Articles are the central focus of Ex Uno Plures. Over the past sixteen years, members of Plures House – as well as guest authors – have written various articles about plurality (including multiplicity and clinical Dissociative Identity Disorder), from philosophical explorations of identity to practical advice about dealing with non-plural friends, family and acquaintances. We hope that the articles are helpful for plural systems and allies alike. (We alternate the terms ‘plurality’ and ‘multiplicity’, though we prefer ‘plural’ for its umbrella nature.)
Introductions to plurality
Who Are We?, by Jack Dawkins, Jamie Dawkins and Lilly Ghia-Wilberforce (2013). A brief introduction to who we are and how we work.
Rules of Engagement: Plural Etiquette, by Em Flynn, Jack Dawkins and Hess Sakal (2013, with material adapted from earlier 2007 articles). Some suggestions about how to talk to and about a plural system, based on our own experiences.
Living plural
Keeping It Together, by Jamie Dawkins (2016). Practical advice about working together as a system and building the best life possible.
Transitioning while Plural, by Yavari Caralize (2017). Down-to-earth tips about navigating transgender transition as a plural system.
Thor Still Has to Pay the Bills, by Jack Dawkins (2017). Plurality may be delightfully weird and complex, but it’s still important to handle responsibilities like bills.
Working while Plural, by Vladimir Romanov, Jamie Dawkins, Yavari Caralize and Hess Sakal (2023). Advice about how to navigate the workplace as a plural system.
Our plural experiences
Our Plural Experience, by Yavari Caralize (2014). Brief explanations of how we experience plurality for ourselves.
Separated by a Common Language, by Jack Dawkins (2017). A discussion of how we use language differences to express our individuality.
Medical models of multiplicity
Dissociation and Assumptions, by Richard Ghia-Wilberforce (2007). An article questioning the idea that all multiplicity has to fit into the DID paradigm perfectly.
Plurality for Skeptics, by Em Flynn (2011). A list of explanations and rebuttals to common concerns about multiplicity.
Taking the Evangelists to Task, by Jack Dawkins (2011). An article critical of the idea that multiplicity has to be cured to achieve positive outcomes after trauma.
Plurality, Scepticism and Civility, by Richard Ghia-Wilberforce (2012). An appeal for reason and civility when talking about subjective identity.
Subjectivity versus Delusions, by Jack Dawkins (2014). Contrasting multiples’ subjective experiences with clinical delusions connected with thought disorders (eg, schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder) and manic episodes in bipolar disorder.
Three Problems with Medical-Model-Only Thinking, by Jack Dawkins (2017). A set of problems that arise when multiplicity is forced into a strictly medical explanation.
Deconstructing Structural Dissociation, by Jack Dawkins (2019). A thorough review of—and rebuttal to—Onno van der Hart, Ellert Nijenhuis and Kathy Steele’s The Haunted Self: Structural Dissociation and the Treatment of Chronic Traumatization (2007), a book that presents a reductive, narrow view of Dissociative Identity Disorder and multiplicity generally.
Mutually Emergent Association, by Jamie Dawkins (2019). A proposed alternative model for trauma-based multiplicity that focuses on long-term well-being without condemning plurality in and of itself.
Philosophical explorations of plurality
You Are Not Your Body, by Hess Sakal, Jack Dawkins and Richard Ghia-Wilberforce (2007). Discussions of individual differences within systems.
It’s All in Your Head!, by Jack Dawkins (2009). An article about subjective experiences that doesn’t require supernatural belief.
Subjective Lives, by Jack Dawkins and M.D. (2009) A defence of subjectivity.
Plurality and Complexity, by Richard Ghia-Wilberforce and Noël Dawkins (2010). Disquisitions on the nature of self and identity in a plural system.
Getting Serious about Plurality by Jack Dawkins (2012). A case for treating plurality as a philosophical phenomenon.
Parallel Dreams, by Jack Dawkins (2013). How systems can develop their own themes or leitmotivs.
Secret Worlds Inside Us, by Jack Dawkins and Lilly Ghia-Wilberforce (2017). A discussion of inner worlds/otherworlds.
Engendered and Ensouled, by Jack and Noël Dawkins (2011/2017). A detailed essay about the nature of selfhood and identity formation amongst plural systems and trans people.
Relationships and social interactions
Where’d My Friend Go?, by Jack Dawkins, Richard Ghia-Wilberforce, Hess Sakal and others (2007). Sometimes it’s confusing finding out your friend is actually a plural system and that you’ve got to know several people at once. Here’s an article that aims to explain that.
Another One’s Left in the Dust, by Jack Dawkins (2008). Addressing misconceptions about plurality and interpersonal relationships.
Being ‘The Front’ versus Your Authentic Self, by Jack and Noël Dawkins (2012). An article contrasting the effort it takes to hide plurality compared to being open about it.
Problems with the Plural Closet, by Jack Dawkins and Richard Ghia-Wilberforce (originally written in 2009, expanded and edited in 2014). An article about the difficulties some plural groups encounter when they have to act as though they’re not plural.
Relationships within systems
Defending System-Mates, by Richard Ghia-Wilberforce (2008). An article defending the need to support headmates in arguments (without sockpuppeting, of course!).
In-System Relationships: Fact and Fiction, by Jack Dawkins (2012). Clarifying some misconceptions about what it means to have an in-system relationship (yes, they can happen!).
Issues within the plural community
Oh No! It’s the Plural Police, by Hess Sakal (2009). Questioning the idea that there is one proper way to be multiple.
Dispelling stereotypes about multiplicity
The Littles Stereotype, by Lilly Ghia-Wilberforce (2007) An article addressing the stereotype that all children in systems have to fit a particular model of behaviour.
EVIL DEMON ALTERS!, by Hess Sakal (2007) – warning for animated GIFs. A criticism of the ‘evil demon alter’, especially when applied to system-members who are neither evil nor demons.
Sticky Terms, by Hess Sakal (2007). A list of terms used to describe plural systems and the people in them, and the benefits and drawbacks of each of them.
Divisions in Plurality, 1.0, by Jack Dawkins (2007). An explanation of toxic dynamics in the plural community in 2007. Still up here for historical reasons.
Sniglets!, by Hess Sakal (2008). Descriptions of how some non-plural people can express stereotypes against multiples.
You Just Want to Be Special!, by Jack Dawkins (2009). A criticism of the idea that systems are just trying to be special, rather than just trying to exist.
Divisions in Plurality, 2.0, by Jack Dawkins (2009). An update to the original ‘Divisions in Plurality’.
The REAL ONE?!, by Hess Sakal (2011). A criticism of the idea that every system must have a ‘real’/’original’/’hosting’ member in order to be valid.
Questioning ‘Types of Alters’, by Lilly Ghia-Wilberforce (2013). A criticism of the idea that members of plural systems have to belong to circumscribed roles.
Divisions in Plurality 3.0, by Jack Dawkins (2015). An updated version of ‘Divisions in Plurality’.
It’s Not Just a Social Media Thing, by Jack Dawkins (2015/2017). An exhaustive critique of the myth that multiplicity originated on social media platforms like TikTok and Tumblr.
Fictive Identities, by Noël Dawkins (2017). An explanation of fictive identities from a non-supernatural perspective.
Flying Toasters Not Required, by Jack Dawkins (2017). A criticism of the idea that plural systems must have mystical powers or high intelligence in order to be valid.
Plurality and social justice
The Race Issue, 1.0, by Jack Dawkins (2008). A discussion of how racial identity and multiplicity intersect.
The Race Issue, 2.0, by Jack Dawkins (2009). An updated discussion of the intersections between plural identity and race.
The Race Issue, 3.0 by Em Flynn (2014). Em’s contribution to the race-and-plurality discussion, with a focus on stereotyping.
The Race Issue, 4.0 by Jack Dawkins, Hess Sakal, Vladimir Romanov, Em Flynn and Yavari Caralize (2023). A Q&A about plurality, race, stereotyping and misconceptions.
Non-Plural Privilege, by Jack Dawkins and M.D. (2009). An article about how plurality is associated with stigmatising attitudes around mental health, described with a privilege/oppression paradigm. Not necessarily an opinion we still hold, but we have kept it up for historical reasons.
Are Plurals Oppressed?, by Jack Dawkins (2013). An updated article that discusses the complexities around plurality and mental illness stigma.