Can't wait to link new people that show up labeling themselves as holotheres to this thread

I agree with @starwingedwolf and many others that the holothere label feels like just another attempt to section the community into "fakers" and "actual therians". Those that use it are usually either trying to claim they're more animal than everyone else or have delusions. I have more to say but it's nothing that hasn't already been said here or on the Discord.

(2026-02-17 0:51)Galaxy_Shake Wrote:  No, this is not the reason why i made this theory. I really like to engage in discussion (though i admit i can step down if i do not actually agree with everything that's being said but understand why the person would say that and am overapologetic to not sound rude), and i love to see what are people's personal beliefs and opinions in all sorts of topics. I believe in this theory because i genuinely think almost all alterhumans have a different "source" that caused their alterhumanity. I should have probably worded the original thread better; No, i do not believe in all theories, but if that makes sense to the person, i'll believe that this theory is true, at least for them. I think i may be sounding a bit confusing? I need to find a better way to word this.

I like to assume that most ideas, my own included, are probably wrong.

That said, there are many reasons why a person might identify as a therian but we can go beyond that and observe characteristics and traits that develop a more solid taxonomy.

(2026-02-17 0:34)Thorn Wrote:  The rise of physical alterhumanity is fascinating to me. I get critique on my videos because I exclusively have called alterhuman identities "non-physical" in the past, but that's because I feel like that was just what I had been taught over the years, and suddenly there's an uprise of people labeling their experience as "physical". People tend to forget that content creators can move with the development of the community and learn new things, but I digress.

Unless it's based on clear zooanthropy or delusion, I so far have not been able to wrap my head around how it works exactly (not that I'm not accepting of it). Perhaps it is a more spiritual-centered identity, or the concept of physicality is being pushed. I have heard a lot of physical alterhumans claiming to be physical while they really just meant not identifying as human, so perhaps it's could be an exaggeration of the concept as well, in a way. It's something I've yet to uncover, so if anyone wants to share their experience on that, they're free to.

Maybe I'll one day interview some holothere's to ask about their experiences and make a video about it.

Nonetheless, I've heard the term enough to decide to add it to my personal alterhuman termlist. Thank you for sharing this information!

if its not based on zoanthropy it tends to be metaphorical, listing examples below

for example "my brain is that of a wolf, so my body is a wolf's body", "i dont identify with my current body and id much prefer/identify more with a wolf body", "this feature of my body resembles something nonhuman", "My phantom shifts are so strong it feels like theres genuinely something there", or someone whos planning to modify their body to match their species better. A lot of it is just regular therianthropy.

Throwing in my opinion. A lot of physical therianthropy is portrayed as literal, when 90% of it is actually metaphorical so I dislike the label, and I think it should be labelled as metaphorical instead of acting like its literal. Some also consider Holotheres and physical Therians to be "more animal" than regular Therians, when neither are ACTUALLY LITERALLY physically their theriotype so it just feels a bit competitive and trying to be "the most animal" to me. I have more issues but I won't list them here

(2026-02-16 22:02)DustWolf Wrote:  I can't shake the feeling that this position is something a young teen would say, not wanting people to argue. Don't worry. Different people can hold different beliefs and this is not an argument, it's just different views.

No, this is not the reason why i made this theory. I really like to engage in discussion (though i admit i can step down if i do not actually agree with everything that's being said but understand why the person would say that and am overapologetic to not sound rude), and i love to see what are people's personal beliefs and opinions in all sorts of topics. I believe in this theory because i genuinely think almost all alterhumans have a different "source" that caused their alterhumanity. I should have probably worded the original thread better; No, i do not believe in all theories, but if that makes sense to the person, i'll believe that this theory is true, at least for them. I think i may be sounding a bit confusing? I need to find a better way to word this.

(2026-02-16 22:02)DustWolf Wrote:  Remember: It's okay to be selective about what you believe. You don't have to validate everyone. We can have different views and still coexist without hate.

I completely believe that, again, pleasing everyone wasn't my objective when i made this theory.

The rise of physical alterhumanity is fascinating to me. I get critique on my videos because I exclusively have called alterhuman identities "non-physical" in the past, but that's because I feel like that was just what I had been taught over the years, and suddenly there's an uprise of people labeling their experience as "physical". People tend to forget that content creators can move with the development of the community and learn new things, but I digress.

Unless it's based on clear zooanthropy or delusion, I so far have not been able to wrap my head around how it works exactly (not that I'm not accepting of it). Perhaps it is a more spiritual-centered identity, or the concept of physicality is being pushed. I have heard a lot of physical alterhumans claiming to be physical while they really just meant not identifying as human, so perhaps it's could be an exaggeration of the concept as well, in a way. It's something I've yet to uncover, so if anyone wants to share their experience on that, they're free to.

Maybe I'll one day interview some holothere's to ask about their experiences and make a video about it.

Nonetheless, I've heard the term enough to decide to add it to my personal alterhuman termlist. Thank you for sharing this information!

this was awesome to read!! thank you Spoon

I can't shake the feeling that this position is something a young teen would say, not wanting people to argue. Don't worry. Different people can hold different beliefs and this is not an argument, it's just different views.

We can have multiple explanations and have not all of them be correct, as also @AriVB explains.

In fact, the reason why there is this whole forum for this, to which all of you have contributed, instead of just one single page (https://www.therian-guide.com/index.php/4-explanations), is because I too believe there are multiple explanations.

I also don't think that I'm the one who should decide which ones are correct, so it's important for us all to discuss how we see the different explanations, like we already do in these threads.


Remember: It's okay to be selective about what you believe. You don't have to validate everyone. We can have different views and still coexist without hate.

LP,
Dusty

This was a great and informative read, Spoon! I was already aware of the term existing, but I feel like you brought up a lot of important points and it has been eye opening. Thank you.

I will always maintain that if you were physically X, you wouldn’t be a holothere (or even a therian). You’d just be X. I may not have been born male but I am a man, and ultimately that is what is more important. But I don’t claim to be “physically male” because if I were, I’d just be cis. Trying to dance around the phrasing to suggest there’s such a thing as “physically nonhuman” while being born in a human body that has two thumbs and uses the Internet is silly at best and harmful at worst. There are better ways to accept the parts of you that you can’t change than full-on rejection, because that’s a pit you’re never going to hit the bottom of. Be kind to yourself. We know how you feel, and you’re not alone in dealing with dysphoria.

having never heard of this term before, thank you! this was very informational :3