What It Means to Be Trans Species

"I feel my selfhood to be discrete from this body. It's not inherently me—it's just a vehicle I'm operating. Plus, what does it mean to be human, anyway?"

Riviera identifies as a dragon. He decided this 15 years ago after having what he describes as prophetic dreams of a past life. As an "otherkin," he is one of the hundreds of Australians who identify as another species—whether from Earth or myth.

Sitting on the grass outside the University of Melbourne, Riviera shows me a large handmade magpie head. "I feel like there is a mix up between otherkins and furries in the media," he says. "For many otherkin, it's a quiet spiritual background to their lives, and not something that they can ever switch off." He puts on an elaborate headdress, explaining that making and wearing costumes is a central part of acting out of his identity. Meditation, ritual dance, lucid dreaming, and trance work also factor in.