Therianthropy Day 2018 (November 23)

As extra information on this post, Therian Amino has this year created another celebration of therianthropy.
So far they said themselves to try to keep it therian amino-only. To see how it goes and maybe launch/advertise it more in the rest of the world next year if the celebration is a succes on therian amino.

This is 'howl month'. Howl month is a bit inspired by 'pride month' for LGBT+ and is entire novembre long. Howl would be choses not for the howl of a wolf, but to indicate the very first howl hold in novembre (on therianthropy day). November was chosen because of the howl and therianthropy day.
Howl month would stand for a month of celebration. Celebrating that one is a therian. So far it seems mainly to go about 'be a therian as much as possible', they encourage to get together this month, get a pack meet, go to a bar, wear gear, make theriotype artwork, write a song, .. there even is a contest hold. To show 'who's the best therian' basicly. Do you think you can run as the best? Howl as the best? Have a nice song or artwork? A good poem? ETC, then there would be a first, second and third place with some prizes.

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Personal opinion:
Personally I'll honestly say I do not really like howl month.
I see it a bit like pride month. Remember that pride month was created to celebrate our freedom we fighted for so hard for countless amount of years. How we went from 'mental ill, has to die' to being (more) accepted in society. However what became it by now? A month that goes mainly about selling colourfull wristbands. More for the looks than because we're proud. Concerts, also paid. Prides that aren't so much anymore about freedom but more about loud funky music and who has the most colourfull clothing. A person with colourfull clothing is picked out and shown on tv. But the person with normal clothes and normal hair might have the hardest stories of being kicked out and entire dramatic stories. But they're not interestig anymore, they're not colourfull and cool. They're forgotten.

Well I feel howl month to be kind of the same, it sounds more like an excuse to sell art, buy stuff, wear a tail etc than really like a period of pride and recognizing our therianthropy. Celebration of who we are.

The contest also made me pull up my eyebrows. I know the creator just wants to create fun (but then again: is therianthropy really about fun? I know many who live with heavy species dysphoria and hate their life because of feeling-non human. They don't see it as fun) however it makes me think like: do we really need this? A contest to prove who we are. To prove HOW therian we are? Who's the most and best? I thought therianthropy was about self-discovery, identity etc. And not about a contest. Therianthropy is no contest. So I don't like that either. Honestly even just feels a bit like an excuse to get people to participate in howl month in a way.. don't wanna be rude but that's my honest opinion.

What I like about therianthropy day is that it's created to remember history. The first howl. Not to make therianthropy fun etc. I enjoy therianthropy day as it's a day to remember and recognize who we are. To think and celebrate our identities and the community. I feel it's more about remembering history and recognizing who we are, then about creating fun and throwing a party.

Tho throwing a party sure can be a way to celebrate therianthropy day, it doesn't feel to me like it was created for that purpose. While howl month does feel like that.

Just personal opinion. I'll made a copy-pasted seperated thread for this, click here: https://forums.therian-guide.com/Thread-Howl-Month-what-do-you-think
So you can give personal opinions over there without making this thread spammy.

WOOF!
PD

If my memory serves me correctly, otherkin day is already July 9th. I don't consider myself otherkin, so I don't really keep up with that side of things.

Somebody suggested to Therian Nation that their videos were too dry and they needed to post some "fun" videos to draw in young people. Evidently, to many online therians, therianthropy is about fun. There are fun videos running out our ears. The powerful thing about Therian Nation is that it's respectable. It's like a news cast (well, it's like news casts used to be.) It presents therianthropy with integrity. I surely do hope that they don't take the posters advice.

To paraphrase Cyndi Lauper, therians want to have fun. Everybody does. But therianthropy is not an entertainment and as soon as Mainstreamers (including many of the online "therians") grasp that, the better off we'll be.

Anonymouos, "Otherkin" is already an umbrella term. One of the few things that I supported the Werelist in is that they've fought constantly to keep the Werelist a therian forum and not an otherkin forum. There are otherkin forums. There needs to be therian forums. We are not the same thing and there are yet many therians that don't want to be identified with the otherkin community. Changing this forum to The Otherkin Guide would be a very effective way of getting rid of me.

If you read the OP, Therianthropy Day has been around for some time. Why the heck would we change it because a bunch of gamers want to play Werewolf on the same day, or near? That would mean that we'd have to shift the day every year or so as other groups decide to move in and take it.

As for a pride day, what would you do? walk around the streets in a group howling - that would really get us attention! Dress up in fursuits? Yeah, that would really distinguish us from furries.

Many of you have never even seen another were. Why not a day for therians to get together and enjoy each others company. We could use some therian paraphernalia - not to identify ourselves to each other necessarily, but to show the world that we are numerous enough to gather as therians and to break the ice. The message we need to get across to the Mainstream is that we are a legitimate people that should be included in the mix.

We want humanity to accept us in our entirety but, as long as they only see segments of what we are, there are things we don't want to broadcast. Some things only make sense in context and they are not going to understand them out of context.

When the documentary that included one of Goldy's howls came out, many people criticized it. It's not that it was inaccurate. It was, in fact, very accurate - too accurate. Mainstreamers are not ready to hear that we lick each other. They lick each other - but they don't talk about it.

Woof. I've skimmed through the posts here and I dunno. I feel like something is missing.

Personally, I feel like we should be able to have fun in our Therianthropy! What is this, the town of Footloose? Yes we should be serious in our Therianthropy but there's no harm in enjoying ourselves as well.

I also feel that as otherkin is an umbrella term, it should he included in the Therianthropy day.

Finally, no one is trying to steal our day? No one even knows we exist! That's the point of the awareness day. The fact of the matter is we are NOT furries; we are incredibly different than furries. Furries have their own problems.

It doesn't really matter when we host the day, but it helps to have it on a day that is meaningful.

(2018-11-05 18:14)WolfVanZandt Wrote:  One of the few things that I supported the Werelist in is that they've fought constantly to keep the Werelist a therian forum and not an otherkin forum. There are otherkin forums. There needs to be therian forums. We are not the same thing and there are yet many therians that don't want to be identified with the otherkin community.

I feel the need to disagree with this, partially. Now I agree that therian and otherkin are very different, you identify as real living animals and we identify as mythic creatures and other things that aren't identified by scientists. The point is we both identify as something non-human, whether it's a real animal or not.

These two groups still experience many of the same problems and we should be united in obtaining respect and awareness with mainstreamers. I'm not saying to change this forum or traditions at all, but diving these two groups is ignoring the root of it, and again, the root is that we all don't identify as humans.

Sorry to go off topic, but this was bothering me and I felt I needed to address it. I know I haven't been around the community as long as you have and I am younger but this is just the way I see it.

(2018-11-05 19:35)SageGolden Wrote:  [quote='WolfVanZandt' pid='134621' dateline='1541441672']
One of the few things that I supported the Werelist in is that they've fought constantly to keep the Werelist a therian forum and not an otherkin forum. There are otherkin forums. There needs to be therian forums. We are not the same thing and there are yet many therians that don't want to be identified with the otherkin community.

I personally disagree with the division entirely! The only main difference between therians and otherkin is that therians are species that exist on earth, and otherkin are not. But the universe is HUGE and honestly you'd be a fool for saying that it's impossible for creatures or beings to such as dragons or demons to exist somewhere in the vast wonders of the universe. Who among us has the power to gatekeep like that?

Are we the same as fae and vampires? I agree that the groups should be cooperative but that extant/mythic distinction is the most flimsy difference possible. It's almost completely arbitrary - it's labels. That distinction shouldn't even exist as far as I'm concerned, but if a person is a therian, they should be called a therian regardless of the theriotype. The only thing that identifies an otherkin is that they're not a Mainstreamer. They're defined by what they're not. I'm a werewolf. I'm defined by how my mind and body interprets the world around me. I'm physiologically a werewolf. It causes me considerable problems along with the blessings. My heart condition is likely a direct byproduct of my therianthropy. I'm not just moody because things aren't the way I want them to be. I'm not happy about the way medicines don't work right for me.

The vampire community is very interested in the therian community and interested in working with us, but I've never met a vampire that appreciates being lumped into the otherkin umbrella and, apparently, the underlying processes that make them vampire are not the same that makes a therian a therian.

As for gatekeeping - I'm not the one that makes a therian a therian and the other various non-Mainstreamers non-Mainstreamers. Gatekeepers exist in clubs where people choose to join. Whereas I suspect that there are a lot of people that think therianthropy is such a club, I don't. The "gatekeeper" is reality - Nature. I am a therian by birth.

I'm not a therian because wolves exist, I'm a therian because I exist. Whether there are dragons or demons somewhere else in the vast universe is absolutely irrelevant to therianthropy. They're there and we're here. Further, I'm quite aware that dragons and demons do exist in the vast universe, and not just somewhere. I've had to deal with both and a demon almost killed me when I was in my early 20s. Having had hands-on experience, you don't want to know what I think about that variety of otherkin.

You can disagree with me. I support your right to do so, but if my opinion bothers you, that's irrelevant to the conversation and you need to keep your emotions in check. My opinions here are common among therians and you need to respect my right to them if you want me to respect your right to your opinions. The forum will flow much better that way.

https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/wolfenoot-holiday/

Good news, the conflict will not be as severe as initially perceived. It is based off the Gregorian Calendar and NOT Lunar Cycles:
"As for the date, though there will be a full moon on November 23 this year, the holiday doesn’t always fall on a full moon. It’s always on November 23 because, according to Jax’s son, the date celebrates the anniversary of “The Great Wolf’s Death.”

Pardon me, misunderstood the intent of the previous post.

It's true that it not being on a specific day likely means it will be more difficult to keep track of, and thus will likely be lost in history, but as therianthropy isn't a religion, I suppose keeping holiday dates always known isn't always in one's interest in terms of one's days gaining traction among those not in the community. So I suppose if Therianthropy Day is a private holiday in this way, it makes sense to have it be somewhat inaccessible. But it seems like that isn't the intention for many.

Most holidays are both private and public. For instance, sales start for Christmas in September, now, but many people think of Christmas as a time for families to come together.

I'm not sure how Therianthropy Day should develop. I like that it exists but it probably needs to develop over time. Maybe, forums like TG should keep it in our collective mind and individual therians can report what works for them.