alterhuman is an umbrella term that covers various categories of people who feel they are, in some way, not your typical human being.

otherkin and therians, people who believe themselves to be in some way animal or mythological creatures, are an example of alterhuman identities. the term also encompasses plurality (also called multiplicity), people who believe themselves to be many people in one body.

as with any umbrella term, some of the people described by it don't use it for themselves for various reasons, which is fine. i find it quite useful as a shorthand, myself.

for me, being alterhuman presents in a couple different ways.

for one, i'm a bear therian. (i could also say i'm a bear otherkin, the meaning is functionally the same; i just like how "bear therian" sounds because of the repeated long A noises.)

for another, i am some messy form of plural which i tend to describe as "i have friends in my head". (i'm not DID and i don't experience switching, though i can experience cofronting from time to time.)

there are also times when i can feel other kintypes or theriotypes, which i generally attribute to my malfunctioning sense of empathy.

(i also have various mental illnesses, most notably bipolar 1, so i take all of my experiences with a grain of LiCl.) (that's a good joke, i promise.)

some people take these things very seriously.

these are parts of themselves that are very important to them, and that's great. that's totally fine and cool of them.

i don't really take it very seriously for myself. it's a part of me, and one that has impacted my life in ways that are important to me, but i'm basically just a really cool clown, so everything about me is a little bit of a joke.

i'm not going to devalue or mock anyone else's identity, but i reserve the right to mock my own and make jokes at my own expense.