Date First Written: October 2018; Date Last Updated: November 2019
What We Mean By "Identify As"
Identity Is Complex
"Identity" is a complicated concept that is rarely defined in any real detail yet plays an important role in people's lives. The term is often is used to refer to words used to both define and describe people as well as differentiate them from others. Everyone has many things, concepts, ideals, and so on that they personally find important or notable to who they are as an individual person and so they consider it part of their identity. Things they feel distinguishes them in one way or another from others. These things that are a strong part of our identities are things we personally feel and understand is critically important to us and essential to us begin who are. One part of our identity is what our multiple system calls our "species identity" and what the therianthrope community would call our "theriotypes."
When we talk about our "species identity" certain things are meant within the phrase. It refers to the species that makes up each of our self-images and likewise the species each of our body schemas keep telling us our body should appear as. The phrase means we "identify as" those species rather than just "identifying with" or "connecting with." The phrase also evokes for us a meaning of this state being constant, integral, involuntary, and non-physical. Yet we want to delve deeper into what even those words mean. We want to break down what our identities mean to us personally. Explain in detail of how we experience what we are.
Self-Image
Our self-image does not match our physical body. A self-image is how you picture yourself in your own head. The shape of our soul, spiritually as well as figuratively. Within our mind's eye we each have an image of what we expect we see. We see ourselves as these animals (spiritually or otherwise) living a human life, doing human things. This image, this unshackle expectation is very different than our physical body. (Even the humans in our multiple system have self-image different than our physical body as even for them there are various features and characteristics that differ.) Our species identities are only one part of our individual self-image as they also reflect our gender identities and the various other aspects of each of us. For us, our self-image is very detailed and stable in appearance. Also, our self-images are actually not overly idealized. (The humans in our multiple system, for an easy example, are all fairly average in build and such.) It is our self-image that is directly the cause of our dysphoria (both relating to our species as well as our gender, and so on). We each have varying levels of dissonance with what and how they perceive ourselves to be and what are body is and how others see us. We all deal with some sort of discontent and disconnection with our body due to the difference between who we are internally and how we are perceived externally.
Body-Image
Our body-image does not match our physical body either. What we call our body-image is how we expect our body to be. Our personal perception of our body and the thoughts and feelings that arise from that perception is affected by our body-image which is affected by our identity. Identification is not bound by the physical body, thus the difference. Our identities clashing or corresponding to different characteristics of our physical body. Our connection and attitude towards our body. How our identities reflect on our beliefs towards our body. Because of our body-images our perception of our body in pictures and in the mirror feels alien, dissociated from ourselves. What we feel and think we should look like every time we see our body. It is the difference between body-image and body that drives the strong response we have to our body. It is not out of feeling our body is ugly or could be better shaped in muscular or fat content, but rather that the features relating to sex and species are at odds with our identity. Thus our body-image is the way it is. For all of us, our body-image directly clashes with the actual physical state of our body when it comes to our species and/or gender. It is that clash between our physical body and our body-images that directly leads to our struggle with dysmorphia (both relating to our species as well as gender). We acknowledge our human body, our dysmorphia wasn't let us forget, but we just are dissociated from our body. Our species identity is different than the species of our physical body which effects almost all of our multiple system (gender identity being different then our body's sex effects only about half our multiple system). We know all of this is "all in our head," but that does not take away from the stark reality we are faced with in relation to our identities and the experiences we relate to such. All of it is at least real in the sense that we have experiences that long ago lead us to identify as a certain nonhuman species.
Identification As
When we say "identify as," certain things are meant by that. What we "identify as" is how we define who are and even what we are (non-physically). When we say "species we identify as" we are referring to the species that we are in our own mind's eye, that we are in our innerworld, that we expect to be but are not physically, how we view ourselves as being in a non-physical way, and so on. We are referring to our truer self, if not outright our true self, in relation to our self and nature. A species we internally know ourselves to be beyond any ability to rationalize it away. For whatever reason, a certain species is part of what automatically comes to mind when we ask the question "who am I?" When we think of ourselves, we find ourselves classifying ourselves as certain species. Our personal internal sense of being is of a certain species, and for many of us this species is utterly nonhuman. In truth we find ourselves considering ourselves one species over the species of our physical body because that is what has always felt more true and right in a way not easily described. We identify as a certain species because we find ourselves reflected in that species. We see ourselves as being those species and feel that, in a non-physical way, we belong to those species. That is to say concept of our individual selfhood includes this or that species. Saying "identify as" means we are referring to an identification that is deeply held and a strong part of our sense of self. It is a feeling so strong and steady that, depending upon if each of us individually believes in the existence of souls, that our souls are of a nonhuman animals. If we were to cease to identify as we do it would fundamentally change who are and our perspective on the world. This is because this pervasive feeling of being nonhuman is such a deep a part of our personal identity that has existed since memory. A change would disrupt our whole sense of everything we thought we knew about ourselves. Saying we each "identify as" this or that species means that species is the essence of all of our experiences, perspectives, thoughts, beliefs, and feelings in relation to ourselves and our body into the best English word(s) we can find. When we say we "identify as" a certain species it is a reference to an internal experience where find ourselves placing the name of a nonhuman species onto the shape we find ourselves feeling we have in non-physical ways (phantom, spirit, etc).
Saying we "identify as" a certain species also provides a framework of understanding the ways in which we perspective and interact with the world. Placing our experiences into the label of another species gives us a better foundation to understand ourselves. It allows us a means of making sense of our experiences by giving it a name and likewise by having a name we can better make sense of who we are. It provides a way to create some order and organization out of the chaos and complexity that is our identity and our state of being. When we state we "identify as" a certain nonhuman species, it means we can't help but see characteristics in ourselves on various levels that make us align ourselves as being this or that species. (This identification as and experiences of being nonhuman is based around actual animals rather than qualities, symbolism, or stereotypes placed on a species.) Our state of being means we perceive the world in ways that leads us to think of a certain nonhuman species. Things we do, think, etc which comes off as "nonhuman," "animal," "primal," and [canine, feline, ungulate, draconic, or whatnot depending on the person in our multiple system]. On the other side of the coin, we can't help but see characteristics in certain species we align ourselves with. That is the gist of what we mean when we say "identify as."
Personal (Not Just A "Connection" or "Identify With")
This state of being of ours is deeply and inherently personal. Words like “connection with," “identification with,” or "relating with," does not even begin to adequately describe our experiences or our state of being. Plenty of people can and do strongly relate with or identify with certain species (generally called "animal-hearted" within the therianthrope community); however, our identification as nonhuman and experiences of being nonhuman in a human body is different than that. Relating is not the same as being, and that is an important aspect to us about what we experience. People can have connections with many things yet not actually identify as such. People can have a develop deep connections and understandings with an animal. These connections are valid, but they are not what therianthropy means to describe. A person can really identify with or relate to something yet not actually identify as such. Therianthropy is not feeling drawn to an animal, loving a certain animal species, or whatnot. Any person can relate to any number of the oversimplified or idealized traits given to certain animals by human societies. (A few commonly characterized examples, the sly and cunning fox, the wise and mysterious owl, etc). Our experience goes far deeper than a few oversimplified traits, and certainly far deeper than those cliché traits given to animals with little to no basis on actual behavior. Being as we are also goes far deeper than a mere resemblance of a few traits or just relating to those over idealized traits. A certain species or even character being relatable doesn't make it part of one's species identity. People can connect and identify with other species or characters but not have an ever present feeling of being such. A large percentage of the population could name a species or character they relate to, connect with, or identify with. In a phenomena called "experience-taking" a person can subconsciously take on traits of the fictional characters we are exposed to. People can easily slide into the perspectives of fictional characters leading people to "get lost" inside a character, or getting so immersed into the story the individual feels like they are in the character's place. That is not the same as them actually feeling as though they are that in some internal and personal manner. Few people could name a species or character they identify as and truly sees themselves as being. We actually feel that in an almost literal way we are spiritually, personally, whatnot non-physically a nonhuman species. That is what our state of being means to us. This state of being is what and who one is on a very deep and instinctive level. Also, being as we are is not related to our favorite animals in the slightest. Being as we are is far more than just really liking a certain species. It is not like a fondness for a favorite animal. Actually, for most of us in our system, the species we identify as would not make it onto a list of species we personally like over other species. Identifying as and being a species personally is not related to really liking a certain species. Our states of being is personal and is a part of our identity rather than just a liking of, a relating to, or a connection with. We identify as, we do not just identify with.
Serious
This state of ours is serious to us. This state of being is deeply held and felt and not something we bring up or discard at convenience. The reality of daily life as nonhuman animals in a human body is honestly mundane and actually kind of boring. It had become simply a thing that exists. During our teenage years our state of being was exciting with self-discovery and new experiences, but as we have grown older we have settle and become familiar with our own identity and daily experiences. Our state of being is just a part of our identity and daily experiences. It is genuinely felt and sincerely experienced. Our state of being is not something halfhearted. It is not a game to us certainly. Our state of being in not something we put on as a joke. This is not a novelty or fad that will fade with time. Our state of being goes against many social norms, but we are serious when we speak of how we are being as it is (existing, involuntary constant, and non-physical). This doesn't mean we don't have "fun" being what we are. (Though certainly there are times when our state of being is the antithesis of "fun" to be clear.) It just means that being as we are is not just "fun and games" to us. This is not a roleplaying game. We are not referring to some characters we have created. - We have not failed to distinguish reality from roleplaying. It is not just role-playing or just an elaborate amount of playing pretend. What we talk about is what we genuinely experience and what is adamantly a part of our identity. This state of being of ours is part of our daily lives. This is not something we came on the internet one day and just adopted. It is integrated and thoroughly entangled in our lives. Our multiple system is committed to exploring our state of being and sharing our experiences with others of like mind. We are adamant in our desire to at least understand our personal states of being even if the phenomena as a whole remains out of reach.
Constant
Our species identity is constant. Though the terms we have used to describe our species identity in relation to our physical body has changed some over time, our actual experiences and state for being has remained a constant and stable part of our everyday life. It is a state we live every day. Before using therianthrope and phytanthrope we used were and shifter. Discovering the therianthrope community did not cause us to being to identify as we do now. Finding the otherkin communities solely just made our identities make sense and allowed us to organize our experiences. Discovering the were/therian community simply provided us with language created by a community of people who also experienced things similar to us. Instead our identification has been a constant part of our lives. There were indicators of our state of being and identity long before we met our first therianthrope and found a community on the topic. At least since age 7 on through over two decades and growing our identities have remained a steadfast part of daily life no matter what. For over two decades and growing our species identities have remained. It is has remained undeniable aspect of our sense of self that we cannot escape from. They have remained constant, there is no suspicion on our part that our species identities ever fading away after so long. Time and life events has long sense proven to us that what we are not a phase or something that may just fade away one day. More damning for us is that throughout all this time we have many times questioned our identities. We have tried time and time again over the years as part of self-analysis to eliminate the justifications surrounding our identities, yet we have still found our justifications hold strong. We have tried to argue ourselves out of considering ourselves therianthropes and phytanthropes by trying to find counterarguments. Our identity has lingered despite everything we could analyze out of it or even life could throw at it. Our resolve has survived the strictest critical opposition we have ever mustered over the years. That is why we feel our state of being is unavoidable and undeniable. Our identities has remained through all the years we questioned ourselves. They are a permanent part of ourselves and our daily lives. Given our identities being a constant presence throughout over two decades no matter the critique or doubt we find it is highly unlikely our species identities will fade away. Being therianthropes and phytanthropes are just something we simply are, and always have been. Our states of being are just constant.
Permanent
Our species identity is permanent. Our state of being cannot be permanently suppressed or destroyed. It stays even when we are not thinking about it. When need be, we can push our instincts and behaviors under the surface, hide them, make them as subtle as we can to outward scrutiny; however, no matter how strong our efforts we can never and could never actually get rid of them. In our early teenage years, no matter how much we tried and how long we tried, nothing about our state of being could be wholly extinguished. Our state of being absolutely refused to die and it still burns strong no matter the doubt or suppression that we've thrown onto ourselves year after year. Furthermore, suppression leads to terrible side effects that negatively impacts our mental health. We have become depressed, suffered increased dissociation, and anxiety when we have doubted and second-guessed ourselves into trying to suppress and deny what we experience and how we feel. Suppression has disastrous effects on our mental health and it has never ended our state of being. Our mental health only stabilizes when we have accepted our nonhuman state of being as a fact of life and moved on. When we embraced our experiences as a part of daily life and moved on to other matters effecting our life. We have had to learn we have to accept and embrace ourselves as we are because our state of being wasn't going to change no matter how much we could have ever tried. Through everything after decades, our state of identifying as nonhuman animals has remained unchanged.
Internal
Our species identity is internal. Being what we are is an intrinsic part of who we are. We identify personally as nonhuman. Our identifying as nonhuman, having nonhuman self-images, feeling our mindsets and instinct are nonhuman, having dysphoria that focuses around our species, and so on is not anything external. It all comes from within each of those of us in our multiple system who identifies as nonhuman themselves. Each of us feels a strong sense of belonging to certain nonhuman species. Our species identities are not related to totemism, spirit guides, spirit animals, or any other spiritual practice or belief system relating to external spirits or forces. Our species identity a religion or caused by a religion. A person's species identity is not a separate entity for the person. There are no external entities or forces involved that cause our individual nonhuman identities. We might be many in one body, but each of us has our own individual sense of identity, and a species identity is included as part of that. The experience we have came from within each of us, and not from an external force or entity. Our species identities are an inherent aspect of our own make-up. This core aspect of each of our identities comes from within each of us. This is our species identities. We are the ones that feel this way. It is deeply internal. This identification is a part of us, not apart from us.
Involuntary
What we are and this state of being we live in is not a choice for us. It is definitely not a choice. It is not a choice - it is a fact of our life. We did not choose our species identity; nor can we change it. Our species identities are simply built into who we are. Identifying as we do is something we cannot help but feel. We didn’t wake-up one day and decide to identify as something other than our body out of the blue. Nor did we take on our identities as a conscious coping mechanism for anything. There is no need or reason for us to identify as we do. Taking a nonhuman identity for coping mechanism is something some people experience (copinglinkers), but that is not our experience. Being as we are is also not a conscious choice of personal representation, like an avatar. It is not a fursona or a character for role-playing. Instead, we have just always just identified as we do today, without ever trying to be so, since we can remember anything at all. Our experiences from our species identities are not something that can be turned off and on. We do not force our experience to happen. They come unbidden naturally. We do not make ourselves be a certain way. We just as we are. Our experiences aren't drawn out of us voluntarily when it is convenient. They simply happen regardless of what we might want. Our personal state of being is still there whether we are paying attention to it or not. None of us tell ourselves to act more like an animal, we act animalistic because that is how we are. Grizzly Ears does not tell himself to be territorial or have a prey drive because that is what a gray wolf should do, he is that way because that is how gray wolves are. Our individual identities exists regardless of what we might want or like. We experience being nonhuman animals as part of a daily fact of life because it is a part of our life. We could not change our identities to better mirror the physical state of our body even if we wanted to. What our species identities are is not even in our control. We couldn't change the species we identity as to another species regardless of if we wanted to do so. Our individual species identities are resistant to change no matter what we have done or could ever do. What we are experiencing is not something we cannot "grow out of" due to it being so deeply part of our identity. This is something we just feel and something we just are. In all honestly, the only thing which was a choice was in choosing to accept our experiences matched with those who, as a community, call themselves therianthrope, phytanthrope and so on. When we discovered the therianthrope community we did not assume we just were what the community was about, and we instead compared and analyzed our experiences and the communities. As of right now, it's been over two decades that we have felt this way without prompt or conscious will. Our state of being and identity does not disappear when having this identity or these experiences become inconvenient. Our species identities have not disappeared when we had no time to think of such things (for example, we still have experienced phantom bodies while being gravely ill). Through the worst lows of our depression, it has remained. Our identities and experiences are there no matter what. It has survived periods of doubt, personal critique, and external skepticism. We have tried to suppress it in the past, but it has never actually gone away. Despite everything, we still identify as nonhuman. Our therianthropy and phytanthropy is just a part of our lives. Our identities and experiences are there and they are not going away.
Non-physical
This state of ours is non-physical. We know very well that we are physically human in every way. We cannot deny our body is human. We know all too well that we are perfectly, without a shred of doubt, physically human. We are constantly reminded of that fact in fact. In fact, a sizable aspect of our experiences comes from this clash of internal self-perception verses external physicality (examples: species dysphoria, phantom body, etc). We certainly have no illusions of having actual nonhuman physical features or anything of the sort. This awareness and acceptance does not stop us from also being aware (or "awere" as the joke used to be) and accept our animality as well. The shape of our body does not change the fact that we do not personally feel human. The physical status of our body does not inhibit the personal perception and feelings we have that makes us feel not human personally. Identity and body image need not and does not have to conform to the actual physical state of the body. How we see ourselves individually and personally is not limited to the physical reality of our body. Ever since we can remember we have told ourselves that we are human while trying to suppress the feelings about our species identities, but it has never worked. Reminding ourselves our body is human physically has not swayed an uncontrollable and unyielding feeling in us that says something else is the case non-physically. No amount of critical thinking over the years has been able to explain away this deep understanding of our species identities. Identity does not always adhere to what is physically and externally the case. We know we are human, we just don’t identify as such personally. We do know what we are externally, just as we know what we are internally. They differ, we know that all too well.
Awareness
Our state of being is about a solid sense of awareness. How we know we are nonhuman animal comes down to "we just know." We just have an indescribable but powerful knowing that we are nonhuman animals. Instincts are a part of what makes our therianthropy and phytanthropy what it is and our gut instincts tell us what we are. It is something written into our very existence. For as long as any of us can remember there has always been a general vague feeling that has always whispered we are this or that animal. We felt it as a truth that somehow we are nonhuman animals. It has always felt like a fact of our existence. Our state of being and existing is something we just know even if we do not know how to put it into fully accurate words. No matter the words we use "we are," "we feel like we are," "we exist as," "we think like a," and so on at the end of the day all the words are still attempts at explaining something about what we are. It is an overall feeling and knowing that it is somehow true. Ignoring the truth would bring more pain then simple acceptance. At the end of the day the most shining part of our state of being is simple notion of awareness that we this or that animals.
Beyond Belief
We do not see our state of being as a belief. Belief, broadly speaking, means an acceptance that a statement is true or that something exists without solid evidence. Beliefs can be adopted, changed, and dropped; however, this state of being is something someone either is or is not. Also, therianthropy has no underlying dogma, doctrine, or deities, which are the founding aspects of religious beliefs. Thus, therianthropy does not meet the criteria for a religion or even a cult. This state of being is not even inherently spiritual as it is an identity. Otherkin come from a wide variety of backgrounds both culturally and religiously. Religious persuasion varies widely among people who identify as nonhuman. Therianthropy might be added to a personal belief structure, but it isn't inherently a belief. Therianthropy is an experience someone has and any subsequent spiritual (or psychological) aspects layered onto it is merely an explanations, additions, or influences. Calling therianthropy a (religious) belief doesn't describe our perception of ourselves and our experiences. We do not have to believe anything about ourselves to be therianthropes and phytanthropes. We simply have to identity as a nonhuman animal and experience things that lead to that conclusion. There are a number of beliefs we have formed in relation to or a part of our personal state of being, but the core of our state of being itself is an experience that exists no matter what beliefs we place upon it. Before we found the community, our state of being still existed wholly independent of our total lack of understanding what we were. Our experiences exist without our input and certainly any belief (or lack thereof) has never swayed their reality in our existence. Beliefs are things we have crafted to explain aspects of our identity, not the other way around. No matter how our beliefs adapt and change to new information, the understanding of our state of being nonhuman in some non-physical way is still there.
Beyond Definitions
Yet, despite all of these words, our being nonhuman in a human body is still more than just what has been said already here. The most bare and basic definition of therianthropy is a state of identifying as a nonhuman species on an integral and personal level, yet such a phrase does not even begin to tell the whole of what that means to us. In truth, our full state of being is a wordless feeling that cannot quite be fully translated into a single nice dictionary sentence. The definition is true but it is only really the beginning. The definition is stark and feels like it is merely the shell of something far more living and breathing. Our state of being and our identity is a lot deeper and richer to us than what we can easily describe. It is a state of being that is so simple and natural yet complex and confounding to us. Our state of being is so much an ingrained part of our daily life that getting a full scope of it all is nearly unfathomable for us to do. It is the core that drives our way of thinking and perceiving ourselves and the world around us. It is something that influences so much of our lives in both subtle and dramatic ways. It is inherent and pervasive. It is existing as a nonhuman species in a human body. It is a way of living, existing. It is a way of exploring oneself and the world around oneself. It is a sense of "I am." It is something we just are. Our state of being is about being unable to deny the existence of our species identities and what that brings to our lives. For our life to make sense, we had to accept that our way of perceiving the world and ourselves was through an animalistic outlook. We define ourselves as nonhuman animals because animality is engrained in the way we exist. Our state of being brings with it experiences that manifest both internally and externally.
All of our experiences: the sensations, the thoughts, the emotions, or even behaviors, is not what make us what we are, but all of it together does make up some of how our state of being manifests. We do not know why or truly how we are as we are. We only know we are. Being as we are is about experiencing our lives as nonhuman species. Being a nonhuman animal means being a therianthrope to us. Thus, therianthropy is a word that serves to put a name to our state of being.
"Identity" is a complicated concept that is rarely defined in any real detail yet plays an important role in people's lives. The term is often is used to refer to words used to both define and describe people as well as differentiate them from others. Everyone has many things, concepts, ideals, and so on that they personally find important or notable to who they are as an individual person and so they consider it part of their identity. Things they feel distinguishes them in one way or another from others. These things that are a strong part of our identities are things we personally feel and understand is critically important to us and essential to us begin who are. One part of our identity is what our multiple system calls our "species identity" and what the therianthrope community would call our "theriotypes."
When we talk about our "species identity" certain things are meant within the phrase. It refers to the species that makes up each of our self-images and likewise the species each of our body schemas keep telling us our body should appear as. The phrase means we "identify as" those species rather than just "identifying with" or "connecting with." The phrase also evokes for us a meaning of this state being constant, integral, involuntary, and non-physical. Yet we want to delve deeper into what even those words mean. We want to break down what our identities mean to us personally. Explain in detail of how we experience what we are.
Self-Image
Our self-image does not match our physical body. A self-image is how you picture yourself in your own head. The shape of our soul, spiritually as well as figuratively. Within our mind's eye we each have an image of what we expect we see. We see ourselves as these animals (spiritually or otherwise) living a human life, doing human things. This image, this unshackle expectation is very different than our physical body. (Even the humans in our multiple system have self-image different than our physical body as even for them there are various features and characteristics that differ.) Our species identities are only one part of our individual self-image as they also reflect our gender identities and the various other aspects of each of us. For us, our self-image is very detailed and stable in appearance. Also, our self-images are actually not overly idealized. (The humans in our multiple system, for an easy example, are all fairly average in build and such.) It is our self-image that is directly the cause of our dysphoria (both relating to our species as well as our gender, and so on). We each have varying levels of dissonance with what and how they perceive ourselves to be and what are body is and how others see us. We all deal with some sort of discontent and disconnection with our body due to the difference between who we are internally and how we are perceived externally.
Body-Image
Our body-image does not match our physical body either. What we call our body-image is how we expect our body to be. Our personal perception of our body and the thoughts and feelings that arise from that perception is affected by our body-image which is affected by our identity. Identification is not bound by the physical body, thus the difference. Our identities clashing or corresponding to different characteristics of our physical body. Our connection and attitude towards our body. How our identities reflect on our beliefs towards our body. Because of our body-images our perception of our body in pictures and in the mirror feels alien, dissociated from ourselves. What we feel and think we should look like every time we see our body. It is the difference between body-image and body that drives the strong response we have to our body. It is not out of feeling our body is ugly or could be better shaped in muscular or fat content, but rather that the features relating to sex and species are at odds with our identity. Thus our body-image is the way it is. For all of us, our body-image directly clashes with the actual physical state of our body when it comes to our species and/or gender. It is that clash between our physical body and our body-images that directly leads to our struggle with dysmorphia (both relating to our species as well as gender). We acknowledge our human body, our dysmorphia wasn't let us forget, but we just are dissociated from our body. Our species identity is different than the species of our physical body which effects almost all of our multiple system (gender identity being different then our body's sex effects only about half our multiple system). We know all of this is "all in our head," but that does not take away from the stark reality we are faced with in relation to our identities and the experiences we relate to such. All of it is at least real in the sense that we have experiences that long ago lead us to identify as a certain nonhuman species.
Identification As
When we say "identify as," certain things are meant by that. What we "identify as" is how we define who are and even what we are (non-physically). When we say "species we identify as" we are referring to the species that we are in our own mind's eye, that we are in our innerworld, that we expect to be but are not physically, how we view ourselves as being in a non-physical way, and so on. We are referring to our truer self, if not outright our true self, in relation to our self and nature. A species we internally know ourselves to be beyond any ability to rationalize it away. For whatever reason, a certain species is part of what automatically comes to mind when we ask the question "who am I?" When we think of ourselves, we find ourselves classifying ourselves as certain species. Our personal internal sense of being is of a certain species, and for many of us this species is utterly nonhuman. In truth we find ourselves considering ourselves one species over the species of our physical body because that is what has always felt more true and right in a way not easily described. We identify as a certain species because we find ourselves reflected in that species. We see ourselves as being those species and feel that, in a non-physical way, we belong to those species. That is to say concept of our individual selfhood includes this or that species. Saying "identify as" means we are referring to an identification that is deeply held and a strong part of our sense of self. It is a feeling so strong and steady that, depending upon if each of us individually believes in the existence of souls, that our souls are of a nonhuman animals. If we were to cease to identify as we do it would fundamentally change who are and our perspective on the world. This is because this pervasive feeling of being nonhuman is such a deep a part of our personal identity that has existed since memory. A change would disrupt our whole sense of everything we thought we knew about ourselves. Saying we each "identify as" this or that species means that species is the essence of all of our experiences, perspectives, thoughts, beliefs, and feelings in relation to ourselves and our body into the best English word(s) we can find. When we say we "identify as" a certain species it is a reference to an internal experience where find ourselves placing the name of a nonhuman species onto the shape we find ourselves feeling we have in non-physical ways (phantom, spirit, etc).
Saying we "identify as" a certain species also provides a framework of understanding the ways in which we perspective and interact with the world. Placing our experiences into the label of another species gives us a better foundation to understand ourselves. It allows us a means of making sense of our experiences by giving it a name and likewise by having a name we can better make sense of who we are. It provides a way to create some order and organization out of the chaos and complexity that is our identity and our state of being. When we state we "identify as" a certain nonhuman species, it means we can't help but see characteristics in ourselves on various levels that make us align ourselves as being this or that species. (This identification as and experiences of being nonhuman is based around actual animals rather than qualities, symbolism, or stereotypes placed on a species.) Our state of being means we perceive the world in ways that leads us to think of a certain nonhuman species. Things we do, think, etc which comes off as "nonhuman," "animal," "primal," and [canine, feline, ungulate, draconic, or whatnot depending on the person in our multiple system]. On the other side of the coin, we can't help but see characteristics in certain species we align ourselves with. That is the gist of what we mean when we say "identify as."
Personal (Not Just A "Connection" or "Identify With")
This state of being of ours is deeply and inherently personal. Words like “connection with," “identification with,” or "relating with," does not even begin to adequately describe our experiences or our state of being. Plenty of people can and do strongly relate with or identify with certain species (generally called "animal-hearted" within the therianthrope community); however, our identification as nonhuman and experiences of being nonhuman in a human body is different than that. Relating is not the same as being, and that is an important aspect to us about what we experience. People can have connections with many things yet not actually identify as such. People can have a develop deep connections and understandings with an animal. These connections are valid, but they are not what therianthropy means to describe. A person can really identify with or relate to something yet not actually identify as such. Therianthropy is not feeling drawn to an animal, loving a certain animal species, or whatnot. Any person can relate to any number of the oversimplified or idealized traits given to certain animals by human societies. (A few commonly characterized examples, the sly and cunning fox, the wise and mysterious owl, etc). Our experience goes far deeper than a few oversimplified traits, and certainly far deeper than those cliché traits given to animals with little to no basis on actual behavior. Being as we are also goes far deeper than a mere resemblance of a few traits or just relating to those over idealized traits. A certain species or even character being relatable doesn't make it part of one's species identity. People can connect and identify with other species or characters but not have an ever present feeling of being such. A large percentage of the population could name a species or character they relate to, connect with, or identify with. In a phenomena called "experience-taking" a person can subconsciously take on traits of the fictional characters we are exposed to. People can easily slide into the perspectives of fictional characters leading people to "get lost" inside a character, or getting so immersed into the story the individual feels like they are in the character's place. That is not the same as them actually feeling as though they are that in some internal and personal manner. Few people could name a species or character they identify as and truly sees themselves as being. We actually feel that in an almost literal way we are spiritually, personally, whatnot non-physically a nonhuman species. That is what our state of being means to us. This state of being is what and who one is on a very deep and instinctive level. Also, being as we are is not related to our favorite animals in the slightest. Being as we are is far more than just really liking a certain species. It is not like a fondness for a favorite animal. Actually, for most of us in our system, the species we identify as would not make it onto a list of species we personally like over other species. Identifying as and being a species personally is not related to really liking a certain species. Our states of being is personal and is a part of our identity rather than just a liking of, a relating to, or a connection with. We identify as, we do not just identify with.
Serious
This state of ours is serious to us. This state of being is deeply held and felt and not something we bring up or discard at convenience. The reality of daily life as nonhuman animals in a human body is honestly mundane and actually kind of boring. It had become simply a thing that exists. During our teenage years our state of being was exciting with self-discovery and new experiences, but as we have grown older we have settle and become familiar with our own identity and daily experiences. Our state of being is just a part of our identity and daily experiences. It is genuinely felt and sincerely experienced. Our state of being is not something halfhearted. It is not a game to us certainly. Our state of being in not something we put on as a joke. This is not a novelty or fad that will fade with time. Our state of being goes against many social norms, but we are serious when we speak of how we are being as it is (existing, involuntary constant, and non-physical). This doesn't mean we don't have "fun" being what we are. (Though certainly there are times when our state of being is the antithesis of "fun" to be clear.) It just means that being as we are is not just "fun and games" to us. This is not a roleplaying game. We are not referring to some characters we have created. - We have not failed to distinguish reality from roleplaying. It is not just role-playing or just an elaborate amount of playing pretend. What we talk about is what we genuinely experience and what is adamantly a part of our identity. This state of being of ours is part of our daily lives. This is not something we came on the internet one day and just adopted. It is integrated and thoroughly entangled in our lives. Our multiple system is committed to exploring our state of being and sharing our experiences with others of like mind. We are adamant in our desire to at least understand our personal states of being even if the phenomena as a whole remains out of reach.
Constant
Our species identity is constant. Though the terms we have used to describe our species identity in relation to our physical body has changed some over time, our actual experiences and state for being has remained a constant and stable part of our everyday life. It is a state we live every day. Before using therianthrope and phytanthrope we used were and shifter. Discovering the therianthrope community did not cause us to being to identify as we do now. Finding the otherkin communities solely just made our identities make sense and allowed us to organize our experiences. Discovering the were/therian community simply provided us with language created by a community of people who also experienced things similar to us. Instead our identification has been a constant part of our lives. There were indicators of our state of being and identity long before we met our first therianthrope and found a community on the topic. At least since age 7 on through over two decades and growing our identities have remained a steadfast part of daily life no matter what. For over two decades and growing our species identities have remained. It is has remained undeniable aspect of our sense of self that we cannot escape from. They have remained constant, there is no suspicion on our part that our species identities ever fading away after so long. Time and life events has long sense proven to us that what we are not a phase or something that may just fade away one day. More damning for us is that throughout all this time we have many times questioned our identities. We have tried time and time again over the years as part of self-analysis to eliminate the justifications surrounding our identities, yet we have still found our justifications hold strong. We have tried to argue ourselves out of considering ourselves therianthropes and phytanthropes by trying to find counterarguments. Our identity has lingered despite everything we could analyze out of it or even life could throw at it. Our resolve has survived the strictest critical opposition we have ever mustered over the years. That is why we feel our state of being is unavoidable and undeniable. Our identities has remained through all the years we questioned ourselves. They are a permanent part of ourselves and our daily lives. Given our identities being a constant presence throughout over two decades no matter the critique or doubt we find it is highly unlikely our species identities will fade away. Being therianthropes and phytanthropes are just something we simply are, and always have been. Our states of being are just constant.
Permanent
Our species identity is permanent. Our state of being cannot be permanently suppressed or destroyed. It stays even when we are not thinking about it. When need be, we can push our instincts and behaviors under the surface, hide them, make them as subtle as we can to outward scrutiny; however, no matter how strong our efforts we can never and could never actually get rid of them. In our early teenage years, no matter how much we tried and how long we tried, nothing about our state of being could be wholly extinguished. Our state of being absolutely refused to die and it still burns strong no matter the doubt or suppression that we've thrown onto ourselves year after year. Furthermore, suppression leads to terrible side effects that negatively impacts our mental health. We have become depressed, suffered increased dissociation, and anxiety when we have doubted and second-guessed ourselves into trying to suppress and deny what we experience and how we feel. Suppression has disastrous effects on our mental health and it has never ended our state of being. Our mental health only stabilizes when we have accepted our nonhuman state of being as a fact of life and moved on. When we embraced our experiences as a part of daily life and moved on to other matters effecting our life. We have had to learn we have to accept and embrace ourselves as we are because our state of being wasn't going to change no matter how much we could have ever tried. Through everything after decades, our state of identifying as nonhuman animals has remained unchanged.
Internal
Our species identity is internal. Being what we are is an intrinsic part of who we are. We identify personally as nonhuman. Our identifying as nonhuman, having nonhuman self-images, feeling our mindsets and instinct are nonhuman, having dysphoria that focuses around our species, and so on is not anything external. It all comes from within each of those of us in our multiple system who identifies as nonhuman themselves. Each of us feels a strong sense of belonging to certain nonhuman species. Our species identities are not related to totemism, spirit guides, spirit animals, or any other spiritual practice or belief system relating to external spirits or forces. Our species identity a religion or caused by a religion. A person's species identity is not a separate entity for the person. There are no external entities or forces involved that cause our individual nonhuman identities. We might be many in one body, but each of us has our own individual sense of identity, and a species identity is included as part of that. The experience we have came from within each of us, and not from an external force or entity. Our species identities are an inherent aspect of our own make-up. This core aspect of each of our identities comes from within each of us. This is our species identities. We are the ones that feel this way. It is deeply internal. This identification is a part of us, not apart from us.
Involuntary
What we are and this state of being we live in is not a choice for us. It is definitely not a choice. It is not a choice - it is a fact of our life. We did not choose our species identity; nor can we change it. Our species identities are simply built into who we are. Identifying as we do is something we cannot help but feel. We didn’t wake-up one day and decide to identify as something other than our body out of the blue. Nor did we take on our identities as a conscious coping mechanism for anything. There is no need or reason for us to identify as we do. Taking a nonhuman identity for coping mechanism is something some people experience (copinglinkers), but that is not our experience. Being as we are is also not a conscious choice of personal representation, like an avatar. It is not a fursona or a character for role-playing. Instead, we have just always just identified as we do today, without ever trying to be so, since we can remember anything at all. Our experiences from our species identities are not something that can be turned off and on. We do not force our experience to happen. They come unbidden naturally. We do not make ourselves be a certain way. We just as we are. Our experiences aren't drawn out of us voluntarily when it is convenient. They simply happen regardless of what we might want. Our personal state of being is still there whether we are paying attention to it or not. None of us tell ourselves to act more like an animal, we act animalistic because that is how we are. Grizzly Ears does not tell himself to be territorial or have a prey drive because that is what a gray wolf should do, he is that way because that is how gray wolves are. Our individual identities exists regardless of what we might want or like. We experience being nonhuman animals as part of a daily fact of life because it is a part of our life. We could not change our identities to better mirror the physical state of our body even if we wanted to. What our species identities are is not even in our control. We couldn't change the species we identity as to another species regardless of if we wanted to do so. Our individual species identities are resistant to change no matter what we have done or could ever do. What we are experiencing is not something we cannot "grow out of" due to it being so deeply part of our identity. This is something we just feel and something we just are. In all honestly, the only thing which was a choice was in choosing to accept our experiences matched with those who, as a community, call themselves therianthrope, phytanthrope and so on. When we discovered the therianthrope community we did not assume we just were what the community was about, and we instead compared and analyzed our experiences and the communities. As of right now, it's been over two decades that we have felt this way without prompt or conscious will. Our state of being and identity does not disappear when having this identity or these experiences become inconvenient. Our species identities have not disappeared when we had no time to think of such things (for example, we still have experienced phantom bodies while being gravely ill). Through the worst lows of our depression, it has remained. Our identities and experiences are there no matter what. It has survived periods of doubt, personal critique, and external skepticism. We have tried to suppress it in the past, but it has never actually gone away. Despite everything, we still identify as nonhuman. Our therianthropy and phytanthropy is just a part of our lives. Our identities and experiences are there and they are not going away.
Non-physical
This state of ours is non-physical. We know very well that we are physically human in every way. We cannot deny our body is human. We know all too well that we are perfectly, without a shred of doubt, physically human. We are constantly reminded of that fact in fact. In fact, a sizable aspect of our experiences comes from this clash of internal self-perception verses external physicality (examples: species dysphoria, phantom body, etc). We certainly have no illusions of having actual nonhuman physical features or anything of the sort. This awareness and acceptance does not stop us from also being aware (or "awere" as the joke used to be) and accept our animality as well. The shape of our body does not change the fact that we do not personally feel human. The physical status of our body does not inhibit the personal perception and feelings we have that makes us feel not human personally. Identity and body image need not and does not have to conform to the actual physical state of the body. How we see ourselves individually and personally is not limited to the physical reality of our body. Ever since we can remember we have told ourselves that we are human while trying to suppress the feelings about our species identities, but it has never worked. Reminding ourselves our body is human physically has not swayed an uncontrollable and unyielding feeling in us that says something else is the case non-physically. No amount of critical thinking over the years has been able to explain away this deep understanding of our species identities. Identity does not always adhere to what is physically and externally the case. We know we are human, we just don’t identify as such personally. We do know what we are externally, just as we know what we are internally. They differ, we know that all too well.
Awareness
Our state of being is about a solid sense of awareness. How we know we are nonhuman animal comes down to "we just know." We just have an indescribable but powerful knowing that we are nonhuman animals. Instincts are a part of what makes our therianthropy and phytanthropy what it is and our gut instincts tell us what we are. It is something written into our very existence. For as long as any of us can remember there has always been a general vague feeling that has always whispered we are this or that animal. We felt it as a truth that somehow we are nonhuman animals. It has always felt like a fact of our existence. Our state of being and existing is something we just know even if we do not know how to put it into fully accurate words. No matter the words we use "we are," "we feel like we are," "we exist as," "we think like a," and so on at the end of the day all the words are still attempts at explaining something about what we are. It is an overall feeling and knowing that it is somehow true. Ignoring the truth would bring more pain then simple acceptance. At the end of the day the most shining part of our state of being is simple notion of awareness that we this or that animals.
Beyond Belief
We do not see our state of being as a belief. Belief, broadly speaking, means an acceptance that a statement is true or that something exists without solid evidence. Beliefs can be adopted, changed, and dropped; however, this state of being is something someone either is or is not. Also, therianthropy has no underlying dogma, doctrine, or deities, which are the founding aspects of religious beliefs. Thus, therianthropy does not meet the criteria for a religion or even a cult. This state of being is not even inherently spiritual as it is an identity. Otherkin come from a wide variety of backgrounds both culturally and religiously. Religious persuasion varies widely among people who identify as nonhuman. Therianthropy might be added to a personal belief structure, but it isn't inherently a belief. Therianthropy is an experience someone has and any subsequent spiritual (or psychological) aspects layered onto it is merely an explanations, additions, or influences. Calling therianthropy a (religious) belief doesn't describe our perception of ourselves and our experiences. We do not have to believe anything about ourselves to be therianthropes and phytanthropes. We simply have to identity as a nonhuman animal and experience things that lead to that conclusion. There are a number of beliefs we have formed in relation to or a part of our personal state of being, but the core of our state of being itself is an experience that exists no matter what beliefs we place upon it. Before we found the community, our state of being still existed wholly independent of our total lack of understanding what we were. Our experiences exist without our input and certainly any belief (or lack thereof) has never swayed their reality in our existence. Beliefs are things we have crafted to explain aspects of our identity, not the other way around. No matter how our beliefs adapt and change to new information, the understanding of our state of being nonhuman in some non-physical way is still there.
Beyond Definitions
Yet, despite all of these words, our being nonhuman in a human body is still more than just what has been said already here. The most bare and basic definition of therianthropy is a state of identifying as a nonhuman species on an integral and personal level, yet such a phrase does not even begin to tell the whole of what that means to us. In truth, our full state of being is a wordless feeling that cannot quite be fully translated into a single nice dictionary sentence. The definition is true but it is only really the beginning. The definition is stark and feels like it is merely the shell of something far more living and breathing. Our state of being and our identity is a lot deeper and richer to us than what we can easily describe. It is a state of being that is so simple and natural yet complex and confounding to us. Our state of being is so much an ingrained part of our daily life that getting a full scope of it all is nearly unfathomable for us to do. It is the core that drives our way of thinking and perceiving ourselves and the world around us. It is something that influences so much of our lives in both subtle and dramatic ways. It is inherent and pervasive. It is existing as a nonhuman species in a human body. It is a way of living, existing. It is a way of exploring oneself and the world around oneself. It is a sense of "I am." It is something we just are. Our state of being is about being unable to deny the existence of our species identities and what that brings to our lives. For our life to make sense, we had to accept that our way of perceiving the world and ourselves was through an animalistic outlook. We define ourselves as nonhuman animals because animality is engrained in the way we exist. Our state of being brings with it experiences that manifest both internally and externally.
All of our experiences: the sensations, the thoughts, the emotions, or even behaviors, is not what make us what we are, but all of it together does make up some of how our state of being manifests. We do not know why or truly how we are as we are. We only know we are. Being as we are is about experiencing our lives as nonhuman species. Being a nonhuman animal means being a therianthrope to us. Thus, therianthropy is a word that serves to put a name to our state of being.