The Law of the Jungle: Self and Community in the Online Therianthropy Movement
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/pome.v14i2.256Keywords:
animal-human, identity, online community, other-than-human, TherianthropyAbstract
The Therianthropy community is comprised of individuals who profess an other-than-human identity, in particular an animal identity. Existing almost solely online, this socio-spiritual identity group experiences tensions between the individual and personal gnosis, and the community and communal consensus, when it comes to evincing the epistemologies, that is, knowledges concerning Therianthropy. By examining how themes of authority, belonging, and both group and self-acceptance are played out in the discourse and activity of this movement, implicit modes of initiation and rites of passage can be envisaged. These modes are vital for the success of this movement, as they continuously solidify a sense of group and individual identity through the clear designation of an in- and out- group. Yet, in doing so, the Therianthrope is held up as a liminal figure, an other-than-human being who resides in a sacred interstitial state. This is the essence of what separates Therianthropes from other humans, and what makes this identity group a challenge to traditional conceptions of initiation and rites of passage.References
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“alt.horror.werewolves Core FAQ” Usenet Archive, University of Utrecht. http://faqs.cs.uu.nl/na-dir/werewolves/core-faq.html.
Barr, David. “So you want to create an alt newsgroup.” Usenet FAQs 1995 http://www.faqs.org/faqs/alt-creation-guide/.
Bearcat. “Keep Rank and Hierarchy Out of Your Signatures and Titles.” The Werelist. http://www.werelist.net/forums/showthread.php?t=31288.
Belanger, Michelle. The Psychic Vampire Codex. York Beach, Maine: Weiser, 2004.
Bloch, Jon P. “Individualism and Community in Alternative Spiritual ‘Magic’,” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 37, no. 2 (1998): 286–302.
Campbell, Heidi. “Challenges Created by Online Religious Networks,” Journal of Media and Religion 3, no. 2 (2004):81–99.
Cowan, Douglas E. Cyberhenge: Modern Pagans on the Internet. New York: Routledge, 2005. http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9780203313459
Elinox. “Why So Many Wolves?” Project Shift. http://project-shift.org/why-so-many-wolves/.
“The Flamewars (notice the capital F).” AHWW 17–18 December 1999. http://groups.google.com/group/alt.horror.werewolves/browse_thread/thread/285e978ee4a23a5a/4827114d07f61ce0.
Fuller, Robert. Spiritual But Not Religious. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.
“Good Werewolf/Bad Werewolf.” AHWW 19 November 1992. http://groups.google.com/group/alt.horror.werewolves/browse_thread/thread/bed5bb1c95457a44/74f3f9110516983c#74f3f9110516983c.
Grimes, Ronald. “Ritual.” In Guide to the Study of Religion, edited by Willi Braun and Russell T. McCutcheon, 259–70. London: Cassell, 2000.
Harvey, Graham. “Coming Home and Coming Out Pagan (But Not Converting).” In Religious Conversion: Contemporary Practices and Controversies, edited by Christopher Lamb and M. Darrol Bryant, 233–46. New York: Cassell, 1999.
“Hello.” AHWW 17 Nov 1992. http://groups.google.com/group/alt.horror.werewolves/msg/cdfc9eb006676c08.
Kipling, Rudyard. The Jungle Book. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998 [1894].
Kirby, Danielle. Fantasy and Belief: Exploring the Relationship between Fiction, Media and Alternative Religion. Durham: Acumen Publishing, 2013.
Laycock, Joseph. Vampires Today: The Truth about Modern Vampirism. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 2009.
——. “‘We Are Spirits of Another Sort’: Ontological Rebellion and Religious Dimensions of the Otherkin Community,” Nova Religio 15, no. 3 (2012):65–90.
“Loners.” AHWW, 10-11 February 1994. http://groups.google.com/group/alt.horror.werewolves/browse_thread/thread/3bc592dca6f9dd14/5f8191033f9de2aa?#5f8191033f9de2aa.
Lupa. A Fieldguide to Otherkin. Stafford: Megalithica, 2007.
Macmorgan. Kaatryn A. Wicca 333. New York:iUniverse, 2003.
Meirya. “Community History and Trends.” Beyond Awakening.https://thehornedgate.wordpress.com/2012/01/28/community-history-and-trends/.
——. “Growth and Reevaluation.” Feather and Flame. http://www.dreamofhorn.com/feathers7.html.
Partridge, Christopher.The Re-Enchantment of the West, vol. 1. London: T&T Clark, 2004.
Project Shift.http://project-shift.org/.
Quil. “One Paw in the Galaxies.” Absurdism. http://www.absurdism.org/therianthropy/galaxies.html.
——. “The Thwack.” Absurdism. http://absurdism.org/therianthropy/thwack.html.
Real Life Therianthropyhttp://rltherianthropy.livejournal.com/profile.
RedFeather. “Therian Elitism.” Project Shift. http://project-shift.org/therian-elitism/.
Rein-Hagen, Mark. Werewolf: The Apocalypse. Stone Mountain, Ga.: White Wolf, 1992.
Savage. “Policy on discussing p-shifting and ‘powers’.” The Werelist. http://www.werelist.net/forums/showthread.php?t=15410.
——. “Welcome to the Werelist—A Basic Guide.” The Werelist.http://www.werelist.net/forums/showthread.php?t=31279.
Scribner, Orion. Otherkin Timeline: The Recent History of Elfin, Fae, and Animal People. https://sites.google.com/site/frameacloud/
Shiro. “Bones Economy—Settings & Rules.” Wulf Howl Otherkin Community.http://c.wulfhowl.com/topic/450-bones-economy-settings-rules/.
Sonne. “Significance of Who and What I Am, and Finding My Theriotypes.” The Sanctuary. http://sonverrid.org/sonne/Misc/journal_6_24_06.htm.
——. “Types of Shifts.” Project Shift. http://project-shift.org/types-of-shifts/.
Strill. “Are you a Therian?” Project Shift. http://project-shift.org/therianthropy/areyouatherian.php.
Swanblood. “How To Find Your Species.” Project Shift. http://project-shift.org/how-to-find-your-species/
——. “Nonhuman Identity: A Guide to Otherkin, Therianthropes and Other Nonhumans for the Social Justice Community.” Swanpinions. http://swanblood.tumblr.com/post/12678128578/.
——. “A Therian Story.” Swanpinions. http://swanblood.tumblr.com/post/15113802094.
Therianthropes United.http://therianthropes.com/.
Therian Wilderness,http://therian-wilderness.proboards.com/index.cgi.
“Theta-Delta.” Therian.Wikia. http://therian.wikia.com/wiki/Theta-Delta.
“This raises an interesting?” AHWW, 5-6 January 1994. http://groups.google.com/group/alt.horror.werewolves/browse_thread/thread/251dc13a08a57b6c/19812545997206c4#19812545997206c4.
Tuckman, Bruce W. “Developmental Sequence in Small Groups.” Psychological Bulletin 63, no. 6 (1965): 384–99.
Turner, Victor. The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure. New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction, 2008.
VanZandt, Wolf. The Therian Timeline. http://theriantimeline.com/.
Van Gennep, Arnold. The Rites of Passage. London: Routledge, 2004 (1909).
Van Gulik, Léon. “On The Pagan Parallax: A Sociocultural Exploration of the Tension between Eclecticism and Traditionalism in Contemporary Nature Religions.” The Pomegranate 12, no. 1 (2010): 49–70.
The Werelist. http://www.werelist.net/forums/.
“Werewolf RPG.” AHWW. 26 November–1 December 1993. http://groups.google.com/group/alt.horror.werewolves/browse_thread/thread/4b4bd1844bd75550/debb60a856767c57#debb60a856767c57.
“What is Project Shift?” Project Shift. http://project-shift.org/about/.
Wulfhowl: An Online Community & Resource Website for Otherkin, Therianthropes, and Vampires. http://www.wulfhowl.com/.
Yaiolani. “How did the Shifter/Were Movement Start?” The Werewolf and Shapeshifter Codexhttp://yaiolani.tripod.com/start.htm.
Zaleski, Jeff. The Soul of Cyberspace: How New Technology is Changing Our Spiritual Lives. San Francisco: HarperEdge, 1997.
Published
2014-01-13
Issue
Section
Articles
How to Cite
Robertson, V. L. D. (2014). The Law of the Jungle: Self and Community in the Online Therianthropy Movement. Pomegranate, 14(2), 256-280. https://doi.org/10.1558/pome.v14i2.256
