There seems to be a lot of confusion when it comes to like, alters that appear in the headspace as a race other than the body. What is or isn't respectful? Can you draw them? Mention their appearance? & I mean, not every poc will have the same views on this

So that being said, take mine with a grain of salt.

First, the way I usually hear a statement abt this phrased is "White systems need to stop claiming to have alters that are poc". But no matter ur stance on this it needs to apply to all races. Not all systems are white and

someone whose body is black claiming Chinese culture (for example) isn't rlly better. Especially judging by principle alone

I think there are different things to think abt when it comes to these things tho. There's some gray area too.

See I like having accounts of my own. Lots of alters do. Since I appear as white & my body is mixed with white, I'm not quite misrepresenting a race or culture. But it'd be different if in headspace I had the features of a race that isn't mine.

I see uneducated non systems mock this, "Yeah one of his alters is black haha!"
And imo it's best not to say "I am/have a black alter", but better to say something to the extent of "Their/my appearance has black influences". It's a lot better to specify "appearance" and

"influences" although I wouldn't PERSONALLY be offended by either statement. If I knew u were nonblack, "I have a black alter" doesn't bother me in itself. No matter how u put it, the way their existence and appearance are treated by your system are more important.

Your appearances, interests, accents, likes, dislikes, etc are a part of you, alter or not. It's not a choice. But ofc, the way you outwardly express this can reflect harmful stereotypes even if u don't mean it to.

If you have an accent u can't help I'm not gonna tell u not

to talk bc it offends me. That's ridiculous. But if ur gonna repeatedly say "giiirrrlll" and snap your fingers talking abt kool aid, we might have a problem.

There's no way to "act" like a race. Some poc will also push the idea that there is but it's not true.

But what you can act like is a racial stereotype.

If you depict yourself with art or avatars that's fine but keep it respectful. Not sexualized or looking like a caricature. Not when ur sharing those things especially

One unfortunate reality is though, that if you're outright stating the race you're influenced by you'll most likely have to disclose that it isn't ur actual background. It would be unfair for someone to befriend u thinking u had a connection on a cultural basis when u don't.

Yes, this robs you of some individuality. It would kinda be wrong for an alter of a white bodied system to have like a picrew of a black person that's clearly supposed to be u without any mention that ur body is black. 100x worse if u speak on black issues.

I know that how u appear & feel are very personal and real to u. But race isn't just color or appearance. That's why "I appear____" is better than "I am _____" because I'm sorry, but you aren't that race. You are a depiction of how your brain interprets that race.

And there's nothing wrong with that- there's nothing wrong with YOU. I myself have alters who are influenced by other races. They don't bring that stuff up & if it's relevant somehow they're VERY careful in how they talk abt it & clear in that it isn't their actual background.

And yes, you're allowed to express urself however but w/ this just be careful abt how u display this to others. Like I said, if certain music or art or something is comforting to u, that's cool! But if ur basically playing dress up (See: Nadia from D*ssociaDID), that's a problem.

Be aware of what is or isn't acceptable. If it's appropriative for other races to do it at all, that goes for u too if ur body isn't that race. And if u do respectfully appreciate it, don't treat it as if ur embracing your own culture or connecting with ur lineage

I can't stress enough that I'm not the only poc in the world and u need to listen to others too. I can't allow/disallow anything, but I can share my perspective. Learn through conversation & informed judgement. You might fuck up a few times. Let yourself learn, be you, it's gucci