1990 - 1999
Medical
Diagnostic Changes
In 1994, multiple personality disorder was renamed to its current name, 'dissociative identity disorder,' in the fourth edition of the DSM (DSM-IV). There were two main reasons that DID researchers suggested this name change. Hersen et al. states the one of these reasons is that the term 'personality' defines "the characteristic pattern of thoughts, feelings, moods, and behaviors" of the whole brain [1:488]. This is what makes alters identities rather than personalities. According to psychology's definition of personality, having multiple personalities would mean having multiple brains! The second reason for the name change is that "the older term emphasized the concept of 'many' personalities" rather than dissociation [1:488].
In 1994, the ICD-10 lists DID as the 'multiple personality' subtype of dissociative [conversion] disorders within the neurotic, stress-related, and somatoform disorders category.
In 1994, the ICD-10 lists DID as the 'multiple personality' subtype of dissociative [conversion] disorders within the neurotic, stress-related, and somatoform disorders category.
Community
Literature
In 1999, Cameron West, Ph.D. publishes First Person Plural: My Life As A Multiple, an autobiographical book written about his personal experiences with DID. This book would go on to be a USA Today best seller, reach #1 on Amazon & Barnes & Noble, endorsed by Oprah Winfrey, and even had its movie rights purchased by Disney Studios (although a movie has not been made yet).
In October of 1996, a DID/MPD info and support website called Divided Hearts began publishing an online newsletter. This may have been one of the first DID-focused online newsletters, if not the first one. An archived list of the 1996-1997 issues can be found here. |
Plurality
Sometime in the late 90s, the first person to identify as a plural introduced the labels 'plural' and 'plurality' for those who experience being more than one person but are not talking about dissociative disorders. In their personal essay, they state that "'[m]ultiple,' even standing by itself, brings to mind [...] specific diagnoses created by the medical/therapeutic community. 'Plural' is a much more neutral word, more commonly heard in the context of grammar than psychiatry" [9]. The term was quickly spread about by the online multiplicity community, and many people would use the terms 'plurality' and 'multiplicity' interchangeably.
Most likely in 1996 or 1997, the midcontinuum was introduced by The Vicki(s). Inspired by the dissociative continuum, the midcontinuum was the idea that plurality itself could exist on a spectrum. Midcontinuum dissociatives were those for those who felt somewhere 'in-between' having no plurality and having florid, severely dysfunctional DID. The Wonderful World of the MidContinuum was a webpage that The Vicki(s) created to share resources and the lived experiences of those who felt they belonged on the midcontinuum.
Most likely in 1996 or 1997, the midcontinuum was introduced by The Vicki(s). Inspired by the dissociative continuum, the midcontinuum was the idea that plurality itself could exist on a spectrum. Midcontinuum dissociatives were those for those who felt somewhere 'in-between' having no plurality and having florid, severely dysfunctional DID. The Wonderful World of the MidContinuum was a webpage that The Vicki(s) created to share resources and the lived experiences of those who felt they belonged on the midcontinuum.
Usenet Groups
The longest running group for people with dissociative disorders, alt.support.dissociation (also referred to as ASD), was created in September, 1994. This Usenet group is still active in the present day and is now managed by Google Groups. An updated FAQ page for the group can be found here.
Another usenet that had a close relationship with the DID community was alt.sexual.abuse.recovery (ASAR), a group created in 1991. In 1994, ASAR would expand into ASARian Incorporated, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing resources for survivors and supporters, such as peer support, web hosting, unix shell accounts, and DID/MPD resources. Many of the early webpages on dissociation, multiplicity, and plurality were hosted on ASARian! (Here's a list!)
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Controversial
Natural Multiplicity Movement
In 1995, Astraea's Web, the first webpage to describe non-disordered plurality, was created by the Astraea group.
Sometime between 1995 and 1998, Astraea's Web coined 'natural multiplicity.' They theorized that multiple personalities was not a disorder and occurred spontaneously instead of developing from trauma and dissociation [2],[3]. While they were most likely describing what we now call plurality, their webpage described it as non-disordered MPD/multiplicity.
Sometime between 1997-1998, 'empowered multiplicity' was coined by Shaytar and Bekaio to describe plurality that wasn't dissociative identity disorder [4]. On a webpage, they explained that coining empowered multiplicity was their way of "trying to distinguish from [the] 'this-is-a-terrible-disorder-that-must-be-cured' view of multiplicity." To them, empowered multiples were those who had more than one person sharing one body, took responsibility for their system, and did not view their plurality as a disorder needing to be cured [5]. |
In 1998, a website called Dark Personalities was launched by the Anachronic Army who had their own definition of empowered multiplicity to share. Their definition was similar to Shaytar and Bekaio's save for their views on functionality. To them, empowered multiples put a huge focus on functionality and were separate from, what they called, 'survivor multiples' [6].
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Their dichotomy between empowered and survivor multiples contained many disparaging ideas and stereotypes about those with trauma and disabilities. Along with Dark Personalities' rising popularity, their definition of empowered multiplicity quickly overshadowed the original.
While some people felt a strong connection to Anachronic Army's definition, others found it to be prejudical and exclusionary. This would lead to a large amount of strife between the online community as it was segregated into these polarizing categories. This was were many of the first syscourses between online plurals and multiples arose.
In late 1999, a short-lived website and online community for empowered multiples, called MultiGardens, was founded. It was closed completely and taken offline due to both syscourse and a lack of resources for maintenance. ". . . [W]hen we say 'multi' anything, we get a lot of hurt and angry 'I am DID' types upset at us and our ideas of non-disordered multiplicity," one of the founders expressed in their closing statement [7].
Sometime later, Shaytar would announce that empowered multiplicity was not meant to exclude survivors and it was never their intention to insight so much conflict. Despite this, 'empowered multiplicity' was still meant to exclude MPD/DID [5]. This is because, just like Astraea, Shaytar was never actually describing MPD/multiplicity--something that they also later came to acknowledge in an essay [8].
While some people felt a strong connection to Anachronic Army's definition, others found it to be prejudical and exclusionary. This would lead to a large amount of strife between the online community as it was segregated into these polarizing categories. This was were many of the first syscourses between online plurals and multiples arose.
In late 1999, a short-lived website and online community for empowered multiples, called MultiGardens, was founded. It was closed completely and taken offline due to both syscourse and a lack of resources for maintenance. ". . . [W]hen we say 'multi' anything, we get a lot of hurt and angry 'I am DID' types upset at us and our ideas of non-disordered multiplicity," one of the founders expressed in their closing statement [7].
Sometime later, Shaytar would announce that empowered multiplicity was not meant to exclude survivors and it was never their intention to insight so much conflict. Despite this, 'empowered multiplicity' was still meant to exclude MPD/DID [5]. This is because, just like Astraea, Shaytar was never actually describing MPD/multiplicity--something that they also later came to acknowledge in an essay [8].
References
Image Credit
- Hersen, M., Turner, S. M., Beidel D. C. (2007). Adult Psychopathology and Diagnosis. Hoboken, New Jersey: J Wiley.
- Astraea: Is Multiple Personality Natural? (archive.org)
- Plural Deep Dive: The Natural Multiplicity Theory P.1 (tumblr.com)
- The Politics of Language ~ Stardance : Shaytar's Space (archive.org)
- What Is Empowered Multiplicity? ~ Stardance : Shaytar's Space (archive.org)
- The Empowered - Dark Personalities (archive.org)
- MultiGardens - taken offline (archive.org)
- Jade. (2005). Soulbonding? Bentspoons. Retrieved from http://www.bentspoons.com/Shaytar/ soapbox/notsb.shtml. Archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20020923232639/http:// www.bentspoons.com/Shaytar/soapbox/notsb.shtml#donato-if.
- Vickis. (1998). The power of naming. Asarian. Retrieved from http://www.asarian.org/~vickis/ naming.html. Archived at https://web.archive.org/web/19980115122056/http://www. asarian.org/~vickis/naming.html.
- M., R. (1989, June 1). Recovering. Many Voices Press, p.7
- Kluft R. P. (1988). The postunification treatment of multiple personality disorder: first findings. American journal of psychotherapy, 42(2), 212–228. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.1988.42.2.212
- The Wonderful World of the MidContinuum (archive.org)
Image Credit
- First Person Plural: My Life as a Multiple, by Cameron West, Ph.D.
- ASARian Inc
- BlueJay Young of Astraea
- Dark Personalities