Multiself is an umbrella term for any singlet/singlet adjacent being that experiences multiple identities/selves. The term also applies to individual sysmates that share the experience, provided the sysmate/s in question identify as multiself independently from the rest of the collective.
Mulitself beings may or may not "switch" between selves, though multiself is explicitly separate from the plurality spectrum and does not describe multiple consciousnesses/distinct people. However it's important to note that SOME parasian/plurallet experiences may fall under the multiself umbrella
• You can identify as both transplural/transmedian and multiself at the same time, in the same way that you can identify as a both a boy and a girl at the same time. Trans identity is very complex, and often paradoxical in nature
• Generally switches are amnesia free and voluntary, but this is definitely more of a guideline than a hard and fast rule. (I myself have light amnesia, and experience "switches" more as kinshifts rather than a conscious choice.)
• Multiself is inherently tied to transid, in the sense that selves have their own distinct sets of transids. Though notably, the amount in which the selves differentiate depends on the individual. On one end of the spectrum, one's selves may be extremely different in name, appearance, age, race, gender etc. On the other end of the spectrum, one's selves may be entirely identical except for each selves trans/trispersonality ids
Language ::
(Note: this is general language for the umbrella term, and may not be applicable to more specific labels that fall underneath it)
Shift (verb): The experience of changing selves
"I'm shifting into Mallory"
Form (verb): The experience of forming new selves
"I formed Riley yesterday"
Mindset (noun): The term used to describe which self you currently identify as
"I'm in Monty and Jamie's mindset right now"
Primary self (noun): The self you most commonly identify as
"I'm in Darce's mindset most often, they're my primary self"
Selves are not separate consciousnesses, though we/us language is also acceptable if you feel more comfortable using it. If you wish to refer to all your selves at once, but want to avoid being mistaken for a system, you could simply say "my selves", or "my cluster"
Flag colours ::
Those that choose to have multiselves: dark pink
Those that do not choose to have multiselves: light pink
Those that experience their selves as being "alter egos" for the main self: grey
Those that are at their core consciousness, experiencing selves that are all equally them: white
Those that have fluid selves, in any sense: lilac
Those that have static selves: light blue
Distinction from plurality: dark blue
Why was this coined?
This label was a reaction to segreID. At first glance the two terms seem very similar, but there are some key differences such as my far laxer approach to including those that identify with some form of plurality. This label is not meant to act as a recoin, nor is it meant to "out-inclusive" the segreID coiner, vampi-rq.
I wanted to create a less specific term that would include me, and anyone else that shared the majority of my experiences
While there is conflict between me and vampi-rq, I still have a lot of appreciation and respect their term and how it was intended to be used. The multiself label is personal to me, and it was born out of respect for the segreID definition rather than in spite of it. SegreID exists to describe a much more specific experience, and it's one that simply doesn't apply to me, which I'm fine with
All thumbs are fingers, but not all fingers are thumbs
While by definition segreID does happen to fall under the multiself umbrella, that does not mean that 100% of the things described here apply to it. Vampi-rq has been explicit about what is and is not segreID. I encourage you to do your research and pick the appropriate label for what you're experiencing. The multiself label is intentionally very vague and nonspecific
Multiself is an umbrella term for any singlet/singlet adjacent being that experiences multiple identities/selves. The term also applies to individual sysmates that share the experience, provided the sysmate/s in question identify as multiself independently from the rest of the collective.
Mulitself beings may or may not "switch" between selves, though multiself is explicitly separate from the plurality spectrum and does not describe multiple consciousnesses/distinct people. However it's important to note that SOME parasian/plurallet experiences may fall under the multiself umbrella
• You can identify as both transplural/transmedian and multiself at the same time, in the same way that you can identify as a both a boy and a girl at the same time. Trans identity is very complex, and often paradoxical in nature
• Generally switches are amnesia free and voluntary, but this is definitely more of a guideline than a hard and fast rule. (I myself have light amnesia, and experience "switches" more as kinshifts rather than a conscious choice.)
• Multiself is inherently tied to transid, in the sense that selves have their own distinct sets of transids. Though notably, the amount in which the selves differentiate depends on the individual. On one end of the spectrum, one's selves may be extremely different in name, appearance, age, race, gender etc. On the other end of the spectrum, one's selves may be entirely identical except for each selves trans/trispersonality ids
Language ::
(Note: this is general language for the umbrella term, and may not be applicable to more specific labels that fall underneath it)
Shift (verb): The experience of changing selves
"I'm shifting into Mallory"
Form (verb): The experience of forming new selves
"I formed Riley yesterday"
Mindset (noun): The term used to describe which self you currently identify as
"I'm in Monty and Jamie's mindset right now"
Primary self (noun): The self you most commonly identify as
"I'm in Darce's mindset most often, they're my primary self"
Selves are not separate consciousnesses, though we/us language is also acceptable if you feel more comfortable using it. If you wish to refer to all your selves at once, but want to avoid being mistaken for a system, you could simply say "my selves", or "my cluster"
Flag colours ::
Those that choose to have multiselves: dark pink
Those that do not choose to have multiselves: light pink
Those that experience their selves as being "alter egos" for the main self: grey
Those that are at their core consciousness, experiencing selves that are all equally them: white
Those that have fluid selves, in any sense: lilac
Those that have static selves: light blue
Distinction from plurality: dark blue
Why was this coined?
This label was a reaction to segreID. At first glance the two terms seem very similar, but there are some key differences such as my far laxer approach to including those that identify with some form of plurality. This label is not meant to act as a recoin, nor is it meant to "out-inclusive" the segreID coiner, vampi-rq.
I wanted to create a less specific term that would include me, and anyone else that shared the majority of my experiences
While there is conflict between me and vampi-rq, I still have a lot of appreciation and respect their term and how it was intended to be used. The multiself label is personal to me, and it was born out of respect for the segreID definition rather than in spite of it. SegreID exists to describe a much more specific experience, and it's one that simply doesn't apply to me, which I'm fine with
All thumbs are fingers, but not all fingers are thumbs
While by definition segreID does happen to fall under the multiself umbrella, that does not mean that 100% of the things described here apply to it. Vampi-rq has been explicit about what is and is not segreID. I encourage you to do your research and pick the appropriate label for what you're experiencing. The multiself label is intentionally very vague and nonspecific
Hey so I'm not rq and way too shy to use my main but this term helped me out a lot lol
I'm the host of a system but separately, I take on different identities and have internal dialogues with them. This term helped me a lot + helped my BPD identity confusion, so thanks for that /gen
But um.
Apparently you can date your self/selves. I am now autoromantic on top of my other confusing sexuality.
It's like a really roundabout way of self love ig? Task failed successfully?
How does one get their terms on transid.org? I can't believe that multiself made it to harmlesspersonalidentity.miraheze.org before it made it to the transid wiki 😭
Multiself is an umbrella term for any singlet/singlet adjacent being that experiences multiple identities/selves. The term also applies to individual sysmates that share the experience, provided the sysmate/s in question identify as multiself independently from the rest of the collective.
Mulitself beings may or may not "switch" between selves, though multiself is explicitly separate from the plurality spectrum and does not describe multiple consciousnesses/distinct people. However it's important to note that SOME parasian/plurallet experiences may fall under the multiself umbrella
• You can identify as both transplural/transmedian and multiself at the same time, in the same way that you can identify as a both a boy and a girl at the same time. Trans identity is very complex, and often paradoxical in nature
• Generally switches are amnesia free and voluntary, but this is definitely more of a guideline than a hard and fast rule. (I myself have light amnesia, and experience "switches" more as kinshifts rather than a conscious choice.)
• Multiself is inherently tied to transid, in the sense that selves have their own distinct sets of transids. Though notably, the amount in which the selves differentiate depends on the individual. On one end of the spectrum, one's selves may be extremely different in name, appearance, age, race, gender etc. On the other end of the spectrum, one's selves may be entirely identical except for each selves trans/trispersonality ids
Language ::
(Note: this is general language for the umbrella term, and may not be applicable to more specific labels that fall underneath it)
Shift (verb): The experience of changing selves
"I'm shifting into Mallory"
Form (verb): The experience of forming new selves
"I formed Riley yesterday"
Mindset (noun): The term used to describe which self you currently identify as
"I'm in Monty and Jamie's mindset right now"
Primary self (noun): The self you most commonly identify as
"I'm in Darce's mindset most often, they're my primary self"
Selves are not separate consciousnesses, though we/us language is also acceptable if you feel more comfortable using it. If you wish to refer to all your selves at once, but want to avoid being mistaken for a system, you could simply say "my selves", or "my cluster"
Flag colours ::
Those that choose to have multiselves: dark pink
Those that do not choose to have multiselves: light pink
Those that experience their selves as being "alter egos" for the main self: grey
Those that are at their core consciousness, experiencing selves that are all equally them: white
Those that have fluid selves, in any sense: lilac
Those that have static selves: light blue
Distinction from plurality: dark blue
Why was this coined?
This label was a reaction to segreID. At first glance the two terms seem very similar, but there are some key differences such as my far laxer approach to including those that identify with some form of plurality. This label is not meant to act as a recoin, nor is it meant to "out-inclusive" the segreID coiner, vampi-rq.
I wanted to create a less specific term that would include me, and anyone else that shared the majority of my experiences
While there is conflict between me and vampi-rq, I still have a lot of appreciation and respect their term and how it was intended to be used. The multiself label is personal to me, and it was born out of respect for the segreID definition rather than in spite of it. SegreID exists to describe a much more specific experience, and it's one that simply doesn't apply to me, which I'm fine with
All thumbs are fingers, but not all fingers are thumbs
While by definition segreID does happen to fall under the multiself umbrella, that does not mean that 100% of the things described here apply to it. Vampi-rq has been explicit about what is and is not segreID. I encourage you to do your research and pick the appropriate label for what you're experiencing. The multiself label is intentionally very vague and nonspecific
I would like to propose a term for not knowing which self you are at the moment!
Fuzzy, like "blurry" but different!!
If you're fuzzy between 2 selves and you know which ones but it feels like a fusion of the selves (think the plural term "crystal blurring") I would like to suggest "mosiac fuzzy" (like a mosiac with multiple pieces together)!
No one else has to use these lol these are the terms I use personally lol
I really like these actually. Will start using them myself. Fuzzy puts it very well in my opinion. I've been plural before, and I've been multiselves. Being blurry as a system feels very "what the hell I've been semi merged?? what?" whereas being fuzzy as a multiself cluster feels very "where did my identity go. uhh. what is this id doing here"
This might not be everyone's experience, or even the norm, but I feel like the terms fit PERFECTLY with what I'm familiar with
is there a thing like self fluid.. in the way that i have a lot of components that switch in and out regardless of selves just depending on that moment? like i can go by certain pronoun sets as any self it just depends if im Feeling that pronoun set. things like that. pronouns, names, etc.
i ask because i think my selves are a lot less .. "separate" than id assume others are, to the point where for me my multiselfness is more akin to extreme pronoun/namefluidity and form changes based on mood? but it still has that level of "separate" that makes me more comfortable labelling it as multiselfness than anything else
(im using the term "separate" bc idk what other word would describe what i mean better.. not separate like fully separate people but like separate as identites if that makes any sense..? im trying out here)
Yes, this very much is a thing!! That's what I also experience. It's very rare that my selves will remain completely static. The selves I have for fun generally stay very static unless I forget a detail, because those selves are more akin to masks than actual identities. However the selves that I authentically experience as "me" are in a constant state of fluctuation and it isn't uncommon for one self to have like 18 separate variants (cough, Akane.)
Thank you for putting a name to this, I actually hadn't considered it as a multiself thing before. Now you mention it, it really does fall in line with the whole "nonstatic" identity thing.
I've mostly just been using identityfluid to describe my self fluidity, but if anyone wants to officialise the term you're more than welcome to
this being a Thing now as someone who i think kind of experiences this at least on some level but has always just called them Forms that i switch between is really neat i also kind of am a bit surprised that none of our other headmates are multiself even the ones that have been around as long as i have
ive always just referred to myself as like name and pronounfluid and stuff whcih i think is still true but i think i can also file this under a part of myself even if i never really "Label" as multiself
I'm glad I finally put a name to at least part of your experience :3
Could sombody be multiself if they were all their selves simutaneously? Like I don't switch between selves, I just have multiple selves that I am all the time 24/7.
NO!!!!!! /j
Real talk if they feel like separate selves, they are separate. Split up your identity however you like!
Can multiselves apply to viewing each self as separate from each other but not plural like in the sense one has multiple selves but each self doesn’t consider one another each other? Like uhm it kind of blurs the line between multiplicity and multiself? Like falls in between the two.
Yeah, I'd say so? I'm not really the guy to ask, only you can determine whether or not you align more with the "multiple guys, one me" community, or the "multiple guys, beings in my head" community.
If it helps, back when we used plural pronouns rather than the singular I/me, we definitely would have described our multiselves experience as similar
As of late I have seen some individuals use multiplicity to mean having multiple selves, imaginary friends, or fragments. However maybe that is just a minuscule change in language. I kind of assumed by default that multiple selves would fall under multiplicity because you are multiple selves. Maybe that is semantics though.
That's really funny, because I used to spend a lot of time in plural inclusionist spaces before I realised I was multiself. I've always seen posts relating to identity facets and fragments being tagged with both plurality tags and multiplicity tags. I'm not really sure what you mean by imaginary friends, but perhaps I'm just not in the know
But yeah. If you identify as singlet aligned, and the multiple thingies in your head are "pieces" of you, or masks you wear, or all share your core "being" and sense of self despite having different sets of ids/terms- that's multiself. If you align more with the "there are multiple beings in my head" community, that is multiplicity/plurality. Multiself is an umbrella term, as are the multiple and plural labels
Can multiself fall under multiplicity despite not falling under plurality?
I was under the impression that they're synonyms for each other? Care to educate me? /gen Otherwise my gut reaction would be to say no, because selves aren't really separate beings within you. They're more akin to facets (read outside of a median lens) of identity/personality
As a non-radqueer I'm so sorry that anti-radqueers are being assholes about multiself. That's not even what reclaiming is, they're misusing that word
It's nice to know that someone gets it and understands what reclamation actually is, especially someone outside of the rqc. It's a breath of fresh air. I'm not surprised that it's happening, but antis will be antis /resignedly affectionate
I think my biggest gripe with the situation is mainly just how certain beings feel almost entitled to the label just because the coiner (me) happens to be pro transid.
Nobody owns labels. Labels are free use. You cannot buy a concept, you cannot trademark an experience, you cannot claim possession of an identity. It's bizarre to try and "steal" something that we all own. Multiself is a descriptor as lesbian is a descriptor, it would be ludicrous to try and push proship lesbians away from the lesbian identity. However because multiself is a newer term, beings for some reason think this is up for debate
I could talk for hours about this tbh. Not just in relation to multiselves, but just the general state of the internet when it comes to labels and flags. I think the community has much more pressing issues such as exclusionism, transphobia, amatonormativity, etc; but this culture in particular is a pet peeve of mine
