Physical non/alterhumans just wanted to let you know...
You're valid if you consider your identity a delusion. You're valid if you consider your identity part of your spirituality. You're valid if you consider your identity to be a part of your plurality. You're valid if you consider your identity a coping mechanism. You're valid even if you just consider your identity as physical, without any explanation behind it.
"But what if"- Yes, yes, you are still valid.
Identify as you want (as long as it's not harmful ofc). In any underground community there's always going to be people that favor the more understandable perspective to people outside the community, while throwing others under the bus. Your identity doesn't have to make sense to others it just has to feel right for you.
i dream of long sharp teeth, i dream of a maw with black gums, dripping with saliva. i lie awake and wish for rough paws, that can carry me as fast as they'll go, i lie awake and wish for a cold, wet, black nose that can detect sickness and disease. i hope for the day this dysphoria leaves me, and i can finally be at peace. i do wonder what it would feel like to be a dog, but why do i need to wonder this if i am a dog? am i not a 'real' dog? im my own dog, im a dog in human flesh, with the mind of an animal. an angry, scared, and hungry animal. i wish for the ability to destroy bones with my teeth alone. i wish to be able to eat raw meat without being repulsed by it. i wish my human instinct would disappear. i wish i could transform into a dog whenever i felt like it. but i cant. im stuck. im stuck with a soul that isn't mine and im stuck with a body that'll never change.
listen to me nonhumans of all ages and experiences. you must not let your species dysphoria lead you to misanthropy. you cannot, must not let your personal pain lead you to hate. you must keep a tender love in your heart at all times. letting your species dysphoria warp into misanthropy will lead you to defining your life based on hating how you perceive yourself, rather than loving who you know yourself to be. you must learn to love humans, to love humanity as well. be happy for them having found joy in what brings us discomfort. treasure the varied experiences of this world, and in time, others will begin reciprocating the same feelings for us.