Page Shepard | He/They | 24 | Queer

Page Shepard

Age: 24
Pronouns: He/Him, They/Them
Honorific: Mx.
Gender: Non-binary
Sexuality: Bisexual
Other: Nonhuman, system, pagan, queer.

Interests:

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Do Not Follow, if:

► You're a TERF/SWERF/Radfem
► You're truscum
► You're sysmed
► You're an exclusionist
► You're pro-censorship
► You're anti-otherkin
► You're anti-furry
► You're anti-kink
► You're a MAP, bestialist, or "ζoosexual"
► You're queerphobic, racist, bigoted, etc.

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Sites

Three Dragons and a Dog
🔞 Tumblr 🔞
🔞 Twitter 🔞
🔞 Furaffinity 🔞
🔞 Newgrounds 🔞
🔞 Mastodon 🔞
🔞 Pillowfort 🔞
FlightRising
Ko-Fi
CuriousCat

Sites marked with 🔞 may potentially have NSFW content!
Continue at your own risk!

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Discourse Alignments

Are you truscum or anti-truscum?

► I am anti-truscum.

► To explain: I think it’s ridiculous to try and base the validity of someone’s gender identity and desire to transition on specifically the existence of and severity of their gender dysphoria. It’s a point of view that looks at gender identity and transitioning as though they exist within a vacuum, two things which are only affected by gender dysphoria and nothing else–and that’s just not true.

Additionally, what does attempting to measure the validity of someone else's gender identity accomplish? It prevents people who are questioning their gender from feeling as though they can safely reach out to others who have been in a similar position to themselves, for fear of being grilled on an identity and experience they are still trying to understand, or for even being prematurely banished from a community of similarly target individuals for not having the "right" type of experience. It pressures transgender individuals into a mold, and only makes it harder for us to support one another.

It's worth noting that I am someone with both gender dysphoria and gender euphoria, and that these both influence my opinion on the matter.

Are you sysmed or anti-sysmed?

► I am anti-sysmed.

► To explain: My partner has academically studied psychology, and is pursuing an eventual PhD; by virtue of having dated me, someone with multiplicity, for five years, he has brought the subject up with the professionals he has access to in an effort to understand it as best he can. To plagiarize his words on the subject and what he's learned from talking to others in his field, trauma might not be the only thing that "splits" the mind. From just the professional psychology perspective, dissociative disorders by themselves are not very well understood--there are already efforts to redefine how we think of Dissociative Identity Disorder, and of how multiplicity falls under that disorder. There's every possibility that multiplicity (or plurality, whichever term is appropriate in this setting) does not always have to stem from dissociation. Additionally, even if it does have a dissociative component, multiplicity itself does not necessarily have to be classified as a form of psychopathology. In these cases it is better defined as an abnormality, understood as just a weird anomalous possibility for the human mind. Essentially, the mind or psyche isn't 'broken' or 'malfunctioning', it's just functioning differently, in a way that is very rare. DID isn't defacto the only way multiplicity can exist; think of it similarly to how all apples are fruits, but not all fruits are apples. While all DID cases have a multiplicity component to them, not all instances of multiplicity are definable as DID.

Beyond this, there are alternative theories in how multiplicity might arise in one physical entity: there's every chance that the "parts" that make up a traditional singlet existence were not conventionally 'put together' in the first place. Alternatively, for any variety of unknown factors (environmental, prenatal, genetic, etc.) it's not impossible to imagine that someone could be somehow induced into splitting at such an early developmental stage that it might as well have been at birth. Whether or not it naturally originated via mutation, was induced by outside factors, or some mixture of the two, there is just a wide of body of evidence that trauma is not a required component for multiplicity and that multiplicity itself isn't necessarily always a form of dissociation.

The main issue with the subject as a whole is that it is just not well researched or understood. It's not a topic that is of dire concern, it is notably interesting but it isn't as pressing as things as the opioid epidemic, widespread depression, and a litany of other topics that vast majority of researchers are currently focused on. This results in a situation where we know it's not necessarily well understood, but it's just kind of on the back-burner; we'll get to it eventually. Right now all we have to work off of right now are the evaluation of people that come by, and even when you evaluate cases of multiplicity via our current standards there's plenty of multiplicity cases that just aren't traumatic, dissociative, or otherwise understood as being caused by any of the factors we conventionally thought induced multiplicity.

Essentially, to stop merely Ctrl+Ving my partner's commentary on this, our understanding of multiplicity is extremely limited, and I think it’s quite ridiculous to try and toss some people under the bus just because we don’t completely understand why exactly they are the way they are, or just because the DSM–a book which is constantly changing as we forward our understanding of various disorders–does not specifically mention them under its criteria. If anything, we should use this to take steps forward into not only de-stigmatizing multiplicity, but also to try and develop a deeper and more thorough understanding of it from a psychological standpoint.

It's worth noting that I am part of a four-person, entirely non-human quoigenic system, and that I have seen licensed therapists regarding my multiplicity. That influences my opinion on the matter.

Are you an exclusionist or inclusionist?

► I am an inclusionist.

► To explain: Aces and aros are LGBT; non-binary people are trans. The sort of criticisms and language we see aimed at both groups is almost word-for-word recycled from the discourse aimed at bisexuals; it’s obvious that the discourse most self-proclaimed ‘exclusionists’ sprout doesn't hold any water when you hold it up to light.

Are you pro-self-diagnosis or anti-self-diagnosis?

► I am typically pro-self-diagnosis.

► To explain: Oftentimes it is obvious that something is wrong, and, sometimes, it is impossible to get help. There are times when you have to be your own advocate. These are simple facts.

However, self-diagnosis does have the potential to be extremely misleading and even dangerous if you attempt self-treatment with drugs or other substances, instead of getting an appropriate prescription or developing helpful coping mechanisms. Thankfully, this issue rarely comes up; however, it is still worth mentioning in this context.

Are you a pro-shipper or anti-shipper?

► I would consider myself neither.

► To explain: Fiction can absolutely affect reality, but it needs to be recognized that censorship isn’t an appropriate reaction to writings that contain darker content. While the claim that certain genres may be normalizing harmful stereotypes or behaviors is a very legitimate criticism, that doesn’t make it right to attack small-time content creators or give one person the right to define what another person is allowed to create or partake in. In addition to that, relying on laws or attempting to create laws for the purpose of policing certain genres or themes in fiction creates a dangerous precedent that would no doubt affect unintended targets, because A) you can’t trust the government not to target minorities or specific individuals which it views as a threat, and B) you cannot trust such laws to tell the differences between honest exploration of darker themes and perverse fetishization.

Both creators and consumers need to be critical of the content they create and consume. This isn’t a one-way street and it’s not necessarily a black-and-white issue.

There’s also a point that needs to be made about separation: if someone writes a grisly murder mystery, that does not mean they, the author, are advocating for their readers to go out and commit murder. While they could definitely be supporting the normalization of harmful stereotypes or ideas within their writing and that’s something that needs to be addressed, they themselves are not advocating for their readers to become murderers. I’ve seen a lot of implications that if someone includes something terrible in their work then they therefore endorse it in real life, and that just isn’t always realistic. Circumstances around the work matter. There’s a huge difference between someone with a history of extreme transphobia creating art of trans people being boiled alive, versus someone writing a post-apocalyptic AU where fictional characters end up cannibalizing each other out of desperation. One’s clearly meant to hurt other actual people, while the other one’s just an exploration of a theme/story/genre/cliche with fictional characters at stake.

Are you a SJW or anti-SJW?

► I would consider myself neither.

► To explain: These terms have essentially lost all real meaning. "Anti-SJW" can mean anything from someone who's conservative, to someone who's overly-sensitive and controlling, to someone who has controversial opinions. "SJW" can mean anything from a radical liberal, to someone who's overly-sensitive and controlling, to someone who has controversial opinions. These terms haven't had any real meaning to them since 2016, let's be honest with ourselves here.

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Definitions & Personal Understandings

Nonbinary? What does that mean?

► Nonbinary (or non-binary, depending on the spelling), is in reference to a gender identity which is neither strictly male or strictly female; it can be used as its own standalone gender identity, or as an umbrella term in reference to any gender identity which fits the previously mentioned definition.

► For me personally, I experience gender dysphoria on both sides of "the spectrum," so to speak-- I experience gender dysphoria both when being referred to as a man, and as a woman. In addition to this, I only feel body dysphoria regarding my chest, and only seek to partially transition. Because of this, I identify as both non-binary and trans, and have identified as such since approximately 2013.

Bisexual? What does that mean?

► Bisexuality has many definitions, including: attraction to both same and different genders; attraction to two or more genders; attraction to both men and women; attraction regardless of gender; and far more than I can list here.

► For me personally, I experience attraction towards people regardless of gender identity. I choose to identify as bisexual over pansexual because I identify more strongly with the history and political implications that come alongside the bisexual label, than I do those that come alongside the pansexual label. The two communities also feel very different, and I find myself much more comfortable in the former than the latter.

Polyamorous? What does that mean?

► Polyamory can be defined as a desire or willingness to be in multiple intimate relationships at one time, with the informed consent of all parties involved. To be polyamorous is to engage in polyamory.

► For me personally, I am happy to be involved with multiple primary partners at one time, but typically do not tend towards dating more than three people at once. I tend to not seek out secondary and tertiary partners-- if I am dating someone, I'm dating them because I want to be involved with them for the long haul and view them as an important part of my life. Generally all my partners are primary partners.

Pagan? What does that mean?

► Pagan has many different definitions, and something of a wrought history. It can be used to reference polytheistic religions, non-majority religions, individuals with (potentially eclectic) spiritual practices outside of established organized (also meaning government-recognized) religious groups...and that's not even touching on academic discourse and definitions of the term!

► For me personally, I utilize the term "pagan" so as to be purposefully vague. My religious affiliation, views, and experiences are deeply personal to me and not something I like to give many details about online.

System? What does that mean?

► A system (short for "multiple system") is a word used to reference a group of entities or individuals sharing one singular physical body. These individuals are often referred to as "alters/alternates" or "headmates" in plural circles.

► For me personally, I am part of an entirely non-human four-person quoigenic system and have been either since birth, or at such a young developmental point that it may as well have been at birth.

Furry? What does that mean?

► A furry is someone who is invested in the subculture surrounding anthropomorphic animals. This can involve things like having an anthropomorphic animal character to represent oneself (commonly referred to as a fursona), or engaging in media that depicts anthropomorphic animals (ex. video games with animal characters, fantasy series with animal characters, etc.).

► For me personally, I've always enjoyed anthropomorphic animal characters, and I love the character-design elements present in the furry community. There's an immense amount of creativity and love that goes into some of the characters and art that people make. I enjoy these aspects of it and that's part of why I consider myself a part of the community. It's also just plain ol' fun!

Otherkin? What does that mean?

► Otherkin are individuals who consider themselves intrinsically non-human on a non-physical level, most often spiritually or psychologically. Explanations on this identity differ widely from 'kin to 'kin.

► For me personally, I identify as a canine psychopomp and prefer to utilize the term folcintera over otherkin. My hypotheses behind my identity generally lean towards the more spiritual side due to the relevance my species has in my religious beliefs, but are not static, and are constantly evolving as I learn more about myself and psychology as a field continues to learn more about the human mind and its intricacies. I have identified as nonhuman since 2014 and as folcintera since 2021.

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