Why I Love Symmetra; The Representation of Autistic Individuals In The Media
I am an Overwatch stan. The game, the characters, the fandom…I love it all to death.
Like all Overwatch players, I have my favorites: Junkrat, Reaper, Sombra. But there is one character with a much deeper meaning.
Symmetra gives me humongous Portal and anti-villain vibes. Deep down, she knows Vishkar is evil, but can’t let herself break away. In a world of heroes, villains, and everything in between, she is one of the most morally complex characters. And she’s also autistic.
The comic “A Better World” first created this idea. For a while, it was nothing but speculation. Then Jeff Kaplin did a wonderful thing and confirmed that yes, Symmetra is on the spectrum.
After learning this about her character, I went and read the comic. And then my heart exploded, because Blizzard handled the whole thing perfectly.
Symmetra’s autism does not define who she is. It is part of her character, but not what she’s known for. Like every other human being, she has personality traits and hobbies that define who she is. Autism is just part of her complex self.
However, all of this brings up a point. As someone with high-functioning autism, I care very much about how autistic individuals are represented in the media. And the thing is…we aren’t.
The first half of this is what TV Tropes calls “Hollywood Autism.” When an autistic character is present, they tend to have a certain set of characteristics. They’re usually male, a savant, and extremely awkward. They can’t live a normal life, and their autism is put on display. In short, it defines who they are.
This is simply not realistic. Some people may have those traits, but not all of them do. We are on a spectrum for a reason: autism is not one size fits all, and it shouldn’t be treated as such.
Then there’s the other part of this: no representation. Take a minute and think, really think, about how many autistic characters you can name. Off the top of my head, I can think of three: Symmetra, Billy from the Power Rangers movie, and the main character from Atypical.
Simply put, there aren’t enough of us. Not explicitly, at least. We’ve all seen it: that character on a show or in a movie that probably has some kind of learning difference, but it’s never outright stated. The reason? It creates controversy. If a character is autistic, people argue, then others can’t relate.
Screw that. We need to get rid of the Ambiguous Disorder trope. So what if a character has autism or any other learning difference? That is only one part of who they are. It should not define them, much like we shouldn’t let it define each other.
In addition, we as a society must do away with the stereotypes surrounding learning differences. Stop calling them disabilities; it pisses those of us with them off. If you’re going to create a character with one, talk to people who actually have it. RJ Cyler, who played Billy, actually went out and talked to autistic people from all parts of the spectrum. We need more of that.
In short: Symmetra’s representation makes me happy. And Hollywood needs to give us more of it.
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