All systems ARE valid and deserving of a place in the community.
Why? Because ALL systems have traumagenic dissociative disorders.
No childhood trauma and/or dissociation? Not a system in the first place. Never mind being “valid”. You’re not a system, period.
Got tulpas? Cool. Got a lot of kin-types? Cool. Roleplay really enthusiastically? Great. Age regressor? Lovely. Got “imaginary friend” type headmates? Nice! Experience “voices”? Okay! (although you definitely want to see a doctor about that if possible)
Still, none of these things make you a system host by default.
What DOES make you a system is experiencing a large number of the diagnostic criteria - stressful or painful childhood events, splitting when re-traumatised (or in some cases just stressed), behaving and thinking differently, changes to handwriting and/or drawings, dissociation (depersonalisation and derealisation), chronic dizzying headaches, internal communication, physical sensations when switching, contradictory opinions and thought, retreating into headspace, memory loss, false memories and amnesia, etc. etc.
If you do experience these things, look into medical resources that can help you, such as research and discussion of your experience with a medical professional!
When we achieved internal communication and learned we were actually plural, we quickly got ourselves onto a waiting list for a therapy programme and have been waiting to be seen ever since. We also started seeking out various medical sources to help us learn more about what we were going through and found that we genuinely meet almost all of the diagnostic criteria and that the information we read described how our mind works with exact accuracy.
I’m not saying you NEED to be diagnosed to call yourself a system. Getting a formal diagnosis isn’t at all easy for everyone. You do, however, need to be absolutely sure you experience the related symptoms.
It’s irresponsible to just label yourself without understanding the nature of what you’re going through.
It’s always been about experiences first and labels second.
Assuming you’re a system without seeking any kind of medical information is really dangerous to yourself and the community.
And DO NOT try to gaslight us into thinking that endogenic culture is “harmless”. It perpetuates misinformation about how systems work and only makes the already skeptical and ableist world turn against us even more. I have personally spoken to people who were extremely cruel to me about my disorder because of misinformation they received from endogenics. We were subjected to victim blaming and horrible name calling because somebody thought they understood plurality after reading posts made by endos. It’s happening, and denying that it’s happening means denying the direct harm endogenic culture has caused us.