Alien, Online [Slight Rant]
I find websites like Otherkin.net allow me to express myself easily without having to "dress up" online. Such a simple method of communication away from the goal of likes, follows and general engagement. That is the difficulty I have on Instagram and YouTube. It's all so... energetic. Colorful, jumpy, loud. As I get older I thrive better in the quieter sections of the community.
It's difficult to find others in spaces where the largest active groups are mammalian creatures. It makes sense that theriotypes such as wolves, cats, bears, foxes, coyotes, etc,. would gain the most views. Not only because there are a greater amount of those theriotypes, but it's also human-friendly. Aesthetically pleasing. Tidy. Clean.
You don't need to understand the depths of alterhumanity when a mask or an outfit looks pleasing to the eye. And that is the issue I have, because my voice is found in the filth of myself. I screech and hiss - no outsider wants to hear my voice when my vessel isn't up to their standards.
It shouldn't be required to display your body or face to be accepted as a creature, you know?
It goes beyond allowing everyone to express their own versions of alterhumanity. A lot more people should be open to broadening their understanding of what alterhumanity looks like.
It can be boring, and it certainly isn't 24/7 colorful, loud and musical (specifically when you're a grown adult). Boiling down being nonhuman into short snippets of heavily edited scenes runs a risk of diverting attention away from the self, and out into the eyes of the viewer.
In short, I like my dark corners of the internet where I can hiss and snarl, and hear others hiss back. Minimal distractions.
2 comments
Seconded. As a whale, possibly either dolphin or orca, I don't find many like minded beings either. It's dark and lonely. And sometimes therians just don't catch that aspect of life. It's not always cool and blingy blingy, like you said. It can be grim, macabre, really offsetting to humans or the general therian population. In my opinion, we should allow those sides to be shown in the community, away from the colorful sides, more towards what it actually is. It can be nice, but it also can be everything else.
This is definitely something I have experienced too. I felt very judged and looked down upon on specifically the instagram community because I was more focused on documenting my own experiences no matter how unpleasant, because being nonhuman in a human body for me is more of a struggle than something I want to show off. I remember a lot of posts being made by others about how if you don't acknowledge that you are "physically a human", then you aren't part of the community. Same went for very heavy mental shifts. Rules were made to make sure the community didn't get a bad rep, yet real experiences were erased because of that pressure. I feel sad when I think back on my teen self in the community and all the parts of me I never told anyone or even documented out of shame or fear of being judged or exiled. Now I am happy that I have a few people close to me that I can talk to about the real experiences I have regardless of if it's pretty or ugly.
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