Here’s A Little Explainer Post I Made For My Instagram. Thought I’d Post It Here Too! 🐾

THERIANTHROPY VS PET PLAY VS FURRIES VS PET REGRESSION

I have found that there tends to be a bit of muddiness when it comes to how others perceive these communities. Though there is moderate overlap within the members of these communities, they are each very different spaces and should be treated as such. To preface, I have no ill will against anyone in any of these communities (I'm part of most of them lol) and this post isn't to say that your experiences can't apply to multiple communities/ labels/identities because they definitely can! Identity is fluid and there's no rules about it. This post functions as an easy explainer for those who may be unaware of the differences or are having trouble identifying and placing their own experiences within the context of these communities! Adult topics will be briefly mentioned in this post, if this upsets you this is your warning!

THERIANTHROPY Therianthropy is the belief that one is genuinely an animal that exists/has existed on earth on a non-physical basis. This identity can be due to a multitude of reasons. Most commonly therianthropy is attributed to spiritual origins like feeling that one has the soul of an animal or had an animal past life, or psychological origins such as imprinting on an animal when young, mental disorders, neurodiversity, etc. No matter why one identifies as an animal, above all else, therianthropy at the core is completely involuntary. Anything else (like gear or quadrobics) is not a requirement to be a therian, nor do these things make one more or less of a therian than another.

Pet play is a kink originating in the bdsm community. This kink continues to grow rapidly due to the popularization of puppy play in gay male spaces. Pet play is often seen solely as pup play, but those in the pet role can play as any animal! This kink can be defined as roleplay between adults where some take on the role of an animal and others take on the role of an owner or handler. While it is important to note that pet play is not exclusively sexual, it is still a kink, is very often sexual, and should be practiced solely by adults. Pet play is a voluntary, discussed, and consensual power exchange. Many create animal personas to take on while in the pet headspace, but this persona is not the same as a theriotype or fursona, and the headspace experienced during pet play is not the same as mental shifts many therians experience. Pet players ≠ furries or therians.

The furry community largely began in underground comic scenes, and came to be as a subculture in the 80's and 90's. (Side note: I highly recommend you look into the history of the furry community as it is super interesting!) At the center of the community is a passion and appreciation for anthropomorphic animals, aka animals that behave in ways that humans do. They usually have human levels of intelligence, speak, are bipedal, wear clothes, etc etc. Being a furry is a completely voluntary hobby and label. Most furries create a fursona as a means of representing themselves in the community, this is different than a kintype or a pet play persona. Though there is notable overlap between pet players, therians, and furries, these communities are not at all mutually exclusive. Furthermore, liking animals in general or being a part of any of the other listed communities does not make one a furry. Anthropomorphism is the key aspect of the furry subculture.

PET REGRESSION (I'm gonna be real, I'm not a part of this community. I researched as best I could but if some of this is wrong, let me know!) Pet regression refers to the act of regressing mentally into the headspace of an animal (most commonly young animals like a puppy or kitten) pet regression is most often a voluntary coping mechanism but similarly to age regression it can sometimes be an involuntary trauma response. This community holds similarities to the non-sexual aspects of pet play, but it is not the same community. Though both are often voluntary and may include similar mechanics and experiences, pet play is a power exchange dynamic, not a form of regression. Pet regression is also always non-sexual, and can be a very helpful tool too for folks who may want to heal an inner child, explore their emotions/trauma, or just de-stress. Folks that pet regress may also find themselves connecting to specific animals or breeds, but this is not the same as a kintype or fursona.

As with everything, these descriptions are not meant to be the end all be all representation of what it means to be part of each of these communities. All experiences are entirely unique to the individual. The most important takeaway is that these are all different communities. These spaces should be treated with respect and represented as individual communities because they are! It's very important to be explicit about what means what, especially when misinformation about these spaces (especially the therian and furry communities) is pretty common. By being understanding of one's own experiences and naming them properly one can help combat misinformation while simultaneously informing others about what it means to be a part of these communities, and helping others figure out where they may fit in! :D

Here’s a little explainer post I made for my instagram. Thought I’d post it here too! 🐾

It does a disservice to all listed communities to have them be misconstrued and misunderstood to the degree that they often are. Hopefully this post helps some folks understand the differences and nuances a bit better! ^^

We don’t have enough disabled therian representation.

It’s true. We don’t. Since the therian community is mainly online, we don’t get a lot of disabled therians. That is mainly because the algorithm pushes mainly quads and masks. It also kinda ties into my last post about the therian community being very quads and gear centered.

Many disabled people (myself included) aren’t able to do quads. And in a world that’s already not made for us, “coming out” as a therian can place unnecessary pressure on us to be able to do quads and wear gear.

I’m gonna be real with y’all, I can’t live my life without being in pain 24/7. I have multiple disabilities and while i’d love to have gear and do quads, my body just doesn’t allow it.

TLDR: even though disabled therians are underrepresented in the therian community, please don’t discount our existence.

Thanks for reading!

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babyprincettt

4 months ago

ME ME ME TOO THIS HAPPENS ALL THE TIME

please talk to me

sitting over my phone wagging my tail at the little "1" next to inbox, ecstatic for an ask, just to click on it and see tumblrs scammed me... no messages

Tags

therian otherkin fictionkin alterhuman therianthropy nonhuman canine kin fox therian foxkin fox kin

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babyprincettt

4 months ago

Never ever mistake me. I am not just in favor of the uwu romantic version Being An Animal. It's not all moodboards and waxing poetic about tails/wings/etc and running in the forest wild and free. All of that stuff is GOOD and FINE and a nice outlet for all flavors of nonhumans, please do not stop engaging with that sort of thing. I'm talking about me also wanting to embrace the gross and so-called ugly and less fortunate aspects of animality. like when you're wrestling a large prey animals into submission so you can eat that day but it fuckin Gets You with a claw/antler/horn/hoof/beak/etc and suddenly you're hurt real bad. Lost an eye, a toe, half your tail. Got a permanent limp from being stomped so hard that will make hunting difficult so you may not live your full natural lifespan. dying of severe cold or heat and then your body decomposing slowly, being food for other things. scent marking with piss, shit, musk. being young and inexperienced so you go without food for days cuz you can't hunt for shit.

there is no part of animality that is something I don't desire. I want it all, because all of me is animal. does it suck to downgrade from human sized complex brain to smaller wolverine brain? No not really! I am not mourning the loss of things I never asked for in the first place. sure I could say that woo, less complex brain means less capacity for things to go wrong, but that is a very human lens to look through. does a wolverine know it's "lucky" that it cannot have certain human mental illnesses because its brain may not be that complex? no, and that's why I'm not worried. I could turn into one fully physically overnight and then die stupidly 2 years later and that would still be ideal. sure I also may romanticize some things in ways that are not really Natural for my species, like how I think places that feel like Home just seem so beautiful to me, but no damn animal is perfect. I am allowed a couple flaws. several, in fact, lmao.

I Crave It All

Tags

therian otherkin therianthropy therianthrope nonhuman

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babyprincettt

9 months ago

Does anybody else hate that sometimes therianthropy is treated like a cute aesthetic rather than an animalistic identity?

I get species euphoria by ripping objects apart, chasing animals, eating without utensils, walking on my toes, feeling how sharp my canine teeth are, among other things. None of these things are dainty or aesthetic, and to the average person it's probably not acceptable/normal behavior.

I feel like therians should (in a reasonable manner, we're still humans/humanoids guys) show this side more. Being animalistic in some way is part of being a therian and it shouldn't be shameful

Note: Im not 100 percent active in the alterhuman community so if I've gotten anything wrong since the last time I was here forgive me

- Lee , host , he/xey

Tags

therian alterhuman alterhuman community therian community species euphoria open to discussion

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babyprincettt

5 months ago

my gender is funky, like I don't feel like there was really anything there when I was born (gender wise), but because I'm also physically not a human, my gender is like a man who doesn't know what a man is and is really trying but is still confused, just trying to fit in but sometimes I find things that make me feel really good about being a man

that's basically what manhood is to me

Tags

transfem transmasc euphoria therian otherkin transgender trans pride alterhuman therianthropy otherkin community nonhuman otherhearted physical therian species euphoria holothere manhood genderfuck genderfreak

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babyprincettt

9 months ago

i can be trusted on a nature walk i promise. i promise i will stay on the trail and will not run off into the forest never to be seen again i promise

Tags

therian otherkin alterhuman therianthropy therianthrope nonhuman

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babyprincettt

1 month ago

FELL IN LAVA PRIDE FLAG

the blue represents the diamonds you were seeking in your foolish quest

the greys represent the stone you dug straight through

the brown represents minecraft steve, who died due to your carelessness

the orange represents lava

the red also represents lava, but could be taken as the red screen that appears when you die

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babyprincettt

2 weeks ago

LATE TO THE TREND BUT FUCK IT WE BALL

🐾 SPECIES TRANSITION GOALS 🦴

things i already have done and plan to do for species affirmation and euphoria

plan to do:

permanent fang implants!! my canines are already naturally sharp but i want fang implants to really make them more pronounced

angel fang piercings!! im assuming it will probably take some time to get the fang implants done so id love to get angel fangs in the meantime

paw socks and paw arm warmers!! for doing quads in to minimize dysphoria while im running around and to cushion my paws because i havent built up callouses quite yet

hair lightening and a perm!! id want to go a golden blonde with a white streak in the front to match my type and curly because well- blonde and curly = tommyinnit

testosterone!! make my bark rougher and deeper and gimme fur *grabby hands*

nipless top surgery!! dogs dont have nips that high up silly :P

tattoos!! paw pads on all four of my paws, and claw marks to cover my top surgery scars

paw shoes!! like actual paws not just drawing on toe slits. i want to eventually add furry toes onto my vans

already have done:

social transitioning!! im slowly but surely working on getting my friends used to treating me like a dog and desensitizing them to me wearing gear regularly and casually

silicone base tail!! much more realistic wags and sits a lot more naturally than taxidermy keychain tails (i do still wear those from time to time though)

classic therian mask commission!! tackles both ear and muzzle dysphoria at once and it looks like me ehe

fursuit paws!! theyre absolutely fantastic for dysphoria and stimming but not the most convenient for doing quads in

ears headband set!! posable for maximum euphoria :3

collars and jingly accessories!! dog collar looking chokers, an actual collar, normal chokers, spiked chokers. earrings that jingle, belt chains that jingle, collar tags with my name and pronouns that jingle, bracelets and rings that jingle, hair charms that jingle. amazing.

coloured contacts!! white ones for a more wolfish look and ones accurate to my eye colour in headspace which switches between magenta and teal

Tags

therian otherkin alterhuman nonhuman physical therian species dysphoria species transition species transition goals species euphoria species affirming physical nonhuman physical alterhuman

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