#plural terminology

[multiplicity-positivity]

Defining Terms

This post aims to define some common terms we use on this blog in our own words. We’re just one system, and we’re always learning and growing, so if any of our internal definitions for these words are wrong in any way, feel free to correct us.

These definitions are not organized in any particular way - sorry about that!

Plural - the experience of existing as more than one. Sharing your mind with multiple beings. Living, feeling, and experiencing the world as multiple.

Multiple - a synonym for plural.

System - a collective of headmates who share one body.

Community/Space - the plural community and plural spaces, especially those that exist online or here on Tumblr!

Headmate - A system member. May also be referred to as “alter,” “sysmate,” or “part,” but we use “headmate” in general or the specific language preferred by the systems we engage with when we’re answering questions or offering advice.

Alter - A system member, part, or headmate. We use this term exclusively for members of systems with complex dissociative disorders.

Introject - A system member whose identity is based on something or someone outside of their system.

Factive - An introject who is based on a real person.

Fictive - An introject who is based on a fictional character.

System origins - the catalyst that caused a system to form. Systems may form for a wide variety of reasons!

Headspace/inner world - an internal, visualized space where headmates can interact with each other. It is not a physical space, but it may feel like it, and events can occur inside that have lasting effects.

Dissociation - disconnection as a symptom, be it from the world, one’s thoughts, memories, feelings, actions, sense of self, body, or other headmates.

Fronting - when a headmate is able to perceive, interact with, and make choices in real life

Cofronting - when two or more headmates are fronting at once

Coconscious - when a headmate is able to perceive the world and potentially influence decisions, but does not have the agency to interact directly or make concrete choices

Blending/merging - when two or more headmates temporarily combine into a single entity

Fusion - where two or more headmates combine permanently or semi-permanently into a single entity

Blurry - often associated with dissociation, when a system is having difficulties determining who they are or who is fronting

Are there any terms you’ve seen us use on this blog that you’d like us to define? Let us know and we will gladly update this list.

[sophieinwonderland]

I really wish that anti-endos had never ran with and literally made up a system type to get mad about with demo system. Cause thinking about the concept they thought it was was actually kinda cool to us. Like, if a questioning system wanted to be treated as a system by themselves and others to explore how helpful it is, I think that's great. It's a lot like someone picking a queer label to see how it fits.

-Faye

This is a really good point! I never liked the definition of it as some sort of temporary created system, but I think the label would be really useful for those who don't know if they're a system or not and just want to try acting like a system as a test.

It's really good to just be willing to open yourselves up to the possibility to test the waters.

For a less tainted term, what about a "trial system" for people just trying it out?

[pastelroswell]

I've been told many times that I (plural non-system) am allowed to use terminology intended for systems/that use system in their definitions and that may be true but I think we really could use terminology of our own, or to at least be acknowledged in plural terms in general. Like I'm not a system so using a term that only refers to system in the definition feels wrong. Not like dysphoric, more that it reminds me that I'm not intended to be included a lot of the time and that most people don't even know plurals like me exist. Not every plural is going to be comfortable with "system" and for some (like me) it's even inaccurate to describe ourselves that way. I don't know any other plural non-systems. I feel really isolated in the plural community because my experiences are so similar, yet so different.

[liomipsum]

[pt: thaumahuman]

[pt: examples of thaumahumans: elsa from frozen, atleast pre-frozen ii's ending (brown with powers/familial] benders from avatar the last airbender (born with powers/familial) the madrigal family, encanto (born with powers/familial) carrie (2013) (born with powers familial) non-examples: spider-man (mutation, not innate, metahuman) jack frost, rise of the guardians (transformation, no longer "human")

[Image ID: Image 1: The image 4 flag with the image 2 symbol in the center. the white line of the flag is split so that it joins into the symbol. End image 1.

Image 2: A white symbol with a purple outline. the symbol consists of two vertical lines which interwine, creating the effect of a bubble between them and half-circle openings on the top and bottom. In each of these three openings is a horizontal line. End image 2.

Image 3: The image 5 flag with the image 2 symbol in the center. End image 3.

Image 4: A flag with 3 equally sized horizontal stripes. From top to bottom the colors are purple, pale indigo, purple. Horizontally across the middle is a thin white line, outlined in purple. End image 4.

Image 5: A flag with 7 equally sized horizontal stripes. From top to bottom the colors are purple, deep indigo, pale indigo, white, pale indigo, deep indigo, purple. End image 5. End ID]

☆ thaumahuman

may also be called thauman or thaumian thauma- (”miracle, wonder, amazement, astonishment”) and -human

☆ a human who has magical or innate abilities that are beyond the typical that did not come from a mutation or transformation. it may be of unknown origins, genetics, nature, or otherwise. it typically is within one at birth and discovered in childhood or later.

this is intended to be used for alterhuman identities, however it is free to be used for fictional characters, system members, and other places it may fit.

for better understanding, we listed some personal examples below. however, this label is for however the user sees it fit.

examples of thaumahumans:

elsa from frozen, at least pre-frozen ii’s ending (born with powers/familial) benders from avatar the last airbender (born with powers/familial) the madrigal family, encanto (born with powers/familial) carrie (2013) (born with powers/familial)

non-examples:

spider-man (mutation, not innate, metahuman) jack frost, rise of the guardians (transformation, no longer “human”)

[cupidsarrowssys]

I’m curiious curiious. IIs there a term out out there for headmates/iintojects that that are dolls?

[typing quirk translation; I’m curious. Is there a term out there for Headmates/Introjects that are dolls?]

[gorefix]

HOST. A flag for headmates who are the most active, most responsible for day-to-day activities, or otherwise are fronting most often.

This is a redesign of the host flag to better suit our collective.

[clowncary]

Enth Terminology

Enth - A spectrosexual, someone attracted to ghosts and phantoms

Enthspousal - Marital relations with a ghost

Enthpartner - Intimate (romantic and sexual and queerplatonic) relationships with a ghost

Sentience - A scale between conscious and natural instinct.

Size - Density entity.

Age - Lifespan or years lived.

Formation - Formation of the entity.

Personality - Varied characteristics in terms of values and behavior.

Fictional - Fictional ghosts from various media.

Folklore - Ghosts deemed real by a specific culture, religion, or faith.

Created - Ghosts infused with the personality of OCs, Headmates or Thoughtforms.

Known - Ghosts based on real people who were born on Earth and died.

Relation Superiority - The idea that the only real ghosts are those that are Known ghosts and therefore relationships with those Known ghosts are the only real relationships.

Spiramor/Bonded – Lover/Couple

Wispies/Wispi – Astral or Spiritual children from a ghost and an enth.

[vanilla-gardens]

(I'm not the original posting member, but I am of a subsystem in the same system.) Hmm, "forward-facing" is one way to describe it, for certain. Personally, I have been using the term "mindfront", derivative of "mindform"; I find it quite useful. I do agree they are different concepts from a dominant member, as that implies control within the system or being the one to front the most. Our subsystem does not have a consistent host, so whomever is "dominant" changes depending on the aspects of our life. However, we still all try to have relatively equal fronting time, even if it is just our mindform in headspace.

we need a word for "fronting within a subsystem, but not necessarily bodily fronting" so bad

[the-cosmic-collective-sys-blog]

My stance on transplurals is that paromancy and willogenesis are literally right there🧍

[thelunastusco]

We’re sad and horrified that parts of the plural community are at a point where they don’t even know what the term “median” is, or where it came from.

From our reply on twitter to someone asking if it was “new” and “endogenic jargon”:

"Median" ("neither multiple nor singlet") was coined in 2002 by the Blackbirds. It replaced "midcontinuum" ("somewhere on the spectrum between multiple and singlet"), coined in 1997 by an inclusive trauma-formed system named the Vickis.

It was coined in 2002. It’s been 21 years.

We get that that’s “a long time” ago if you’re like, 15 years old, but it’s... not. It’s not that long ago. But younger and newer systems are just, as far as we know, not even looking at resources or even googling things. Some terms are hard to find or trace back, yeah, but “median” isn’t one of them.

It’s disheartening, and frustrating. Especially when you have anti-endogenic/anti-nontraumagenic systems barking about RESEARCH! and SCIENCE! and COMMUNITY HISTORY! when... a good portion of them don’t seem to even have a clue. They don’t know the research. They don’t know the science. They really don’t know the community history.

The only fake thing in the plural community is the confidence of sysmeds...

Genuinely hoping that some day, this changes. Community history is vital.

[mongoose-bytes]

I don’t know much about plural/system stuff, but since there’s a lot of overlap with dæmonism, I’m curious to see how many folks in the community are plurals and systems. Please be respectful to eachother in the notes! This poll is intended in good faith for community demographics, and not to cause any arguments.

[multiplicity-positivity]

hi!! I only confirmed my plurality recently as a median system, but the issue actually is that I’m not sure what term to use. I’ve been using ‘plural’ instead of ‘collective’ or ‘system’ since it feels strange as I’m only aware of having one facet/medianmate, so it just doesn’t feel like ‘enough’ to be considered a collective/system? any sort of advice would be great if possible !! thank you so much ^^” 🫶

hey, as long as you are more than one, exist as more than one, perceive yourselves as more than one, identify with the plural experience, or feel like you’re multiple, that is enough to be considered plural, a collective, or a system. even with just one other headmate or facet, even with half of another headmate or facet. 1.00001 is still more than one, and folks who find themselves in those positions can call themselves plural as long as that terminology works well for them.

you can call yourself/yourselves plural, a system, a collective, a median, midcontinuum, multiple, or whatever feels right, and anything you choose will be correct. the only potential problems here would be saying that you have a dissociative disorder when in fact you do not, or calling yourself and/or your facet “alters,” as “alter” as a term has specific medical connotations and is reserved for those who have complex dissociative disorders (p-did, did, osdd, etc).

we’ve definitely heard the term “plural” as a noun before and sometimes use it ourselves. so you definitely can keep using that language if it works for you. but know that you are not confined to that specific label, and may use whatever terminology you like to refer to yourselves collectively.

hope this helps - good luck with finding the right labels and language that brings you and your facet happiness and fulfillment.

[daybreaksys]

That's a Gatekeeper in our system, the host doesn't manage the front (what I mean is it's not universal)

I think "Prime" has worse connotations than "host", it sounds like they're the first and most important alter. And the host is also not universally the first alter. In our system for example he's not

What's an alternative to "host" as a system term? We've got a fictive who's a parasite and he feels kinda awkward calling me that because of the implications.

You know, host is actually a weird term when you think about it, since it does sort of give the impression of parasites or demonic possession.

It doesn't really seem like a word that would just refer to the headmate who fronts the most.

Personally, I think a more accurate term would be "Primary Fronter." That is obviously a mouthful, but it could be shortened to Primary or even Prime.

[strawberry-graveyard]

shout out to systems who use super common roles and terms!!

shout out to systems who use super niche roles and terms!!

shout out to systems who use “outdated” roles and terms!!

shout out to systems who coin their own roles and terms even if similar ones already exist!!

shout out to systems who don’t use roles and terms to describe themselves!!

shout out to systems who use a ton of roles and terms to describe themselves!!

and shout out to to everyone in between!! you should always use whatever terms you feel comfortable with. as long as it’s not inherently harmful then go nuts!!

plurality and it’s descriptors are not a monolith, and what works for someone else might not work for you!! use what makes you comfortable, and don’t let anyone make you feel bad about it.

[soup-mother]

I'm sure there's contexts where it's being used in a productive manner but i really do always raise an eyebrow at the use of the term "ritual/ritualistic abuse", maybe there's some bigger context for it in modern use but It's hard for me to seperate that from satanic ritual abuse conspiracy shit.

[korya-elana]

Say it with me guys:

INTEGRATION is the LOWERING OF AMNESIA BARRIERS. This is a process that happens automatically as you heal and is necessary for healing.

FUSION is when 2+ ALTERS FUSE INTO ONE. Final Fusion is the fusion of every (or most) alters into a single identity.

These terms are NOT interchangeable. They CANNOT be used in place of each other. I see so much fearmongering around integration because people actually mean fusion. Please learn what you're saying! Research the terms you use! Misusing terms causes harm!

I'm seeing this more and more in the community and it's driving us up a wall.

Obligatory comment that while final fusion is not our goal, we support those with CDDs attempting to reach that state. Healing looks different for everyone.