So, I want to break down this piece of “art” that I constantly run into when searching for autigender content. I’m doing this because a) I can’t sleep because it’s bothering me so much b) I want to help other autigender people who come across it and are similarly bothered. Break down some of the claims made. So, let’s begin.
First, the artwork itself.
First off, the implication that you’re the only autistic person who gets a say in the validity of the label is kind of weird. Every autistic person is different. “Your” autism isn’t a gender. “My” autism is. Our experiences are different. I know a frequent difficulty for autistic people is understanding that your perspective isn’t universal. So I’m trying to be understanding.
Now, the rant posted along with this piece of art.
You say this is not targeted towards transgender or nonbinary people. But the people you are targeting are literally trans or nonbinary. Autigender is an identity under the nonbinary umbrella. You say that you’re going after people who turn everything into genders. But why is that a bad thing?
Now we have the dictionary definition of autism. Seems somewhat accurate, if a bit dated. And yes, nowhere in the definition of autism is it listed as a gender. But this person appears to have a fundamental misunderstanding of what autigender is. Autigender is not “a gender that literally is autism”, though it can be that for some people. Autigender is a gender that is so fundamentally shaped by someone’s autistic experiences that the two are genuinely impossible to separate.
Yes. And your experiences with autism are perfectly valid. Doesn’t affect your gender? Not even a little bit? That’s all fine and dandy. Just because all autigender people are autistic doesn’t mean all autistic people are autigender. It’s like how all squirrels are mammals but not all mammals are squirrels. Just because your autism and your gender are completely separate doesn’t mean it works like that for other people. Again, I know this is a common trait for autistic people, so I’m trying to cut them some slack. I find it odd that this person felt the need to specify how their autism makes their life worse. Does identifying as autigender somehow erase the struggles autistic people go through? How? Like, I’m genuinely curious. I’m autigender and I would never say that my autism isn’t debilitating at times.
How does autigender existing make fun of your diagnosis? Or imply that autistic people aren’t human beings? The only reason you would think it implies that would be if you don’t see nonbinary people as human beings. Also, “actual” autistic people? I’ve been diagnosed with autism since age 5, and as soon as I discovered the term autigender I instantly fell in love with it. Next, this person, who just stated in their last paragraph that they are a cisgender woman, starts talking about what’s offensive to transgender people. What I find interesting is the fact that autigender people are somehow exempt from all the bad things that happen to transgender people. Someone who seeks out a trans person to commit a hate crime against isn’t going to stop if they see the person wearing an autigender flag pin.
Now we are being sent links to NIMH resources on autism, schizophrenia, depression, and anxiety. There’s this weird assumption that people who use these genders don’t know anything about the condition, which is very odd because these genders are exclusive to those with the condition. Yes, none of the resources talk about how said condition can affect gender. Because someone’s anxiety playing a role in their gender is mostly harmless. These resources are for doctors who need to know how to treat harmful symptoms. Gender identity can become inherently disordered (an example being Transgender-OCD), but for the most part a gender identity being affected by neurodivergence is not something that needs treatment. And once again, a cis woman deciding what constitutes transmisia.
I hope you enjoyed this breakdown. If not, I don’t care. It was cathartic for me and that’s why I made it. Now I should really get to bed.
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