Why do people enjoy Animal Roleplay? Part 2 – Psychology

Welcome to Part 2 of Why people enjoy Animal Roleplay!

In Part 1 we went through some common reasons people enjoy Animal Roleplay and BDSM. 

If you haven’t read Part 1 you can find it below;

https://animal-role-play.com/2020/01/20/why-do-people-enjoy-animal-roleplay-part-1-kink-and-bdsm/

In Part 2 we are going to go through some common ways people enjoy Animal Roleplay including;

• Removal of day to day restrictions/expectations
• Emotional release
• Relaxation
• Escape from self
• Expression self-hood 
• Adult Play and Physicality

I will try (try) and control myself and only talk a little bit about each of these so this post doesn’t become too long

Removal of day to day restrictions

When I say restrictions I’m not talking about the fun kind..

I mean the  unspoken expectations of how one should behave, think and feel at all times to be ‘good’ 

A ‘good’ parent, employee, boss, partner etc

Whatever label people give you it always seems to come with a long ass list of what you can and can’t be.

But this list of dos and don’ts doesn’t really apply to animals or pets.

No matter what any animal is doing pretty much everyone will always love them and think that they are the cutest baby in the whole wide world!! 

Take my cat for example

He wails outside my bedroom door 

EVERY 

SINGLE 

TIME 

I’m about to get lucky 

and my partner still thinks he is the cutest thing ever??

  –  yes my cat is a voyeuristic cock block; don’t ask..

Animal roleplay allows us to step into that moment, to become whatever our immediate desire is and

To have all of that unconditional acceptance for whatever it is you are feeling and doing in that moment (within reason)

Animal roleplay allows one to be present and uninhibited and removes that long ass to do list of what we are and aren’t ‘allowed’ to be.

Even if it is just for a little while 

Yea the dishes need to get done eventually but leaving them for an hour or two never hurt anyone

Which funnily enough leads into the next two sections..

Emotional release

Alright so remember when we talked about all the rules that come with being human a few paragraphs; 

what we can and can’t do

what we must do

etc

Well just to make life even more difficult labels and expectations can also come with rules of what we can and can’t feel or think

This doesn’t work for most people

So, for many animal roleplay helps to remove those expectations 

And all those pent up emotions from adult life to be expressed, accepted and then let go.

Relaxation

This is a big one for me personally 

– I really struggle to just stop and relax. Even when I’m going to sleep, my brain is making a To Do list for the next day

I find, and I’m sure many others do to, that animal roleplay gives my brain the permission to switch off so that I can let go and relax for awhile. 

Because, well, pets don’t make to do lists or have deadlines or chores etc etc etc

Being able to let go of those daily life stressors and allowing oneself to play, have fun and (if it has been negotiated) allow another to care for your needs for a time is a great way to relax

Escape from self and Expression of self-hood 

Now these two sections confused me. How can animal roleplay be an escape of self and expression of self hood?

Well I think I figured it out..

Firstly I needed to remember that different people can experience animal roleplay in different ways and people probably won’t experience everything on this list.

Secondly, I needed to figure out what the heck self and self-hood actually meant.. 

So from what i got from the articles I read 

Self is experiences, thoughts who we see when we reflect on ourselves which can include expectations we and society place on ourselves

Selfhood means the aspects that make us individual and unique 

Those definitions are kind of long winded so I like to think of it like chocolate

Self is the chocolate shell 

Selfhood is the filling

Both are good as long as there is a balance

…And now I really want chocolate….

Moving forward!

Both experiences relate to that removal of day to day restrictions in different ways

Animal roleplay can allow people to escape from their sense of self in relation to expectations and restrictions that have been placed on them.

Whilst expression of self hood occurs in animal roleplay as it allows a space for all those feelings and responses that may not be acceptable in day to day life to be expressed and accepted.

Adult play and physicality

Fun Fact 

Play is ridiculously important for adults too! 

If you are interested in the benefits of play click the link here; https://www.helpguide.org/articles/mental-health/benefits-of-play-for-adults.htm

Strangely enough we don’t really encourage play in adults. 

Especially non-competitive play

The encouragement of play and the physical nature of the play that occurs during animal roleplay can have awesome positive effects on all of those engaged!

Including onlookers!

Because let’s be honest who doesn’t feel at least a little happy watching animals (human or otherwise) running around being dorks

Physical play within Animal roleplay is a lot of fun and can also be done in a range of ways;

A pup friend of mine for example enjoys wrestling and periodically has wrestle play dates with a bunny (don’t underestimate bunnies! She is merciless)

But I personally prefer lighter play when Im in a kitten space so the nose boop war we all recently had at a play party was great!

Play can amplify the other experiences we have talked about above and most importantly it is just 

So

Much

FUN

Summary 

In Why people enjoy animal roleplay part 2 we talked about the psychological reasons and ways people enjoy roleplaying as animals including

Removal of day to day restrictions/expectations – Animal Roleplay can help remove the To Do list of how we should act and allow a space to just be. The removal of these expectations can help the following ways people enjoy Animal Roleplay to happen as well 

Emotional release – Roleplay can  be a space to express, accept and let go of pent up emotions from daily life

Relaxation – For many, myself included, the removal of expectations and To Do lists can help our brain to switch off and give us the space to relax

Escape from self –  Animal roleplay can allow people to escape from their sense of self in relation to expectations, restrictions and To Do lists they may have.

Expression self-hood – Roleplay gives many the space to freely express and accept all the feelings, responses and desires that they may not be able to express in daily life 

Adult play and physicality – Animal Roleplay can be a great way to express and indulge in your playful side both independently and with others which can add to the expression of self, emotional release and relaxation that you may experience during animal roleplay.

Thank you so much for reading! 

What are some of the reasons you love Animal Roleplay?

I’d love to hear from you down below in the comments! 

Lil Succubuss