Othering among Otherkin: The discursive negotiation of the face-threat of exclusionary othering in a demarginalizing internet community

For individuals with marginalized, concealable identities, internet communities have been perceived in the past as havens in which belonging and escape from rejection are achievable enticements. However, even in these communities, rejection and othering occurs. This study examines discursive othering in a community of individuals with marginal, concealable identities who believe themselves to be something other than human - Otherkin. By studying the types of discursive othering found in this community and the politeness behaviors that accompany those types of othering, this study discovers that through increased politeness to one another while othering nonpresent members, the Otherkin community manages to maintain face and promote its own sense of self identity while doing unto others what drove them to seek a safe online community in the first place.