Therianthropy is a real word that existed prior to the Otherkin community. There is another word and I can never remember the word for general shapeshifting but historically even though lycanthropy from the position of root meaning would mean changing into a wolf it depends on the country. It is used loosely to also mean shifing into bears and other animals as well. As far as calling anyone a Lycan that wasn't popular until Underworld came out. I wouldn't call it roleplaying so much as semantics really and fad. In the Otherkin community they have what is called aspected characteristics and nosselinfea. Most who claim multiples are usually diagnosed as schizophrenics. It is different from D.I.D. where they really have multiple personalities because the other is believed to be fantasy. It doesn't matter if someone wants to call it roleplaying or not, that is subjective and only applies to personal belief systems. Many think differently. I have no opinion because I am sort of a live and let live person. The same could be said of any form of believed vampyrism as well as including what some think is more acceptable...there is no proof and not even historically because folklore is oral until written down by someone and when things are passed orally they tend to change over time as the superstitions of cultures change. Many times it is an entirely different culture that has done the writing as well and they tend to be either biased or unfamiliar with certain beliefs and it is from their perspective. When it is written it is usually called a myth but that depends on what it is and where it is from. Even some words used now for vampire technically mean wolf's fur. I have a very long article on Lycanthropy in my Azuredark journal. It is probably in special topics. As far as Anita Blake, fictional so it can be anything the author thinks up.
Excerpt:
Therianthropy (from n. therianthrope and adj. therianthropic, part man and part beast, from the Greek theríon, θηρίον, meaning "wild animal" or "beast" (impliedly mammalian), and anthrōpos, άνθρωπος, meaning "human being") refers to the metamorphosis of humans into other animals. Therianthropes have long existed in mythology, appearing in ancient cave drawings such as the Sorcerer at Les Trois Frères.
The term therianthropy was used to refer to animal transformation folklore of Asia and Europe as early as 1901. Sometimes, "zoanthropy" is used instead of "therianthropy".
Therianthropy was also used to describe spiritual belief in animal transformation in 1915 and one source raises the possibility the term may have been used in the 16th century in criminal trials of suspected werewolves.
You can look up original sources here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therianthropy
More:
It also seems that lycanthropy is not specific to an experience of human-to-wolf transformation; a wide variety of creatures have been reported as part of the shape-shifting experience. A review of the medical literature from early 2004 lists over thirty published cases of lycanthropy, only the minority of which have wolf or dog themes. Canines are certainly not uncommon, although the experience of being transformed into hyenas, cats, horses, birds and tigers has been reported on more than one occasion. Transformation into frogs, and even bees, has been reported in some instances. A 1989 case study described how one individual reported a serial transformation, experiencing a change from human, to dog, to horse, and then finally cat, before returning to the reality of human existence after treatment. There are also reports of people who experienced transformation into an animal only listed as 'unspecified'.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoanthropy
