# Otherkin

Otherkin describes people who believe their true selves are non-human souls, from dragons and elves to angels, faeries, and animals. The term was coined in 1990 on a Usenet-era mailing list for elves and grew from a tiny pagan-adjacent circle into one of the most mocked and defended online identity subcultures of the LiveJournal and Tumblr eras.

## Overview
Otherkin is an umbrella label for people whose sense of self is not fully human. A person's claimed identity, often called a "kintype," can be a mythological creature such as a dragon, elf, faerie, demon, or angel, but the category also covers wild animals, domesticated pets, and stranger picks like starseeds and extraterrestrials[2]. The belief is framed spiritually rather than as a claim about the physical body, and it overlaps with the older therianthropy scene that focuses specifically on animal identities[1].

Most Otherkin communities center on a personal narrative called an Awakening, described as the moment a person recognizes their non-human self and reconnects with traits tied to it[2]. Community sites like Otherkin.net and the Kinhost FAQ became the standard reading list for newcomers, laying out kintypes, etiquette, and language such as "mundane" for one's everyday human life[3]. The subculture is small but loud online, and it collects both sincere spiritual writing and heavy mockery from outsiders in roughly equal measure[3].

## Frequently Asked Questions
### What is Otherkin?
Otherkin are people who believe their soul or true self is non-human, spanning kintypes like dragons, elves, faeries, angels, demons, and animals[2].

### Where did Otherkin come from?
The label grew out of the Elfinkind Digest, a mailing list for elves started by R'ykandar Korra'ti in March 1990, where "otherkind" was coined for non-elf members[1].

### What does Otherkin mean?
It is a shorthand for "elf/dragon/orc/etc.-kin," first used on July 9, 1990 by a poster known as Torin instead of typing every species out[3].

### How do you use Otherkin?
People typically identify with a specific kintype and describe an Awakening, the moment they connect their everyday "mundane" life to their non-human self, often through communities like Otherkin.net and Kinhost[2].

### Is Otherkin still popular?
It is smaller than at its LiveJournal peak, when around 250 related communities existed in August 2013, but Tumblr and legacy sites still host active discussion[3].

## References
1. [https://www.murkworks.net/~elflist/](<https://www.murkworks.net/~elflist/>)
2. [https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Otherkin](<https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Otherkin>)
3. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/subcultures/otherkin](<https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/subcultures/otherkin>)

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Source: https://meme.com/memes/otherkin
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