“As a veterinary doctor from the province of Misiones, I fully support the movement that these kids are making. It is a cultural change, we must understand it,” said a missionary veterinarian, originally from the town of San Vicente, who was recorded for social networks offering a service to the Therian community. Next, the specialist proposed: “I am going to offer them at zero cost, free, everything that is castrations, sterilizations and anti-rabies vaccinations. For the parents, who are lost, I offer them a microchip; we put it on them and they are registered.”
With a humorous tone, the viral video is one more grain in the debate about the phenomenon of therians in the country. In the middle of 2026, social networks and the squares of several cities became the scene of this curious trend, which exploded in recent months. The “Therian” concept refers to people who maintain an internal identification with animals, both discovery and self-perception, that transcends simple fad.
Although for many observers the term may sound extravagant or provocative, the participants themselves and several experts maintain that it is an experience of profound identity, beyond a “role-playing game” or an internet trend. The origin of this movement dates back to the early years of the internet in the nineties, when forums like Alt.Horror.Werewolves They allowed people who felt a psychological or spiritual connection to real animals to begin sharing their experiences and developing common terminology to describe that feeling.
The term derives from therianthropy —from Greek therio (“beast”) and anthropos (“human”)—a concept that originally referred to the transformation into an animal in mythological or folkloric contexts and that was reappropriated by these digital communities to talk about internal identity with a non-human species. Unlike other subcultures with an internet presence such as furries, therians emphasize that their experience is identity and personaland not a simple representation or hobby. For many, identifying as a wolf, cat, fox or other species has to do with an internal sense of affinity that is expressed psychologically or spiritually, even if they consciously know that their body is human.
The recent explosion of the phenomenon has a lot to do with viralization on platforms such as TikTokInstagram and X, where hashtags related to therians They have accumulated millions of views. Videos of young people with animal ears, tails or masks moving on all fours in public spaces, parks and squares captured the attention of users around the world, and led to this identity, until now quite niche, becoming a topic of mass conversation in countries such as Argentina, Uruguay, Mexico and Spain.
Beyond the visual, an emerging “custom” within the community is what they call shifts or intensifications of animal identity, subjective experiences in which they feel their sense of self temporarily approaching those internal animal qualities. Many also develop theriotypes —individual categories that label the type of animal with which they feel a connection—and share these experiences in Discord groups, specialized forums and private communities on networks.
This digital presence translates into physical spaces: informal gatherings of therians have already been reported in places such as plazas de Buenos Aires or open meetings have been announced in Buenos Aires cities such as Saint Nicholaswhere participants plan to meet to share experiences, carry out joint activities and socialize with others who share the same internal identity. At the same time, these events have attracted both curious people and critics who see these congregations as a cause for ridicule or social concern.
The impact of the phenomenon has been twofold: on the one hand, many young people find in the Therian community a support network and a space to explore their identity in an increasingly digitalized and fragmented world; On the other hand, it has generated critical reactions and debates about the youth mental healththe disconnection with reality and the limits between personal identity and public behavior. Some media have warned about possible media exaggerations or sensationalist interpretations of the phenomenon, and even about its political use in critical discourses towards contemporary cultural trends.
Although it is difficult to predict whether this trend will persist or stabilize as another subculture within the broad spectrum of online identities, the truth is that therians have achieved something rare: transforming a marginal concept of the internet into a global conversation about how new generations search for meaning, belonging and alternative ways to express their self-esteem and sense of self in the digital age.
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