Partner System
A partner system is a relationship term used in plural or multiplicity communities for two systems that are in a dedicated relationship with one another.
In these communities, plurality or multiplicity refers to the experience of more than one distinct person, identity, or self sharing a single body or mind. The group may be called a "system," while individual members may be called "headmates" or "alters." Some plural systems have conditions such as dissociative identity disorder (DID), but plurality and DID are not synonymous, and being plural does not require a DID diagnosis.
A relationship between partner systems may be romantic, sexual, platonic, familial, or a combination of these. Because each system contains multiple people, the relationships between individual headmates may also differ. For example, two systems might consider themselves romantic partners overall while particular headmates have platonic, sexual, romantic, or no relationship with particular members of the other system.
The term partner system can therefore describe both the broader relationship between two systems and the more complex network of relationships that may exist between the individual people within them.
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