Some common misconceptions, what I think about them + there impacts

Heya! It’s Rain here. Honestly I’ve been thinking of doing this for a while, but after introducing a friend to TG, which sparked some internal doubt, I want to explain what therianthropy means to me. This is in no way meant to harass, upset or judge anyone. If you feel that way, please tell me and I will edit the post I don’t wish to hurt anyone, only to share my views and clear up some misconceptions I have seen. As was the original inpso for this post, I’ll tag @ST0RM in here aswell, I think this will be useful for ya
TW: though I have tried to keep it to a minimum, there may be unintentional bias, and much of this can be seen as a vent or ramble. Please take this with a grain of salt, it is not a therianthropy diagnosis, only my thoughts. I am 15, and lack in essay structure so I appoligise for any bad wording or structure! Replies to this are welcome, I would love to see others input on my explanation!


Ok! Let’s get to it! Storm, and some others, have mentioned therian names…. Why don’t I use my real name here? Or anywhere for that matter? Well, in short, Rain feels much more natural. Also, it’s not like the name of a character, it’s integrally my name. I respond to it as such. It’s not like the name of my fursonas, Berri and Korra, rain IS me. That’s MY name. Even if it technically isn’t, I feel that kind of a connection to it. It’s not just tied to a character or website, it’s name everywhere I am. Sometimes I even use it as a preferred name irl, it just sounds less.., human u know? Like my name constantly reminds me I have to be and always will be he human. When I use Rain I feel free! It’s me! Though, that does not mean it ties ot a persona. The whole point of Rain is to represent me. Not a theriotype, or fursona. All of me. I don’t like the idea of ‘therian names’ because it likens it to a persona, a choice and smth of ur own making which is not what therianthropy is. That’s not to say I disagree with people using them, I just wish others would understand the difference between theriotype and persona and that Rain isn’t some character I put on, that’s she IS me.

Bringing me to my next point: furrys, therians and zoophiles. For some reason, media interprets all of these as the same thing. They are not. When first telling my friends of my therianthropy, I feel they did not understand these differences, and neither do many people. Since many users here are therians (and many also furrys) I hopefully shouldn’t need to explain this. In its most plain form: being a furry is a choice, and an interest in Anthro animals. Being a therian is NOT a choice, but an identity (non physically) of bring an animal. Zoophiles…. Im not even gonna go there.
I wish people would understand that im not ‘playing pretend’, that me being a therian isn’t a choice, it’s smth I was born with. I didn’t just wake up one morning and go “im a cat” and that was it. No. I’ve had experiences since I have any memory, around 3yrs old and probably younger. I’ve always been like this. This isn’t excluding others, or saying you can’t awaken in later life, but rather that therianthropy is a part of me. I didn’t choose it, it’s not a phase of aesthetic. I was born this way. When I tell my friends, they sometimes play along for a while and then stop. This is fine if it’s a genuine mistake of identity. I understand that. But people picking it up as a trend and throwing it around a while before dropping it is not ok! This is a huge part of my identity, and feels so ‘me ‘and I just hate that others don’t take it seriously! It makes me feel iscolated all over again when others say it’s a game etc. it hurts.

I’m aware many of u probably knew much of that last paragraph… and that this is getting quite long so ima make one more point then cut it short. I don’t want to make ppl bored of reading my badly structured essay/ rants though I will finish this later

Ok, last one! Toxic idealism, and the ‘common theriotypes’ problem. 1. Quadrobics. Though not necessarily a bad thing, I myself often do it, I think most can agree that it makes up a large portion of therianthropy online… which has shed therians in a totally new light, and probably lead to the linking of therians and furrys. My overall issue with quadrobics isn’t the sport, or even the gear often associated with it, it’s the idealism. That idea that to be a ‘proper’ therian u have to be rlly good at quads, have good looking masks etc. just creates a toxic environment for the newly awakened like myself, as we struggle to fit in in every way we can. I constantly push myself too hard to do quads, get better like those u see on YouTube, ticktok etc. and it breaks me. At the end of the day, that’s not what therianthropy is. It’s the experiences, the urges. Not the quads. Sure, they can help with dysphoria and be good exercise but the expectation that everyone must be good at quads and have gear is crazy! Everyone has different experiences, we don’t all need these things. It can make it hard or find a place in the therian community, where I finally feel belonging, and of have that belonging stripped away by quadrobics and gear is disheartening. Is that all people think therianthropy is? The gear? No! It’s about the experience. The non human identity.

Moving on to common theriotypes. This one rlly annoys me as a cat therian. Many don’t take those of us that are wolves, foxes or cats (among some others aswell!) seriously, since they beleive we are all just children faking it. It’s as if, simply because these types are more well known, that they are no longer allowed and must be fakes. It is OK to be a wolf, or any other therian! Don’t let others tell u ur a fake for being these things. Just because these are stereotypes of fake therians, dosent mean that’s u, or that u are fake. Taking the opposite spin on this conversation, uncommon types. Just because u aren’t a ‘common’ type dosent mean u aren’t a therian either! Therians can be of any animal. Not just mammals, But birds, reptiles, fish and many others too! People need to accept that not everyone is a ‘wolf kid’ or a ‘cat kid’. That’s ok! But that’s not everyone. Everyone’s theriotype is valid.

Again, I apologise for the length of this and that it probably repeats what many others have said I’m simply fed up with these things. Others can feel freeto disagree with my points, I’m always happy to listen! Just wanted to put this out there, in case it helps or validates anyone else, and at the very least makes me feel better.

For anyone who has got this far: thanks sm for reading!! I rlly appreciate it and hope this was ok to read!

Cya,
Rain!

P.S: please let me know if there are any huge errors, and if there’s any way I could improve the structure etc.! There are many things I’ve missed, so I’ll probably make another of these at a later date though this might be a while with exams

Wow, good job! I think would really help newer therians/users understand therianthropy better; and you definitely didn’t ramble too much, lol. Although there are a few typos, I can’t be 100% sure because I speak American English.

Your structure was very good overall - I don’t want to sound too nerdy here - but you clearly stated the topic sentence at the beginning of each paragraph, you gave some examples and contrasted details to give a better perspective on things. Although you could’ve used more evidence to support your thesis, I think it was pretty darn good!

Keep up the good work!

-Kaito

(2024-04-01 15:38)Pumpkin Wrote:  Wow, good job! I think would really help newer therians/users understand therianthropy better; and you definitely didn’t ramble too much, lol. Although there are a few typos, I can’t be 100% sure because I speak American English.

Your structure was very good overall - I don’t want to sound too nerdy here - but you clearly stated the topic sentence at the beginning of each paragraph, you gave some examples and contrasted details to give a better perspective on things. Although you could’ve used more evidence to support your thesis, I think it was pretty darn good!

Keep up the good work!

-Kaito

Thanks Kaito!! Sorry bout the spelling and grammar lol- never been good at that but atleast the structure was ok! Glad it was useful

(2024-04-01 14:43)Rainshine1220 Wrote:  Many don’t take those of us that are wolves, foxes or cats (among some others aswell!) seriously, since they beleive we are all just children faking it. It’s as if, simply because these types are more well known, that they are no longer allowed and must be fakes. It is OK to be a wolf, or any other therian! Don’t let others tell u ur a fake for being these things. Just because these are stereotypes of fake therians, dosent mean that’s u, or that u are fake. Taking the opposite spin on this conversation, uncommon types. Just because u aren’t a ‘common’ type dosent mean u aren’t a therian either! Therians can be of any animal. Not just mammals, But birds, reptiles, fish and many others too! People need to accept that not everyone is a ‘wolf kid’ or a ‘cat kid’. That’s ok! But that’s not everyone. Everyone’s theriotype is valid.

Agghh the common theriotypes
Being a fox therian is so annoying for this exact reason. Moral of the story: fake-claiming is bad.

Rain this is so good! Love the blue username by the way!
I have nothing else to say for now, lol

(2024-04-01 22:26)Ashfur Wrote:  Rain this is so good! Love the blue username by the way!
I have nothing else to say for now, lol

Thanks! ^^

(2024-04-01 14:43)Rainshine1220 Wrote:  I wish people would understand that im not ‘playing pretend’, that me being a therian isn’t a choice, it’s smth I was born with. I didn’t just wake up one morning and go “im a cat” and that was it. No. I’ve had experiences since I have any memory, around 3yrs old and probably younger. I’ve always been like this. This isn’t excluding others, or saying you can’t awaken in later life, but rather that therianthropy is a part of me. I didn’t choose it, it’s not a phase of aesthetic. I was born this way. When I tell my friends, they sometimes play along for a while and then stop. This is fine if it’s a genuine mistake of identity. I understand that. But people picking it up as a trend and throwing it around a while before dropping it is not ok! This is a huge part of my identity, and feels so ‘me ‘and I just hate that others don’t take it seriously! It makes me feel iscolated all over again when others say it’s a game etc. it hurts.

A big part of acceptance and happiness, at least from I've found, is acknowleding you can innately be an animal, know it's the real you, but also knowing you will have experiences your theriotype can never have. You can be a cat but a cat never gets to go to an arcade, eat an exquisite meal, or drive a car.

One of my favorite things to do is riding a bike down a side street and pull my fox-senses forward, and just be immersed in the scents of the plants and trees around me, the sounds of people and animals nearby, and rush of the wind hitting my fur and tail.

This comes with a huge caveat this all takes a lot of patience, focus, and a good amount of practice (please don't kill yrself by practicing shifts wrecklessly in a dangerous environment!) but if you start by centering yourself and taking a genuine interest in little things around you, you'll find it gets easier and easier as you go along.