When Shakira wrote that “auuuuuuu” line in ‘Loba’, she didn’t know she was writing a therian anthem, but Shakira has always been a visionary. And who better than the recent singer of ‘Zoo’ to put music to the new fashionable cultural phenomenon that this week has totally stolen the spotlight from Gabriel Rufián.
Therians are people who spiritually identify with animals and express their animal identity by wearing masks or tails and behaving like their related animal, even in the middle of the street. In this sense, El Periódico has scored the best headline of the week reporting that a “therian” crocodile has been attacked while crawling along a zebra crossing. It has happened in Mexico, and it is in other Latin American countries, such as Argentina, where there seems to be a greater concentration of therian people.
@alancruzmx HAHAHAHAHA #fyp #humor #comedy #joke #therian ♬ original sound – Alan Cruz
Therians – whose name comes from the Greek word for “animal” – have existed as an organized community on the Internet since at least the late 1990s, although human-animal identification is not new at all and finds parallels in Kesha’s career spiritual cultures such as totemism. These days, the therian community has jumped into the mainstream and everyone is talking about them, thanks to their growing visibility on platforms like TikTok, where people’s reaction ranges between mockery, curiosity and skepticism: the networks are going so fast that therians seem to have become a meme rather than a subculture.
There is also a small therian community in Spain, yes, but at the moment the phenomenon is not consolidated. According to RTVE, the demonstrations called today in several Spanish cities such as Madrid and Barcelona have been a failure and, in some cases, have ended with altercations and cancellations for fear of more attacks. RTVE has interviewed a teenage boy who identifies as a gray wolf and he has played down the matter: “People think that we think we are animals and that we go on all fours all day, but in reality it is a spiritual connection, nothing more,” he stated.
His explanation connects with the clarification that therians are not like furries, since the latter live it as a hobby or entertainment, while therians point to a spiritual connection with the chosen animal, reflected in some of its features.
@annadeelgado An afternoon the truth misses😂 #therian #therians ♬ New Sun – Chihei Hatakeyama
@fox_cor All therians are valid 🐾. As long as you don’t hurt third parties, you are valid, loved and loved <3 #fyp #therianthropy #alterhuman #therian #trend ♬ original sound – ghzl
Therian fever is already being captured by artists. Without going any further, the Mexican drag queen Alexis Mvgler released a song called ‘Therian’ this Friday in which she declares: “Mom, I’m sorry, I think I’m therian: because I’m a bitch,” before starting to meow like a cat, bark like a dog, moo like a cow or grunt like a pig. Not even Doja Cat dared to do that. The song is pure LGBTQ sass directed at the “bitches, bitches, wolves, cats, pigs, vipers and lizards” who listen to it. Musically, it is a kind of bounce passed through the filter of the most firecracker neo-perreo.
It is not known if the Therian community will identify with this song, but in any case they have their own musical taste of “relatable” songs, not always of sexual content, or rather never. A Spotify playlist followed by 53,000 people actually reveals a special interest in folk-pop and cuqui indie: there is ‘Loba’ by Shakira, of course, but also ‘Running with the Wolves’ by AURORA, ‘Dirty Paws’ by Of Monsters and Men or several songs by the Filipino-Irish freak folk artist Yaelokre, whose visual work has a strong animalistic charge. Another playlist includes songs by MARINA, Mother Mother or Clairo.
One of the protagonists of both playlists is Autumn J, an “alterhuman” artist who identifies as a therian and is an 18-year-old girl who lives in Seattle. It appears that her real name is Autumn Raine Johnston and is therefore not AI. Their repertoire, between pop-punk, indie and folk, includes therian anthems such as ‘Animal in Me’, ‘Therian Love’, ‘Fox Paws’ or ‘I’m a Therian Cat’ that add up to several million views. Her Spotify bio bluntly states that she is the “first popular Therian artist ever” and will therefore “always be an inspiration to new Therian artists and fans.”
Beyond the viral anecdote and the funny headline, the therian boom seems to have to do with the need to belong to something, even if that need suddenly involves walking down the street on all fours. It is no coincidence that most – if not all – therians are teenagers. Whether a subculture in the process of consolidation or a fad amplified by the algorithm, its dynamics are not too far from those of any other urban tribe, sexual or not.
@its_autumn_j “Little Animal” coming out FEB 23! #therian #therianthropy #songs #release #alterhuman ♬ original sound – Autumn J.
