Preliminary Survey of the Otherkin Cyberculture Daniel Williams Twenty years ago if a person wanted to keep in touch with an old friend or do business over long distance, they had two resources to draw on: letter (slow, but cheap) or telephone (expensive for individuals but efficient for a business). If a person wanted to keep in touch with a friend in another country, they were out of luck unless they had the patience for international mail or the money to blow on expensive trunk calls. Making a new intentional (or even interstate) friend was out of the question, unless they wanted to take part in a cumbersome and impersonal "pen pal" service. Business did not even have this outlet... a small time operator could not hope to attract distant business until they could afford the massive printing and postage required for "junk mail". Now it is entirely possible for me to make a friend in Egypt in one day, and communicate with him freely, while at the same time the Egyptian friend can saturate America with advertisements for his clothing store with very little investment. This, of course, is possible only through a powerful new resource called the Internet (and its close cousin the World Wide Web), presetting us for the first time with a communication medium that makes distance irrelevant for meaningful communication. Aside from the personal and economic enrichment the Internet offers, a side affect has been to assist in unifying scattered groups of people, who for one reason or another could never communicate with each other before. This has given rise to the phenomenon of online communities, creating virtual spaces of interaction (i.e. message boards, Usenet groups, chat rooms). This area has been the topic of surprisingly little research, considering the growing importance that these forums have in the lives of individuals, and the emergence of a concept that could be called "cyberculture". One example of a cyberculture is the Otherkin, a group of people who have developed similar beliefs regarding their natures, specifically that while they have the body of humans, their inner nature is something else. Many of the individuals who identify themselves as Otherkin have had no outlet to express these beliefs with people who have similar views until the development of the Internet. Fairly quickly message boards and online communities on these message boards began to form. Now it is rather easy to find Otherkin boards, some of which have over 500 active members each month. The following are the results of a two-month survey of Otherkin in general and the intra-action and interaction with the four identified groups within the overall Otherkin community. It is not strictly intended to be an ethnography, though aspects of Otherkin belief and life will be brought up. *** The primary research was carried out through two surveys. However, the formulation of the questions on the first survey, and some questions on the second, came from questions raised while reading materials found on the World Wide Web and publicly assessable message boards. The search and examination of material was the first work done in the research as well as continuing to read new web sites as they became available. The following web sites content has been read thoroughly (and a brief summary given): http://www.otherkin.org/ (http://www.utopiadragons.com/) Recently discontinued by the administrators, this web site hosted the "Awakened" e-magazine (1 issue). A source of articles, mostly dragon related, as well as several hyperlinks to other web sites. Unfortunately, I failed to preserve any articles or the glossary before the dissolution. http://www.otherkin.com/ A source of many Otherkin related media and hyperlinks, with a bias toward vampires, including a glossary. Hosts an active forum where a survey was distributed. http://draconic.com/ Active forum exclusively for dragons or dragon-related topics. Possibly has the largest active membership of any dragon forum on the web (and the largest period of Otherkin that I am aware of). Has some poetry and art, as well as a number of hyperlinks. A survey was distributed here. http://www.werelist.com/ Designed for connection therianthropes as well as a solid amount of were-related information and news. Hosts an active message board where a survey was distributed. http://www.personal.telefonica.terra.es/web/mystique/frames_a_new_page.htm Excellent source of articles on Otherkin, vampires, therinathropes/weres, and some on angelics. Also has several other articles on various topics, and a small number of hyperlinks. http://www.otherkin.net/ Collection of miscellaneous articles and other writings regarding Otherkin, including some news items not written by Otherkin. Also has a number of hyperlinks. http://www.coyoteoldone.com Similar to the Werelist, but mostly a message board with slightly different emphasis on topics, and items of a more personal nature for the administrator. ttp://www.elenari.net Web site pertaining almost exclusively to elves, with a number of articles, with a few links and no message board. http://www.other-haven.net Active forum catering to all Otherkin, with no articles or links. A survey has been distributed here. http://lupus.therinthropy.net New web site/e-magazine dedicated to therianthropes, with a number of articles and a small but active forum. http://shadowsofannwyn.com Active forum catering to all Otherkin, with an emphasis on the philosophical aspects of Otherkin. No articles or links. A survey has been distributed here. http://www.rialian.com ite dedicate to elves, with many articles, songs. several hpyerlinks, and various odd and ends. The second part of the research, and the primary source of information, were two surveys distributed sequentially (see Appendix 1). Survey 1 was designed to explore the overall aspects of being Otherkin, to investigate several topics I had come across during the reading I had done up until the time of its writing and try to firmly establish, in general, what being Otherkin meant. The original intention was to establish contacts through e-mail, but after a slow start I began distributing the survey on every major forum I came across, especially trying to find a forum for each major group of Otherkin I have identified so far and get a survey there. Many respondents felt like sharing their answers to these questions with other members of the community. This had me somewhat concerned, because people will often write one thing if privately shared, and another if they know it will be displayed publicly. However, the quality and detail of the answers often surpassed what I hoped for, so I do not complain. Also, there was nothing I could have done to prevent the respondents from posting their answers. Survey 2 was directly e-mailed only to respondents of the first survey to ensure that participants would be familiar with the goals and intentions of the project stated in Survey 2. This survey investigated the relationships between Otherkin communities, different kinds of kin, the variety and value of topics discussed with other Otherkin. Survey 2 also asked about several other topics that I was curious about that I became aware of after Survey 1 was written. Survey 2 was split up into the four different groups of Otherkin only to investigate what kind of intra-community interaction took place. The questions on each one were practically identical in content. Also during this time I became involved in several of the communities that were mentioned above. My intention at the beginning was to remain relatively neutral and just distribute surveys. However, I received invitations from these communities to introduce myself and participate in their discussions. Since most discussions involved being Otherkin, something that I was not, I did not feel that is was appropriate to involve myself in the vast majority of these discussions. My comments were usually limited to issues regarding the study, either answering questions or encouraging individuals to go into more detail with their answers, as well as introducing myself. There were two exceptions to this, however, one on the Werelist and causing such a heated dispute that I feared in would influence the survey answers. Fortunately I received therianthrope responses from other sources, and in comparison the does not appear to be significant difference other than what could be expected of individuals. One final note on acquiring data: There is a very common, and in my own observations justified, belief in every Otherkin community I have visited that there are a number of individuals that, for whatever reason, intentionally pose as Otherkin. The reasons for this will be discussed later. For now, I need to mention that I was aware of this belief, and I did practice a certain amount of filtering when cataloguing surveys. However, the surveys I did reject had such brief responses that I could not use them comparatively with the majority of the other survey responses. Sometimes these filtered responses would state effectively that the responded did not feel any different from anyone else in America, and I tended to assume these people were "rpers", role-players. I stand behind my choice of filtering, however, if nothing else than because the sum total of these questionable responses resulted in null data. *** As of this writing I have received, cataloged, and compared 31 response for Survey 1 and 14 response for Survey 2. I received a good number of responses from dragons and therianthropes, which is likely because I posted surveys are sites which had the most traffic of dragons and therianthropes. I found only one vampire board, and could not mange to find any elven/fae boards, so all of the data is biased toward the aforementioned larger group. For the purposes of this report an exposition on the responses for every question is not practical, and will not be presented. Instead, question 2,3, and 9 of Survey 1 and questions 5 and 7 of Survey 2 will be discussed in terms of establishing universal Otherkin identify and correlations within groups. Question 10 of Survey 2 will be treated separately as an addendum to the main body. Survey 1: Question 2: 100% of respondents indicated that they felt that the soul being something other than human was a defining, different characteristic, or assumed so in their answer. 68% reported feelings of profound estrangement from society at large, and or/inability to freely express their beliefs. 26% reported feeling a deep connection with the natural world, either in general or through their Kin ("How many of people's views are colored by the idea of being the only sentient species on the planet?"- Coyote Osborne) Question 3: 52% therianthrope, 26% Dragon, 13% Elf/Fae, 3% vampire (one respondent), 6% Other (does not fall in above groups) or Unsure 100% felt physical sensations that indicated something other than human (phantom limbs, odd emotions/physical sensations during certain occurrences connected with Kin). 87% reported past memories through dreaming and/or very intense symbolic dreams which indicated their Kin. 42% reported the assistance of mediation. 19% indicated a period of rationalization (studying zoology texts, figuring out what could feel this way, ect). 13% indicated that they had always felt different and connected to something other than human, while the rest reported going through an "Awakening" period. Question 9: 54% think of themselves as spiritual, which I am describing as not orienting to a specific religion, though they may take aspects other one or more religions into their own formulated viewpoints. Several individuals described these views as "pagan", but not specifically Wiccan. 19% call themselves Christian, though all admit that being Otherkin has caused problems. 10% call themselves Wiccan. 3% (one individual) responded as Muslim, 3% humanist, and 3% atheist. Survey 2: Question 5: Dragon: All respondents said they couldn't define exactly what a dragon was: they felt like a dragon, and they remember being a dragon. "I mean, a human is a human, that's what they are, dragons are the same."- Sharadin Elves: One described elves as those with pointy ears and not fae, while the other just though of elves as Otherkin who claims a "bloodline". No correlation. Vampire: Only one response- "One who feeds off the energy of others; would become sick without it; and generally posses more physic and physical abilities than most."- Naelyan Therianthropes: Universally, all respondents thought of therianthropes as those who believe to have a close connection to an animal, or their soul was indeed one of an animal Interestingly, all groups gave very similar definitions to what "Otherkin" means, with the phrase "something other than human" constantly reappearing. The one exception thought of Otherkin as those with anthropomorphic kin (elves, fae, vampires, ect.), and all animals, including the mythical variety (dragons, satyrs, phoenix, ect.) as therianthropes. Question 7: 64% of responders reported feeling that cross-Kin interaction was critical or very important for them. 45% Interact constantly, 9% interacted frequently. The two elven respondents reported interaction with other Kin to be inevitable because finding other elves was difficult. Two respondents response did not wish to answer this question using a scale because one thought it was impossible to tell who really was Otherkin online, and the other person thought that all interactions online, Otherkin and otherwise, were important. Aside from the surveys, readings on the Web provide methods for understanding the Otherkin. On several web sites I visited glossaries were found, with a strong similarity between definitions of various words, none of which could be found in a modern Webster's dictionary. Reading message boards I saw that these words where being used with an understanding by others what these words meant, even if sometimes the exact definition got confused (as often happens in any culture). I used words such as "Otherkin", "Awakening", and "Hunters" in the surveys, and no one ever asked for clarification on a term (though there were disagreements on how I used the word "Otherkin", as well as "human"). This indicates a degree of shared, culture-specific language, especially with the types of vampire, dragon naming conventions, and of course the complex language of the elves, not entirely cribbed from Professor Tolkien. Another phenomenon I observed on web boards and in some articles was the extreme importance of dreams in establishing personal identity. Similar to the Native American practices of "dream quests" dreams were an important topic of conversation on message boards and written about in essay and poetry. Dreams are often considered the conduit that the Kin is known through, and sometimes (especially with the elves) a method of interaction with other Kin. Individuals will often share their dreams with the community and ask for interpretations. These conversations can result in a great deal of bonding for the community, and are another way that individuals feel they can share themselves with their online friends. *** Making sense of the volumes of data I have received over the last two months has definitely the most difficult aspect of this study. I was faced with a dilemma when preparing this report: either talk at great length about the myriad of ideas and conclusion I have formulated, but I can't statically back up due to a (relatively) small number of responses, or discuss the little bit which has had such strong correlation that even 31 responses shows a trend. I have chosen the path of the data. This has forced me to shrink the scope of the report: instead of this being a full, if speculative, ethnography of the Otherkin, this is a preliminary survey, just showing who the Otherkin are and the most basic social connections, useful as a tool to guide future research. The first item that deserves immediate attention is the perfect correlation of the definition of "Otherkin". In is a sort of half-spoken consensus in every community I visited that to find a definition that everyone could agree on was fruitless, but just that has been done. While some may say that "something other than human" is too broad, this is a dramatic leap from every culture I am aware of...indeed, one of the focal points of many cultures is defining themselves as essentially human (sometimes to the exclusion of every other being in the planet, such as the Yanomamo (Chagnon 1992). This in itself makes the Otherkin a unique culture. The second thread that goes though Otherkin communities is a common vocabulary, discussed before. Common words that are found nowhere else, or not with the same meanings, are standards to look for when describing culture. Values and ideas are expressed through language, and the Otherkin bring many new ideas to the table. Words like "Awakening", "therianthrope", "sanguine", "Elenari", "fae" and "Otherkin" itself all have specific meanings; some are even specific to certain groups within the Otherkin. But when most of these sorts of words do not need explaining to those who have been with the Otherkin for an extended period of time, and they often help explain these terms to the new people who arrive daily. The third connection, as also mentioned earlier, is the profound impact of dreams in Otherkin discussions. Regardless of what Kin one might be, or what forum one might hang around in, dreams and the interpretations of dreams are respected everywhere. The elves in particular have describe a very elaborate world of politics and history revealed almost exclusively through dream. Dreams can reveal solutions to problems, resolutions to philosophical difficulties, past lives, the nature of the world around, and a plethora of other insights. Otherkin are not unique in this respect, but the heavy importance dreams place in the cosmology of individuals, and are considered on the whole, is certainly a unifying element of the Otherkin culture. The fourth strong common characterizes Otherkin as a whole are, sad and unsurprisingly, the intense feeling of alienation from off-line friends, family, and the world in general. No widely accepted organized religion (or any that I am aware of) commonly includes non-humans in human bodies as functioning members of society. When mentioning Otherkin around campus and with acquaintances, I hear responses ranging from "bizarre" to "Satanic", which is not a very broad range. The majority of people are more willing to dismiss Otherkin as mentally ill than having valid beliefs about themselves, which is unfortunate for all involved. This practically universally disregard for what many Otherkin feel is a vital a defining characteristic of themselves creates intensely strong pressure to seek each other out, and if nothing else confirm that they really are not crazy and many other people believe this way, too. This shared pain can be appreciated by every Otherkin, regardless of personal background or the culture they grew up in. However, Otherkin really be classified as a single group. There are very specific set of communities that interactions are based within, and individuals seldom spend much time slide from one to another. Based primarily on reading message boards, but also in regards to some questions asked with the two surveys, I think Otherkin communities interact around four groups. These groups are named after the Kin that most frequent these areas, but the separations do not necessarily mean that there is a philosophical separation as well. Some groups are lumped into others, while many of the less common Kin are left out entirely. However, the dominant Kin or category of Kin often either run these web sites and message boards, and/or constitute the majority of the traffic. The categories (which have been used before in this report) are the following: Therianthrope: A group comparable in roughly estimated size with dragons, therianthropes are those who believe that they have a strong connection to or spiritually are some kind of animal. The Kin types are most often mammals, wolves and feline being especially noticeable, but not exclusively. In my observations in message boards I have noticed that therianthropes tend to be more distanced to other Otherkin. Some therianthropes think this is because therians are "real" Kin, compared to the more "mythical" Kin. Most, however, are just as comfortable with other Kin as the other groups. I have not noticed a significant number of individuals declaring themselves therianthrope on other forums. However, survey 2 data suggests that they are indeed "out there". Either therianthropes in general feel that they need not disclose their Kin on non-therian boards, or I have simply overlooked their contributions. I am inclined toward the later explanation. Dragons: Claiming Draconic.com, the largest Otherkin forum I have seen, I roughly estimate the dragon population to be on par with therianthropes. However, I have found dragons to be fare more visible, interaction in many different forums beside their own. Typing in "Otherkin" on the Google search engine will immediately got me 11 web sites made for or oriented towards dragons, while I needed to go 17 places before find a major reference to therianthropes or weres. While not the best statistical model, it reflects my experience with the frequency of dragon web sites. However, the first Otherkin site I visited was run by a dragon and dragon-oriented, so this may very well be a bias that will resolve itself with more research. Elf/Fae: While Elfish site were fairly easy to find, I failed to track down a message board frequented by elves and fae, so my primary method of distributing surveys did not result in many elf or fae responses. However, they are certainly a significant presence on the Web, and often have portions of forums set aside for specifically them. The forum Shadows of Annwyn has a number of active elven members. Most of what I know about elves and fae are essentially hearsay. While extremely prolific writers in general (going be their web sites), most often the topic is poetry or dream-memories of "Home" (wherever Home might be). Of fae I know next to nothing, except they are often referred to. I imagine that if I spend more time specifically looking for elven and fae web sites I shall find them, but was held back by lack of time. I have included elves and fae together because, although philosophically very different, are often referred to together and the little I have seen of fae has been on elven web sites. Vampires: I include this category reluctantly. While only finding one web site and forum devoted to vampires, they are mentioned often on web sites not affiliated with vampires, and I have heard many references to a variety of different vampire sites. From what I can surmise from some message board topics, the content of vampire sites of often leads to censorship by the servers, making them short-lived. I do not believe this is true, however, and I will continue to try to find vampire sites. While vampires are connected with the Otherkin community, share words such as "Awakening", and are sometimes referred to as Otherkin, philosophically they are very different, and seldom appear on web boards. But they are referred to so often on other sites that I get the impression that I am missing quite a bit, and so include them as more avenue to explore than anything else. Also there is a sort of pseudo-category called Other-those Kin which not fall under any of the above categories, and thus do not associate with any of the major groups, but are still acknowledged to exists and sometimes referred to on boards, if not actually seen. Examples of these Kin either seen on message boards, responded to surveys, or referred to are shadows, phoenixes, griffins, and angelics. There is occasionally literature regarding some of these Kin on occasion, but nothing compared to what is written on the scale of the above four, including vampires. *** The Otherkin, when seriously look in to, cannot really be considered a fringe culture. They are an international phenomena, and the breadth of variety, size, and thoughtfulness of the Otherkin in general and those who I have encountered remove any doubt in my mind that these people are suffering from some sort of clinical mental illness. I think their basic beliefs of the nature of their soul is just as valid as any other religion, which is to say in from a empirical point of view, none. There is no evidence way or the other about the makeup or even existence of a soul, so any statement that Otherkin are delusion for believing themselves to be reincarnations of dragons, elves, wolves, or anything else cannot be supported. Such a statement would come not from reason, but from a massive cultural bias that we all (including be, a life-long atheist) or subjected to. This report has not really addressed the culture of the Otherkin, only a rough sketch of interaction and shared beliefs. Indeed, whether a the word "culture" can be meaningful applied to a virtual community is still an important question that has not been attempted to resolved here. The Otherkin can be a fascinating glimpse in to areas that cultural studies still have trouble understanding- the universal place of the soul in cultural values and belief systems, and the kind of cultural interactions that are possible and made possible by the Internet and World Wide Web. I intended to continue my research of Otherkin culture until I feel satisfied that I have covered the breadth and scope of these people. Perhaps some else will taken an interest, and figure out what it all means. ddendum: Anon's Story hile briefly touched upon in the report, alienation and a fear of discovery is a daily part of most of those who decided that they are Otherkin. I was told of one person's story early on in my research, and later was privileged to read it. The following is a synopsis of the story. Due to the intense desire by the author for this story to remain anonymous (for reasons that should become clear) I will refer to the person involved as "he", the neutral gender of the English language, and he will be given the name "Anon". It is Anon's hope (and mine as well) that those who are not Otherkin who may happen to read this will at least understand that it is not a choice to be Otherkin, but a choice to be yourself, and there are often terrible consequence that come with such choices. I will now relate his story without further comment. Anon, in a way, had always known he was a dragon. He has distinct memories of when he was three, just knowing what a dragon was, and knowing that somehow everyone around him was different, that there was something fundamentally lost between him and his parents. As time went on, Anon forgot his first awakening. s time went on, Anon began to become more aware of himself, and started to remember the things he had forgotten. As each day passed, the feeling of being a dragon began to truly come into focus, and these ideas became a very important part of his life. Anon needed to tell someone that he was a dragon. non had always had a very string relationship with his parents, particularly becoming to trust his father a great deal. During a long car trip they had been working on a book about the importance of trust and honesty in the family. Anon was paying close attention and decided that he should try to build that trust and reveal to his father about his draconity. e talked to his father about his beliefs, about being a dragon and thinking this since he was three, about how important these beliefs were to him. His father made a passing remark, a friendly joke, and then failed to mention anything about for a week. Anon had though he had forgotten their discussion, when his father then brought up the subject again. Anon knew that his father would take some issue, but he had been given no clue what has ahead of him. non was raised in a devout, Christian home, and had always respected the word of the Bible. His father began citing verse and theological argument, trying to prove that Anon's feelings weren't genuine. Anon was told he had a mental disorder, being stubborn and not listening to reason, even possessed by demons. Anon's parents investigated every possibility, and argued incessantly for each one, except that his feelings might be real. Anon realized he was in for a difficult time, and tried to stay calm and patiently re-explain his views and how they were different from what his father was arguing, and how they really believed quite similar and there didn't need to be conflict. His parents would not relent, and on a few occasions the situation became violent. t one point Anon's father admitted that he wasn't interesting in anything Anon had to say on the matter except to look for holes in his logic to prove him wrong. At this point Anon realized that maybe the best solution right now was to leave home, and suggested that he should move out when he became of legal age. His father responded by threatening to take away all forms of support from Anon, who hoped to go to college soon. This wasn't a good option. is parents sent him on a Biblical study program, which Anon didn't mind at all by itself, but he was upset at being forced to read it as ant attempt to change his beliefs. Throughout this, Anon tried to restore the peace with his parents, because he loved them dearly and desperately wanted them to except them for who he was. But then it got worse. non's computer time had been curtailed earlier, preventing easy contact with his online friends, his support group. He got a handheld computer that could go on the Intenet, so he could maintain contact with people who could sympathize with him. Anon had to sneak this past his father. Late at night he found Anon on the web with his computer, upset that he didn't know who his son was doing. He grabbed the computer out of Anon's hands, disconnected it form the phone line, and proceeded to read through everything, including Anon's private files. he day afterward Anon's parent's swore to "get it up by the roots an pull it out", to "purge" Anon of his horrible disease of being himself. ll of Anon's communications with his dragon friends and emotional support were severed. The phones were lifted off their hooks at night so he couldn't call anyone, letting the phone line die off so he couldn't dial up with the modem. His handheld computer was taken away at night. Close friends, relatives, and the family were told of Anon's horrible condition. Anon felt he was a plant deprived of water so he could be more easily plucked. His parents though he was in drug detoxification. non was "requested" to go to a Christina psychologist...he "accepted" to make things easier, and to prove that there really was nothing wring with him. The psychiatrist reported that Anon was perfectly sane, but still supported depriving him of his online community. fter a while Anon managed to find a few ways to briefly communicate with friends. One day when Anon came home to talk with a friend over the phone, his father came home soon afterwards and immediately picked up the phone to see of Anon was talking. His father told Anon's friend that his parents would be told about him being a dragon. his went on for a while, and the relationship Anon maintained with his parents was becoming anemic. There was fighting between him at least one of his parents nearly every day...and often it would become physical, but Anon never thought any great harm was done. Altogether, it was a terrible time for both Anon and his parents. is father offered family counseling, but when Anon asked further his father admitted it was just to get Anon to give up his beliefs. Furthermore, if Anon refused to go, his father would tell the parents of Anon's best friends about what was going on, and make sure he could never speak to them. Anon said that was blackmail, but his father refused to admit it. is father became busy with finding a new church soon after that conversation, however, so the "family counseling" never occurred. hings began to improve over the next few months. It was not pleasant, but it was manageable. Fights still occurred, but Anon had learned to keep his mouth shut. Things had relatively mellowed out, as Anon's parents had learned that their methods would not convince him to revoke his identity. Anon was even able to regain contact with his dragon friends, although it was always strained. hroughout all this Anon could empathize with his parents. He understood it as his parent being fish, and here they were with a bear. They instinctively realized that this was not normal, and as good parents they wanted to protect him from the dangers of being different. hen they moved. All the old trouble started again...being forced to read theology, taking away contact with his friends. Things became again. One incident in particular sticks out in Anon's mind... He was proofreading a friend's paper...nothing related to dragons...and decided to reduce the font to save paper. Anon's father immediately thought Anon was hiding something. When Anon showed his father that there was nothing to be angry about, his father fumed at Anon for putting on the appearances of being deceitful. he old, intense fight were back. It felt that everything was coming in at all directions for Anon, and for the first time he though about running away from home. The only thing that kept him with his parents was he was flat broke, and had no way to make money. He had tried to get a job to pay for Internet access, but his parents refused to allow him to find work. Worse, available work was scarce already, and even if he could find something his parents could have canceled the application. epression was Anon's constant companion. The few times he could get on-line with his dragon friends, Anon tried to be strong but always broke down under the stress. No close friends, and irregular contact with the friends he did have, Anon felt like that withered plant than needed water. ut at this point Anon had several strokes of good fortune. Love had entered his life, and friends off-line became a vital help. As his family finished moving into his old house, they began to practice the "don't ask, don't tell" formula of conflict mediation. There were still fights, sometimes physical, but much rarer than before, and Anon felt it had mostly died off. When Anon began planning for the future, for college, he looked forward to joining his love. But his parents managed to hear about this, and only offered to pay for the local college. Facing the sorry end of Hobson's Choice, Anon conceded. Though away from his parents, there are filters in the computers that are able to pick out communications with his draconic friends or with his love. If his parents get word of his communications, or his continued involvement with the person he hopes to spend the rest of his life with, he'll be expelled, his plans for the future ruined. This story was related to me by third-party e-mail, at considerable risk to Anon. His story is the one I know best, but I have heard similar stories before. And now you know it, to. ppendix 1: Surveys Survey 1: Overview This survey is meant to help me get a general overview of Otherkin society and help narrow down areas so that later I can identify particular areas or aspects to study. If you do not feel comfortable answering a question or part of a question, please do not feel you have to. However, saying why it is you do not want to answer helps me know what the "boundaries" are, and avoid asking similar questions in the future, saving your time and mine. If a question is unclear, you feel you want to add a question or tell me something out of the scope of the survey, or for any other reason you want to contact me, my e-mail address is d_lievwilliams@comcast.net The more detail you tell me, the better my information will be and the description of Otherkin culture will be more accurate in my ethnography. Do not be afraid to repeat what you have already shared in a previous question. Selected quotes will be used from this survey as well as interviews, and the completed ethnography will be given to at least www.otherkin.org and my cultural anthropology professor. The ethnography may even see larger circulation. Unless explicitly requested otherwise, any information could be included in this report. However, the interview will be compared in an objective manner with others, and nondisclosure of stated private information will be completely honored, so please feel free to share anything you may feel is important. Please answer these question thoughtfully and take you time, but I also ask that you do so in a timely manner. The more surveys I receive and process, the more specific and relevant future questions will be, which will reflect in the end the accuracy of the ethnography. In general, the more questions you can answer, the better the Otherkin will be represented. This ethnography is due on November 26th, and I would like at least a week to process and write everything, so consider Wednesday, November 19th the deadline for having your input be considered. You may send in information after that date, but I cannot guarantee it will be included. If what I see indicates that the Otherkin cannot be fully represented in the scope of my assignment, I will present an abbreviated for to my professor and continue working on the ethnography on my own time. Already I know the Otherkin are a fascinating and misunderstood culture, and a formal study such as this may help clear many misconceptions and help the Otherkin community further define itself as a real, unique cultural and spiritual people. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. For my records, what is your name, age, and educational background? Only Kin names will be used in the report, unless you desire otherwise. You have the right to complete anonymity, if you choose. Age may be specific, or not if you prefer (i.e. teens, 20s, middle age, senior). Educational background may include non-credit college courses, after-high school GED degrees, and professional internships/apprenticeships. 2. What do you feel are the characteristics of being Otherkin which make you distinctive from society in general? 3. What is your Kin, and how did you come to realize this? 4. Please describe how important you feel being Otherkin is when interacting with other Otherkin, both online and face-to-face. 5. Please describe how important you feel being Otherkin is when interacting with humans, both online and face-to-face. 6. Between Otherkin and humans, which group do you feel more comfortable with? Why? 7. Would you say that part of being Otherkin is finding a balance between your Kin and human aspects? If so, please describe what you do to maintain (or find) this balance. If not, how would you describe the co-existence of a human exterior and Kin soul and any challenges this may pose? 8. What is a normal week like? Not a schedule, but the high and low parts, the parts you look most forward to and the parts you are least eager to go through. How much of this do you ascribe to you Kin identity? What do you feel is similar to a normal week of an average human? 9. How would you describe your overall worldview? For instance, do you consider yourself a member of a particular religion? How do you think being Otherkin colors or affects your belief system? 10. On a scale of 1 to 100, "1" being utterly scientific and "100" being utterly spiritual, how would you rate yourself? What do you think "utterly scientific" and "utterly spiritual" mean? What part do you think this plays as your identity as Otherkin? 11. This survey is just the first in several I hope to distribute. If you wish to participate in future, more focused surveys, please indicate. Also, if you feel you have special insight or experience in Otherkin culture, I would be interested in conducting an interview, so please contact me if this is so. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- hank you for completing this survey. Again, if you have any questions, unsure what a question is asking, are unclear about the terms I am using, or have further input you would like to provide, feel absolutely free to e-mail me. I check twice a day, and will always respond as soon a I receive a message. If you know of other Otherkin who would like to participate, feel free to give them this survey (unedited, if you please). -Daniel Liev Williams Cultural Anthropology Student, Lane Community College d_lievwilliams@comcast.net urvey 2: Focus on the Were Communities This is the next in a series of surveys for an ethnography on Otherkin culture. This survey is being distributed only to those who have responded to Survey 1. Allow a considerable amount of time to answer these topics, as many of these questions may require a good deal of time to thoughtfully answer. There will not be another survey until after the preliminary report is finished. This survey has a number of multiplied-choice sections. If you feel that none of the options listed apply to you, please make your own statement, but try to answer the question. Please read each question carefully, as some can be very complicated. If there is any confusion to what a question means, please e-mail me before you answer the question, and continue with the survey. I am much more likely to help clarify something if it is brought up separate from the survey response. There has been a number of individual who have chosen to post their answers for Survey 1 on forums. While this is of course your choice, some of the questions on this survey may be uncomfortable to share with the public. Some of these questions are intensely personal, but also I feel very important to understanding Weres and Otherkin in general. I will use my judgment on what is too personal to include in the ethnography, but if you indicate that you wish something to be withheld from the ethnography I will absolutely honor that request. In the following weeks I hope to be conduction a number of interviews. I have Yahoo Messenger ( handle: dlievwilliams) and AOL Instant Messenger (handle: dlievwilliams). If you wish to have an interview over one of these services please e-mail me your handle and I will try to schedule a time. If you have another free service that you would prefer, tell me were I could download it and I'll see what I can do. Again, if there are concerns, questions, or comments regarding this ethnography, feel free to e-mail me at d_lievwilliams@comcast.net. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. What topics do you discuss online with other therianthropes? If you do meet other were face-to-face, do you discuss similar topics? For each topic that you mention, please rate it on how often and how important this topic is to you on following scales: 5- Often discuss 4- Frequently discuss 3- Sometimes discuss 2- Rarely discuss 1-Never discuss A- Critical topic B- Very important topic C- Somewhat important topic D- Not an important topic E- Not an important topic at all Why do you rate the topics the way you did? 2. How much do you value your online interactions with other therianthropes? A. Critical ( i.e. necessary for daily mental well-being) B. Very important (i.e. feel uncomfortable when you haven't for a while) C. Somewhat important ( i.e. could function well without but is always nice when you do) D. Not very important ( i.e. usually dull, but sometimes do it anyways) E. Not important at all (i.e. never interact, or have no emotional attachment to interactions) Why? 3. *The following question may take a great deal of time to answer. Please allow yourself as long as necessary to thoughtfully complete it. Sometimes dreams are very traumatic. If you do not want a dream mentioned in the ethnography, please say so.* Have you ever had dreams that you feel relate to you being a therianthrope? If you have, what were these dreams? Please be as detailed as you can. If you have had a number of the same dreams, please approximate how many time they have been repeated. If you have shared any dreams with the community, what were they? Again, if you have shared dreams, how important was it for you that you share these dreams, using the following scale? A. Critical B. Very important C. Somewhat important D. Not very important E. Not important at all Why did you rate the dreams the way you did? 4. What do you think, if anything, you have learned about being therianthrope that is directly related to something you have read on the Internet? If any of these resources are essays or articles, please indicate where I would find them. Please rate how much you value these resources using the following scale. A. Critical B. Very important C. Somewhat important D. Not very important E. Not important at all 5. What is your definition of Otherkin, and what is your definition of therianthrope? 6. What forums and websites do you frequent or like the most? Why? 7. Using the following scale, how often do you interact with Otherkin that are not therianthrope? 5- Often 4- Frequently 3- Sometimes 2- Rarely 1-Never And how much to do you value these interactions? A. Critical B. Very important C. Somewhat important D. Not very important E. Not important at all Why? 8. How much do you feel you know about other Otherkin Kin? Please describe what you know about or define dragons, elves/fae, and vampires. If there are other categories of Otherkin that you feel are important, please discuss them as well. 9. There is a general consensus in the online communities that some who claim to be therianthrope or Otherkin are not. How do you feel about this? What reasons do you think people might do this? If you believe you have had encounters with such individuals, please describe them. 10. How do you think most people would react to you yourself being therianthrope, and the Were/Otherkin community at large? How do you feel about this? 11. *Warning: the following question involves a topic that some find extremely disturbing.* n my research I have heard references to a class of people known as "Hunters". What do you know of them? Have you or anyone you know had a personal encounter with such a person? How dangerous do you feel "Hunters" are? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Thank you for your continued participation in this project. This and the previous survey will go toward a preliminary survey of Otherkin culture, which I will hand in to my anthropology professor on November 27, 2003. However, I will continue this ethnography beyond that class until I am satisfied that I can present and accurate and balanced view of Otherkin. I do not know how long this will be, and in fact I have begun considering making a career of Otherkin study. There will be future surveys, perhaps many more. I will continue to accept new responses and participants, and I still encourage current participants to post Survey 1 on message boards, e-mail copies to those who might be interested, and continue the enthusiasm that has inspired me to take this project from a one-term college paper into something more, whatever that might be. Note: Survey 2 is essentially the same for elves, dragons, and vampires) Works Cited hagnon, Napoleon A. Yanomamo: The Fierce People. Thomson Learning Inc. 1997.