This might be ridiculous, but I often wonder about autism and gender and if they’re connected in some way. I say that because I’m autistic and often think about how I don’t view myself as a man or have any attachment to gender. I think it’s something to do with gender being at least partially (almost entirely imo) a social construct and having trouble understanding that aspect of gender creates a kind of agender feeling for me.
I didn’t quite understand this feeling until my late 30s and I’m not sure what it means, but like I gotta work tomorrow and shit so I just try to not think too hard about it ya know? I think if I had a better childhood with a support system and knew about the autism earlier, I might have spent more time thinking about gender in my youth
Yeah, autigender seems to encapsulate what I’m talking about. Also neuroqueering explains some of it for me as I think some of my “rebellious” behaviors like wearing dresses, makeup, etc when I was a teenager in rural Alabama might have really been driven by a demand for autonomy and resistance to gender norms. Although I didn’t read a lot about it yet and might be misinterpreting the meaning
I’m not the one to explain this because I literally read about it for the first time today. This is what I read, and then the blog in the comments too because I like a lot of perspectives and wanted a blatant example.
https://neuroclastic.com/an-introduction-to-neuroqueer-theory/
Yes, actually that’s the exact line of thinking that led me to discovering it. After being told for years that I was a man, how you’re supposed to think and talk and act like a man…I just didn’t get it at all. Then came the thought “well maybe you’re not a man?” and I was like 🤯
Lol I get that, I didn’t realize I wasn’t cis till my mid-20s and even then I didn’t settle on nonbinary til after tons of introspection
I at least may be non-binary.
I don’t really think of myself as a man, you know?
This might be ridiculous, but I often wonder about autism and gender and if they’re connected in some way. I say that because I’m autistic and often think about how I don’t view myself as a man or have any attachment to gender. I think it’s something to do with gender being at least partially (almost entirely imo) a social construct and having trouble understanding that aspect of gender creates a kind of agender feeling for me.
I didn’t quite understand this feeling until my late 30s and I’m not sure what it means, but like I gotta work tomorrow and shit so I just try to not think too hard about it ya know? I think if I had a better childhood with a support system and knew about the autism earlier, I might have spent more time thinking about gender in my youth
There is a thing called “Auti-gender.”
Yeah, autigender seems to encapsulate what I’m talking about. Also neuroqueering explains some of it for me as I think some of my “rebellious” behaviors like wearing dresses, makeup, etc when I was a teenager in rural Alabama might have really been driven by a demand for autonomy and resistance to gender norms. Although I didn’t read a lot about it yet and might be misinterpreting the meaning
What is neuroqueering?
I’m not the one to explain this because I literally read about it for the first time today. This is what I read, and then the blog in the comments too because I like a lot of perspectives and wanted a blatant example. https://neuroclastic.com/an-introduction-to-neuroqueer-theory/
Okay, I will check this link out!
Yes, actually that’s the exact line of thinking that led me to discovering it. After being told for years that I was a man, how you’re supposed to think and talk and act like a man…I just didn’t get it at all. Then came the thought “well maybe you’re not a man?” and I was like 🤯
Good thinking, tbh