Otherlink Is Valid, "chosen Therians" Are Not.

maybe there's something im not understanding here, and honestly at the end of the day i don't really care one way or the other this is a pretty exclusively online topic, but the whole "neo/xeno AGAB" thing is like... vaguely transphobic right?

and i am absolutely 100% NOT the person to try to tell others how they should identify or what labels they should be using, im literally a transmasc nonbinary mspec/queer lesbian transspecies werewolf who uses xeno pronouns for fucks sake, it doesn't really get anymore "queer as in wtf is going on" than that.

but from what i've seen and read about it, it kind of seems to be simultaneously reinventing and discrediting the definition of transgender. To directly quote the "AGAB Non-Conformity" infographic made by @/nonconformityhub,

"Those who reject their AGAB, are unassigned, or were forced to fit a binary sex at birth may wish to self-assign a different AGAB. It's based around the idea that we shouldn't be forced to stick with a falsely assigned gender."

like, am i not understanding something or is that literally just the definition of being transgender or gnc?? i think the thing that rubs me the wrong way about it is that it almost kinda implies that as a transgender individual you should or need to disclose the gender you were assigned at birth to others, which (unless it's for legal or health related reasons) you literally just don't. If you are a trans man, congratulations, you are a man. You don't have to be an "AFAB man", you're just a man. As far as anyone else needs to be concerned, you are male and have always been such. The whole point of being trans is to reject the gender you were assigned at birth because it's flat out not what you are.

Idk again I don't really care that much I don't think it's gonna single handedly set back trans liberation or anything of that sort, I just feel like we SHOULD be focusing on dismantling the system of assigning genders at birth to begin with and reasserting that sex ≠ gender, rather than simply modifying the system to appeal to certain individuals and disregarding preexisting communities trying to accomplish that goal, and would maybe just encourage everyone to look at this kind of stuff with some healthy skepticism

I wish ppl talked more often abt how therianthropy/non-humanity can potentially impact your entire life. I dont just mean having to deal with smaller scale things like daily shifts or species dysphoria (although those can also definitely have long term impacts), I mean like how it can very literally change the trajectory of your life.

Because of my wildebeest theriotype, I have an extremely strong desire to live a nomadic lifestyle, and I 1000% plan to do so as soon as I know how to do it safely/get the money. I will likely never be fully content staying in any one place for a long period of time, I will always seek out drastic and extended types of traveling, which is gonna really impact me down the line given the current structure of human society.

The whole idea that forcing shifts is bad and something you shouldn't do really irks me ngl. Like yeah, if you're using it as a way to determine kintypes that's definitely not the best route to go down, but with already confirmed kintypes idk what everyone's issue is. Personally, I don't get shifts of any kind too often, so by forcing them, specifically in the case of phantom shifts, I'm able to relieve some of my species dysphoria that I may not otherwise have an outlet for. If anything, I think actively trying to get yourself to shift rather than passively waiting for one to happen (not that there's anything wrong with that) is further proof of your desire to be connected to your nonhumanity.

I forgot to make a post about it sooner lol, but I ended up printing out a bunch of those theta delta stickers I designed a while back! I didn't sell them or anything, just for personal use and to give out to other therians I encountered irl, but I had a ton of fun sticking them up around Washington over the course of a few months so enjoy a quick photo dump :3

If anyone encounters any of these (or others, there's some i didn't include here) out in the real world don't be afraid to shoot me a message and let me know! id absolutely love to see how they're holding up <3 Therian pride 4ever ∞

Also if anyone is curious i used StickerApp to get them printed and would highly recommend to anyone interested in making stickers of their own, they have awesome service and great quality for the price!

Putting myself back out into the dating scene has reminded me of how scary the thought of coming out as nonhuman to others can be, and the thought of having to come out to a human partner has been giving me a decent bit of anxiety.

It's easy with friends, most just accept that there's something a little "not human" about me, whether that comes from being a furry or just a general vibe, they get it. I don't have to actually sit down and explain exactly what I am to them unless I really really want to. But it's different with a partner, someone I want to be in a serious long term relationship with. It isn't something I could just casually neglect to tell them, at least not forever. I've always been bad at hiding things about myself from others, having to keep my therianthropy a secret from someone Im in a serious relationship with would be next to impossible, not to mention emotionally exhausting. I would want them to know and embrace it, but I can't pretend like there isn't a possibility that wont happen. Coming out to partners in the past hasn't gone quite the way Ive would have liked, nothing bad, but it just ended up feeling like an unspoken taboo between us and it kinda made me feel like shit. Like it was something that they loved me in spite of.

Ideally I'd love to be with another alterhuman, but obviously that more than halves my available options which are already small to begin with on account of the whole being gay thing. Idk it just stresses me out, I wish I could feel comfortable being my full self around someone else, animal and all, but I don't think Im ever going to find someone who isn't a little weirded out by it unfortunately.

Using my it/its pronouns irl is basically just a marriage proposal tbh

i love them so much,,, i made furrification hope u dont mind

it would totally rock if you made a moomintroll pfp or just any art of him. i love your art <3<3<3

baby harv was severely depressed and cringe but she was also correct and free

(inspired by a post that @kittposting made a few days ago that deeply resonated with me)

One time I was walking around by myself downtown (don't remember what I was doing there lol) and was wearing one of my tails, and as I crossed the street some younger teens (probably like late middle school/early high school) started barking at me once we were on different sides of the street. I turned around and playfully was like "C'mon I literally hear that all the time, be more original!", to which they then proceeded to start meowing at me instead. Then a couple of them started apologizing for their friend's behavior, and one of them asked if it (referring to my tail) was a kink thing. "No, I just think it looks cool :)" I told them before they waved at me and walked off.

Honestly shout out to them lol, I hardly ever get negative reactions out in public with my gear but when I do it's almost always kids just trying to goof around and look cool in front their friends, and most likely aren't genuinely trying to be malicious. Never put yourself in danger or submit to harassment ofc, but also never forget that taking a second to put your guard down and just talking to someone can go a really long way.

jsyk, most people aren’t dickwads about therian gear irl.

whenever i do quads, it’s public quads becuase i don’t have a backyard, i live in an apartment complex.

i have had in depth conversations with people who reacted positively to seeing me do quads.

i have talked at length with unhoused people in full therian gear (using only my AAC no less)

i literally just waved and said hi (with gestures, bc i can’t talk) to some landscapers who were cleaning up the grass on the field i usually do quads at! they asked me how i was doing and i nodded and smiled.

it’s literally only losers on social media who are gonna shit on you. i have gotten one, irl negative reaction to someone seeing me do quads in full gear. which was immediately shut down when i smiled and waved.

in general, real life people don’t care how you’re dressed, or that you’re doing a weird sport. they care that you are kind and pleasant to them.

if they do care, being out in public and being face to face (and not hiding behind a screen) with you is gonna greatly change how they interact with you.

do whatever you want forever. no one is gonna stop you. i love you.