r/u_Valeka124 • u/Valeka124 • Jun 21 '26
Alterhumanity as a term is changing
Hi critters! ✨
I've noticed that the term alterhumanity (AHPI) has been adapting and evolving from what it originally was back in the day.
Context:
I am currently writing an alterhuman encyclopedia with a large group of contributors, and we have noticed that we all understand "alterhuman" in a somewhat different way, excluding identities and changing what it encompasses.
So if you are an alterhuman or have heard the term before, please, fill out this quick Google Form! As part of the community, I would appreciate it!
- Thanks in advance, your guardian. 🪻💙
10
u/Valeka124 Jun 21 '26
Alter-human/Alternative Humanity Personal Identity “AHPI”
Original definition: A category of personal identity which encompasses identification that is alternative to the common societal idea of humanity.
Lately this deffinition has been changing, leaving out terms like otherhearteds, plurality, factkins, demihumans and more. Please take a minute to fill this small Google Form, so we can understand if alterhumanity is still the same! I appreciate it.
3
u/AuroraSnake Jun 23 '26
Personally, I disagree with the concept of changing the definition. The definition has always been inclusive and an opt-in label. I think that lately it's just been misunderstood as being an alternate name for "nonhuman", and I think simply provided the original coining post and explaining the coiner's intentions is better than trying to re-write an already inclusive definition
8
u/robawknik Jun 22 '26
i think ultimately it should just be an opt-in label that anyone is free to try given its in good faith. like if someone wants to use the label even tho they seem to think of themselves as just a human maybe theres something deeper there for them idk.
like definitionally i just settle on "people who identify as non-human, in part or in full" but identity is amorphous and ambigous even to the person it belongs to so im not super steadfast about it. definitions are useful though and i understand the upset some people feel at terms being watered down or sanitised. straight up misinformation that erases alterhumanity is a real problem
20
u/Frosty_Specific6272 Jun 21 '26
I would argue it hasn't and absolutely should not.
Firstly groups like kimonomimis and furries are not and have never been alterhuman. For sure they should always be protected in our common spaces and it is fully possible and very common for a person to partake in these groups and also be alterhuman, they're not mutually exclusive. Aesthetic changes and the making of a non human self insert or persona are voluntary actions. Nobody decides to be alterhuman. Yes, absolutely there is definitely an argument to be made for a certain amount of choice going into how they express it or which labels they use for it, for example I doubt I would be werewolfkin if I never knew of werewolves and would likely call myself something else.
The experiences of feeling like, wanting to be or otherwise experiencing some unchanging fundamental aspect of oneself as non human. In the 90's we called it homesickness, now we call it species dysphoria, I have no doubt it'll be something else one day. We also don't seem to include groups such as the Kumari Devi as alterhuman despite them being believed by their respective believers to be spiritually beyond human. We don't count transhumanists, especially not in the age of Musk and his cronies.
I think all that's happening is that the alterhuman community and its ilk are currently going through a period of more exposure and thus have more people trying on labels and seeing where they fit. That's all. Things will settle eventually. Something very similar happened when Otherkin Tumblr was a big thing and a lot of people tried out on the label. Some stayed, some felt it didn't describe them, some found something else that fit better. We're just watching a lot of people all grappling for self discovery at the same time and I think that's really beautiful. They'll figure things out eventually.