desdecourse

[desdecourse]

“transrace identities aren’t harmful 🥺” here’s one example.

trans-white, an “identity” obviously stemming from internalized racism, trauma, or a harmful, racist environment. so you have people on tumblr telling traumatized people of color who aren’t comfortable in their identity to bleach their skin.

the support they need is to be encouraged to explore their identity, work through their internalized racism, and receive support on how to escape a toxic environment and find a space that supports who they are as people. not to bleach their skin and straighten their hair.

this is harmful.

[desdecourse]

on god if i ever saw a “transasian” or “transCrutchUser” or “transtrauma” individual enter a space of mine i’d be going to jail yall have no idea what it’s like and no right to insert yourselves into actual marginalized spaces

-

sure... because people who are " transautistic " toootttallllyyy have the same life experiences and struggles as someone with autism /s

Text ID: I firmly believe that transID people belong in the same spaces as people who are cis with those IDs. In my eyes, a transautistic person is no less than a cisautistic person. Transautistics people belong in autistic spaces. This applies to a multitude of other transIDs.

[desdecourse]

coming out of retirement to say that if you’re radqueer or even some of yall radinclus you are not allies to people of color nor any other oppressed groups and you are not welcome in their spaces 😜 you can’t be antiracist and also think it’s okay to be “transnazi” or “transharmful” or “transracist” because why are you supporting an “identity” that wants to be harmful to people of color 😁 you are in fact supporting racist ideologies and you are therefore racist. thanks!

[desdecourse]

breaking down the "Debunking Sysmeds" carrd (just for kicks 😍) part 2!!

here is the carrd linked again from part 1: this carrd

to reiterate from the first post, i will be referring to the person who made the carrd as the "creator" for simplicity's sake and using they/them as i do not know their pronouns (pls let me know if you do know what pronouns i should be using!)

----------

THE "CLAIMS AND REBUTTALS" (continued)

the fourth point is quite hefty!! so let's get into why the creator's rebuttal of "You're not Endogenic, you just have repressed trauma" is utterly laced with fallacies.

rather than actually rebutting this idea, the creator instead refers to this as "gaslighting" and insists that it would trigger people who don't know they have trauma into unpacking their trauma when they aren't ready. i don't necessarily think this is false, in fact, i definitely agree people should address their trauma when they're ready. however, this point is literally saying that all people who are systems have trauma, whether known or unknown (thus making them traumagenic), and instead of rebutting this, the creator just calls those who say this "gaslighters" and attempts to establish a moral high ground. it's a strawman - no one is saying that learning of your trauma when you aren't in the right headspace is a good thing, they are saying that trauma is ultimately what creates systems. should the creator wish to rebut this claim, they should focus on the trauma aspect rather than moralizing the claim.

the creator also highlights their experiences with traumatic memories they weren't ready for and pseudomemories they now experience as a potentially dangerous outcome of this claim. should this prove to be common, this is still cause for concern! people with no mental illness do not develop pseudomemories of extreme trauma, and those with extreme trauma still must be concerned about it, regardless of if they are a system or not. both of these are things that need to be addressed.

----------

their fifth point to rebut is the statement "You're not a system, you're just RP-ing/Daydreaming". i'm not going to share my thoughts on this one because i need to develop them more succinctly and i believe they deserve their own post, but i welcome analysis of that section if anyone has any!

----------

the sixth point rebutted is the idea that "DID is rare, it only affects 1% of the population." i agree with the creator that this is inaccurate, as does a majority of the system community! i don't see how it affects the validity of endogenic systems, as endogenic systems aren't DID systems.

---------

this seventh point is just absolutely drenched in some crazy phrases that i am SO excited to unpack, and it is related to the creator combatting the idea that "You are ableist if you use the label Endogenic, and you are appropriating a trauma disorder."

the creator once again brings up the idea that systems are "dissociative disorders, not trauma disorders," which, as previously established, are one in the same. they use this statement to argue that that part of the claim is wrong, i guess?? so strike one there. a direct quote from this section is "people are not inherently ableist for simply just existing and using a self-identifier" which is a total no thoughts, head empty thing to say - imagine if someone "self-identified" as having a severe physical illness, but slightly to the left, and then claimed to be the marginalized ones next to the people with an actual trauma disorder?

now, here's my all time favorite line from this whole carrd: "Labelling them as ableist for just existing is like calling a mixed race person racist for engaging in one of their races' cultures."

insert multiple question marks????????

as someone who is mixed race, i don't even think i have words for this one!!?? like i feel like i should never have had to explain that people self-identifying with a trauma disorder while actively claiming to not have trauma isn't the same as someone who can legitimately identify with a group being criticized from joining that group. like... pardon my french, how fucking stupid can you be? that was aggressive, but geez, like come on dude. have at least a little bit of awareness of your surroundings and your words and the way people experience the world. i swear no endo argument is complete without a little side of racism. your cute little "oh i have friends in my head for fun and not based on anything bad and it doesn't negatively affect me ☺️" is not even remotely close to "i am constantly in limbo between two worlds and am shunned from both, i have no sense of identity and my experiences often go unheard." gimme a break.

----------

the eighth claim is another big one, "[Term] is a traumagenic only term." their source for this one is complete dogshit, from a blog, and actually supports the idea that "system" is a DID-specific term, so not really sure what they set off to achieve there! the source says that "system" was used to refer to trauma-based systems in the 1980s and that endos started using "system" around the early 2000s, then goes on to say that DID systems never "reclaimed" the word, so it still belongs to all plurals. not... super sure how that logic works!

another interesting quote from this section is "Those labels cannot "belong" to the traumagenic community, because they are literally words used in everyday life with different meanings depending on the context." the word "belong" is used so interestingly here - turning this logic to, say, another mental illness, reveals the strangeness of this argument. it's like if someone who had anxiety said "the term 'ocd' does not belong to the ocd community!" just because they perceived some of their actions as similar to those with ocd and wanted to use the word. it doesn't "belong" to that community, it just is the word that that community is. that would not be the person with anxiety's term to use, full stop.

additionally, the "context" part is a total red herring. obviously, if the words are being used in the context of, say, a computer operating system, or the splitting of molecules, or the switching of seats on a train, these words have nothing to do with systems. to try to make a "gotcha!" point about context giving words meaning is a weak argument.

to be honest, i don't particularly care about who uses what word, i just find the logical fallacies here utterly shocking and wished to address them.

----------

continue on to part 3 for an analysis of the last two rebuttals and an analysis of the sources! if you've made it this far, thank you!

i will post part 3 tomorrow, i need some time to read through the sources and i'm tired xoxo

[desdecourse]

breaking down the "Debunking Sysmeds" carrd (just for kicks 😍) part 1!!

was sent this carrd by a friend and it's been a while since i've interacted with endo logic so here we go! <3 let's break it down section by section because whew girlie is chock full of bonkers misinformation! henceforth, i will be referring to the person who made the carrd as the "creator" and using they/them pronouns, as i do not know their pronouns (please let me know if anyone does!).

----------

THE "CLAIMS AND REBUTTALS"

if y'all don't stop using 20 different fallacies in your arguments... it'll be all over for you... seriously!

----------

the first point the creator tries to rebuff is the argument of "DID/OSDD-1 is a trauma disorder." starting off strong, i see! their response is essentially that nowhere in the diagnostic criteria within the DSM-V or ICD-11 does it say that DID/OSDD requires trauma. immediately going to stop you there - it may be to the creator's benefit to read any other page of the DSM. the third sentence on the intro page for trauma-related disorders is:

"Placement of this chapter reflects the close relationship between these diagnoses and disorders in the surrounding chapters on anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive and related disorders, and dissociative disorders"

additionally, had the creator read the ENTIRE DID entry, not just the diagnostic criteria, they would have found this lovely quote, found in the "development and course" section of the DID entry:

Dissociative identity disorder is associated with overwhelming experiences, traumatic events, and/or abuse occurring in childhood.

within this section, the creator also discusses an article written by allen j frances, the person responsible for the changing of MPD to DID, in which he discusses the abundance of false diagnoses of DID following the recognition of it as a disorder after the release of the DSM-IV in 1994. firstly, the creator of the carrd incorrectly stipulates that frances renamed MPD to DID in the DSM-V. secondly, the creator uses frances' criticism of increased DID diagnoses to demonstrate that the diagnostic criteria isn't to be trusted.

what.

so, to reiterate, we should trust the DSM-V when it doesn't emphasize trauma in the diagnoses (false), but we also shouldn't trust the DSM-V because of an article written by someone who had nothing to do with the DSM-V?

----------

the second point the creator decides to rebut is "Science says Endogenic systems don't exist." now, much of this argument is rooted in a few "studies" the creator has linked, which i will analyze more in a separate section reserved specifically for source analysis. but! one really interesting part of this section is the comparison between endogenics (an internet community and internet term) to "marginalized religions such as Shamanism" which is a direct quote.

something i really need endos on the internet to understand is that you can't compare your just-realized "system" of non-traumatic origins to the spiritual practices of highly religious individuals who have been practicing their religions for decades, engaging in extreme asceticism, and doing really intense internal reflection. and you especially shouldn't throw in words like "marginalized" to your argument. at what point does that become cultural appropriation?

i also find it soooo interesting that the creator refers to the otherkin and alterhuman communities as something that has "existed long before the term DID/MPD/OSDD-1/DDNOS." the first recorded use of "otherkin" was in 1990 in a newsletter from an elf club in kentucky, and it has been predominantly an online community. the concept of DID (MPD at the time) first appeared in the DSM-III in the 1970s.

the creator also refers to endogenic systems as something people "believe" in, which is... questionable in it's own right. it is interesting that they brought this point up in the section in which they are trying to combat the idea that science does not back up endogenic systems, as religious beliefs (with no proof, something that people simply "believe" in) and science (which is backed up by decades of research) aren't exactly comparable.

----------

the third point rebutted is the statement "You're not a system, you're schizophrenic/psychotic." honestly, not a big issue with this one. i've never heard anyone say this personally, but i can totally see it happening, and it definitely shouldn't be done. no one can really tell you what you're experiencing, so i take no issue with the creator on this one! i don't think this at all supports the existence endogenics, though.

----------------

i don't want to make this too long, so i'm going to write out the remainder of the points on a part 2!

[desdecourse]

Its so dumb that Lizzo and Beyoncé had to change their lyrics because people got “offended” over the word spaz, and the definition they gave for it was no where close to the definition Black people use for that word. White people use that word as some sort of strange slur to eachother but to black people it simply means “act up/act crazy” I genuinely wish both of them would’ve told folks to shut the hell up. White people love to use AAVE but time and time again it goes to show that y’all have no clue wtf is even being said. You don’t comprehend context or basic meaning. It’s not even the fact that you guys use AAVE for me, it’s that you INSIST on using it but will do so incorrectly. Not only do you sound dumb as shit when you do so, but you as a collective will bastardize the words and turn them into something completely different in the most negative way. AAVE is just like any other language/dialect. Learn the grammar and definitions of words.

[desdecourse]

this exactly. alters don’t just spawn with random beliefs. all alters share the same brain, and therefore the same prejudices and beliefs. some may be more cognizant of how those beliefs can harm others, but that doesn’t change the fact that those beliefs exist in their psyche.

system accountability is a wonderful thing, but using your alters to excuse prejudices you need to work through is not. and recognizing that you do have these harmful beliefs doesn’t make you a bad person - choosing not to work through it does. work through these issues with your alters, educate each other, learn how to counter these harmful beliefs, and be kind to one another. the hate will still be there even if you just ignore it.

If One Alter Believes It, You All Do (it’s okay, promise)

Time for another long post, though fair warning, I am a bit sleepy. I just feel this is a very important post to make.

This post is open to debate, from all sides of syscourse. However, this post is written with specifically DID/OSDD/UDD/p-DID in mind, and may not be applicable to Endogenic plurals or DID (umbrella term) systems have spiritual headmates. Please keep this in mind if you reblog.

TL;DR: If one alter says something, you cannot just pass it off as “their personal belief.” That’s a belief the system, as a whole, has, and it’s up to YOU to fix that belief if it’s harmful.

I’ve seen more and more frequently lately folks posting about their alter doing XYZ horrible thing, and immediately saying how they disagree with those things. “I’m sorry for what Someone said, it was homophobic and wrong.” “I’m an anti-endo alter, but that alter is pro-endo, I apologize for what they said.” “This alter sent harassment to people, we’re deeply sorry for the pain they caused.”

It’s been very lovely seeing the culture on tumblr shift to have more system accountability - the recognition that someone in your system did something wrong, and YOU (as a collective) need to apologize.

However.

These things are almost always followed by bullshit. “Because of their actions, they’ve been put into forced dormancy.” What? “X isn’t allowed to front anymore.” You’re kidding me.

Remarkably, shoving the homophobe into a corner does not, in fact, make a homophobe no longer homophobic. And shoving your problematic alter in “system jail” for a bit is not going to get to the root of the issue, and is ignoring a much bigger problem.

Alters are all parts of one whole; they are fragments of one personality. This means, if one alter is homophobic? Congrats. You’re homophobic.

“But Circ! This is erasing the individual beliefs of a system!” Nope! If one alter is homophobic, and another alter is not, then congrats - you’re all homophobic sometimes. Just like a singlet, your beliefs and what you stand for changes sometimes.

It’s an uncomfortable truth, one that a lot of systems don’t want to acknowledge. “That alter is bad though!” Yes. And whose problem is that? Yours! I’m so glad you’ve come to recognize that there is part of you that you dislike. It’s common for people to realize they have an aspect of themself that might be problematic or “not good.” What are you going to do to change that part of yourself for the better? “Oh, don’t worry, I’m just going to lock that sort of myself away forever and ever.”

🤦‍♂️

When you’re a system, you need to work through your shit. If you have an alter that is homophobic, then you need to look at it less like “wow that alter is an asshole” and more like “yikes. That alter is part of me: why are they this way?”

Yes, maybe pulling this alter from the front is a temporary fix. But that cannot be the end of the story! You need to then analyze why you have this alter, why they are this way, and how you can help them grow.

“My alter said something homophobic and is a horrible person when fronting. We have stopped them from fronting for awhile.” Awesome! What will you do next?

❌ I will never let them front again and will condone their actions. They will continue to be homophobic, but now it won’t bother anyone.

✅ I will work through some of my internalized homophobia with them and help them feel safe enough to open up about it. They can change for the better, and while I acknowledge that they won’t change immediately, I can do my best to try.

I have seen more and more systems lately treat forced dormancy or stopping “bad alters” from fronting as the end of the story. That simply is not the case. It is up to each individual system to help process their trauma and help those alters grow - that’s the only path to recovery. And never forget: they are part of you. You are locking a part of yourself away. That would not be healthy for a singlet, so why on earth would it be healthy for you?

[desdecourse]

counterpoint: not everyone who says they are a system is actually a system. you can be worried about faking and still not be a system. you could be misinformed, you could be experiencing a different disorder with similar presentations, you could be experiencing psychogenic symptoms or MPI, etc. as long as you aren’t actively faking though, that’s not “faking” that’s just misinterpreting your symptoms, and that doesn’t make you a bad person. the important thing is, if you realize you don’t actually have a disorder, you express that to the people you’ve told that you do and you are open and truthful about your experiences.

if the thought of you "faking it" makes you anxious or scared, and you didnt just decide to fake it, then you arent faking.

[desdecourse]

your daily reminder that alters are the body and they should be treated as such!

this includes an alter’s race, abilities, disabilities, age (when it comes to boundaries), assigned gender at birth, etc. please dear gods above stop speaking over actual marginalized groups. 

alters should not be claiming to be different races from the body. race involves specific experiences, culture, and consequences that come with a specific phenotype. an alter in a white body will never understand the experiences of a black person and should not claim to be anything other than white. doing so is racist and ignorant of how systemic racism and cultural identities work. it’s okay to say that you present a certain way in headspace, but never claim to actually be a different race.

alters should be treated as the body’s age. when it comes to boundaries and safety. adult-bodied systems and singlets should NOT be communicating inappropriately with minor-bodied systems, even if they’re speaking with an alter who presents as an adult, just as adult bodied systems should not be speaking inappropriately with minors, regardless of the age of an alter.

this also includes recognizing that littles are not literal children!!! many littles are extremely mature, can handle all of life’s problems, and take care of the body. people need to stop treating all littles like babies, and system spaces need to stop banning littles from speaking. littles are still the body’s age mentally. many littles do act like children though, just recognize that not all of them do.

individual alters cannot be disabled if the body isn’t disabled. it’s possible for alters to have altered abilities such as blindness or a limp, but they should not call themselves disabled if the entire body itself is not disabled. 

all alters have the same agab. while an alter may have a different agab in source or just as a feeling, assigned gender at birth is scientific and comes with specific experiences that those with different agabs will not experience. an alter in an afab body will have specific experiences with misogyny and sexism while existing in our society, and an alter in an amab body will have experienced stigmatization of traits that are considered “girly” and will have struggled differently than afabs.

—————————————————————————

if y’all are claiming to be a certain race/disability level/age/agab to speak for those people when you aren’t actually in that group, please please please educate yourselves on the actual struggles of that group. if you have privilege from your bodily traits, don’t invade the spaces of those who do not have those privileges.

[desdecourse]

what type of face wash do you guys use? personally i’m terrified of doing new things because i’ve been the first-born “experiment” child all my life who makes the mistakes and paves the way for my younger siblings, and i have no idea what i’m doing or how to survive college so i feel so alone and i’m frozen with fear about the uncertainty of the future. i’ve been using cetaphil but it really doesn’t work that great, so if anyone has any suggestions lmk.

[desdecourse]

the reason i hate the term “good-faith identities” is because it doesn’t matter what the intention is, it matters how it actually ends up hurting people. impact over intent. it doesn’t matter if you didn’t intend harm, it matters that you ended up causing harm, and when people start telling you that your identities harms others and you excuse it by saying “but it’s in good faith!”, it’s no longer in good faith. at that point you know it’s harmful and still choose to identify with it.

this applies to endogenic systems, transx identities, neopronouns with harmful terms like cults and abuse, xenogenders with offensive meanings, medpunk, etc. if you don’t know how these things are harmful, then you haven’t been listening to the people they affect.