#respect you a ton Orion and love the citations all in one place but this post is missing that that its NOT used with its original intention

[monsterqueers]

Yeah we are gonna second Wirsindkrieg here- it might have been INTENDED as an opt-in label, but its really not used that way at all in our experience.

Its used beyond its original intentions now and there is no getting around that.

Its colloquial use is by default inclusion. You cannot go five feet without someone saying alterhuman on a post/poll/etc and meaning 'all those with nonhuman or fictional related identities' and not JUST people who identify as Specifically alterhuman.

You either have to accept being called that or you are barred from huge amounts of the community.

It may have been intended as opt-in, but its USED as opt-out now, and unfortunately thats unlikely to change because we dont HAVE another easy way to refer to all those with nonhuman or fictional related identities, so its become the default.

The way its used now and the way it was intended to be used are just not the same anymore.

What we really need to be talking about is what to do now about that. Original intentions are all well and good, but the functional use is different, so the conversation should take that into account.

Masterpost about the meaning and origin of the word alterhuman

Folks have been getting confused about the meaning and purpose of the umbrella term and identity label "alterhuman." Often, people wrongly claim it doesn't include groups that it was originally created to let in. Another common wrong idea is that folks think they're personally being opted into it against their will (which is contrary to the word's design). I've even seen the word's coinage attributed to several surprised people who say they didn't invent it! This masterpost will stop this misinformation by linking to primary sources with dates and attribution. These links explain a lot about its meaning, so I recommend that you open and read each of them.

The word "alterhuman" was coined by Lio (it/its). At the time, it was writing under the name Malchior (username Phasmovore), which you'll still see on the original post. Lio is a member of the Crossroads System (XRDS or X-RDS). This is a link to the post where Lio originally coined the word on September 26, 2014, explaining about how the word does and doesn't relate to furries and plural systems. If you read no other link in this post, read that one!

Here are a couple more posts where the coiner of "alterhuman" explains the meaning of the word.

In this post from February 19, 2023, Lio explains about the intracommunity tensions that brought about the need to unite under this umbrella term.

In this post from May 27, 2023, Lio explains that the word does not equal nonhuman.

The group that popularized the word the most was Alt+H, an organization for alterhuman advocacy that was active from 2016 to 2023. Alt+H wrote this post on September 21, 2017, in which they explain about how "alterhuman" does not equal "nonhuman," and that it includes voluntary identities.

One of the former writers for Alt+H was Aster, the Flock of Changes. In this post from October 21, 2020, Aster explains that alterhuman is not simply another word for "otherkin," but instead is an umbrella term that includes many more sorts of identities and experiences than otherkin.

To make sure that we don't forget our history, so we quit getting confused about where the word came from, and so we have an occasion to celebrate being our authentic alterhuman selves in whatever creative ways we can, and solidarity with others who do too, I suggest that we start celebrating the date it was coined-- September 26, 2014-- as Alterhuman Day. This one coming up in 2023 will mark the ninth anniversary since Lio coined it. In 2024, the word will be a decade old!

- This masterpost is by Orion Scribner on September 3, 2023.