We are Distinct People Living in One Body
We are the Redwoods. We are nine people living in one body. We identify as multiple.
Multiple is one term, and our preferred term, for describing being many people in one body. While most people have hardly ever heard of multiples, our global numbers are significant.
There is immense diversity around the experience of multiplicity. We hope to give you enough context to understand more clearly who we are as people and authors. Many may see themselves in our experiences, and we keep the larger world in mind, yet we do not speak for any group other than the Redwoods.
A common term for a group of people in one body is a system. For example:
“The Redwoods are a multiple system writing on Medium. They are nine people living in one body.”
Not everyone who shares this experience uses people to describe the members of their system. Other popular terms include parts, personalities and alters. We enjoy people because it humanizes our relationships to our selves and each other, and gives everyone room to grow.
What exactly makes a member of a multiple system? In more popular terms, what is the difference between fluid or variable personality, and “multiple personalities”? For us, and many systems, a defining quality is the distinctness of the experience of each individual member: of consciousness, agency, identity, and expression. To illuminate this further, here is a brief comparison of two members of the Redwoods: Alli and Z.
Z identifies as ageless, and prefers no pronoun, in other words, the use of Z as a pronoun.
Z: Hi, I have a deeper voice, am a great listener, am fairly nonjudgmental, and for some reason I have a slightly British accent. I identify as non-binary trans, specifically neutrois and am still figuring out my sexual orientation. My passions include working on the big picture of how to help multiples, supporting everyone here in the Redwoods, and laughter. I have a tendency to not occupy the senses, particularly the eyes, unless I am making a specific effort to do so. It’s just how my particular mind works. As a result I am less experienced around many visual topics, particularly TV and Film, because usually it’s someone else who has watched that.
Alli is 19 years old and uses the pronouns she and her.
Alli: Hey, I’m Alli! I really identify as vaguely somewhere between 19–21. I operate a lot of our visual life. I am in the process of discovering my interests, and just got tickets to a concert we are going to tomorrow that I am really excited about. I love everyone here, but some internal relationships are definitely more established than others, for a variety of reasons. I am really gay, in the umbrella-term sense. I tend to not experience eating that much. But I really notice what we wear, and often take initiative in design contexts. I have a looot of feelings and try to embrace my youth while managing the responsibilities of a slightly older body.
The statements from Z and Alli were shared unedited. As you can see, they have their own names, ages, gender identities, sexual orientations, and experiences of perception. Each of us is self-aware of those experiences, and has evolving reflections on self and others. Alli and Z can share a particular experience, from the mundane to the extraordinary, yet differ in their enjoyment or interpretation of what happened.
Harder to describe is the distinct somatic sensation of each member. How each member feels in the body, and how the body feels to that person, is unique. When Alli is present, she is aware of and relating to the body differently than when Z is present, or “in front.” Each of us relates to this same body from a unique perspective. We have different relationships with the nervous system, and the whole mind-body phenomenon.
In short, we are each who we are. In multiples in general, high degrees of variation have been described in medical literature, down to some members experiencing blindness while others are able to see.
Coming up, we will talk about what being the Redwoods has meant for us practically, and how we situate ourselves in the larger context of psychology and the world. Welcome aboard.
Thank you for reading. We know this topic raises many questions. Please follow along, as we are pacing ourselves and our readers. If you are ready to explore more, see our list of resources.
