#honestly i don't think we need some sort of revolution where we educate kff folks and shame them if they don't use another term

[peculiareyezer]

ok so. 1. we have terms for "kinning for fun": funlinking. otherhearted and many, many others if that term doesn't apply. they are very welcome in the alterhuman community, and are even allowed to say they don't want to be part of the alterhuman community/use those terms and do their own thing, but if they aren't 'kin then they really shouldn't be calling themselves "kin". 2. the "kinning for fun" crowd are sometimes extremely hateful and ableist/saneist towards alterhumans (involuntary especially). they want "kin" to be their silly little word and if you Dare suggest it has a different meaning they get really defensive about it. i think i'm allowed to want to gatekeep our terms from those people.

now, of course i believe that sometimes a 'kin identity can start as fully voluntary/for fun. hell, before i figured myself out i thought i was doing a lot of this "for fun" and wasn't ready to admit to myself or others that it was something more. honestly i don't even care if someone describes themselves as 'kin if it's fully voluntary and for fun, so long as they respect psychological and spiritual kin and don't say bullshit like "oh well kinnies know they aren't actually fictional characters haha" or try to redefine alterhuman terms to exclude "those mentally ill people who think they're ACTUALLY an animal".

... but ultimately i believe maybe we can and should gatekeep a term used to describe spiritual beliefs and/or neurodivergent experiences (or secret third things if someone doesn't fully identify with spiritual or psychological alterhuman labels). i don't really like when people reduce my identity to "having fun" when this is a very serious, involuntary, 24/7 identity that i had to struggle to accept. i have lots of fun with my identity, i like being who i am, but i don't like when people tell me i'm "taking it too far" or "living in delusion" when i talk about the more serious aspects. i really think we should be viewing the appropriation of alterhuman terms as the appropriation of spiritual beliefs/neurodivergent experiences; and gently educating those outside the community that no, those words aren't for them if they aren't willing to do proper research.

if "kin for fun" want their own words then that's great! but if they aren't willing to educate themselves then they should leave our terms alone.

I think “kinning for fun” is actually ok & i dont think it actually has to detract from the serious kinning experience. I fully understand the history of it, I fully understand why it has hurt some- but I also think that fighting the concept of “kinning for fun” is going to just stall progression for “serious” kinship in more general society

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