on idea of human words

[kossai]

crosspost from tumblr . ( original post )

preface : this is specifically in answer to A. prior ask about animal-centric attitudes in physical nonhuman spaces , which is honestly alterhuman-wide also , and B. new physical nonhuman community , which right now have similar animal-centric lean in language and rules , and want to break down problems with this . will clarify that did also show this to admin , just easier to make things as public post due to how kossai write , so hopefully will see some more change . because of this , there is more mention of physical nonhumans , but still broadly applicable .

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person / people is not just human word . many alterhumans and nonhumans still prefer people over terms like animal . not all alterhumanity is nonhuman in nature , not all nonhumanity is animal in nature , and even fellow animal folk can still have preference to acknowledge personhood .

as well , refusal to say person and comparisons to animals can be very touchy subjects for alterhumans who experience any number of oppressions , especially on basis of race . to broadly refer to others as creatures or beasts , even if intend under alterhuman context , is not neutral action .

on top of that , some physical nonhumans naturally belong to humanoid species . this means words for body parts like hands , feet , and nose might still be preferable , and to insist on use animal terms in place is disrespectful . this is not to persuade anyone else to personally accept these words , but not fair to consider these words " human only " .

to set standard of inclusive language for community space , especially in this case physically nonhuman one ... do not focus on which words human and which ones nonhuman , because there will always be exceptions . instead , would be more inclusive to :

• include words like people in community-wide addresses - such as people and creatures , rather than just creatures . kossai find that addition of folk also can soften implications in these contexts , mileage may vary on this one - creature folk , animal folk , etc .
• focus on fact that there will be range of users with range of species , and that these users may choose to use any range of words and descriptors .
• and set standard to follow lead of these users , whether that means whale , cheetah , vampire , or indeed person . to intentionally refuse to call someone as person should be just as punishable as any other intentional refusal to respect terms of choice .

no need to distinguish any of these as human or nonhuman , as that create confusion , frustration , and feelings of isolation even within community .