Dear Plural Cafe!
In the last couple of days a lot of new people joined the Plural Café. Welcome, and great that you are here!
Getting to know people may take time. To help with that here is a list of bi-daily prompts for this month to inspire exchange and discussion! (For new and old folks alike of course.)
Credits to allofyggdrasil on Instagram, whose list of prompts for #multiplicitymay served as a basis for the list here.
finding identity for system members, on names/labels, thankful for advice
Are there any systems around that don't use names or labels to identify system members?
For a while we struggle to improve our understanding of each member's identity, which makes internal communication and addressing individual needs hard. For us somehow naming members didn't work out in the past, but all advice I found so far seems to be building on naming as a first step.
Either we're doing something wrong or maybe we need to try a different path. Does anyone have any suggestion?
Recently we wondered whether considering labels in the context of identity could be seen as something like linguistic shortcuts for descriptions of activities. Like "A painter is someone who paints", but maybe a bit more sophisticated for proper use. We wonder whether this approach to identify not by name, but by action would get us anywhere.
finding identity for system members, on names/labels, thankful for advice
Are there any systems around that don't use names or labels to identify system members?
For a while we struggle to improve our understanding of each member's identity, which makes internal communication and addressing individual needs hard. For us somehow naming members didn't work out in the past, but all advice I found so far seems to be building on naming as a first step.
Either we're doing something wrong or maybe we need to try a different path. Does anyone have any suggestion?
Recently we wondered whether considering labels in the context of identity could be seen as something like linguistic shortcuts for descriptions of activities. Like "A painter is someone who paints", but maybe a bit more sophisticated for proper use. We wonder whether this approach to identify not by name, but by action would get us anywhere.
"Who are YOU?" said the Caterpillar.
This was not an encouraging opening for a conversation. Alice replied, rather shyly, "I–I hardly know, sir, just at present– at least I know who I WAS when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then."
Lewis Caroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Chapter 5
Searching for good resources on plurality.
@teatime Hey, we do a lot of this on our Twitter so we'll just share our usual recommendations with you lol.
morethanone.info
endogenichub.weebly.com
di.org.au
pluralpedia.org (for terminology)
We tend to like L. B. Lee's stuff once you're more informed as well, but you may have to search for it — https://lb-lee.dreamwidth.org/
When you publicly enforce your boundaries, you:
- let others know what they are, in case they were unaware or unclear
- let yourself know you're capable of enforcing your boundaries
- let others who may want to enforce their boundaries but be unwilling to know what's possible
- expose & alienate people who won't respect your boundaries (& potentially others' as well)
- help normalize creating & respecting interpersonal boundaries within a social space
The eighth annual international Gender Census 2021 is now open until 10th March!
https://smartsurvey.co.uk/s/gendercensus2021
It's for anyone whose genders (or lack thereof) aren't described by the M/F binary. It's short and easy, and the results are useful in academia, business and self-advocacy.
mh~
Every now and then we get the blues. A very strong sensation something very essential is missing in our life. But we cannot put a finger on what it is.
Maybe it was there once, maybe never. Maybe one of us lost their mojo, maybe it's the key to clear up all that fog inside. Saudade without actually knowing what the fuss is all about.
In case you have any feedback or requests regarding the prompts or maybe on possible future instances of #multitober, #multiplicitymay or similar, feel free to let us know!
Plural system of half a dozen confirmed and quite a bit of fog. Learning and working on internal communication. At the moment only one member fronts here. Proper member introductions will follow as soon as things have settled for us.
Non-binary, considering agender/genderfluid. Pronoun-apathetic, use them/they when in doubt. Honouring other's pronouns of course! AMAB.
Telling stories makes us people. Got a story of your or somebody else's day or life? We're all ears!
Account locked, only so we feel more comfortable sharing private stuff. Happy to connect! DMs and boosts welcome! 😊
Will CW, please let me know if I forgot. Fave'ing negative personal posts is understood as expression of shared sentiment.