Embracing Alterhuman Identity: A Call For Acceptance Chances are, you’ve met or seen a person running on all-fours, and/or wearing a tail, animal mask, or ears. Most likely, that person was an alterhuman- a person who (usually) knows they’re human, but have a deep connection to/identify as an animal; alterhumans are usually bullied in school or in society because they can be confused with the “furries” that you see protesting for litter boxes on the news (despite the fact that the majority of furries don’t actually do that!) even though they’re completely different; one is a fandom, whereas the other one is usually an involuntary identity. Alterhumans, even if they’re different from humans, deserve everyday acceptance in our modern society and should be protected from bullying and discrimination. Alterhumans deserve everyday acceptance in our modern society and protection from bullying and discrimination because they already have so many challenges, therefore bullying should not be one of them. Many alterhumans, like amputees, often experience “phantom limbs”- a phenomenon of feeling a limb that is not there- but instead of being an arm or a leg, these limbs are often wings, tails, or fins. A budding organization known as FurScience stated that “Sure enough, therians were significantly more likely than non-therians to experience phantom body parts[;] Follow-up questions revealed that for those experiencing the phantom limbs, 70.4% found it to be “sometimes” or “always” distressing.” This shows that alterhumans (therians are a subculture of alterhuman) often experience painful phantom limbs that can interfere with everyday life. Along with that, alterhumans often experience species dysphoria (similar to gender dysphoria) which is a deep, spiritual feeling that they were born in the body of the wrong species. Gear (such as masks or tails), one of the things that alterhumans are bullied most prominently for, is usually a coping mechanism for species dysphoria. Bullying is just another burden for alterhumans to deal with; the majority of alterhumans cannot choose their identity, so bullying alterhumans is similar to bullying LGBTQIA+ and people of other cultures as they cannot choose how they are born. Alterhuman hate is similar to discrimination of other minority groups in the past, as they’re only being discriminated against due to political propaganda and their differences.
Alterhumans deserve acceptance and protection from bullying and discrimination because they are only being discriminated against because of their differences. Time and time again, society has found a new person to discriminate against- this has happened with many historical events, from World War Two to racism, sexism, queerphobism, and now, furries and alterhumans. The similarities between all of them comes down to one singular thing- they’re all different from what is considered “normal.” The shocking thing is, according to StopBullying.gov, “In today’s U.S. schools, diversity is more the norm than the exception.” This shows that diversity is everywhere, and with diversity follows bullying- alterhumans spend hours making tails or masks just for them to be pulled off or broken, similar to how some people with visual cultural differences (such as headscarves) can be bullied due to what they’re wearing. Tails and masks should be a representation of pride among alterhumans- kids shouldn’t be scared to wear them because they’re scared of being bullied. By pulling an innocent person’s tail or calling them a furry, you’re being the same thing that schools have taught you to hate- you’re showing the same behavior as the people who try to enforce slavery or blatant sexism. We’re stuck in the same ways of disrespecting those who are different just to hide our own insecurities- and it’s surprising that nobody realizes how wrong that is. Alterhumans deserve acceptance and protection from bullying and discrimination because they are different from the many misconceptions against them. In many alterhumans’ experiences, there’s one reaction that comes whenever we wear gear or do quads- “Furry!” In fact, there may be a chance that you have gotten this paper because someone threw it at you for calling an innocent person a furry. This is one of the many misconceptions that come about- alterhumans are often confused for furries, which the media often describes as disgusting, sexual people who think they’re animals. Every single source written by furries lists that that is not true- furries are a fandom interested in anthropomorphic animals. Much of this harassment comes from people thinking that alterhumans are the same thing as the media says because they wear tails, masks, or ears. The truth is, alterhumans are just sweet, nice people trying to be themselves- many alterhumans believe they were animals in past lives or that they are an animal trapped in a human body. It’s simply just a belief, an identity, and an experience, and nobody should have to endure such discrimination for something that they cannot choose. As you can clearly see, alterhumans are only being discriminated against because of their gear (which is a coping mechanism for species dysphoria) their differences, and their common misconceptions. We can’t stand by and let these innocent people get bullied- bystanders need to rise up and join the fight, to show that alterhumans are humans too! We need to stop the propaganda and make our world a better place to live in, for alterhumans and all people who dare to be different!
