not to be rude, but are you currently not, as you said, "sitting on your ass in your home writing on the internet about what spiritual animal you are"?

also, can we please just stop gatekeeping between psychological theories and spiritual ones? they are both just as valid, and I have seen some nasty stuff from both sides.

(2025-03-16 1:49)little wolf Wrote: We are not completely animals, obviously. As therians we still have our human sides, and I think that human side is largely where the spiritual aspect you speak of comes from, though there's no reason to completely discount that there might be spiritualism in some form in the animal world. Humans and animals are not as different as most people think, afterall, and it drives me crazy when people assume we are and that humans know everything, even about creatures we can't communicate with. Many therians, also, when speaking of their therian experience as spiritual are probably referring to why they are therians; displaced soul, past life, etc. But I think as humans with an animal side, it can be quite natural for spirituality to meld with animality. In addition, every therian experiences the "ratio" or balance between their human and animal side differently. Some might be really deep in their animality and don't thrive unless they are out in nature, others cannot for multiple reasons live a life skewed more towards a wilder, animal life either because they experience more of their human side or some other logistical, personal reason.

That said, there shouldn't be belittling among different views and lifestyles. Psychological therians are no less legitimate than spiritual therians and just because one person doesn't have the same views and experiences doesn't mean they can claim others are sick. As you said, it's incredibly harmful and presumptuous making assumptions about a life that no one other than the individual experiencing it has no actual knowledge of. Especially when there is a very clear distinction between a "sick" individual and genuine therianthropy in my opinion, and that's the belief that one can physically shift. That's lycanthropy a recognized clinical condition with very specific symptoms. Psychological therianthropy is just a different lens of therian experience, not better or worse.

I do also agree with your point that one thing like wearing gear does not signify therianthropy, as we've been discussing in other threads. It's so much more complex. Therianthropy as you said is a path, one that only the individual experiencing it can make decisions on about where it'll take them.

this pretty much sums up what I wanted to say. it is quite frustrating when humans act like they know everything about animals. we have hardly explored any of the ocean, we don't know what's down there. most years, a new species is found. we are so far from knowing everything about animals.

I also want to point out that I have seen a whole lot of hate towards "TikTok therian" here. while some of it is valid, can i just point out that it is possible to be a therian who wears gear, does quads, and enjoys posting themselves on tiktok. i have seen many therians on tiktok who have similar, if not identical, definitions of therianthropy than any of you here. therianthropy is an involuntary no human identity often characterized by animalistic behaviours, shifts, acting like specific animals, animal instincts, shifts to these animals, and i strong desire to become an animal. i have seen lots of people on tiktok, and lots of people on this site, agreeing with this basic definition. it really doesnt hurt anyone for a twelve year old who fully understands what therianthropy is to run on all fours and call themselves a therian, even if they *ghasp* post themselves on tiktok or even *ghasp* even wear a TAIL? its just gatekeeping.

(2025-03-17 0:59)+Leafy~Raccoon+ Wrote: Im a little confused.
Spiritual therians are valid, as well as psychological therians, because (like Avis said) we dont actually know where therianthropy comes from.

Volchara Wrote:when I hear "Therian mask", I immediately feel negative emotions towards the one who said this bullshit
Therian mask, Therian gear... no!
People only called gear "therian gear" because most therians use it. Im not saying that I agree with it, but Im just neutral. If you are a therian and you use gear then it could be therian gear to you. But when twelve year olds who do quads and have a goblincre aesthetic tk they are therians use it, then its nit therian gear. Its just gear. A tail and a mask. But basically Im saying that I feel neutral about it but when kids that arent therians call it therian gear, thats when it makes me erk.

Also, I agree with what Honey said and I am personally a very naturey person and I love it. Being in touch with nature doesnt make you a therian. Most therians feel a connection to nature but that doesnt necessarily make them any more or less of a therian. Therians are also humans and what UniqueUsernameTADA said about them not liking the outside also okay. We are still human. Sorry if this is off topic or if it came off as harsh, its not meant to be. (Im also just really tired lol)

exactly. if your a therian, its therian gear for you and you are within your right to say its therian gear. but may I point out that it is possible to be a therian and also be a twelve year old who does quads with a goblincore aesthetic? they aren't mutually exclusive.

(2025-03-17 13:27)Pi. Wrote: As an older queer, trans person who's lived through various identity validity wars, i have one piece of advice:

Don't become gatekeepers. Nothing good ever comes out of respectability politics.

We've been through this many times before, with the gays and lesbians who think bisexual and trans people give them a bad name, the trans people who think genderqueer and nonbinary people give them a bad name, and every community out there right now who think therians in general give them a bad name. Don't become the next repetition of that.

The kids and green paws who are exploring their identities are not the enemy. Let them try things, let them wear gear, let them follow TikTok trends and do things even if it makes you cringe. As long as they're not hurting anyone, they're fine. They are not the threat or the problem.

The fascists and bigots who want to eliminate queers, trans people, furries, therians from society are the problem. They will always target the most vulnerable, and the last thing any of us needs to be doing is to help pave the way for them by debating whose identity is valid or invalid, or who of us deserves respect and who doesn't. Trust me, the bigots and fascists don't make any such distinction. We're all just the same trash to them.

We need solidarity with each other. We need to protect each other, even the ones who are different from us—especially the ones who are different from us—because our safety and our fates are linked.

yes! exactly! THANK YOU. I have identified with a lot of different identities in my lifetime, and I can certainly agree with this. TikTok therians are not the reason we have bigots. bigots are the reason we have bigots, and that wont change if we eliminate TikTok therians. all we will get if we do that is bigots saying that they proved us wrong and we are faking, and a bunch of sad kids who feel like their community has turned their back on them.

+Leafy~Raccoon+ · 2025-05-21 11:23

(2025-05-20 15:46)big_cats_runner Wrote:
(2025-03-17 0:59)+Leafy~Raccoon+ Wrote: Im a little confused.
Spiritual therians are valid, as well as psychological therians, because (like Avis said) we dont actually know where therianthropy comes from.

Volchara Wrote:when I hear "Therian mask", I immediately feel negative emotions towards the one who said this bullshit
Therian mask, Therian gear... no!
People only called gear "therian gear" because most therians use it. Im not saying that I agree with it, but Im just neutral. If you are a therian and you use gear then it could be therian gear to you. But when twelve year olds who do quads and have a goblincre aesthetic tk they are therians use it, then its nit therian gear. Its just gear. A tail and a mask. But basically Im saying that I feel neutral about it but when kids that arent therians call it therian gear, thats when it makes me erk.

Also, I agree with what Honey said and I am personally a very naturey person and I love it. Being in touch with nature doesnt make you a therian. Most therians feel a connection to nature but that doesnt necessarily make them any more or less of a therian. Therians are also humans and what UniqueUsernameTADA said about them not liking the outside also okay. We are still human. Sorry if this is off topic or if it came off as harsh, its not meant to be. (Im also just really tired lol)

exactly. if your a therian, its therian gear for you and you are within your right to say its therian gear. but may I point out that it is possible to be a therian and also be a twelve year old who does quads with a goblincore aesthetic? they aren't mutually exclusive.

yeah, I was just using it as an example because most twelve year olds on tiktok do that and have that aesthetic and are not therian, they just do quads and wear gear. But I do know a handful of therians online and irl that are twelve and have that aesthetic and also do quads.

(2025-03-17 13:27)Pi. Wrote: As an older queer, trans person who's lived through various identity validity wars, i have one piece of advice:

Don't become gatekeepers. Nothing good ever comes out of respectability politics.

We've been through this many times before, with the gays and lesbians who think bisexual and trans people give them a bad name, the trans people who think genderqueer and nonbinary people give them a bad name, and every community out there right now who think therians in general give them a bad name. Don't become the next repetition of that.

The kids and green paws who are exploring their identities are not the enemy. Let them try things, let them wear gear, let them follow TikTok trends and do things even if it makes you cringe. As long as they're not hurting anyone, they're fine. They are not the threat or the problem.

The fascists and bigots who want to eliminate queers, trans people, furries, therians from society are the problem. They will always target the most vulnerable, and the last thing any of us needs to be doing is to help pave the way for them by debating whose identity is valid or invalid, or who of us deserves respect and who doesn't. Trust me, the bigots and fascists don't make any such distinction. We're all just the same trash to them.

We need solidarity with each other. We need to protect each other, even the ones who are different from us—especially the ones who are different from us—because our safety and our fates are linked.

This ^