Therians vs Polytherians

(2025-05-04 15:41)Hopper Wrote:  As I browse the forums, I notice lots of people have multiple theriotypes. It got me thinking, am I in the minority being that I only have a single theriotype? What do you think, is it more common to have just one or multiple theriotypes?

It used to be that most in the community had one, but it became more common with the new generation(s?) that many assign their experiences across multiple theriotypes. I view mine as a single theriotype though I'm made up of fox and wolf; two aspects but one entity comprised of them.

(2025-05-09 7:39)Elli_ Wrote:  

(2025-05-04 18:33)Honeymala Wrote:  I personally only identify with one kintype as well. I am grizzly bearhearted but I wouldn’t say that I identify as one, I just identify with them! I’ll always be a Honeymala at heart.

I am a bit curious of polytherians, I wonder how you can identify as multiple species at once. I do see traits of myself in other animals like brown bats and binturongs and hares, but I wouldn’t say they’re part of my identity. Not trying to invalidate polytherians, I’m just intrigued

Hi, Ive been waiting around till I get activated to reply to this message soo here I am!!
To answer your question.. well, I don’t know. As you can see on my profile I’m a feline and a wolf (still questioning the wolf theriotype but I’m almost sure of it already) and it sure is weird being two animals at once but that’s just how I feel like, that’s who I am. I experience canine and feline like behaviors and urges and just feel like I am both a feline and a wolf on the inside at the same time, for me the identity kinda fluctuates though. I mean I always identify as both but sometimes sth happens that makes me feel a lot more like a wolf and sometimes sth makes me feel a lot more like a cat and the other identity takes a back seat. Still, I am always both a feline and a wolf at heart. Idk how that works but it somehow does lol
Ig you can’t really fully get it unless you experience it yourself though

That's how my experience with my (questioning) theriotypes! it flucuates and sometimes i feel very strongly like a canine, and other times it flucuates and i feel like a feline, and other times I feel like a mustelid. I don't influnence this fluctuation at all, it just happens. It's nice to hear someone has has a similar experience!

(2025-05-09 20:27)Cygnus Wrote:  

(2025-05-04 15:41)Hopper Wrote:  As I browse the forums, I notice lots of people have multiple theriotypes. It got me thinking, am I in the minority being that I only have a single theriotype? What do you think, is it more common to have just one or multiple theriotypes?

It used to be that most in the community had one, but it became more common with the new generation(s?) that many assign their experiences across multiple theriotypes. I view mine as a single theriotype though I'm made up of fox and wolf; two aspects but one entity comprised of them.

This is really interesting to me. I wonder what's different about newer generations of therians? I also wonder if people in the past were more likely to hide their less dominate theriotypes to fit in? I also find your experience that the fox and wolf identities are mixed to be really interesting.

Also, thanks to everyone that has shared their experiences.

(2025-05-10 21:36)Hopper Wrote:  

(2025-05-09 20:27)Cygnus Wrote:  

(2025-05-04 15:41)Hopper Wrote:  As I browse the forums, I notice lots of people have multiple theriotypes. It got me thinking, am I in the minority being that I only have a single theriotype? What do you think, is it more common to have just one or multiple theriotypes?

It used to be that most in the community had one, but it became more common with the new generation(s?) that many assign their experiences across multiple theriotypes. I view mine as a single theriotype though I'm made up of fox and wolf; two aspects but one entity comprised of them.

This is really interesting to me. I wonder what's different about newer generations of therians? I also wonder if people in the past were more likely to hide their less dominate theriotypes to fit in? I also find your experience that the fox and wolf identities are mixed to be really interesting.

Also, thanks to everyone that has shared their experiences.

In the past it was harder to find the community, so those seeking it out had usually spent a lot more time discovering themselves before they ever reached those spaces, and the general ages were older because of the requirements to get on the internet. Nowadays the ideas of therianthropy are advertised on social media and between friends at school, and there's more of this questioning period where they try to check what they are after the fact. I think a lot of the newer people are likely trying to assign every sensation and feeling they have to therianthropy, so when one doesn't fit one species' box they add more to account for it instead of getting skeptical about it. I don't there's anything really new about the different generations other than what they're exposed to and how they've learned to go about these things.

I saw at least one example of someone hiding a deer theriotype because the predominance of carnivores/wolves on AHWW made them uncomfy. Honestly, it made me sad to read..

Thanks, it took me a long time to understand that I wasn't mistaken at the beginning. I discovered my fox aspect a few years after my wolf one, and I wasn't sure what to make of it early on. ^^

It's complicated, as I'm just not good at expressing or writing about my personal experiences. I used to only identify as a dog, not long after though I started identifying as a cat as well because though my canine traits were prominent and natural there was another part of me that was animalistic in almost the opposite direction of that makes sense. A little bit of early would searching pointed me in the direction of feline though I'm unsure now I am a feline. However I won't lie latching onto this identity for the time being helped me a lot to understand myself further, even if I knew subconsciously I wasn't one. I'm still unsure at this point If I am or not, I still regularly get involuntary vocal shifts towards cats. I also identify as a coyote which might be where some of the traits I previously attributed to felines came from. I'll likely make a separate post about it when I'm more sure talking about my experiences