"Whats A Therian?" An Informative Zine For The Confused Layman Zine
To print this zine, right click the image and open in new tab, then download or print from the browser.
Feel free to print and distribute. This is intended as an educational resource.
IMAGE ID: Image of single-page black and white zine. Pages will be described in order they are intended to be read.
The cover reads: " "What's A Therian?" An Informative Zine For The Confused Layman by The Dragonheart Collective" And has a graphic of the theta delta symbol prominently displayed.
Page 1 reads: "You may or may not have heard about "therians". This zine is an introduction to them.
So what is a therian?
Therian (n.) - someone who identifies to some level as a nonhuman animal.
Theriotype (n.) - the specific animal that a therian identifies as.
That sounds scary and confusion! What does that mean?
When people say they identify as something, generally it means that this label is a notable aspect of their sense of self. You might identify as say, a redneck, a goth, 'a bit of a hippie', or catholic in the same sort of fashion."
Page 2 reads: "Its one part subculture flagging and one part experience.
Experience-wise, someone comes to identify as therian because they feel their experiences are best interpereted for them personally through that lens.
Some experiences that might lead people to identify this way:
- Spiritual beliefs(ex; reincarnation)
- Mannerisms and impulses
- Atypical body dysphoria/euphoria
- Coping srategy for neurodivergence or trauma
- Otherwise feeling the animal archetype is a useful metaphor
... And many more!"
An image of a theta delta symbol is displayed with the description "The theta-delta, a symbol therians use to signal that they are a therian."
Page 3 reads: "What does a therian do?
Just exist mostly, like everyone else! There is no activity requirement to be a therian. That said, there are a number of things that a therian may do to express themselves and feel more comfortable in their body such as:
- Wearing specific clothes or costume parts
- Eating foods like what their theriotype eats
- Acting similar to how their theriotype does
- Arranging their room to look like the enviroment of their theriotype.
What one therian finds affirming and helpful may not help another, even if they share a theriotype."
Page 4 reads: "FAQ.
Is this unhealthy? The majority of therians have a positive relationship to their identity.
Is this a LGBTQ+ thing? No, many therians are LGBTQ+, but its not a requirement whatsoever.
Is this a delusion? No, Identity by itself is not a delusion.
Is this a new kids fad? No. Therians have been a thing since the 90s and there are plenty of 30+ therians.
Do therians hate humanity? Misanthropy is not a requirement to be a therian and is discouraged in the wider community.
Whats with the litterbox thing? Someone lied about the reasoning for the kitty litter that was kept in one classroom in case of a school shooter and a lot of people ran with the scaremongering.
Page 5 reads: "I've been hearing scary things on the news/social media about therians, are they true?
As a general rule, any scocking or outrageous news coverage about a niche subculture is going to be more concerned with making a scandalous story than being true.
The negative and mocking press around therians is as a result, largely recycled satanic panic nonsense that is trying to be as outrageous as possible. Much of it is AI generated shock videos, out of context snippets, and straight up lies made to justify bullying and abusing those who are different- often young children being the ones who are targeted the most as they do not know yet to never talk to media people who only want to use them for shock content."
Page 6 reads: "My friend/child/parter/etc just came out to me...
The first thing to do is to reassure them that you still care for them. This is a 'weird' thing that people can get mean about, they are trusting you by revealing this, do not dissapoint them!
Then you should ask what they want you to do about this information. They may just want you to not be rude if they do certain things, or they might want you to use certain language for them, or some other thing.
If your child just told you that they are a therian, be supportive that they are exploring their sense of self. If you are worried about bullying then support them and defend them in front of school staff. If you are worried about online dangers, then help them learn about internet safety."
The back cover reads: "Additional External Resources:
Our nonhuman faq:
https://dragonsroost.neocities.org/alth/nonhumanfaq
A Timeline of The Therianthrope Community:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jDmjl78hQ2BiQtzQMTV3yRQkrIgB9eUZ/view
The Alterhuman Archive:
https://alterhumanarchive.neocities.org/
Wildpath Library:
https://wildpathlibrary.org/
Being an Adult Therian:
https://scandinavianhyena.wordpress.com/2017/11/29/being-an-adult-therian/
The Dragonheart Collective (they/them) is a bunch of weird little animals in the same body. They have been in the community since ~2011 Their website may be found at: https//dagonsroost.neocities.com" with a small styilized flower made of crystals in the about the author section. END IMAGE ID