THERIANS(otherkin) & FURRIES

Therians
Therianthropes, or therians, are people who identify, in some intrinsic way, as an animal that exists or has existed on earth.OTHERKIN WIKI
OTHERKIN WIKI
Therianthrope
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Therianthropes, or therians, are people who identify, in some intrinsic way, as an animal that exists or has existed on earth.
Therian types are categorized as any living or extinct animal that has once existed or still exists on Earth. Although wolves and felines are more common, they are not the only types. It is hypothesized that they are common due to the close connectivity that humans and these types have had with each other throughout history.
There are different types of therians, who experience different degrees of shifting and identity.
Shifter Therian: This is the "typical" kind of therian. Someone who identifies as an animal and experiences a wide range of shifting.
Contherian: A therian who does not experience shifting, but is instead at a permanent state of half human and half animal
Vacillant (sun/syn) Therian: The term is disputed. This type of therian experiences a limited range of shifting, and has the base instincts of their theriotype ingrained into their personality.
Cladotherian: A type of therian who's identity encompasses an entire family (or clade) of animals, instead of only a single species.
Polytherian (Polywere): A therian who identifies as more than one animal.

-> Furries
Have you heard of cosplay, where people costume as characters? They might dress up as a storm trooper or superhero and attend a comic book convention to have fun with friends. Furries do a similar thing, but with a twist.
Furries are people who have an interest in anthropomorphism, which specifically refers to giving human characteristics to animals. In its most distilled form, furries are a group of people who formed a community — or fandom — because they have a common interest in anthropomorphic media, friendships and social inclusion.
What’s a Fursona?
About 95 per cent of furries develop their own unique avatar-like character called a fursona. The product of deep reflection, fursonas can represent idealized versions of the self that are imbued with positive characteristics, like being sociable, funny and less anxious.
Fursonas can be a safe, functional way for furries to explore who they are as people, including their gender identity and sexual orientation. Research also indicates that a fursona can help facilitate interactions with others and result in more social confidence. Many people think that furries dress up as animals. Some believe they dress that way all the time. But that’s not quite right.

Furries don’t identify as animals; they identify with animals. In the same way that cosplayers typically don’t believe they are actually Spiderman, furries don’t think they are their fursonas.

Having a fursona doesn’t mean that a furry owns a fursuit (a mascot-like outfit), and only 15 to 25 per cent of furries have them. While many furries have no interest in acquiring a fursuit at all, they can also be prohibitively expensive. Some fursuits are phenomenally engineered with fans, cooling packs and LED lights built into them.

Fursuits are usually worn on special occasions — a parade, meet-up or convention. Another 50 per cent of furries own furry paraphernalia — a furry T-shirt, ears, collar or tail — that communicates their furry interests to others.

Have you met sports fans who wear their team’s jersey at a special event, such as a game, or a music fan who wears their favourite band’s branded T-shirt? Most people wouldn’t wear this kind of fan paraphernalia to work or a job interview, and some wouldn’t wear it at all. That’s the case for furries, too.
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Pub: 14 Mar 2023 00:42 UTC

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