In regards to more people being understanding and accepting of modern Therians, we as a community need to be careful and mindful of how we present ourselves. This includes the use of terms and phrases. People may come across the not so common word Therianism. Most use the term Therianism to simply indicate inclusion within the community. However, in the wrong context, people might think that Therians are all spiritual and that Therianthropy is an organized religion or ideology, which is incorrect.
Anuolf says the following, "Therianthropy has never been an -ism. It's not an ideological movement, principle, or system in which someone can choose to be a part of. It's not a pathological condition like alcoholism. And it certainly isn't denoting a basis of prejudice or discrimination like racism. Nor is it necessary to use -ism in order to make it into a noun since therian/therianthropy is already a noun."
As a community, we should use words carefully because that can have a significant impact on how we are perceived by the public.
How we present ourselves to the world also recently extends to the wearing of tails and ears. This is a fad that was first seen not by people who identified as animals, but people who were into goth culture and roleplay. These people are known as teenwolves. They don't actually identify as nonhuman. All Therians should be respectful of other people. There are appropriate times and places to outwardly express oneself, but sometimes the tail needs to be left at home.
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Intro to Modern Therianthropy as a Personal Identity
Non-FictionThis book begins to examine the identity phenomenon and ontological phenomeon known as Modern Therianthropy and dispels a few common misconceptions about the people known as Therianthropes.
