Otherkin

Otherkin is a subculture of people who identify as partially or entirely nonhuman. Some otherkin believe their identity derives from non-physical spiritual phenomena, such as having a nonhuman soul^: 73–76 or reincarnation.^: 57–58 Some otherkin give non-spiritual explanations for themselves, such as unusual psychology or neurodivergence,^: 80–86 or as part of dissociative identity disorder or multiplicity.^: 76–79 Many otherkin say they are physically human.^: 66–72

The otherkin subculture developed primarily as an online community during the 1990s.^: 50 It had partly grown out of some small groups of people who described themselves as elves during the 1970s and 1980s.^: 49 During the late 2000s, the word has come to be treated as an umbrella term for some other nonhuman identity subcultures.^{: 107–108}