WikiFur - User contributions [en]

Therianthropy

2005-11-18T22:20:50Z

24.225.75.173: /* Beliefs and origins */

'''Therianthropy''' is a generic term for any transformation of a human into another animal form, either as a part of mythology or as a spiritual concept. The word is derived from Greek therion, meaning "wild animal", and ''anthrōpos'', meaning "man".

==Modern subcultural use of the term==
===Beliefs and origins===

In recent times, a [[subculture]] has developed that has adopted the word ''therianthropy'' to describe a sense of intense [[furry spirituality|spiritual]] or psychological identification with a non-[[human]] [[animal]]. Members of this subculture typically refer to themselves as ''therianthropes'' or ''therians''. The word ''[[were]]s'' was also common at one point, in reference to shapeshifting creatures of legend such as [[Werewolf|werewolves]], weretigers and the like, but is less common these days. One reason for the waning use of the term "were" is it's growing use in the furry community to mean a more "bestial" style furry. This causes many misunderstandings between the therian and furry communities.

The [[Usenet]] group alt.horror.werewolves was founded in 1992, and in its earliest days the members discussed fictional shapeshifters. Some posters began to publicly claim that they considered themselves to be partially non-human animal. A number of these people were only joking, but enough people were serious about it that it became a trend. Others who professed the same beliefs soon joined the group. The earliest therians called themselves ''lycanthropes'', but as that word more accurately describes wolf-people, ''therianthropes'' was chosen as a more inclusive term.

Those within this subculture who identify with a spiritual understanding of this phenomenon may believe that they have the spirit or soul, in whole or in part, of a non-human animal, and their beliefs often overlap to some extent with aspects of [[shamanism]] or [[animal totem|totemism]]. Some also draw inspiration from stories of shapeshifting in [[Celtic_Mythology|Celtic]], [[Norse_Mythology|Norse]] and [[Native_American_mythology|Native American]] myths, among others. The term ''spiritual therianthropy'' is often used to differentiate this definition of therianthropy from others. However Shamanism and Totemism are not an intresnic part of therianthropy.

Those who prefer a psychological explanation may simply describe it as having a non-human animal side to their personality or nature, with some believing that it may be due to some sort of unusual neurophysiology, as is thought to be the case with syndromes like attention deficit disorder and autism. Others believe that their genes are partially non-human, but this explanation is unproven, scientifically implausible, and not favored by many. Most of those who support the explanation of atypical neuropsychology, however, do not appear to regard it as innately dysfunctional.

In either case, the identification with the non-human animal may be partial, as in those who regard themselves as having both human and non-human attributes, or complete, as in those who regard themselves as essentially non-human animals in human bodies. The terms ''species dysphoria'' and ''transspeciesism'' have occasionally been used to refer to the latter phenomenon, in parallel with the concepts of gender dysphoria and [[transsexual|transsexuality]].

Most therians identify with a single type of non-human animal, but there are some who identify with more than one — sometimes related animals, as in several different species of [[feline]] or [[canine]], for example, but sometimes completely dissimilar animals. Those who identify with all members of one family — for instance, someone who claims to have characteristics of all felines — is called a ''cladotherianthrope''. The species of non-human animal with which a particular therian identifies is sometimes referred to as that person's ''theriotype'' or ''[[phenotype]]''. The term phenotype was originally more common but has fallen into disuse because it also refers to physical appearance.

The majority of therianthropes identify as [[feline]] or [[canine]], often big cats and wolves (see a survey [http://www.werelist.com/modules.php?name=Demographics&op=show_statistics&showpage=pheno1 here]), but there are also [[reptile]]s, [[bird|avians]], other mammals, and [[insects]]. Some skeptics argue that, because of the preponderance of large carnivores, most therians are only faking and are purposefully choosing impressive animals for ego-based purposes. There are also some individuals who identify with mythical species (e.g. [[dragon]]s, [[elves]], [[gryphon]]s, [[centaur]]s and so forth), but those who fit more in the [[otherkin]] community than the therian community.

Therianthropes may describe their nature manifesting in terms of their cognitive processes, their outlook on life, their inner reactions and [[instinct]]s, their senses, or through their physical body, though claims of actual physical variations from the norm tend to be regarded with skepticism both within and outside the subculture. The human and non-human aspects of the self may co-operate or conflict, leading to happiness or unhappy dysfunction, and may take much self-discovery to begin to understand or accept. Because this is a personal self-perception, the ways in which a person describes his or her self-identification as a therianthrope vary considerably.

A controversial aspect of therianthropy is the subject of ''shifting'' (a shortened word for [[shapeshifting]]), which generally refers to any manner by which a therianthrope's nature may become evidenced internally (to themselves) or externally to others. Few people within the subculture doubt that shifts of mental and emotional perception may occur, some therianthropes also claim to experience a physical change to their appearance, a subject known as ''physical shifting'' ( or ''P-shifting''). Many in the therianthrope subculture doubt physical changes actually occur. The overwhelming majority of those outside of the culture deny that any real physical shifting occurs.

Some of the rationally minded, skeptical therianthropes suggest that their therianthropy may be a mental or psychological condition, possibly with a spiritual or religious component. Advocates of this viewpoint can be found on the forums at Werelist.com, a popular resource that encourages good critical thinking and a rational adult perspective on therianthropy.

===Subculture===
Therianthropy as a subculture does not have any central dogma or tenets, nor any recognized authority. However, those who have been around for a long time are generally listened to, though less out of any perceived spiritual authority than simple acknowledgement of experience. The word [[greymuzzle]] is often used tongue-in-cheek to describe these people.

While there is no offline social organization, there exist a [[:Category:Community|community]] of therians with many diverse outlooks on the concept, including [[Christian]]s, [[Pagan]]s, and [[atheist]]s. As could be expected, disagreements are frequent, and the many online [[forum]]s and [[:Category:Chat rooms|chat rooms]] of the community each have their own "atmosphere," ranging from total acceptance to scornful cynicism. There have been intermittent "real-world" gatherings, referred to as ''howls'', but their purpose is primarily social.

====Therianthropy vs. clinical lycanthropy====
Spiritual therianthropy is not automatically the same as clinical lycanthropy, a mental illness in which an individual believes he or she belongs to or can change to another [[species]]. While some therianthropes believe they can take on the mindset of their "other side" in what is referred to as a ''mental shift'', they believe that they retain control during these transformations and are no greater danger to themselves or others. The term ''contherianthropes'' is sometimes used for those who do not claim to mentally shift but believe they have human and non-human sides which are mixed up into a single unchanging whole.

====Therianthropy vs. furry fandom====

Therianthropy should not be confused with the [[Furry Fandom]], though some intermixing of the groups does occur. As a general rule, to an extent, therianthropes are more focused on the sense of an animal within, an animal side to their nature, or spiritual concepts; by contrast, [[furry|furries]] are more commonly focused on furry [[art]] and/or [[role-playing]] related to [[anthropomorphic]] non-humans. There is some overlap with those who identify themselves with each group or view the other positively, as well as those in each group who view the other negatively. For instance, some furries view therianthropy as "taking it too far," while therianthropes may assert that furries are frivolous and don't pay attention to the true nature of animals.

==See also==
* [[Lifestylers]]
* [[Otherkin]]
* [[Were]]
* [[Werewolf]]

==External links==
* [http://www.werelist.com The Werelist]
* [http://snowspine.com/therian The WereLibrary]

[[Category: Terms]]

{{Wikipedia|Therianthropy}}

Talk:Jakkal

2005-11-18T22:04:00Z

24.225.75.173: /* Furry vs were */

== Furry vs were ==
I don't see the distinction, but one is made by the subject of this article. -- [[User:Siege|Siege]] 08:41, 14 Nov 2005 (UTC)
:Well, note that that is her distinction alone, and go on. Move it from the opening sentence (both here and on [[Black Tapestries]]); there are better ways to introduce an artist and webcomic than to say it is anthropomorphic, but she (or in the case of the comic, the creator) is rabidly anti-fur. [[User:Almafeta|Almafeta]] 12:55, 14 Nov 2005 (UTC)

::Actually there is a BIG difference between Furries and "weres", unfortunately "were" has started to become a mainstream word in the furry community for more bestial or native type furries. That is why we have started to use the term "Therian" to describe ourselves. We don't do this as a sense of elitism like many furries claim, but as a further differentiation. Furries and therians are exclusive communities.

::In addition, I am not "rabidly antifur", I have a great many furry friends and I do hang out with a lot of furries on a daily basis. I do not like the general furry attitude, nor do I like having labels slapped on me - and then furthermore have furries vehemently attack me because I refuse to be labelled as such.

::I have noticed that Furries attempting to define something they do not understand on this wiki. Just because one doesn't see the difference between Furries and Therians does not mean there isn't one, and also does not mean one should assume they are one in the same.

::I see -no- reason to include whether or not I am a furry or a therian in the description. I am an artist of a comic that furry *might* enjoy reading. That is all one should be concerned with. - [[User:Jakkal|Jakkal]]

:::I've reworded the article a bit, so it isn't quite as awkward. I'll make a simular change to the ''[[Black Tapestries]]'' article as well.

:::There have always been distinctions between the "furry" and "were"/"therian" communities. These should be respected, from both sides, in my opinion. [[User:CarlFox|Carl Fox]] 04:12, 18 Nov 2005 (UTC)

I must agree with CarlFox. Both the furry and the were communities have unique attributes, some of which may be percieved as either positive or negative depending on your perspective. I'd say that both groups have their decent people and their troublemakers, their good points and their bad points.

In my personal experience both online and in real life, I have never percieved Jakkal as a "fur basher" who says that all furs are bad or evil. She does state that there are differences between these communities. She does not identify as a fur and she says that she is not personally comfortable with the general atmosphere and culture of the fur community, specifically in regards to the focus on sexuality that is very prominent in many areas of this community.

Having a personal preference to not identify as a fur does not make someone anti-fur any more than being heterosexual makes someone anti-gay. Not wanting to listen to heavy metal music does not make someone an anti-heavy metal activist. Personal choices should be respected as long as the person making the choices does not condemn anyone else for exercising the same right. Jakkal emphatically does not do so.

- Savage

Co-moderator, Werelist, also proud to be identified as a fur.

Talk:Jakkal

2005-11-18T22:03:17Z

24.225.75.173: /* Furry vs were */

== Furry vs were ==
I don't see the distinction, but one is made by the subject of this article. -- [[User:Siege|Siege]] 08:41, 14 Nov 2005 (UTC)
:Well, note that that is her distinction alone, and go on. Move it from the opening sentence (both here and on [[Black Tapestries]]); there are better ways to introduce an artist and webcomic than to say it is anthropomorphic, but she (or in the case of the comic, the creator) is rabidly anti-fur. [[User:Almafeta|Almafeta]] 12:55, 14 Nov 2005 (UTC)

::Actually there is a BIG difference between Furries and "weres", unfortunately "were" has started to become a mainstream word in the furry community for more bestial or native type furries. That is why we have started to use the term "Therian" to describe ourselves. We don't do this as a sense of elitism like many furries claim, but as a further differentiation. Furries and therians are exclusive communities.

::In addition, I am not "rabidly antifur", I have a great many furry friends and I do hang out with a lot of furries on a daily basis. I do not like the general furry attitude, nor do I like having labels slapped on me - and then furthermore have furries vehemently attack me because I refuse to be labelled as such.

::I have noticed that Furries attempting to define something they do not understand on this wiki. Just because one doesn't see the difference between Furries and Therians does not mean there isn't one, and also does not mean one should assume they are one in the same.

::I see -no- reason to include whether or not I am a furry or a therian in the description. I am an artist of a comic that furry *might* enjoy reading. That is all one should be concerned with. - [[User:Jakkal|Jakkal]]

:::I've reworded the article a bit, so it isn't quite as awkward. I'll make a simular change to the ''[[Black Tapestries]]'' article as well.

:::There have always been distinctions between the "furry" and "were"/"therian" communities. These should be respected, from both sides, in my opinion. [[User:CarlFox|Carl Fox]] 04:12, 18 Nov 2005 (UTC)

I must agree with CarlFox. Both the furry and the were communities have unique attributes, some of which may be percieved as either positive or negative depending on your perspective. I'd say that both groups have their decent people and their troublemakers, their good points and their bad points.

In my personal experience both online and in real life, I have never percieved Jakkal as a "fur basher" who says that all furs are bad or evil. She does state that there are differences between these communities. She does not identify as a fur and she says that she is not personally comfortable with the general atmosphere and culture of the fur community, specifically in regards to the focus on sexuality that is very prominent in many areas of this community.

Having a personal preference to not identify as a fur does not make someone anti-fur any more than being heterosexual makes someone anti-gay. Not wanting to listen to heavy metal music does not make someone an anti-heavy metal activist. Personal choices should be respected as long as the person making the choices does not condemn anyone else for exercising the same right. Jakkal emphatically does not do so.

- Savage
Co-moderator, Werelist, also proud to be identified as a fur.