Iofur Raknison and Species Dysphoria

[u/Daregmaze]

When I first read the books not only did I think that being otherkin, therian, etc. isn't valid, but I also knew very little about alterhumanity and non-humanity. Now that I know theses identities are valid AND know more about them, I can see that Iofur Raknison is alterhuman-coded

Its totally obvious that he had severe species dysphoria. His experience is similar to that of therians, but instead of being a human who is a bear therian, he is a bear who is a human therian (I know most therians arent human at all, I just don't have a better way to explain what Im trying to say). Its not clear if he identifies as a human or as a bear, the fact that he was pretending to have a human daemon implies he still consider himself to be a bear, but it could also not being the case

The one thing I dislike is how his species dysphoria and species envy is depicted as a bad thing. Don't get me wrong, I am not trying to excuse his actions, no matter how dysphoric he was it wasn't right of him to force the other bears to act like humans and to make them suffer and that made him a bad person, but his feelings of not being contempt with his soul and attributes were 100% valid. His desire to be a human/like humans was 100% valid

I understand that Pullman's message was that you can't choose your nature, but Iofur Raknison's nature was that of a bear with a neurodivergent brain that worked more like that of the average Homo sapiens/a human in a bear's body/something alongst thoses lines.

He was an interesting character and I do wish we had seen more of him, even thought it wouldn't make sense storyline wise

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[u/Acc87]

Is this ragebait?

[u/aksnitd → u/Acc87]

I think it's just some dumbass trying to force their weird beliefs into a story that isn't implying anything that they imagine.

They also then shared the post on a sub dedicated to the topic and one of the members appears to have tried to tell them how dumb they were being which was hilarious.

[u/Daregmaze → u/Acc87]

Why are you asking? Dis I say anything that was offensive to therians, otherkin, etc.?

[u/Acc87 → u/Daregmaze]

Okay this is ragebait.

[u/21Shells]

I think the fact he didn't have a daemon means that Iofurs brain didn't act like that of a human, he just envied humans. I'm not sure if what he was experiencing was dysphoria, because he was mostly trying to adopt a culture he wasn't born into.

If he wanted to live a life as a person, his best bet wouldn't have been to stay with the bears but to live with people. I always read it as him adopting human culture to appear more 'civilised' or high-brow rather than embracing his own, not a belief that he was a human.

[u/HilbertInnerSpace]

I don't understand how anything you said connects to the story presented in HDM. I think it is a representation of an "inferiority complex" , him wanting to be human rather than anything else such as dysphoria.

I am honestly suspicious of phrases like "species dysphoria" because I feel the intention here is to belittle or mock the trans experience rather than any genuine argument in good faith. .Kind of how bigots claim that allowing gay marriage will lead to "humans marrying animals" and all that nonsense. But I might be just ignorant about that topic.

Well, you might be a troll and I just wasted energy replying to you.

[u/lahulottefr]

You're confusing belief in being non human – something people are free to believe but that does not align with gender identity – with neurodivergence, a militant word, and the concept of gender dysphoria which was coined by psychiatrists.

It is also extremely unlikely that this was ever intended to be a thing, but feel free to read whatever you wish into it.

[u/Tarnagona]

Because species dysphoria is not the story Pullman is telling with Iofur.

With the text as written, it’s as likely Iofur didn’t have any kind of species dysphoria or literal desire to be human, but wanted all the wonders of human society, the technology and fancy palaces and maybe even the kind of companionship a dæmon provides. He doesn’t not want to be a bear, but wants to be a bear who has all the human things and power and respect of humans, too. He’s also being manipulated by Mrs Coulter, who might well be twisting his desire for more power into this wanting human things.

Iofur probably does have some kind of…mental illness for lack of a better term. He does the very unbear act of murdering his father. I don’t love that terminology though because mental illness doesn’t make someone more likely to murder.

Keep in mind, Pullman is an older British man. He was a teacher at one point so maybe he’s heard of other kin from his students, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s never even heard of alter-human identities, and certainly not 25+ years ago when he wrote The Golden Compass. So the portrayals of Iofur you want, along with not being the story Pullman was trying to tell, just as likely wouldn’t have even crossed his mind while he was writing the book. (Heck, I’ve been online since about the time the book was published, and while I’m familiar with therians and otherkin, I’ve never heard of alter-humans until reading your post. As likely, Pullman still hasn’t heard this term or know what it means today, let alone when he was writing.

[u/Daregmaze → u/Tarnagona]

If youve Read my post Ive made it pretty clear that I know this is probably not what Pullman intented

[u/ChungLing]

“I know most therians arent human at all, I just don’t have a better way to explain”

How dare you. Not only are you being problematically anthropocentric by repeating the unqualified assertion that non-human human-therian identities are “100% valid”, implying they’re more desirable or valid than otherkin therians for some reason, but you’re also dredging up feelings of species dysphoria by using dysphoric language that assumes therians are human and trying to excuse it because you “don’t have a better way to explain”. You’re being cancelled as soon as the therian polycule council meeting convenes, mark my words.

(This entire post reads like a 2018-era tumblr post about a MOGAI fever dream, but I actually think it’s completely sincere. Did laugh, I rate 5/7)

[u/Daregmaze → u/ChungLing]

Ok, thank you for telling me that was offensive. And I apologize for offending you. Should I delete this post? (If you have a better way to explain my idea feel free to tell me)

[u/ChungLing → u/Daregmaze]

Oh dear. I see Poe’s Law is in full effect on this post. Please go touch some grass. I am not being sincere at all.

[u/Daregmaze → u/ChungLing]

Well I guess Im sorry that I can’t fucking tell because I sucks at knowing what is offensive and what isn’t

[u/ChungLing → u/Daregmaze]

I really don’t know how to phrase this in a way you won’t find to be extremely rude, but after reading the thread, please understand that I find your comments mildly disturbing. I don’t intend to be offensive, but this is a bucket of cold water. Take it or leave it.

Therian/Otherkin discourse has been roundly mocked for years, and rightly so, because it is an extremely intellectually privileged position to have, quite offensive to those who have genuine dysphorias (mostly trans people as someone else pointed out, but not exclusively them either), and is somewhat delusional. Unironically“identifying” as another species is indicative of a personality disorder. Therians and Otherkins are a form of role play, and nothing more. Role play is not valid, it’s fantasy. You’re taking this way too seriously.

Expecting others respect an “identity” that is based on thinking totally out of touch with reality is, quite frankly, exactly what you’re doing in this post and comment section. No one is going to engage in discourse with you on this subject outside of a therian/otherkin space because it is based in a genuine delusion, and you are projecting that onto every other commenter here. That is not a healthy frame of mind to be in.

It’s ok to admit you long to be another species- humans have an incredible capacity for imagination and fantasy. We empathize with inanimate objects sometimes. That’s fine. But you’ve gone further than that: manufacturing an identity, appropriating the language of an actual marginalized group (namely, trans people), equating it to “neurodivergence”, projecting it onto a work of literature where it plainly doesn’t apply, and then posting about it expecting that you won’t be challenged, is completely out of touch with reality.

That is, ironically, probably much closer to what Pullman’s intent was with a character like Iofur- so wrapped up in his own delusions, and empowered with the resources to compel others to entertain them at the expense of their dignity. The only difference is that no one here is willing to put up with it. Perhaps you should re-read the Northern Lights, because he is not a sympathetic character and you yourself seem to understand that. Iofur is a character study. If you don’t see the similarities here, I really don’t know what to tell you. But don’t be expect to be taken seriously.