What Is Otherkin?

This page is largely based on my own opinions and experience. I have not done any in-depth research and it is entirely possible my views are outdated compared to what is agreed upon in the present day.

Otherkin is a general term, usually a label for people who feel that they are in some way non-human. This can be through a person's soul being non-human, a past life, or many other things. The word otherkin as a specific label is for people who identify as magical/supernatural/not-of-this-earth creatures. For earthly animals, the term is "therian."

My knowledge comes from joining the community in 2014, but there was a point where other sites started talking about otherkin more and it kind of warped from there. I can't pin the exact year. But nowadays I have no clue what the general climate is like- I know it's pretty bad on TikTok. Just to establish my point of view on all this: to be otherkin is to seriously, if not literally, identify as something other than human. It is not "relating" to an animal or a character, there are plenty of other words and labels for that kind of thing. I do support fictionkin as a part of the otherkin community!

The most common ways to describe your identification with a creature would be to say "I am [creature]kin" or "I have a [creature] kintype." There have been arguments about what is the most proper grammar and whatnot, but I don't really think it matters. There's also the therian variant of "I am a [creature] therian."

What causes people to be otherkin? There isn't really one concrete answer. It depends on the person and why they think they are the way they are. Common "types" of otherkin include spiritual otherkin, where someone believes their kintype comes from something like their soul or a past life, and psychological otherkin, who believe their kintype has something to do with their brain/mental health/etc.