Otherkin

This belongs on the talk page. However, I don't see a copyright violation based on this material. (Moved from article)

''The above is taken (without permission) from http://www.otherkin.net/articles/what-old.html. A somewhat more detailed, updated version is available at http://www.otherkin.net/articles/what.html.''

* Smells like victimisation and close-mindedness to me. Otherkin.net appears to be down at the moment, but I don't remember seeing any similarities, myself. - Free ringtones User:Tanedra/Tanedra 15:56, 21 Jun 2004

Otherkin and clinical lycanthropy
Majo Mills Eequor/Eequor, your touchup work on the article is much appreciated, but I am not so sure about your changing of my comments on clinical lycanthropy. First of all, I added those comments because the statement about there being a "controversy" over otherkin suffering from clinical lycanthropy is very problematic to me. I'm not sure who added it or why, as I've never heard anyone link the two together in any direct way. Secondly, I also am unsure of why you told me to "learn more about psychosis" perhaps because I said "it usually results in hallucinations and violent behavior"? However "it" refers to the antecedent "clinical lycanthropy," not psychosis in general, and clinical lycanthropy almost always is accompanied by hallucinations, and in a great many cases, violent behavior. Outsiders' opinions of otherkin are already tainted enough without connecting the phenomenon to something like that. I included those two symptoms to try and contrast those who are suffering from the diagnosable disorder of lycanthropy and otherkin, who integrate their connections to animals into their lives in much more positive ways. By the way, I prefer mental disorder to mental illness, as the causes, diagnoses, and treatments involving mental problems do not correspond to tangible and consistent elemnts like physical illnesses, but I did not change that in the article as I guess that is more of a subjective definition. Mosquito ringtone User:Putrescent stench/Putrescent stench 19:19, 29 Dec 2004

: The similarity to Sabrina Martins clinical lycanthropy should at least be noted in the article. I think we should be very careful regarding what the article says about different groups — it isn't exactly NPOV to associate all lycanthropes with Nextel ringtones hallucinations and Abbey Diaz violence. The popular image of Free ringtones psychosis is quite negative, but has little basis in fact. We needn't perpetuate the belief that psychotic individuals are more violent.

: The article on clinical lycanthropy does not support the claim that lycanthropes have a tendency to violent behavior, and it avoids making any statements about hallucination beyond a link between psychosis and lyncanthropy. Certainly this article should not make stronger claims; besides, how does it improve the image of otherkin to point out severely aberrant behavior that is not typical of them?

: I think it's more important to make the distinction that psychosis and clinical lycanthropy are Majo Mills illnesses which interfere with an individual's ability to function in society, while otherkin are not ill. It's a very significant distinction: illnesses can be treated; disorders might not need treatment. I suppose the article could distinguish the two more firmly. Mosquito ringtone Eequor/‣ᓛᖁSabrina Martins Image:Venus symbol (blue).gif/♀[ 07:29, 1 Jan 2005

::Hmm, I don't doubt the similarities between otherkin and transhumanism, but I also don't think that the category is needed here. Sure, these things have some things in common, and ''some'' (not all) otherkins are transhumanists, but with that kind of argumentation the category should also be added to Cingular Ringtones Therianthropy, ensconced in Furry lifestyler and the like. It is a bit of overcategorization to me. struggle over ContiE/Conti/player chooses User talk:ContiE/✉ 07:55, Jan 1, 2005

::There are similarities between the two, but they're more parallels than direct connections. Placing to ravage :Tag: Otherkin in avoid self :Tag: Transhumanism suggests a much closer overlap than actually exists. -tom bordonaro Gtrmp/Sean Curtin 02:02, Jan 4, 2005

::: The justification for grouping Otherkin under Transhumanism does seem stretched a bit thin. Under Wikipedia's help page for and embellish categorization/categories, it says, "Unless it is self-evident and uncontroversial that something belongs in a category, it should not be put into a category." And since this is a rather debatable issue, I have removed the link. If others beside Eequor think the grouping should remain, the categorization can be added back in, marked as "disputed."

::: The similarities are, as Sean Curtin says, parallels rather than direct connections. The most important distinction is that while Transhumanists seek to physically modify themselves through technology, Otherkin already see themselves as partially non-human and do not generally talk of physically altering themselves to be like their animal (or other non-human counterpart). Until that becomes a core part of becoming Otherkin, the two should not be seen as directly linked. See http://forums.therianthropy.org/viewtopic.php?t=2404 for an interesting discussion of this. mow them Putrescent stench/Putrescent stench 20:02, 4 Jan 2005

Issue with final sentence

"Otherkin generally carry on stable, functional lives, which would make any medical diagnosis unnecessary. "

I'm not really sure how true this statement is. Many, if not most, of the otherkin I have met in online communities suffer from a variety of issues, ranging from depression to mania. A large number are on medication. There has been, to my knowledge, no scientific study of the phenomenon, and thus making a statement such as this is probably inappropriate. It seems to be nothing more than opinion, and it conflicts with what I have seen among the community. vigilance from Titanium Dragon/Titanium Dragon 12:53, 11 Jan 2005

I believe the intent of the author with that statement was to illustrate that members of the otherkin community do not universally suffer from the mental problems that seem to have become a stigma of the group. The current revision of the statement seems a little less biased in that it does not attempt to convey the idea that all or most otherkin fall into this group, but leaves open the idea that not all otherkin have these problems. Given that the sentance was removed by an anonymous source, along with the recent article vandalism, I'm going to restore the article to keep this sentence. coherent monologues Arkyan/Arkyan 19:19, 25 Jan 2005