Kira Catgirl
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Dapper Genius
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- Posted: Thu, 13 Jan 2005 22:31:37 +0000
I've only seen therianthropy mentioned once so far in all of ED, so I figured that we could use a thread on it.
Therianthropy is rather unknown, and often misunderstood by those who HAVE heard of it. To be as concise as possible, therianthropy is:
The belief that one is emotionally, mentally, or spiritually (or any combination of any of the three) an animal, or in the same way closely connected to an animal.
To elaborate. A therianthrope (commonly called a 'therian') is someone who believes that they have the spirit of an animal, the emotional or mental traits of an animal, the instincts of an animal, and/or some strong connection in a NON-PHYSICAL way to an animal.
Therians DO NOT believe that they are PHYSICALLY all or part animal or non-human in any way. Therians are fully aware of their humanity, although there are many who feel that they are merely in the wrong body. That's often been termed as being 'transspecies', and is much like being a transsexual - except there is no surgery to change you to a different species.
A common misconception is a relation between therianthropy and clinical lycanthropy. The second is a medical condition, where the person in question acts like a wolf. As in they walk on all fours, growl, snarl, bite, eat meat and dog food, can't communicate as human beings, and so on.
Another mixup is with furries. While there is crossing between the two - as in some people are both therians and furries - they are mutually exclusive. A person can be either one without being the other. A furry is someone who enjoys dressing up as - and in part acting like - some animal. The belief of actually being an animal in some fashion is not a part of being a furry. More often, they just WANT to be that animal. Sometimes not even that much, they just enjoy dressing up and acting somewhat like one.
The specific reasons for why people are therians are completely unknown, and most people have their own personal beliefs about it. Many therians have spirit guides, but they are completely unconnected to their therianthropy. Also, some therians have more than one pheno (abbreviation for 'phenotype' and the commonly used word meaning the animal that they feel they are), termed 'polyweres'. Some other people have a phenotype as an entire class of animals. I know one person who is reptilian, and another who is an entire branch of sharks - I forget exactly what class/family/whatnot it was. I personally am a caracal.
One main facet of therianthropy is 'shifting'. This is NOT physically changing into an animal. As a matter of fact, if you claim to be able to physically shift (P-shift as it's usually called) you will be met with generall disbelief, scoffing, accusations of being a poser, and a large quantity of hostility in almost any therian community.
There are three main types of shifting, which are mental shifts, dream shifts, and phantom shifts. Mental shifts are when you take on the mentality of your pheno, ranging from acting completely animalesque to merely having a noticeable but minor alteration in instinctive reactions and mental processes. A dream shift is usually during lucid dreaming, when you ARE your pheno. A phantom shift is similar to phantom limb syndrome in amputees, although from what I hear about phantom limb syndrome, a phantom shift is less painful. It is merely the feeling that you have some limb or body part that you do not have, but that your pheno does - often more. Sometimes people even feel as though their whole body has shifted, which can be unnerving. However, I emphasize that NO physical changes occur.
And there you have it. Please discuss. I hope I didn't do this wrong, seeing as how it's my first ED topic and all...
Therianthropy is rather unknown, and often misunderstood by those who HAVE heard of it. To be as concise as possible, therianthropy is:
The belief that one is emotionally, mentally, or spiritually (or any combination of any of the three) an animal, or in the same way closely connected to an animal.
To elaborate. A therianthrope (commonly called a 'therian') is someone who believes that they have the spirit of an animal, the emotional or mental traits of an animal, the instincts of an animal, and/or some strong connection in a NON-PHYSICAL way to an animal.
Therians DO NOT believe that they are PHYSICALLY all or part animal or non-human in any way. Therians are fully aware of their humanity, although there are many who feel that they are merely in the wrong body. That's often been termed as being 'transspecies', and is much like being a transsexual - except there is no surgery to change you to a different species.
A common misconception is a relation between therianthropy and clinical lycanthropy. The second is a medical condition, where the person in question acts like a wolf. As in they walk on all fours, growl, snarl, bite, eat meat and dog food, can't communicate as human beings, and so on.
Another mixup is with furries. While there is crossing between the two - as in some people are both therians and furries - they are mutually exclusive. A person can be either one without being the other. A furry is someone who enjoys dressing up as - and in part acting like - some animal. The belief of actually being an animal in some fashion is not a part of being a furry. More often, they just WANT to be that animal. Sometimes not even that much, they just enjoy dressing up and acting somewhat like one.
The specific reasons for why people are therians are completely unknown, and most people have their own personal beliefs about it. Many therians have spirit guides, but they are completely unconnected to their therianthropy. Also, some therians have more than one pheno (abbreviation for 'phenotype' and the commonly used word meaning the animal that they feel they are), termed 'polyweres'. Some other people have a phenotype as an entire class of animals. I know one person who is reptilian, and another who is an entire branch of sharks - I forget exactly what class/family/whatnot it was. I personally am a caracal.
One main facet of therianthropy is 'shifting'. This is NOT physically changing into an animal. As a matter of fact, if you claim to be able to physically shift (P-shift as it's usually called) you will be met with generall disbelief, scoffing, accusations of being a poser, and a large quantity of hostility in almost any therian community.
There are three main types of shifting, which are mental shifts, dream shifts, and phantom shifts. Mental shifts are when you take on the mentality of your pheno, ranging from acting completely animalesque to merely having a noticeable but minor alteration in instinctive reactions and mental processes. A dream shift is usually during lucid dreaming, when you ARE your pheno. A phantom shift is similar to phantom limb syndrome in amputees, although from what I hear about phantom limb syndrome, a phantom shift is less painful. It is merely the feeling that you have some limb or body part that you do not have, but that your pheno does - often more. Sometimes people even feel as though their whole body has shifted, which can be unnerving. However, I emphasize that NO physical changes occur.
And there you have it. Please discuss. I hope I didn't do this wrong, seeing as how it's my first ED topic and all...
