Alters and Race

If you're not a system of color, all your alters are white, and the same race as the body. PERIOD.

You don't have alters of color. Your alters are not (insert race other than white here). They can look that way, don't get me wrong, but they are white, bodily, which is all that matters. You CANNOT say racial slurs. You CANNOT claim to be a different race than the body. You CANNOT use names from a culture you're not a part of, or from a culture that is closed. You CANNOT use AAVE. Alter race is not a thing. Race is how you are perceived by others, how you look, along with ethnicity, which is your heritage and background. I'll link a video on it below.

Ethnicity and race are not just things you can change or claim. The video explains it pretty well, better than I could, but if you are bodily white, you cannot be a black alter, or a Japanese alter, or a Korean alter. (Talking about race/ethnicity for the latter two, not nationality, but nationality isn't fluid either.)

It's okay to look different from the body! You can't control that. Just don't claim to be a race you are bodily not, and don't use names from cultures you're not a part of or are closed. And, for the love of god, don't say racial slurs if you're white. Or claim to be transracial. Or use AAVE if you're not black. And don't treat alters that look different from the body like some quirky, token alters who "we have to teach not to say the n-word! 🤭" Just like... don't be racist! Racism is a HUGE issue in the system community (especially in the endo community but that's a topic for another time), so please listen to systems of color above all else.

NOTE: I am a white system, and will not debate with other white systems about the topic, considering it isn't our place to form our own opinions or debate about this. If a system of color needs/wants to correct me, please do! I want to hear your thoughts on this! Feel free to reblog with your additions. Also, if a single system of color tells me to take this post down, I will. I don't want to speak over you guys.

-Jim 🪸

Lol at tracepride3009 saying they will be "kind and loving" when responding to "hate". If it was really your brother, he needs to go back on Neopets. Also lol at this idiot thinking I'm "racist for thinking that POC are some hivemind". Most POC are completely aware that transracial people aren't "valid". Knowing that isn't claiming we're a hivemind.

Those planets are already tied to genders because of the deity they're tied to, but okay lmao. Also if you looked at my pinned post you'd know I'm not generally a fan of microlabels. It's racist to identify as a minority you're not, full-stop.

Figuring out new labels to describe the trace community.

Aquamarineites: Traces that are a mixture of white and Asian

Rubians: Traces that are black and Polynesian

Pearlites: Traces that are black and white

Sapphirians: Traces that are black and Latino

Topazians: Traces that are Polynesian and Latino

Opalites: Traces that are Latino and white

Garnetians: Traces that are white and Polynesian

Amethystians: Traces that are white and native American

Emeraldites: Traces that are native American and Asian

Peridotians: Traces that are black and Asian

Diamondites: Traces that are native American and black

Quartzians: Traces that are native American and Polynesian

Panracial: A trace who identifies with all races

I may have missed a few, but you get the picture. I wasn't very organized :/

Wow, you're literally objectifying being a person of color now. How progressive. People aren't gems??

Figuring out new labels to describe the trace community.

Aquamarineites: Traces that are a mixture of white and Asian

Rubians: Traces that are black and Polynesian

Pearlites: Traces that are black and white

Sapphirians: Traces that are black and Latino

Topazians: Traces that are Polynesian and Latino

Opalites: Traces that are Latino and white

Garnetians: Traces that are white and Polynesian

Amethystians: Traces that are white and native American

Emeraldites: Traces that are native American and Asian

Peridotians: Traces that are black and Asian

Diamondites: Traces that are native American and black

Quartzians: Traces that are native American and Polynesian

Panracial: A trace who identifies with all races

I may have missed a few, but you get the picture. I wasn't very organized :/

Message from a poc system

Don’t claim to be a race or ethnicity the body is not! Parethnicity(?) is just a way for white people to insert themselves in poc system spaces. Alters can look a different way inner world but you will never in a million years experience the systematic oppression that comes with being a poc. You are privileged. /nm

Alters that appear a different race than the body works (or just x-appearing for short) because then you're not saying they're actually of color, you're saying they appear that way.

Okay something that’s bothered me that people get pissy about but I’m the one that’s gonna say it instead of the rest of the cowards in the system

Everyone keeps saying alters of color in a white body in any way shape or form can’t be involved in POC spaces.

Sure yeah I get it whatever

The fuck am I supposed to refer to them as? I know someone is going to get all pissy the way I did it just now

but seriously everything I think of to refer to our alter that does not have the skin of this shit body is called appropriation or that it’s not appropriate or EVEN RACIST like god I get it I’m not fucking racist and I’m not trying to be at all but please please for the love of god give me some simple way to refer.

I don’t want to have to pull out her picrew every time I want to talk about the topic and that’s not fair to her either. She needs some space to exist that isn’t full of people looking for her to fumble up.

And if you say having an alter that doesn’t match the body is racist please kindly go fuck off to the closest on fire garbage can because guess fucking what? WE DON’T CHOOSE OUR ALTERS

She deserves kindness and patience and love and empathy for her experiences and I see her cringe every time someone says she’s not allowed to exist and that is not okay

-🖤

(Purple edited by 💜 thank you for the correction!)

Reminder that being a system does not excuse cultural appropriation, transphobia, homophobia, or otherwise shitty behavior! looking directly at people who claim to be a different race than the body and or use names from closed cultures (Japanese, Korean ect). Looking at people who go “that wasn’t me that was my alter!” as an excuse for poor behavior!

.

It doesn't just hurt Tibetan Buddhists. Normalizing appropriative language also hurts systems of color and people of color in general, because it leads to people believing that they can use appropriative language for other concepts, too. Nobody would stop guides from being disseminated just because a word had to be changed. You're basically just prioritizing the popularity and acceptability of one group of debatably neurodivergent folks over the discomfort that POC have when appropriation is defended, and POC who are uncomfortable with appropriation is a much larger group than the tulpamancy community. (Not to mention that plurality is gaining acceptance and awareness outside of tulpamancy. It's not like tulpamancers/tulpas are unique and the only important plurals.)

It's honestly really offensive that you're so focused on denying the ways people experience racism. Do better.

saying that you would still use the term tulpa if you acknowledged that it was racist or 'wasn't the best in terms of racial sensitivity' as you framed it is a pretty clear indicator that you're completely fine with racism so long as it's convenient, but on the off chance that you're just ignorant i'll say that(admittedly i'm assuming) you're not tibetan or a practicing tibetan buddhist, you really have no place deciding that a term that was explicitly based on an orientalist misunderstanding of tibetan buddhism is okay to use because it would be inconvenient to switch to any of the alternative terms your community has created specifically for this purpose. the fact that the term was created with no respect to the religion it appropriates from is the entire problem, not a gotcha. as the other anon said, the term 'spirit animal' might not be used specifically to mock native religions, but it still reduces a belief and practice to a party trick for the people who have historically used the idea that non-western religions are less serious as an excuse to prevent those people from practicing those religions. the 'battle over terminology' you talk about is an ongoing discussion about how the language we use functions and how it can be more or less harmful. you are not 'forced' to continue using tulpa for any reason other than being too lazy and racist to type an extra word and politely correct anyone who comes to you using that outdated terminology. if the concept of tulpa truly has no relation to tibetan buddhism, then surely a simple change of name or invention of a new term won't destroy your ability to communicate.

I'm weighing harm done and trying to take the path that would be most beneficial and least harmful. The truth is, I don't know the psychological damage that can be caused to Tibetan Buddhists who are impacted by me using the word "tulpa" in the context of a completely unrelated psychological phenomenon.

You see, you guys are very good at making vague accusations of racism and saying that things are harmful, but less good at articulating any way that the word can actually harm any given Tibetan Buddhist. You mention that it could reduce the religion to a "party trick", which might be fair if the modern practice was commonly associated with Tibetan Buddhism, but I don't think the layman has much awareness of the term's origin or associations.

You say that I don't have a place to decide that the term is okay to use if I'm not a Tibetan Buddhist, but I would ask who does? And if you're not a Tibetan Buddhist, do you have a place in trying to speak over their voices and "educate" others as you would suggest I do? Have we actually conducted surveys of the Tibetan Buddhist community to find out how they feel about this topic, or is this a case of predominantly white people and non-Tibetan Buddhist people of color speaking over the voices of those who would actually be impacted?

I'm personally a strong supporter of science, so maybe a survey of Tibetan Buddhist communities would actually help to see how much they care or are affected by the term at all. Then we could actually make their voices a part of this conversation. It could be productive to get a good sense of how they feel about this terminology, and maybe also ask how they feel about non-Tibetan Buddhist endo-deniers talking over their voices and using their racial identities as a thinly veiled attempt to break up and divide one of the strongest endogenic communities.

Without that data though, I am going to maintain my position that having the term completely divorced from its roots is the least harmful option when compared to the insulting caricatures portrayed in media prior to the new emergence of modern tulpamancy.

What I do know is the tangible psychological impact of questioning your existence. I know the psychological impact of hosts questioning if they're crazy. And I know that associating with this identity puts me in a position to provide studies and resources that can help make this easier. Anything that would make it more difficult to aid these systems is unacceptable to me.

And as much as I would hope this isn't the case, a part of me wonders if this is the real purpose behind this. There is undeniably a pretty large overlap between endo-deniers and people who are seeking to speak for the entire Tibetan Buddhist community on this matter, making me question if this is truly a sincere attempt at supporting ethnic minorities or if it's just using those communities as pawns in an unrelated debate in order to break up one of the strongest and most-researched endogenic communities.

Who would benefit from the Tulpamancy community being broken up? Who would benefit from guides not being disseminated to potential and prospective tulpa systems? Who would benefit from shaming potential participants in psychological studies from associating with the studies because of the community they're researching? Who would benefit from shutting down discussion of these studies that affirm the existence of endogenic and tulpa systems by associating them with racism?

I have a hard time believing that it's the Tibetan Buddhist.

So for the time being, without any explanation on how someone might be harmed in any tangible way by me identifying as such, I'm going to identify by the label that provides me with the best chance of aiding constructed systems and the scientific research into them.

Probably because poc systems know to stay out of white only spaces for our own safety from racism tbh... like why would we want to be somewhere that might hate us so much?? Nearly all white only spaces are white only for a non-innocuous reason. Unfortunately, it's a lot bigger of an issue of white systems/people trying to get into POC-only spaces, because they want to be in the special club and I guess like know what we're talking about "behind their back"? Or something.

Hrm… I feel like I was never formal about my syscourse stances so here we go:

- I can’t fakeclaim or judge endogenic systems. It’s not my place. I understand both sides of the argument, but I can never truly see what’s going on in someone’s mind. I also think anything is possible and nuances definitely exist.

I share some similarities with endogenic systems and their functionalities.

- I can’t argue spiritual beliefs. It sounds like the line between “this is my belief” and “you’re spreading misinfo” is pretty damn thin. Where exactly should we draw that line though? I really don’t know. For myself, I don’t think expressing spiritual beliefs is the same as spreading misinformation. Do I think my system has spiritual origins? Nah. But if it helps you and your system, then go for it.

- Alter race isn’t a problem and this is such a strange argument to me. I don’t want to get super into it right now but basically this: If your alter can be gay or trans or human or animal, then your alter can be a different race. The issue would be the body claiming to be a race that it isn’t.

Ex: Our alter, Kyle, is white. The body is black. I can’t claim to be white and waltz into white communities and act like I know what it’s like to be white. Yeah, don’t do that. lol. But I’ve never met someone who did that, so I don’t know where this argument is coming from half the time.

- Both ends of the syscourse got their shit going on. I’ve seen terrible takes and fakeclaiming from both the endo and DID/OSDD/DDNOS systems

If we all sit and talk, I think we can better understand one another. Maybe even find a compromise. But neither side wants to do that.

It’s getting late so I’m gonna stop here. I typed this out to let you all know where I stand and to give you guys the ability to unfollow/block if needed.

Don’t worry! This blog isn’t going to turn into a syscourse blog or anything! But I can be vocal about my opinions sometimes and so… here’s some of those opinions. Do whatever you need to do with this information. I respect whatever decision you make.

here's my No Nuance November hot take, system edition:

if someone says they dont believe in alter accountability or taking responsibility for their alters, run. one of the biggest red flags i've ever seen

[ ENDOS/TULPAS OR SUPPORTERS DNI ]

The issue isn't having alters who internally appear to be of a different race. The issue is actually claiming the identity as if it's as valid as a body identity, and speaking over POC who say that's wrong. You can look at my #parethnic tag for more information, that's the word a lot of them use to claim that they're oppressed for looking different than the body does inside headspace.

it should be known that the endo community is racist and ableist and enables this behavior. im sayinng this as someone who doesnt care abt syscourse i just want you to know that this is a major main problem pwDID experience with them too. and im sad that system spaces arent safe for me anymore bc of it. they claim to have alters of color and take cultural names/ imagine claiming a native alter. native is your blood and ancestry.

then theyre ableist bc they actually call pwDID ableist for not supporting them (incorrect bc endo isnt a disorder according to them), and then they also call us ableist for not believing in system hopping. which is not real and an abuse tactic. it refers to like helidropping your alter in someone else’s headspace.

Yeah I definitely agree that systemhopping is an abuse tactic. This isn't tamagotchi.

idk i'm sure there are plenty of pwDID that have poc in their system, regardless of the race or ethnicity of the body. but i understand that it can be racist to even subconsciously cherry-pick the traits you believe are characteristic of that particular race.

Nope, you're the race of your body, sorry sweetheart.

Remember you're the race you idenity as. Parethnic alters are who they say they are

Since some idiot thinks that being anti endogenic systems is all about upholding white supremacy (wow, what a fucking take)

I don't care about assimilating into white supremacy because I'm not fucking white but I do still care about people being ridiculously ableist towards traumagenic systems (and racist, in the case of tulpas and parethnic/allaethnic stuff), and I haven't seen those issues addressed in your "liberation" movement, so... try again ❤ Not every "sysmed" has the same reasons, in fact most of us are actively against racism, more so than those in the "plural" community from what I can tell. Clean up your shit, then maybe we'll work with you.

Right, 'cause therapy for DID is 40 hours a week, consists of being deprived of your food needs in order to force compliance, and involves electroshocks.

If you haven't been through ACTUAL conversion therapy, assholes, don't act like you know what it is.

This? Right here? Is why endogenic systems are accused of ableism.

***one of these things is not like the other ones  🎵 🎵 🎵

I better be on that blocklist, given my URL. Link? (DMs work.)

JUST FOUND OUT WERE NUMBER 4 ON AN ANTO-ENDO BLOCKLIST LETS GOOOOOOO

Okay, gonna make this neat for debate reasons.

Alter race makes no sense to us at all. Honestly? No one alter can be a POC. It has to be the BODY that is POC. If you're a "POC" alter in a white body, shut up. You can't speak on POC experiences, you can't claim slurs, and you're simply a darker tone, but you are STILL BODILY WHITE.

To be 100% honest? Alters in white bodies using slurs or claiming to know the struggles of REAL POC and then saying "Oh, I'm POC in our innerworld" seems 1. abelist. 2. racist. 3. utter bullshit.

You are white bodily, mentally, and spiritually. You can not have ""memories"" of being oppressed. White people are not oppressed.

Shut up crackers.

It's pretty hard to give people specific trauma memories just by telling them they have trauma... I mean idgaf about other people's identities enough to tell them that kind of thing, but it's pretty hard to give someone detailed fake memories especially if they're an adult. You can't just do it by being like "lol you have trauma".

i fucking hate when people say endogenic systems are just traumagenic systems who don't remember their trauma. i do remember my trauma actually, it's just not why i'm plural! and telling someone they actually have trauma when you aren't qualified to is dangerous and how you give people fake memories.

.