I've been thinking a lot about therianthropy lately. For me, it's not just an idea—it's a real and genuine part of who I am. The notion that people can identify as or feel a deep connection to animals makes a lot of sense when I consider our shared DNA, brain plasticity, and the way our brains are structured. These thoughts have made me wonder if there's more to our connection with animals than we usually acknowledge.

Knowing that we share about 98.8% of our DNA with chimpanzees and even 85% with mice made me realize that the differences between us and other animals aren't as big as they seem. This genetic similarity suggests a shared evolutionary history and common biological functions, hinting that the essence of being an animal is still very much a part of us.

Our brains are incredibly adaptable, capable of changing and forming new connections throughout our lives. This brain plasticity means that our experiences and thoughts can shape our neural pathways in profound ways. People don't become therian; they awaken the pathways in their brain by opening their mind and reshaping their brain. This could be related to empathy, as we project ourselves into that animal identity, strengthening our bond and understanding. Kids sometimes "grow out" of therianthropy because they adapt to the demands of their life, spending less time cultivating their therian identity and more time fitting into societal norms. I think maybe they move in the opposite direction, focusing less on their animal side as they grow older.

The Triune Brain Theory, which suggests our brains evolved in layers with the reptilian brain, the limbic system, and the neocortex, ties into this idea of awakening the therian identity. The reptilian brain handles basic survival functions, the limbic system governs emotions and social behaviors, and the neocortex is responsible for higher-order thinking. By focusing on our therian identity, we can awaken these more primitive parts of our brains, allowing us to express and feel our therian type more vividly.

All these thoughts lead me to see therianthropy as a natural and intrinsic aspect of being human, something that our intellectual minds normally suppress. There's a part of us that remains connected to the animal kingdom, reflecting our shared evolutionary heritage. This isn't a scientifically proven idea, but it feels right to me. It's a personal reflection that helps me understand myself better, acknowledging that I'm both human and deeply connected to the animal world.

In conclusion, while these reflections are based on personal intuition rather than scientific evidence, they offer a perspective on therianthropy that feels genuine to me. It seems like there's a part of all of us that is inherently connected to animals, a part that our intellectual brains often mute but never completely erase. Embracing this multifaceted nature helps me understand who I am, bridging the gap between my human intellect and my animalistic origins.

agreed with Cloud

This discussion made me start to think about my experiences and reflect on other's experiences. I might be in the camp of not having completely integrated theriotypes. Realizing that, a lot of my experiences make more sense! I didn't think about it being a separate theriotype explanation because when I first explored this, I looked into median and plural experiences, and none of them fit, so I just shoved it to the back of the identity shelf.

I'm polykin and I'll just group all of them under theriotypes for simplicity. My explanation is spiritual with some soul integration stuff that would take awhile to explain, but with how I see my soul and polytherian nature, they ARE kind of separate! I don't experience my kintypes as anything autonomous or self-thinking, so I wouldn't count this as a plural experience. I do experience shifts as more intense than I think most people in my system do at least and there's a bigger difference between a "grounding" shift like my system uses and a therian shift.

For me it's almost like if you imagine a color wheel where all my kintypes are a separate color but I'm still in the middle experiencing all of them. They're a part of me and separate like how the color white is a part of the color red. Shifting is more extreme because of this.

I'm still an animal and completely identify as all my kintypes despite what I saw a few people assuming. I probably still wouldn't name them because I'm not creative enough (my name is a shortening of a type of cow), but I could see someone else in my situation naming their theriotypes.

I could also realize I'm wrong or change my mind, but that kind of clicked something that I've been a bit confused on for awhile because I kept trying to shove it into a plural experience when it wasn't.

-Pon

(2024-06-25 20:46)QFurry Wrote:  

(2024-06-25 18:55)WereKitty Wrote:  Regarding the common and uncommon theriotypes: that has also begun to have a slightly intrusive effect on me. Nowadays when I see someone claim an uncommon 'type such as an insect or (what I saw recently) a hippo, I immediately sub-consciously doubt it, only to find that person is being genuine and really do identify as a hippo. It's like, 'Omg, I didn't mean to doubt you!' but seeing all the trolling online, and how therians are almost pressured to have more 'cool' types, it's begun to creep into my sub-conscious. I feel horrible about that.

ah hmm sorry we don't know each other I'm intruding myself a bit in the community here. Hope you don't mind.

I just wanted to tell you you need to also be kind to yourself. Not just others. It's really really great that you are self conscious when you make a mistake it's a very important quality, but it's also important to be able to forgive yourself so you can move on. I know it's easy to say but nobody's perfect. Also in this case you kept the wrong thought for yourself, you didn't hurt anyone, it's great self control.

But of course, and I really do appreciate you saying that so thank you.

I realize that sometimes I can be really hard on myself for feeling certain things, but that is 100% how I felt about it in the moment. I'm definitely trying to work on it. Thank you for your input -- and please don't feel like you're intruding. It's very appreciated, and your feedback is very welcomed.

Best,
Kitty

My werewolf theriotype doesn't have a name, same with my jaguar theriotype. They just are nameless beings who exist as part of me.

(2024-06-25 18:55)WereKitty Wrote:  Regarding the common and uncommon theriotypes: that has also begun to have a slightly intrusive effect on me. Nowadays when I see someone claim an uncommon 'type such as an insect or (what I saw recently) a hippo, I immediately sub-consciously doubt it, only to find that person is being genuine and really do identify as a hippo. It's like, 'Omg, I didn't mean to doubt you!' but seeing all the trolling online, and how therians are almost pressured to have more 'cool' types, it's begun to creep into my sub-conscious. I feel horrible about that.

ah hmm sorry we don't know each other I'm intruding myself a bit in the community here. Hope you don't mind.

I just wanted to tell you you need to also be kind to yourself. Not just others. It's really really great that you are self conscious when you make a mistake it's a very important quality, but it's also important to be able to forgive yourself so you can move on. I know it's easy to say but nobody's perfect. Also in this case you kept the wrong thought for yourself, you didn't hurt anyone, it's great self control.

Hey Rain. Thank you for writing this — I'm extremely glad to see this thread because it puts into words almost exactly what I've been feeling, not only as a therian but also especially as a younger therian who has been in the community since before quads completely took over the Internet.

I have to agree. It is extremely disheartening to see the entire being of "therianthropy" watered down to just quads, gear, socialism, etc. It is so elitist and although I do occasionally enjoy wearing gear and doing quads, at the end of the day it pisses me off. I hate to see such a wonderful and niche community be conflated to something which it never was. Me personally, I preferred this community when it was much more private and low-key (especially when the content on social media was mainly informational, and not just "Hobbyist" and painting it all to be some sort of trend). I personally work really hard to try and keep my involvement in the community, or at least how I see it, much more discreet and casual.

Not only this, but also — as you stated — seeing kids our age pick up a therian identity, try it on, get really into it, then drop it after only so long. It's OK to experiment with a new identity/label of course, but it absolutely boils my blood to see people ignorantly treating it as a trend and, in turn, spreading misinformation about the community and what it truly means to be therian.

It's especially very weird, for me, to be a younger therian (15) seeing all the modernism & consumerism of the online community. It's like, suddenly I'm being made to doubt myself because I don't fit the image of what other therians my age are making therianthropy to be? Hell, I didn't even have a tail or mask until about last week, and I've been awakened for about five years. I hate that it makes me feel insecure and pressured about my own identity. On that note, because of my dyspraxia I can hardly even do "quads," and like you said I've really begun to pressure myself to do this and it stresses me out. It is really becoming an issue.

Regarding the common and uncommon theriotypes: that has also begun to have a slightly intrusive effect on me. Nowadays when I see someone claim an uncommon 'type such as an insect or (what I saw recently) a hippo, I immediately sub-consciously doubt it, only to find that person is being genuine and really do identify as a hippo. It's like, 'Omg, I didn't mean to doubt you!' but seeing all the trolling online, and how therians are almost pressured to have more 'cool' types, it's begun to creep into my sub-conscious. I feel horrible about that.

Anyway. Thank you again for the post and your input. Please don't worry about spelling errors — honestly it's fine. This is a niche online forum, you don't have to be super formal about ur spelling.

XX,
KK.

(2024-06-09 5:47)BlackCat0118 Wrote:  It is extremely annoying to see people diminish Therianthropy to an aesthetic and a spiritual connection.

I'm very very new to therianthropy. For me I see it as a profound connection but not as me-and-them... more like. It's me, I *am* that animal, it is there inside and I want to free it. There is no me-and-them, we are the same. (I guess I'm mostly thinking about my cats when I say "them")

idk... those that make sense?

I don't name my theriotypes but I don't think my name really represents the full me so I am looking for a name that does weird but what ebbs

I don't call my kintype by another name because I'm unable to separate myself from my kintype in any way. So I just call my kintype 'angel' because it's the species.
I don't understand naming your kintypes, because they're not separate individuals. Except when you give yourself a nickname that fits the theriotype.