@vagabond-sun said: “i think this one’s gonna be pretty controversial, but that’s also one of the reasons why it’s important now more than ever. i’ve included some extra links in this instance to explain the rationale behind using the word ‘transspecies’ too, i hope that’s okay and in line with your submission guidlines and whatnot.
Transspecies: crossing the cultural boundaries of species. From [Alt+H] – “Some nonhuman-identifying folk use this label, often to denote that they have, will, or generally desire to modify their bodies to be more nonhuman/less human looking, and are often motivated by species dysphoria. Others may use it to describe a feeling of “being [X species] trapped in a human body”. Many who use the term do so because they are transgender and their species identity parallels this experience.”
if the idea of someone calling themselves transspecies sound objectionable to you – because of the analogy to ‘transgender’, because the idea of species dysphoria sounds illogical, or you object to the kind of body modification this implies – please consider reading the following pieces which are all by nonhuman transgender authors:
lavender – a stand-in for ultraviolet, which is beyond the human vision range. represents ‘superhuman’ creatures, transhumanists, mythical creatures and folks who modify their body by adding markers of nonhumanity
red – for infrared, again beyond the human vision range but in the other direction. represents ‘subhuman’ creatures, earthen animals, folks who ‘rewild’ in line with their identity, and people who modify their body by removing markers of humanity
black – any and all other alter/nonhuman identities. people who may not necessarily make physical changes but who change social roles, language used to refer to themselves, stuff like that. also, it’s the color that contrasts most with yellow, which…
yellow compass rose – …represents humanity (i feel yellow has come to represent the human race bc its the default emoji color), and the fact that:
regardless of what our identities are, how ‘far’ we transition and in what direction, we’re united by the shared experience of living in human society, in a homo sapiens body (initially)
this is a new movement and identity space; we don’t really have narratives for it yet. a lot of us are having to forge our own paths in discovering the procedures and technology to do the things we want
the shades between the black and the lilac/crimson represent people who don’t completely reject humanity: people who consider themselves h+, both human and nonhuman, or find humanity’s influence important to their identity still. it’s also a statement against anthropo-hierarchy: being transspecies is not a linear becoming ‘more than human’ or ‘less than human’, bc humanity is not the yardstick by which everything else is measured”
thanks to everyone on the alt+h discord who helped me revise this a little.”
