What is Alterhumanity?

Alterhumanity has evolved over time to have multiple accepted definitions, but the central idea of it is as follows:

"A category of personal identity which encompasses identification that is alternative to the common societal idea of humanity." - (source)
"People with non-typical experiences of species identity, embodiment, narrative identity and personal mythology." - (source)
"[...] a subjective identity that is beyond the scope of what is traditionally considered "being human." - (source)
"Opt-in umbrella term for the community meaning both alternative experience of humanity and alternative to humanity" - (source)

“I still don’t understand” you might be thinking to yourself “How exactly does that work?”. I can’t speak for all alterhumans, but I think this quote gives a pretty good explanation in layman's terms.

“Well, plenty of people believe in souls, right? And that’s not considered weird. I don’t think it’s weirder to believe that if souls exist, and that if you could make someone’s soul or even their mind visible, that they wouldn’t all look the same. I think mine would look like [your identity here].” - (source)

“[your identity here]” can be pretty much anything! A plant, an animal, a fictional character, an abstract concept, or even an inanimate object!

Those who experience alterhumanity typically call themselves alterhumans. Lesser used synonyms include terms like alterbeing (a less human-centric version of "alterhuman"), AHPI (standing for “Alternative Humanity Personal Identity”) and AltH (short for “alterhuman”).

Alterhumanity is an intentionally broad and subjective label. It’s meant to be an umbrella term for many different specific experiences. Individuals can be alterhuman in various ways and for various reasons, be they religious, spiritual, psychological, philosophical, metaphorical, or even just for fun!

Basic Terminology

There are many labels and experiences that fall under the alterhuman umbrella. The list below is just a quick run-down of some of the more common / general terms:

Nonhuman An umbrella term for anyone who as identifies (partially or fully) as something that isn't human.
Therian / Therianthrope Someone who identifies (partially or fully) as a non-human animal.
Otherkin / Otherkind Someone who identifies (partially or fully) as something nonhuman, or deviant from the norms of humanity. Common subsets include:
  • Fictionkin - Identifying as a fictional character or species.
  • Objectkin - Identifying as an inanimate object.
  • Conceptkin - Identifying as an abstract concept.
  • Polykin / Multikin - Having multiple different otherkin identities.
Otherhearted / Otherkith Someone who feels a strong connection with a certain character / species / etc. They don't identify as said character / species / etc, but feel like they are closely connected to it, similarly to how one may feel connected to a friend or family member. Common subsets include:
  • Fictionhearted - Feeling a strong connection with a fictional character or species.
  • Animalhearted - Feeling a strong connection with a species of non-human animal.
Otherlink Someone who voluntarily chooses to adopt an alterhuman identity and manually upkeep a "link" with them. Otherlinkers may identify with or as their linktype. Common subsets include:
  • Fictionlink - Someone who adopts an alterhuman identity of a fictional character or species.
  • Copinglink - Someone who adopts an alterhuman identity as a way to cope with stress, trauma, mental illness, or similar issues.
Furry A fan of anthropomorphic animals and/or media involving them. Furries as a whole are not inherently alterhuman, but there's still a lot of overlap between the two communities. Some have even argued that certain niche subcommunities (like postfurries and furry lifestylers) could be considered alterhuman.
-Type A suffix added to other words to refer to the specific character / species / etc at the center of ones alterhuman identity. Such as kintype, linktype, hearttype, etc.
For example, someone who strongly identifies with wolves might say “I’m wolfhearted”, “my hearttype is a wolf”, or “I have a wolf hearttype”.
Spiritual Alterhuman Someone whose alterhumanity stems from their spirituality / spiritual beliefs. This may include beliefs that one's alterhumanity is caused by being reincarnated, having past / future / parallel lives, being a nonhuman soul in a human body, and so on.
Psychological Alterhuman Someone whose alterhumanity stems from their psychology / psychological state. This may include beliefs that one's alterhumanity is caused by past personal experiences, neurodiversity, having the brain of / a brain similar to a certain character / species / etc, and so on.
Astral Limb Not having a certain limb, but still experiencing sensations where that limb would be. In the context of alterhumanity, these are often nonhumanoid limbs, like a tail, wings, fangs, etc. The term is often used instead of "phantom limb", as to not confuse it with the experiences of amputees.
Shift A type of mental or psychological change that's influenced by one's alterhuman identity. Some common types of shifts include:
  • Mental Shift - When someone feels the mental characteristics or instincts of their alterhuman identity.
  • Dream Shift - When someone takes the form and/or mentality of their alterhuman identity in a dream.
  • Sensory Shift - When someone perceives their environment with the senses of their alterhuman identity. (This specifically refers to the perception of one's senses, not physically changing their anatomy/ability to that of their alterhuman identity.)

Further Reading

Here's some rescources for those interested in learning more about alterhumanity:

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