Hi sorry, can you explain why kin is a slur? Bc I saw you tag it as a slur and I've been using that word to say I relate to fictional characters. And also, what's a different term to use instead? Thanks!
Alright everybody, buckle up! Time for a history lesson.
Note - Multiple slurs mentioned in this post, any slur used is one I am able to reclaim.
Slurs Used: Kinnie, tranny, bitch, faggot, retard, savage.
So even if kinnie wasn't a slur, it still has very problematic origins. The word was actually created by a now deleted Tumblr using the handle otherkringe. O.K. created the word to be purely derogatory. It's also a spin-off off of the slur tranny. So not only is the word kinmisic but it is also transphobic.
O.K. later deleted their blog and said they ever regretted creating the word but it was too late. The word had then since been picked up by a now deleted subreddit called r/othercringe, taking O.K.'s handle essentially, but spelling it correctly.
The slur has since then been used towards many therians, otherkin, alterhumans, nonhumans, and towards many others within the Kin Community. Although, I would say it has been successfully reclaimed in the same way slurs such as bitch and faggot have been reclaimed, no longer really holding the weight that they used to (especially amongst the younger and newer members), they are still very much a source of pain and a reminder of the harm for many.
Now, to get into why language such as "I kin XYZ" or "I'm thinking of kinning XYZ" is harmful, we have to direct our attention to another group that has unfortunately done much harm to the Kin Community as well.
When KFF first started to kind of become a thing, therians and otherkin welcomed them into the community with smiles on our faces and our arms open with eagerness, more that willing to extend welcomes and compassion towards these individuals.
Unfortunately, this trust proved to later be foolish. As we were stabbed in the back by many early KFFers. Not only did they too call us kinnie in a derogatory fashion - but they extended it by calling us other things such as delusional and laughing in the faces of spiritualkin and psychologicalkin alike whenever we shared our experiences.
With their growing presence, came the phrases that many use today. Co-opting our language and STEALING it from us. It honestly, probably, wouldn't even be hated as much if these hurtful things had never happened. But unfortunately, they did, it's a reminder to many on how early KFFers stabbed us in the back, stole from us, and then tried to erase our culture from the inside out.
In fact, terms like -link (funlink, fictionlink, etc), -hearted (otherhearted, facthearted, etc), and even otherkith were actually purely created to try and get people to stop using language like "I kin XYZ" and "this is my kin list" and other such language.
"Wow 'erase our culture'? Don't you think you're being a little over dramatic there?"
Not at all. The Kin Community, has been around since the 70s. And on top of that, many spiritual beliefs that have been around for even longer that helped shape the community (animism, reincarnation, etc) have been around for hundreds of years and were shitted on by early KFFers by proxy with their actions. If we can admit that 70s culture exists, we can acknowledge that the Kin Community also has a culture.
And I would say that much of it has been successfully erased, to be quite honest. When you ask somebody what it means to be kin these days (in the context of therianthropy and otherkinity) most people say that it's 'really relating to a fictional character'. Make no mistake, that is wrong.
And many therians and otherkins have since been trying, some of us for years now, to undo the damage that many early KFFers did to our community. A community that, for many of us, was our only sanctuary when we were younger.
I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with using the word kinnie to describe yourself or to use it in general in a lighthearted manner, especially when amongst your private circle of trusted ones. We've seen this happen with many slurs. Tranny, faggot, retard, savage, and others.
What I am saying, is to be careful. Because for many of us, that word is still a sore spot. For many of us, myself included, it is very much a "call me that again and (at best) I'll block you on everything and never speak to you again and (at worse, if able) I'll fucking punch you in the face".
It's important to remember the history of the kinnie slur and the hurt and the damage that came with it and is still associated with it even if it has been successfully reclaimed.
And don't get me wrong, like I said last night, many of us are absolutely grateful that you will never have to experience the "Therians & Otherkin vs Kin For Fun Folk" skirmish many of us went through. And we are genuinely grateful that many modern KFFers are much nicer and much more respectful.
But the origins are still harmful and many of us don't want it reclaimed. We want it dead. We want that harmful language to die, we want the slur to die. We just want to be done with it and it can be infuriating when people insist on keeping it alive.
But anyways, that's your history lesson. I hope it provided to be useful and I hope you have wonderful rest of your time zone. /gen
