What sorts of things do you consider part of your identity? (self.zoophilia)
submitted 2016-08-20 18:47:55 by Swibblestein
Naturally, because of the focus of this board, most of the posts here focus on a single element of our character and identity. For some, zoophilia might not even qualify as a part of their identity, for one reason or another, and yet it's the most visible aspect of themselves here.
I thought it would be interesting, and perhaps even a bit humanizing, to ask what other things you consider important to understanding you as a person. No one is a flat character? Be it fascinating or mundane, I'm curious what makes you three-dimensional.
People who consider their sexual/romantic orientation a significant part of their identity are weird. Same with race and gender.
Honestly I tried to remain neutral on that point because I don't want this thread to turn into an argument on that subject. I have my own thoughts on the issue, but I don't think this is the time.
I'm weird.
I would have to say that in my life I'm mostly preoccupied with my own personal romantic pursuits and escapades. I'm not normal though, I'd say. Everything else in life I actually consider to be a big bother to me for the most part. Not that anyone here wanted to hear from me anyway though.
You've always seemed like a nice enough fellow. Why are you being hard on yourself?
I'm not a "fellow" and it feels odd to me to be called that. I'm not welcome in this community, that's the thing. The zoo community it really is a big joke. But since other species attraction is never far from my thoughts I find myself here regardless.
I don't speak for the community (nobody does), but my opinion is that while you have some unique perspectives I certainly do not consider you unwelcome. I have disagreed with you on several occasions, but your input is no less valuable than mine or anyone else's.
Having your own opinions, even if I disagree with them, makes you an asset more than a hinderance so long as things remain rational. I believe our community is strengthened, rather than weakened, by differences.
That certainly wasn't the impression I was left with. My impression was that you all mostly just want to hear parroted ideas. Such is not very stimulating to me anyway, as a zoophilic person I can say that.
Pardon a little speculation on your motivations...
I suspect your belief that others don't want you around is based more in your own projections than in practice. I have noticed that many of your interactions here and elsewhere were short and blunt and it appeared to me that you were being distant and aloof, likely due to expectations that you would be rejected; that in itself can influence subsequent interactions greatly.
While I understand that you had a negative experience to your controversial opinion of homosexuality, I would not presume that rejection of an opinion as a rejection of the person who holds it; that certainly does not apply to me and I suspect it does not apply to many of the other thoughtful people who participate here.
As for parroted ideas, I prefer to interact with people whom I do not entirely agree as it challenges me to examine my ideas more thouroughly, which can expose errors in my reasoning or give me better insight into the idea being discussed. I would take a partly open-minded anti-zoo over a host of yes-men any day; at least with the anti-zoo I would be challenged to examine my perconceptions.
I had no idea that I have seemed distant and aloof. I've always considered myself to not be much of a social people person. But anyway, I'm not really here looking for friends. I wish to understand my orientation and communicate with others who have other species attraction. I am interested in the orientation itself. I wish to understand myself better. This topic is intriguing to me intellectually even though I have this orientation.
However, it is concerning when you come to a group to talk and discuss a topic and the entire group appears to turn a cold shoulder toward you. It seems like it is possible to step on one too many sensitive toes and then no one is open to taking you seriously ever after that. In a place of deeper thinking and discussion, I think it is a shame that this happens. I am PERSONALLY hated here. I'm just interested in a subject that no one else is interested in, and of the few people who are interested, they don't wish to go in their thinking where none have gone before which is different from how I am and what I want to do.
I have no idea what you're on about here, but if you're sold on the idea that you are hated, have at it, though I still do not think it is an accurate description. Are there some assholes in every community? You bet!
It sounds to me like you're complaining that people are ignoring you and disagreeing with you at the same time; that and you appear to be labeling all those who don't act like your personal yes-men as being unthinking fools. It seems condescending to me; perhaps that's not what you intend, but that's how it looks to me. Perhaps the wording you are using is unnecessarily disagreeable in character, if not in content?
Got a subject you want to discuss, if it's appropriate for the sub then make a new post and discuss it; if it's an engaging subject I and others may respond. Thats kinda how this all works. There is no shortage of folks who claim to be oppressed when others do not agree with them.
You have "no idea what I'm on about here?" I was just trying to explain what my point of view on this whole thing is. It makes me think you must be a retard if you couldn't understand what I said in the post I just made. I think it's written pretty clearly.
Wow. I hate this fucking place.
And that's a fine example of what I was just describing.
Have you considered that perhaps you have not made yourself clear? I mean, you know what you are thinking, but the rest of us can only go off what you type. Also, calling a person a retard for engaging with you honestly isn't conducive to maintaining a serious discussion.
And to clarify, "I have no idea what you're on about here" was in regard to your apparent ability to know what everyone else in this reddit thinks and feels. You have a habit of being very abusive when others do not share your opinions and yet, some people treat you fairly and with respect. If that is being hated I sure wish we all were absolutely despised.
Edit:
Are you somehow compelled to be here under threat of harm? I do not wish you to leave, but if you are so miserable here, why on Earth do you persist?
All of the discussions on here in my opinion are extremely boring. I don't know why or how people even come up with these posts. I wish I could find a place where they really talked ideas. Aaarrgghh. >.<
As to your edit..... I wish I knew.
Fellow is just a polite way to refer to someone. I don't know why you object to it, exactly.
Because ursusem is an asshole.
This really is a horrible community. Or at least some of the zoophilic characters are. Oh well.
For me, I've always understood fellow to mean a "man" rather than a woman. I'm not a man. So I guess that is an important aspect of my identity. It is kind of a big aspect. Sorry, I guess I've been exposed to a different kind of English. I had no idea people understood that term as gender neutral.
To be fair, the gender-neutral variant meaning "peer" that I use is a less common version of the word. I have actually been trying to come up with a replacement polite term to refer to people that is more clearly neutral, but I haven't found anything that works too well... Best I've found is simply "person". I should probably go with that more often, honestly, but it always seems slightly off when I use it.
I'd be offended if someone never wanted to refer to me as a girl/lady/woman. These are not bad words. It isn't a bad thing to be those things. We don't have to make life harder than it is. Just my opinion.
Sure, those are fine words, but I tend to avoid them for the same reason I avoid boy/gentleman/man. I often don't know a person's gender, so it would be rude to assume anything of them, until they tell me.
However, now that you've told me what you prefer, I'll make a point to try to remember it.
I have more things to say on this topic but in order to not start another shit storm because I'm always questioning the mainstream viewpoint of society, I will just not indulge. Thanks anyway.
I'd be interested to hear what you have to say.
Keep in mind I'm an open minded person, and certainly I don't have trouble going against mainstream viewpoints. It might even be worth mentioning that I don't consider myself fully male or female - somewhere in the middle, really - so I already sort of disagree with the mainstream thought on the matter that has a binary between the two.
Point being, at least from me, you would get no vitriol.
In my opinion, the mainstream view these days is that it is false that gender exists as a binary. So yes I would get vitriol from you, probably. I fully and strongly identify with the gender that I was born as (or as you people like to say now- the gender I was "assigned" at birth). Anyway...
Hm. I wouldn't qualify that as a mainstream view. I think most people would think that gender exists as a binary, though they might not articulate it that way. Indeed, the people who tend to talk about such things are those who don't agree with that concept - with most people never even thinking about it.
It's easy to think that the minority is the majority when they're loud, in other words. Though of course I could be wrong - I've not seen much in the way of opinion polls on the matter - but I would be quite surprised if that were the case.
Anyway, on your personal case, first of all, again, perhaps I didn't make this clear. I am an open-minded and easygoing person. I am very nearly impossible to offend. It is one of the things that people will say to others when introducing me. "Hey, this is Swibblestein, don't worry about offending him". So again, you will get no vitriol from me.
Anyway, point being, there's nothing wrong with fully and strongly identifying with the gender corresponding to your sex. Most people do. A very small minority do not though.
I don't really see the conflict here, honestly.
It's in the mainstream because you see it all over the media these days. I think Facebook has all the options of gender that people can pick from. It is the "new thing" that everybody is supposed to accept as the new normal now and accept it without question. We're talking "preferred pronouns" and even this whole bathroom issue within American politics now. Anyway I won't go on about this topic.
You seem to simultaneously want to vent about this topic while at the same time being uncomfortable discussing it.
Which is fine. You've vented, and I'll not press the issue then.
I think it depends. Most of the people I've heard from who consider gender a big part are transgender people, and that makes sense imo, since realizing you're trans and the actual transitioning process would be huge aspects of your life. With an experience like that I can understand why someone would say their gender is a major part of their identity. If someone isn't trans and considers their gender a big part of identity, I would be curious why. For me gender is a part of identity, it's part of what makes me myself and how other people perceive me, but not a major one. Same with sexuality. They're part of my identity but not in the "top ten."
The things that make me up are complicated. I pride myself on intellect and sense of humor, but feel utterly lacking when it comes to physical strength or speed. My politics are pretty centrist, leaning liberal and libertarian. My personality is INTP, according to the last Myers-Briggs test I took, which means I'm quiet and reserved with some decent ideas. IQ is in the top percentile of my peers, but not on the level of Newton or Wittgenstein.
I work in accounting, basically crunching numbers to make the trucks roll (as my professors would put it). In addition, I do theater as a hobby, singing and acting (my favorite work so far has been in Sweeney Todd). I also play a lot of video games (Binding of Isaac being a current favorite), as well as watching YouTube for entertainment and information. Favorite channels for me include Game Grumps, Armoured Skeptic, Sargon of Akkad, and YourMovieSucksDOTOrg.
That's pretty much it, in a nutshell. I could probably go on for an hour on any one of these topics, but that's enough to get a good idea of who I am as a person.
Wow, you're actually very similar to me in a lot of ways. Like, a lot of ways. :D
Neat. Good to know.
I sense sarcasm O.o
Nope, just terseness. :P
personally, it's a huge part of my identity, but a part I keep to myself. I'm not going to go round waving a pro zoo sign but it's hard not to be reminded of my zooness while I'm checking out dogs when out and about.
Sure, that's fine, and I respect that, but also not what this question is asking about.
ah sorry, didn't really get what you were after.
Not a problem!
We talk so much about zoophilia, I just thought it'd be interesting to hear the other things besides zoophilia that make us who we are.
me irl (on my old reddit account). I'm very introverted and don't really talk with people, unless they share specific interests with me because I don't have anything to say when I don't care. And more and more I don't care about anything anymore, also I don't sleep enough. Which reminds me how much I feel like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqX5mY4isbk. Also Chris Pratt is an asshole who kills animals for pleasure which reminds me of how much the world sucks.
If I went to parties I wouldn't be fun at them...
Edit: I saw, someone posted a politicalcompass link. Yea, I knew my result already.
Since my early teens, when I got my first Commodore VC 20, I´m a video game afficionado and also a collector of video game consoles. I even own the more uncommon and unusual ones, like NEC´s PC Engine and an Atari Jaguar. I love the old arcade type of games, especially Shoot ´em ups like Thunderforce III and Musha Aleste.
I read alot. My favorite authors are Robert Anton Wilson, Terry Pratchett (Discworld!) and James Joyce. I´m also a part of what you´d call the "psychedelic movement" and thus a fan of Timothy Leary´s writings.
I consider myself an agnostic, not an atheist; I prefer my "religion" being based on personal experience rather than just following beliefs and dogmata. Thus, I lean towards shamanism...but not the pop cultural one where you can "choose" your "spirit animal". I also have a strong connection to eastern philosophy and practiced several martial arts when I was young, owning black belts in judo, jiu jitsu and Bujinkan ninjutsu.
I really like tattoos, I´m nearly full from the beltline up to the neck, I even learned to tattoo from a good tattoo artist myself, but haven´t made up my mind yet whether I should invest in my own tattoo shop. I´m pretty good at drawing (mostly horses ;) ) and have done a few tattoos on some of my friends which they seem to like very much even.
My musical tastes are pretty diverse, but focus mainly on "hard" music like old death metal and grindcore.In the nineties, I played guitar in some local death metal bands, one of them being widely known even overseas. But I also like Nine Inch Nails very much, as well as good electro (Drum ´n Bass, Frankfurt school of deep trance) and Digital Hardcore (Atari Teenage Riot, Rabbit Junk, etc.).
I´m totally into "mindfuck" movies like Fear and Loathing, Donnie Darko, Pi (not Life of Pi) from Darren Aronofski, Fight Club. I also like stoner movies ,worship the old Cheech and Chong stuff, Half Baked ,Dave Chappelle and his show, political "comedy" (John Oliver, Stephen Colbert etc...) and visit German "Kabarett" /political cabaret artists whenever they are near my area. Here´s an example from Volker Pispers with english subtitles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SG0Ql0VfcRg Some would say I´d like to laugh a lot.
My political views I´d describe as somehow "incoherent", I have libertarian views on some issues, but on others, I´m pretty much "conservative", as some would point out. I see myself as an anarchist , have read Kropotik and Bakunin and mostly agree with them on many things, but I´m also aware of human nature and how much egoism contradicts the anarchistic ideals they proposed. I oppose the "demystification"/profanation of sexuality as a tradeable good, something you can buy and sell, for example ´cause I can see where this leads us into every day.
Although my posts in here may not indicate it, I´m generally a very openminded guy, a bit extroverted maybe. I don´t have problems to socialize with all types of folks, I get along with almost anyone I meet. But I´m also an advocate of healthy scepticism and don´t buy stuff people tell me just because the dogma of "openmindedness" tells me to do so. For some, I can be quite a pain in the ass....at least that´s what I´ve been told. ;)
Well, that´s basically it: video games, tattoo culture, metal and electronic "hard" music, smoking weed and doin´acid every now and then, reading and watching everything that fucks with your mind...;)
i like threads like this. it's definitely nice to get to know people better -- as more than just fellow zoophiles. there's a chatroom elsewhere (no, not there) where the topic is very infrequently zoophilia. it's nice.
i am somewhat paranoid and hesitant about giving more, potentially identifying, information about myself, but it's probably pretty unwarranted... right?
shrug
i'm with /u/actuallynotazoophile ... my zoophilia is definitely a big part of my identity, but it has to do with my love (platonic and otherwise) of animals (and nature) in general. .. which is kind of funny considering how little time i tend to spend outside since i'm often glued to my computer. it's been one thing or another since i first got one back in 1992 -- video games at first, then when i learned more about using the internet, newsgroups, where i first met like-minded people (how wonderful that was). i lost contact online with anything related to zoophilia for around 10-15 years, while my computer's primary draw returned to video games (MMORPGs at that point). i loved exploring more than fighting, and making backing stories for my characters. it wasn't until about 2011 or so that i finally got sick of being isolated enough to get over my shyness and reach out in the zoo community again, which has been life changing (positive).
i'm definitely an introvert. somewhat intelligent, but i stopped using it as much at some point, and like muscles, it's no longer as strong as it probably could have been. now i'm too lazy and distracted to bother most of the time. i get comfortable in my zone and don't reach out too much unless it's something i'm really interested in (like /u/fuzzyfurry ). i'm OCD about a lot of things (total grammar nazi except for the whole capitalization thing). i'm pretty liberal, politically. music is my biggest love aside from animals.
for the fun of it, i was -5.38, -4.62 on the political compass scale (almost dead center of the lower-left quadrant).
also, this - https://www.16personalities.com/ resulted in INTP-T.
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I figure a lot of my personality came from a poorly understood latent chronic infection, like chronic toxoplasmosis
So many people talk about "identity" and I'm never quite sure what it's supposed to mean. I'm guessing like, the core things that make me "me" that I consider most important? Sexuality (both zoo and bi) is a part, but I'd consider most of my identity to be what I'm passionate about, like animals and science and being outdoors. I consider where I'm from/my family history part of my identity, as well as my mental illnesses because I've been living with them for so long and they really shape how I process the world. Being autistic as well is definitely a big part of my identity. But I'd say the biggest things I consider identity are my passions, my heritage, and my spiritual beliefs/philosophy.
You seem to have understood what I meant, so no worries!
I'm pansexual, genderfluid, a furry and a raccoonkin who has paganlike beliefs..... my spiritual connection with animals is what makes me have Zoo interests..... I have an affinity for Procyonids and Mustelids.... I'm a very creative and imaginative person.... I have Tulpas (which are more complex imaginary friends with independent thought and awareness) that I created to keep me company
Lately, I've come to find labels more annoying when it comes to using them to identify with. Only because of the definition of such labels get lost in subjectivity and relativity, as well as the stigmas and expectations that come socially once using a label to describe yourself. On top of this and speaking of relativity/subjectivity surrounding the definitions of identity labels, I find that what I want out of my sexual/romantic relationships changes often as I am still figuring myself out and so I can never label myself for too long and I imagine that gets confusing for other people, since it is even confusing to me and I'm the person it's happening to.
With that said, right now I'd say I'm attracted to animals romantically and sexually, much more so than humans. As far as humans go, I find that so far I am only romantically attracted to androgynous and feminine people, and sexually attracted to all genders, although still mostly attracted to androgynous and feminine people in that regard. I'm transgender, I don't identify with any gender and use they/them/their pronouns. I deal with multiple physically and mentally challenging issues including being visually impaired and having depression, OCD and PTSD. I tend to politically lean towards radical intersectional feminism, Anarcho-communism and Anarcho-socialism. I'm passionate about art in it's very many forms, philosophy, sustainable living and politics. I'm of African and Native American descent, so that is also important to me politically speaking.
Ah, yes! I have a pet hypothesis that what people include in their sense of self (or at least, think a lot about) are things they have met negative reactions about. Like, if something about you has never been a big deal, you probably think about it less, than if you would've been bullied for it.
Hm... I'm a Sweden Finn (Finnish-speaking minority of Sweden). Working-class background but nowadays I guess I'm academic middle class, even if I don't make much money.
I'm a geek. I love science fiction (especially Star Trek), video games, animation, roleplaying games and science. It is through these interests that I've gotten to know most of my friends. I love talking about games with people!
I'm kinky. It's a big part of my sexuality, to like bondage and pain. Not anything I chose, and I've had this interest since I started to have sexual thoughts in general. I feel at home in the bdsm community, where weirdness is accepted but your kink or personality can never be an excuse for ignoring someone's (lack of) consent.
I'm a therian. This I consider a big part of my identity. I identify as a wolf on the "inside" (whatever that is, brain/soul/???). I used to think it was normal, but as teen when I started to talk about it, I noticed that it is rare indeed to feel like you are born into the wrong species. Some guys even picked on me for hearing rumors about me being a "wolf girl". I've been quite active in the therian community, I don't want others in the same situation to feel as lonely as I did.
I'm a heathen. I worship the old norse gods. I still give priority to science over religion. But I consider religion and mythology to be a source of inspiration and wonder. The polytheist way of thinking is something I've become very used to.
Zoophilia is a part of my identity, but kept secret. If I would see the Zeta-symbol somewhere unexpectedly, I would be excited about that. I feel a need to talk about zoophilia, because it's hard to do so in everyday life. Which is why I'm here. But on the other hand, I don't have an animal partner, so it's not like my life is focused on zoophilia at the moment.
Coming from someone who doesn't know who I am all too much. I definitely know I love animals, and I care about them immensely. I also know I have a connection with canines. I love socializing with them through body language and eye contact. I find them physically attractive and have done so since I was 9. When I walk outside and see someone with a big fluffy dog, I don't ask to pet them, I just stare and get wobbly in the legs, while my heart and thoughts start racing and pounding in my head. I can't help but be very interested at looking at them. It must have been cute when I was a young child, but now I know I creep people out if I stare at them or their dog for too long. >_< Sunglasses help with that.
Since I live with my parents still; I haven't been all keen into expressing myself with anyone, exceptions are on the internet, and with my long distant boyfriend, about it. I am a very straight female who happens to have a very understanding and caring guy in my life. Who accepts me for who I am. This makes it easier for me to live with myself. Before he knew about it, I would cry and tell him he might break up with me if he knew. And it was such a big relief and less strain on my life when I finally told him the honest truth, about what I enjoy and what happened to me in the past with a dog. He does not agree with everything I like, but he told me it will work out and to never be worried about it again. But I am always worried about it. I suffer from depression, anxiety attacks, insomnia and some learning disabilities that do hold me back in life. Hence why I live at home and try to make income for myself. I want my life career to involve animals. Im not all too interesting.. And I am still very young. So I have a lot to learn and figure out.
For anyone who identifies as a Therian. A wolf.. Did you used to become one? >_< As in behavior wise? Did you run outside a lot like a wild person and howl and bark and snarl like a wolf would? Did you use to chase prey animals if you went into that state of mind? Did your or do you still growl at things? I've always felt so weird talking about any one with these things with. My BF is the only person who knows of these characteristics. My family told me I acted like a dog or a wolf before I knew how to talk.. And it stayed with me up until now. So it would be amazing to know or even hear someone out that they to have similar stories or characters to them such as I. Thank you.
Hmm, as a paranoid person on the internet, I am rather hesitant about sharing, but I'm sure some of it wont matter that much.
I consider myself a therian (take a guess what species ;) ) for pretty much my whole life (didn't know it was called therian) As a kid, I was known as the doggy boy which meant I was being picked on randomly, until I bit back (there were always easier targets) I always preferred company of dogs, over that of human company.
These days I'm that quiet neighbor that you can go to if you need something, for a talk or a coffee or anything, local people tend to want to socialize with me for some odd reason.
Zoophilia is that quiet part of me -no one- knows about me (exept for one friend) and I rather keep it that way. No one needs to know what I do behind closed doors, and neither do I want to know of others. I am somewhat conservative to my ideas, wont really change them until I find a good reason to do so.
Sexually I only gotten a strong bond with a female canine once, and even tho I tried with humans (both ways) lots of times, I just cant get myself to it as where this female it was all natural.