something I've wanted to get off my chest that I don't really talk about in public is that ever since I was a teenager I've always been around and have had great sympathy for people who have what I might call "alternative identities". I'm sure there's a fancy academic word for what I'm talking about, but what I mean by alternative is that they have ways they define their identities that fall outside the social norms.
When I was young and frequented a lot of furry sites on the internet a concept that came up regularly was otherkin. Now it's been a LONG LONG while since I've spoken to someone who identified as an otherkin so I'm not going to try and talk to much about them to avoid misrepresenting them. What I do clearly remember was how hostile people tended to be about the concept. I've never quite understood why people are so hostile towards the way other people try to define their identities.
Another group that I've actually talked to a lot that are often mocked or treated as a taboo in most places are Age Regressors. I've always ALWAYS HATED how much they would be the butt of jokes online. Or worse they'd be misrepresented as a whole as dangerous predators. In my experience age regressors and other people with age related identities are pretty often victims of dangerous predators who are just trying to cope with their trauma and mostly keep to themselves.
In recent years I've found myself around another group, plural systems. You might know their condition as Dissociative Identity Disorder, DID, or often misrepresented as multiple/split personality disorder. I've actually had multiple friends over the years who are plural systems. They tend to be some of the nicest and most respectful people I've ever met. Its a shame how much hostility I see sometimes from people towards plural systems, even people who are otherwise respectable in every other way I've seen have violent misconceptions about plural systems.
I've experimented over the years with some of these identities. And still plan to. I think people should have the freedom to identify with whatever they please, for whatever reason they need to.