such a great theory. sounds good to me, ill take that haha

What a cool take! I am Jewish + Anishinaabe & both my maternal and paternal cultures believe in something not at all dissimilar.

This would also offer up some explanation for the misplacement of things like myself, which no longer have an extant species through which to manifest in the world.

Reincarnation! Souls! All those fun things.

I believe that there are a finite number of souls, but that they're just recycled over time. However, They're not just randomly tossed, they're put in the same if not the next best body *most of the time*.

The soul matches the shape of the body, as species evolve slowly over generations, the soul slowly changes with the body. The more interesting experiences come from misplaced souls, for me, that's a soul in the shape of a coyote. It's why i experience things like phantom limbs, echos of this original shape.

Why was my soul 'misplaced'? I'm not sure. Maybe there's some reason for me to experience life as a human, maybe there just wasn't a coyote or similar body available, but that's not much of my concern right now.

I'm here, I'm human (at least physically), and that's okay.

I think you address some excellent points in your post. I do believe to some extent the Tiktok community is harming therians. What with the incorrect terms, perspective and portrayal some of these individuals are engaging in does I think to some extent hurt the therian community. Whether it is because they don't understand how to express themselves just yet or whether they have been misled by other false information online. While Tiktok can be a fun place to explore and get a few laughs in I think the overall conception of therianthropy is being harmed by the tiktok community.

I also don't think it automatically deems them a faker but I do question some of the behaviors and activities many of the tiktok therian community engages in. Especially the quadrobics and shifting. What I am seeing is not actually shifting and is what Indoraptor put nicely 'Larping'

Now I'm not a therian but I'm still kin and non-human so I think that I can answer this as well.

I feel as though my non-humanness has always been with me my whole life. When I was a kid I would act out more animalistically than my peers. Then around puberty I experienced early signs of species dysphoria. I'm not a spiritual creature in the slightest. I don't believe in spirits, souls, gods, afterlife. Any of that. It is purely psychological for me. There's something "wrong" with my brain and its wiring. Now I am autistic. Which some might say that's the reason why but I think that it's more of a correlation and not a causation for my non-humanness. They're connected slightly in a way for me but me being autistic did not cause my otherkinity. I think that if I were to explain it to someone who was non-kin I would mention me being autistic because they might understand that but again, it's more of a correlational thing. Not something that caused it. I only know how my brain works. No one else knows what I'm feeling nor thinking but I know that I'm not human.

So overall, for me, it's purely a psychological identity that probably resulted from general brain wiring and the disconnections from society and societal "norms" as a child. Aspects such as species dysphoria also probably caused me to identify this way because why else would I feel as though my species and my body feels inherently wrong. So me being kin just makes sense to me. It's the best way to describe my animalistic nature, my cravings, and my dysphoria.

(2023-06-09 18:14)PrimatewithCoffee Wrote:  … when I pondered on why God made me a Therian, why did He make me feel so other-human? It's because I believe I have a purpose that isn't so defined yet. But to be a healer, a changer in people's lives. I have seen my actions, both good and bad, affect those who need it the most. It's an odd thing to think of, and it goes deeper. I'm not putting myself on a pedestal either. But I believe that my detachment from the human world is part of my purpose, to not be tied too deeply in earthly thinking so that I may have an outer perspective of things. To be Therian is to have that sense, but to also have an understanding of animals more deeply than those not spiritually, religiously - or whatever you would call it - intuned with the universe. Of course, it's not to dismiss my human form, I recognize that I'm permanently stuck with earthly issues, inside and out.

Though that's what I think of when I wonder why God made me the way that I am, and will continue to do so until I pass. That's why I believe I am a therian, I have this unexplainable purpose that ties into my therianthropy. Perhaps my trauma, my condition, is just what ushers that destined purpose. What if I didn't have trauma? Or autism? Or the past that I have? Would I have experienced divinity from deities or understood the world in a more open way?

This is one of the most beautiful, thought-provoking replies I’ve gotten to Any of my posts. Detachment as purpose, healing as progress, therian as counterpart — even friend — to humans and other nonhuman alike.

I am ‘Niish Manidoowag’ — in my paternal culture, we 2-spirits are chosen as healers and scholars, assigned greater purpose and connection to man and woman alike, to man and nature, to living and dead, to beasts like & unlike ourselves … a sense of grounded, definite Reason for existing the way that we do. Being the way that we are. It’s not dissimilar to what you describe feeling, and I find it lovely that, from two entirely different walks of life, we’ve come away with such specific spiritual parallels (for lack of a better turn of phrase).

This is a thinker of a question.

There are about.. two things I can tie into my belief that I am a Therian. One of which I won't go into deep detail. Not because of sensitivity, but because it is something I've already discussed, and something I am positive a lot can immediately understand.

Trauma is something that affects us deeply, in ways we don't recognize until it is pointed out. I like to think of trauma as a woven basket; each straw is to be picked, and there can be many straws to pick out to unwind the basket. To sum it up, however, humans hurt me as a child, so I gravitated toward the comfort of animals. Soon enough, that just became- me. Autism, trauma, and the general self - are all contributing factors to feeling alter human. I don't belong in this human world, and that's just a fact I know won't ever go away.

But, there is another factor. I am a child of God. I'm a Christ-centered Quaker, so I do not follow strict Christian dogma, but I am absolutely in contact with and adoration of Jesus Christ, and I believe in the Trinity. He is everywhere and in everyone. He is very much real in my universe, and there is nothing I would do to trade off the relationship I have with Him. He is both parent to me, and a guidance in my life. He is just everything to me. I believe that He knows my past, present, and future; He created me with all the detailing one would make, from the beginning of time to now. Evolution and all.

How does this relate to my therianthropy? Well, when I pondered on why God made me a Therian, why did He make me feel so other-human? It's because I believe I have a purpose that isn't so defined yet. But to be a healer, a changer in people's lives. I have seen my actions, both good and bad, affect those who need it the most. It's an odd thing to think of, and it goes deeper. I'm not putting myself on a pedestal either. But I believe that my detachment from the human world is part of my purpose, to not be tied too deeply in earthly thinking so that I may have an outer perspective of things. To be Therian is to have that sense, but to also have an understanding of animals more deeply than those not spiritually, religiously - or whatever you would call it - intuned with the universe. Of course, it's not to dismiss my human form, I recognize that I'm permanently stuck with earthly issues, inside and out.

Though that's what I think of when I wonder why God made me the way that I am, and will continue to do so until I pass. That's why I believe I am a therian, I have this unexplainable purpose that ties into my therianthropy. Perhaps my trauma, my condition, is just what ushers that destined purpose. What if I didn't have trauma? Or autism? Or the past that I have? Would I have experienced divinity from deities or understood the world in a more open way?

There’s good and bad with everything, and many things have the potential to harm if wielded incorrectly. That said — Tiktok’s format & appeal to those lowest of attention spans is easily abused.

I don’t think every single therian from Tiktok is a faker or a bad person or whatever. I think there are those who have a relatively healthy relationship with therianthropy, and then there are those who have a sincere but misguided one, and then there are people who are not therian at all. I like to think many of these folk are just stuck in the limbo of Option 2; not tangibly, maliciously doing harm to the community, but spreading rapid & dangerous misinformation along the way.

Most people on Tiktok aren’t shifting, they’re LARPing. They’re doing quadrobics because it looks cool, not because it’s a respected practice that they understand, or a way of truly getting in touch with their theriotype. Same with their ‘therian gear.’ They’re caught up in the aesthetic of it. Does this make them Not Therian? No, I don’t think so. But it means they have a very poor grasp on what being therian actually means.

If it wasn’t tiktok, I believe it would have blown up in the public eye eventually. Terms meant for ‘fringe’ groups like our own community are misused and appropriated by the internet … a lot, especially by the younger generations. I know this happens, but have no idea how to combat it, other than to be patient, educate, and attempt to approach with kindness where I feel I’ll be positively received.

I think Tiktok is definitely harming thertians/the therian community. A lot.

First, and most obviously, it's making it seem like quadrobics and wearing masks of an animal you like is all there is to therianthropy. It's not. I've seen more comments than I can count on quadrobics videos saying, "I wish I was a therian" or "I think i'm a therian, I really like walking around on all fours", and it just completely warps what being a therian really means.

Second, it attracts hate to therians like a magnet. Tiktok often goes extremely viral, and if quadrobics content is all people see about therianthropy, they're going to assume that's what therianthropy is. I've told people that i'm a therian and they've responded with, "Oh, so you're one of those people who walk around on all fours wearing masks?" And it's extremely annoying. Most people who see viral tiktok therian content are haters, or at least don't understand therianthropy. I'd rather therians know what therianthropy is, and not many others, but that's not possible with therian tiktoks.

It's also becoming a 'trend' to post these, and even though I know there are lots of wolves, foxes, and cats in the therian community, this percentage is vastly inflated on tiktok. It's pretty hard to find other theriotypes on social media than these three, which makes me think that some of these 'therians' are just kids who like these animals.

While I agree with many that this 'trend' will eventually die, if it gets too big, it's going to be what this generation mainly thinks of therians. Little kids running around on all fours wearing masks.

(2023-06-08 19:01)Saoirse Fiain Wrote:  I interpreted the title as: what attributes do I have that are therian-like, but the responses seem to be answering the question of: what do you think caused your therianthropy?

For the former, It's because my thought patterns and urges have wolf-like attributes. What I experience/need doesn't really fit well with what other animals do naturally. Including humans. The wolf is the closest match.

As for what causes it, I- have no idea. I've always kinda been tomboyish in my childhood, I liked to be outside, mucking around through the woods, hands on, the whole nine yards. Plenty of people were like that who didn't turn out to be therians, though. I hardly think that's a cause.

The one that makes sense to me is that humans are naturally very wolf-like. With our social needs and all. Humans and dogs practically grew up together, we are brothers and sisters to our canine companions. We've been hanging around each other nearly since the dawn of our existence. It's hard not to think that they wouldn't tamper with human evolution in any way. We tampered with theirs after all. Maybe it's something that's dormant within all humans. But only comes out in very few. Though, more than you might think.

I dearly wish I had more time to reply to this — just know I appreciate you sharing your perspective! I love the idea you propose in your last paragraph about the possibility of a dormant connection. If we are just the few whose synapses fired this way — (who knows!) — then I would consider us lucky for having found our roots. Whatever it is, it’s a theory I’ll be chewing on!