Plurality 101

Plurality is the state of having more than one self inhabiting the same body. It encompasses a broad spectrum of experiences that are united under a common thread of being "more than one."

Plural people are not more dangerous than the general population, nor is plurality inherently disordered. While disordered forms of plurality do exist under the diagnostic labels of DID and OSDD, not all plurals meet the criteria for a diagnosis beyond plurality itself (criterion one), and not all that do meet the criteria choose to pursue a diagnosis or use diagnostic labels for themselves. Disordered plurality is just one specific experience of being more than one, and there's incredible variety both inside of that diagnosis and outside of it.

Non-disordered plurals are not self-diagnosing with DID or OSDD; oftentimes they are doing the opposite. They may have other frameworks for their experiences that fall outside of the medical model and may be entirely distanced from the psychiatric view of plurality. Even those that remain connected to the medical model are not claiming or using medical labels for themselves because a diagnosis does not fit their experiences. They are more than one, but they are not disordered; hence, they do not use disordered labels.

A system is a group of entities sharing one body. Systems come in all shapes and sizes, and every system is different.

• A system can have 2 members, 20 members, 200 members, 2,000 members, or any number in-between or beyond. There is no size limit.

• A system can be all the same gender, all different genders, a mixture of a few different genders, or any other combination. There are no limits on gender distributions within systems.

• A system can have members of all different ages. Members can change ages or stay the same for years at a time; they can be younger than the body, older than the body, or even ageless.

• Systems can have nonhuman members, fictional members, spiritual entities, and more. Some systems are entirely human, some are nonhuman, and some are mixed.

• Systems might have members that are very different from one another, members that are very similar to one another, or anything in between.

There are several different words you can use when referring to the members of a system, and different systems prefer different words. Some common words include headmates, sysmates, others, and people. Disordered systems might call their system members alters. Some systems like to call their members parts, though the word is not universally liked and should only be used with consent.

If in doubt about what word to use for a system's members, ask them.

Experiences of plurality vary greatly from system to system, and as such we can't possibly describe all of those experiences here. For a sampling of how people experience their plurality, you may want to take a look at our Plural Experiences Database.