Though, maybe what Kai was trying to say was that the therian community looked for explanations that were more based in science(neurology and psychology are sciences)?
Except the therian community hasn’t really. As genuineferalswagger pointed out, there hasn’t been any peer-reviewed research done on the subject, there haven’t been therians volunteering for neurological or psychological study. What’s been done is a lot of theorizing by armchair psychologists and neurologists. It’s literally pseudoscience.
I know, I know, but I don’t know how else to explain this… okay. What is the word you would use to describe the psychological/neurological explanations? Given they might be totally wrong, but they’re something to start with, anyway. They’re not spiritual, they are _____.
(Source: felkes)
(Source: fuckkelly)
I’m not actually one of the many internet trolls within the otherkin tag, I’m fairly aware of both the therian and otherkin communities and I think this debate is splitting hairs, but that’s my personal opinion.
However, yes I agree. 10 years ago, no-one I encountered was offering a psychological/neurological explanation for either therianthropy or otherkin identities, and I used to be quite active in online communities. It seems to be becoming vogue recently, which is bothersome because there is no peer-reviewed scientific evidence to postulate therianthropy has a neurological ext. basis.
Perhaps it will in future, but right now it is not science, its just a theory with no weighty evidence to back it up.
(please note I’m not denying these identities their validity, science is often far behind the ball on a lot of legitimate issues)
(gasps) Oh, no! Your post did look very trollish, sorry about that! Hm, I think what you mean to say is that it is a hypothesis. Evolution is a theory (a theory being something that has lots and lots of studies and data to back it up). Darn that colloqial usage. =P
But aside from that bit of terminology, yes, that actually really is good point! Now, I am almost completely convinced that it is something neurological. For me, that is, and others like me. Just based on what I’ve observed with my personal experience, there is some very strange stuff happening. And then there are those odd coincidences… there was a very good article written by Savage which goes into detail, actually. But you are correct, it is not technically ‘science’ unless the scientific method was used (I think I am saying that right, been a while since I took one of these classes). Though, maybe what Kai was trying to say was that the therian community looked for explanations that were more based in science(neurology and psychology are sciences)? That would make more sense, in this case.
Hmm… I think we have two different definitions of ‘scientific’ here…
(Source: felkes)
(me, to a classmate)
I think Pro Ana has really died out because of that new legislation they introduced which prohibits websites of that sort.
(me, on Tumblr)
I’m going to type ‘Pro Ana’ into the tags just to see what comes up. I bet I won’t get any results at all.
…
Oh.
my cats <3
(Source: zekethecat)
I keep having dreams where I run into large predators wherever I go… and they are always grizzly bears and wolves. I’ll see one, and then I’m surrounded.
And I am also having a harder and harder time getting off the ground (flying).
One of these might be fine, but… I used to be able to fly away from danger so easily… what will become of me?
lolol
i know of an earwig. oh, and a petrel, which vomits. a lot.
yeah man we’re all super special
also wolves aren’t fucking cool. they’re highly social canines thaT’S IT
Hah, it’s funny… the dynamic has changed so much now…
Human: “There are so many wolves, so that must mean that since wolves are cool/beautiful/majestic/popular animals, these stupid ‘otherkin’ are just a bunch of special snowflakes.”
Nonhuman: “Please, I don’t want to be a wolf… can’t I be something else? This is boring, everyone else is a wolf. Am I seriously a wolf!? No, why! Everyone is going to think I’m faking, this sucks, and there are like, five hundred more of me, blugh. Why can’t I be something cool, like a lizard, or a wasp?”
Wait.
Wait.
Hold everything.
Will someone please tell me my mom was not just inquiring as to my unused PERSCRIPTION acne medication because she wanted to give it to my brother?
Please!?
My brother.
Who has to be on, like, 6 different types of psychiatric medication right now.
Entering ’are humans superior to animals’ into the Yahoo! Answers search bar.
Always worth a laugh.
I’ve gotten sick of pointing this out, so I’m just going to do this. I’m officially naming a movement. Therians Against Merging Terminology is for therians who disagree with and dislike being casually thrown into the so called otherkin “umbrella” term, regardless of our independent origins and history.
The therian community was conceived and developed separate from otherkin, and though there is some overlap in membership, has continued to grow as it’s own community, with it’s own terminology. As communities therians and otherkin typically approach things in a different fashion. Therians tending to go for science first, while otherkin’s known for looking to the metaphysical. (I’m not saying this is true for all, just that it’s what these communities are stereo-typically known to do).
Not all therians (myself included) agree with or appreciate being grouped as otherkin, so I’m hoping this post will raise awareness for this. Therianthropy developed separately from otherkin, and some of us want it to stay that way.
*Note: In no way am I saying I dislike otherkin, I’m simply saying that I don’t appreciate or agree with grouping therianthropy as otherkin when it’s already it’s own community, with it’s own terminology, and independent history.
**If you want to read more on this subject, I encourage you to check out the thread “Otherkin: An “Umbrella” Term?” on the Therian Discovery Forums.
Thumbs up! :D -puts up paws pretending to have thumbs-
Can’t we just see this all as a Venn diagram with some overlap but not a complete merge? Some therians do have a spiritual view of their therianthropy. Some therians are perfectly happy with the otherkin label. Who’s to say they’re any less right than the TAMT perspective?
>Therians tending to go for science first, while otherkin’s known for looking to the metaphysical.
>therianthropy scientific>mfw
Unbeknownst to themself and perhaps the majority of those actually involved in this discussion, ManticoreFruit actually has a point. Until recently, did not the majority hold a spiritual belief as the explanation for their therianthropy? Heck, that was the first definition I came across. It seems the psychological/neurological explanation’s only really becoming more common lately (and people are still saying they do not hold the popular view of how they came to be the way they are).
all my friends are wolves: need help with social skills... any book recommendations?
…i think i need these books:
- social skills for teenagers and adults with asperger’s syndrome: a practical guide to day-to-day life
- social skills training for children and adolescents with asperger syndrome and social-communications problems
i know the second is really mostly for children…
Hmm… for my own experience, I seem to remember Freaks, Geeks and Asperger’s Syndrome by Luke Jackson, while actually being a personal account of his experiences, actually having a lot of advice in it… but, it is a book for teenagers, so, maybe a bit too young. ^^;
There’s a book I’m reading now called The Highly Sensitive Person’s Survival Guide. I really, really like it. It not only gives some counseling for very sensitive types in an overly aggressive world, but gives some exercises and techniques for coping in that world. (Not very far in it, but the first one, if I remember right, has you construct a white light around yourself to protect against overwhelming energies.)
I met some autistic students on campus a few months ago, and one of them brought up a book that Temple Grandin wrote. I can’t remember what it was called, but it supposedly detailed human social interaction down to a lot of specifics, and she really liked it. Don’t worry, it has a really obvious title; she mistook it for a literal guide on social interaction. (I think it might start with ‘how to’…?)
Yay!
(Source: mtvgeek)
