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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[1]: 73–76 [better source needed] or reincarnation.[1]: 57–58 Some otherkin give non-spiritual explanations for themselves, such as unusual psychology or neurodivergence,[1]: 80–86 or as part of dissociative identity disorder or multiplicity.[1]: 76–79 Many otherkin say they are physically human.[2][1]: 66–72
The otherkin subculture developed primarily as an online community during the 1990s.[1]: 50 It had partly grown out of some small groups of people who described themselves as elves during the 1970s and 1980s.[1]: 49 During the late 2000s, the word has come to be treated as an umbrella term for some other nonhuman identity subcultures.[1]: 107–108
/--/Some feel that their difference is purely spiritual, while others believe there is a genetic difference between themselves and humanity. /--/