Date First Written: October 2014
Polykin Are Not Multiple
We’ve only been out in the therian community and similar communities as a multiple system where most of our headmates are nonhuman in identity (and thus other kin by definition) since 2010 yet we’ve already lost count on the times people have mistaken us for just a singlet who has a huge number of kintypes. This misunderstanding has certainly lead to issues over the years. Sometimes its caused people to use “polykin,” “multiple,” etc simultaneously which has lead to confusion on our part and others in discussion. Sometimes its lead to people thinking of us as singlet with named and gendered theriotypes. So on and so forth. So to start off, let’s define what multiple is and what otherkin (and the subsets polykin/polytherian) means.
An otherkin is an individual that identifies as something nonhuman on an integral and personal level. A single person whose body image is that of a nonhuman species. The species they identify as being is called their kintype. When an otherkin has more than one species they personally identify as, they are called a polykin. Thus a polykin is an otherkin with more than one kintype. (The term therian describes someone who specifically identifies as an Earth animal. The animal they personally identify as is specifically called a theriotype. A polytherian is when a therian has more than one theriotype.)
A multiple is when separate people/personalities/entities share one physical body. It is a matter of more than one person sharing one physical body. These individuals have their own names, species, gender, likes, dislikes, and the whole nine yards. Further, the members of a multiple system (often called either alters, headmates, or parts) may or may not be nonhuman. The term says nothing about the species identity of those people in the multiple system. A member of a multiple system can even be polykin. In truth, multiple systems are commonly made up of mostly or entirely humans. (At least based on statistics done on multiples diagnosed with DID, as non-DID multiples haven’t really be studied extensively.)
So, multiples are not polykin. The former is where MORE THAN ONE PERSON shares one body together. The latter is when one person identifies as more than one species. Someone who has more than one kintypes is different than being multiple because someone with many types is still one individual person. Those more than one kintypes are still what that one person identifies as. A multiple system however is when a body actually holds many individuals. Thus they have their own identities, separate from one another. Multiples are not mere aspects, “moods,” etc of the same person.
In short, being otherkin is a state of your own species identity. Being multiple is the state of your sharing living space with other people. So being multiple and being polykin are different things.
- Jordan
An otherkin is an individual that identifies as something nonhuman on an integral and personal level. A single person whose body image is that of a nonhuman species. The species they identify as being is called their kintype. When an otherkin has more than one species they personally identify as, they are called a polykin. Thus a polykin is an otherkin with more than one kintype. (The term therian describes someone who specifically identifies as an Earth animal. The animal they personally identify as is specifically called a theriotype. A polytherian is when a therian has more than one theriotype.)
A multiple is when separate people/personalities/entities share one physical body. It is a matter of more than one person sharing one physical body. These individuals have their own names, species, gender, likes, dislikes, and the whole nine yards. Further, the members of a multiple system (often called either alters, headmates, or parts) may or may not be nonhuman. The term says nothing about the species identity of those people in the multiple system. A member of a multiple system can even be polykin. In truth, multiple systems are commonly made up of mostly or entirely humans. (At least based on statistics done on multiples diagnosed with DID, as non-DID multiples haven’t really be studied extensively.)
So, multiples are not polykin. The former is where MORE THAN ONE PERSON shares one body together. The latter is when one person identifies as more than one species. Someone who has more than one kintypes is different than being multiple because someone with many types is still one individual person. Those more than one kintypes are still what that one person identifies as. A multiple system however is when a body actually holds many individuals. Thus they have their own identities, separate from one another. Multiples are not mere aspects, “moods,” etc of the same person.
In short, being otherkin is a state of your own species identity. Being multiple is the state of your sharing living space with other people. So being multiple and being polykin are different things.
- Jordan