ActuallyAutistic Wiki - User contributions [en]

The pathology paradigm

2022-10-01T17:54:21Z

Tullo-x86: Add links; clarify opening paragraph

<blockquote>They're either a benefit or a hazard. If they're a benefit, it's not my problem.</blockquote>

— Rick Deckard, ''Blade Runner''

----

The '''pathology paradigm''', or '''medical model''', consists of trying to get people's bodies and actions to conform to entitled societal expectations. It's essentially medicalised conformity to the majority. This includes, but is not limited to, conversion "therapy". Contrast with the ''[[Neurodiversity|diversity]] paradigm'', or ''social model'', which allows consent and bodily autonomy, asserting instead that people who belong to minorities are not broken and that a healthy population benefits from diversity.

To a large extent, the twentieth century view of mental health, and even some physical health, was chiefly concerned with making people in minority groups — especially invisible minority groups — conform to the majority. Fundamentally, the goal was to force a diverse range of people to conform to the unrealistic and entitled standards of the majority: to pass for straight, cisgender, endosex, [[Allism|allistic]], and so on.

Twentieth century mental health professionals didn't concern themselves with improving minority groups' comfort, such as by reducing causes of minority stress. Instead, they concerned themselves with improving the comfort of the majority groups those people interacted with, actively ''increasing'' their minority stress. Those of us who were making other people uncomfortable enough were seen as a problem to fix.

Many doctors still think in terms of the medical model, trying to make people's bodies and minds conform to social norms, regardless of the wants and needs of the people actually in those bodies, who ''are'' those minds. Many doctors had, and still have, a paternalistic complete disregard for consent. They ignore people's lived experience in favour of their own beliefs, largely a collection of stereotypes, believing themselves to be objective and unbiased in much the same way a colonialist might believe they're the only person without an accent.

You would see this with John Money, Richard Green, and Ole Ivar Løvaas, all of whom were far too influential.

Note the commonalities in:

* "Fixing" healthy intersex babies' bodies
* Refusing to fix [[Gender|trans]] people's bodies
* Torturing gay people into pretending to be straight
* [[Applied Behavior Analysis|Torturing autistic people]] into [[Masking|pretending to be allistic]]

These all ''very negatively'' affect the patients' mental health, because they're not trying to help people be comfortable. They're trying to force people to conform, for ''other people's'' entitled comfort.

As a society, we can be better, and we need to be better.

== Quotes ==

<blockquote>While the gatekeepers consistently argued that these methods were designed to protect the transsexual, the way they were executed (especially prior to the mid-1990s) reveals an underlying agenda. Whether unconscious or deliberate, the gatekeepers clearly sought to (1) minimize the number of transsexuals who transitioned, (2) ensure that most people who did transition would not be "gender-ambiguous" in any way, and (3) make certain that those transsexuals who fully transitioned would remain silent about their trans status. These goals were clearly disadvantageous to transsexuals, as they limited trans people's ability to obtain relief from gender dissonance and served to isolate trans people from one another, thus rendering them invisible. Rather, these goals were primarily designed to protect the cissexual public from thier own gender anxiety by ensuring that most cissexuals would never come face-to-face with someone they knew to be transsexual.</blockquote>

— Julia Serano, ''Whipping Girl'', 2007<ref name="bk-whipping-girl"/>

<blockquote>This insensitivity towards trans people's pain indicates that the gatekeepers were far more concerned with protecting the cissexual world from the existence of transsexuality than they were with treating trans people's gender dissonance. Perhaps nothing demonstrates this better than the gatekeepers' willingness to deny trans people treatment (despite knowing how common it was for this group to become depressed and suicidal when unable to transition) solely based on the superficial criteria of trans people's appearances.</blockquote>

— Julia Serano, ''Whipping Girl'', 2007<ref name="bk-whipping-girl"/>

<blockquote>In what seems to be complete contradiction of the most basic tenets of psychotherapy, trans people were required to invent gender-consistent (i.e., cissexual) histories for themselves, so that if they were ever questioned about their pasts, they would not have to reveal their trans status. While this requirement was purportedly put into place to protect the transsexual from the cissexual public, it is clear that what concerned the gatekeepers the most was protecting the cissexual public from the transsexual... Canonical writings on transsexuality also argued that, for transsexuals embarking on their transitions, "a change in geographic location is almost mandatory," and that "continued association with an employer... should be terminated so as to ''avoid any embarrassment to the employer''."... At every turn, the gatekeepers prioritized their concern for the feelings of cissexuals who were related to, or acquainted with, the transsexual over those of the trans person.</blockquote>

— Julia Serano, ''Whipping Girl'', 2007<ref name="bk-whipping-girl"/>

<blockquote>In terms of discourse, research, and policy, the pathology paradigm asks, in essence, "What do we do about the problem of these people not being normal," while the neurodiversity paradigm asks, "What do we do about the problem of these people being oppressed, marginalised, and/or poorly served and poorly accommodated by the pervailing culture?"</blockquote>

— Nick Walker, ''Neuroqueer Heresies'', 2013<ref name="bk-neuroqueer-heresies"/>

<blockquote>This is the fundamental problem with the diagnostic criteria, which define autism entirely based on how autistic people inconvenience or bother neurotypicals. That is why the main treatments are focused on modifying our behavior, not on helping us live with the experience of being autistic better.</blockquote>

<blockquote>You cannot learn to not be autistic, but practitioners do indeed un-diagnose people or fail to diagnose people if they have learned to mask or compensate because frankly, they don't give a toss how much that masking costs us.</blockquote>

— fietsvrouw, 2021<ref name="rd-fundamental-problem"/>

== References ==

<references>
<ref name="bk-neuroqueer-heresies">''Neuroqueer Heresies'', Nick Walker, page 29</ref>
<ref name="bk-whipping-girl">''[https://archive.org/details/whippinggirltran0000sera/page/120/mode/2up Whipping Girl]'', Julia Serano, pages 120-125</ref>
<ref name="rd-fundamental-problem">[https://www.reddit.com/r/AutismTranslated/comments/nf84c2/comment/gyk3lch/ This is the fundamental problem with the diagnostic criteria...]</ref>
</references>

[[Category:Autistic paradigms and terminology]]

Pathology paradigm

2022-10-01T17:44:02Z

Tullo-x86: This page already exists, lmao

#REDIRECT [[The pathology paradigm]]

Dedicated interest

2022-10-01T17:37:23Z

Tullo-x86:

{{Stub}}

A '''dedicated interest''' (or '''special interest''' as defined by non-autistics) is a deep and abiding curiosity and fascination about a particular topic. The topic could be anything, and could range from a very broad field, such as physics or ocean life, to as narrow a subject as a single species of mushroom or an individual episode of a cartoon.

Dedicated interests often come and go over a person's lifetime and may last [[Hyperfixation|a few months]] to many years. Some people have several dedicated interests at a time while some have only one, and sometimes dedicated interests that had faded away can come back and be a central focus again.

== Terminology ==

The name '''dedicated interest''' is somewhat recent, but is gaining popularity among autistic academics who are trying to break away from the [[Pathology paradigm|language of pathology]] (the viewpoint that autism is aberrant rather than a natural and common difference) to build language that [[Neurodiversity|celebrates neurodiversity]]. Under the pathology paradigm, dedicated interests are labelled '''special interests''' — a term which is coming to be seen as patronising, especially when applied to adults.

Another proposed alternative is '''autistic area of expertise''' ('''AAE'''). <ref name="james-smith" />

{{Comment|Any others? I always used passion, vocation, and obsession before realising I was autistic...}}

== Distinction from hobbies ==

What distinguishes a dedicated interest from a plain interest or a hobby is its intensity and the distinctive way a person interacts with it. A dedicated interest draws your attention so strongly that you feel like you never get tired of it. You want to spend time on it every day; you might wake up thinking about it and still be thinking about it as you fall asleep. You might go looking for more information or reread your favorite passages about it whenever you get a free moment. It may be an important part of how you organize your understanding of the world, a framework you relate all your other knowledge to. It may fill you with a deep sense of satisfaction and happiness to engage with it, and you may feel frustrated and overwhelmed by the world when you have to spend too much time away from it.

== Hyperfixations ==

{{Comment|What's the difference between a hyperfixation and dedicated interest?}}

See also: [[hyperfixation]]

== Importance ==

Dedicated interests are often a source of great [[Autistic joy|joy and fulfillment]] in life for Autistic people, and it's important for Autistic well-being to engage with and encourage them. Some people build careers around their dedicated interests, but that's not the only way to make a place for them in your life. Dedicated interests that no one else understands, that you pursue only for your own satisfaction, are every bit as valuable. Spending time on dedicated interests can be a good way to relax and get some relief from an overwhelming world. And bringing joy is enough reason to celebrate their existence.

== Bias in autism research ==

As doctors and scientists originally only looked for autism in white boys, they incorrectly believed — and sometimes still believe — that dedicated interests can only be in things like trains, planes, and math. It's just as common for people to have dedicated interests in horses, literature, and art. It's not about ''what'' you're interested in, so much as ''how deeply'' you're interested in it.

== Examples ==

{{Comment|Let's add a few varied examples of dedicated interests, emphasising how it's not ''just'' stereotypical ones such as trains (although that's fine too), preferably with off-site links to photos of people's collections.}}

== References ==

<references>
<ref name="james-smith">[https://www.quora.com/What-s-the-difference-between-hyperfixation-ADHD-and-a-special-interest-autism/answer/James-Smith-4601?ch=10&oid=247287365&share=e201ddd5&target_type=answer James Smith on Quora]</ref>
</references>

[[Category:Autistic paradigms and terminology]]

[[Category:Stubs]]

Pathology paradigm

2022-10-01T17:36:46Z

Tullo-x86: Created page with "The '''pathology paradigm''' is the worldview which has dominated the sphere of autism research for most its brief history. Within this paradigm, it is held that there is one "right" or "normal" way for human brains to be configured (or one narrow "normal" range into which human brains ought to fall), and that anyone whose brain falls outside of this classification has a flaw which ought to be corrected<ref name="throw-away-tools"/>. == Examples of the pathology paradig..."

The '''pathology paradigm''' is the worldview which has dominated the sphere of autism research for most its brief history. Within this paradigm, it is held that there is one "right" or "normal" way for human brains to be configured (or one narrow "normal" range into which human brains ought to fall), and that anyone whose brain falls outside of this classification has a flaw which ought to be corrected<ref name="throw-away-tools"/>.

== Examples of the pathology paradigm at work ==

* Classifying autism as a disorder<ref name="dsm-5" />
* Referring to autism as a global health crisis
* Research on theories of causation (e.g. [[Spectrum 10K]])
* Use of medicalised language that frames autism in terms of symptoms and treatment
* Subjecting autistic children to [[Applied Behavior Analysis|cruel Behaviorist interventions]] to train them to act "normal"

== References ==

<references>
<ref name="throw-away-tools">[https://neuroqueer.com/throw-away-the-masters-tools/ Throw Away The Master's Tools] — Dr. Nick Walker (she/her)</ref>
<ref name="dsm-5">[https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/hcp-dsm.html Diagnostic Criteria - Autism Spectrum Disorder] — United States Centers for Disease Control</ref>
</references>

Dedicated interest

2022-10-01T17:13:26Z

Tullo-x86: Update language to align with page move & explain the origin of the term "dedicated interest"

{{Stub}}

A '''dedicated interest''' (or '''special interest''' as defined by non-autistics) is a deep and abiding curiosity and fascination about a particular topic. The topic could be anything, and could range from a very broad field, such as physics or ocean life, to as narrow a subject as a single species of mushroom or an individual episode of a cartoon.

Dedicated interests often come and go over a person's lifetime and may last [[Hyperfixation|a few months]] to many years. Some people have several dedicated interests at a time while some have only one, and sometimes dedicated interests that had faded away can come back and be a central focus again.

== Terminology ==

The name '''dedicated interest''' is somewhat recent, but is gaining popularity among autistic academics who are trying to break away from the [[Pathology paradigm|language of pathology]] (the viewpoint that autism is aberrant rather than a natural and common difference) to build language that [[Neurodiversity paradigm|celebrates neurodiversity]]. Under the pathology paradigm, dedicated interests are labelled '''special interests''' — a term which is coming to be seen as patronising, especially when applied to adults.

Another proposed alternative is '''autistic area of expertise''' ('''AAE'''). <ref name="james-smith" />

{{Comment|Any others? I always used passion, vocation, and obsession before realising I was autistic...}}

== Distinction from hobbies ==

What distinguishes a dedicated interest from a plain interest or a hobby is its intensity and the distinctive way a person interacts with it. A dedicated interest draws your attention so strongly that you feel like you never get tired of it. You want to spend time on it every day; you might wake up thinking about it and still be thinking about it as you fall asleep. You might go looking for more information or reread your favorite passages about it whenever you get a free moment. It may be an important part of how you organize your understanding of the world, a framework you relate all your other knowledge to. It may fill you with a deep sense of satisfaction and happiness to engage with it, and you may feel frustrated and overwhelmed by the world when you have to spend too much time away from it.

== Hyperfixations ==

{{Comment|What's the difference between a hyperfixation and dedicated interest?}}

See also: [[hyperfixation]]

== Importance ==

Dedicated interests are often a source of great [[Autistic joy|joy and fulfillment]] in life for Autistic people, and it's important for Autistic well-being to engage with and encourage them. Some people build careers around their dedicated interests, but that's not the only way to make a place for them in your life. Dedicated interests that no one else understands, that you pursue only for your own satisfaction, are every bit as valuable. Spending time on dedicated interests can be a good way to relax and get some relief from an overwhelming world. And bringing joy is enough reason to celebrate their existence.

== Bias in autism research ==

As doctors and scientists originally only looked for autism in white boys, they incorrectly believed — and sometimes still believe — that dedicated interests can only be in things like trains, planes, and math. It's just as common for people to have dedicated interests in horses, literature, and art. It's not about ''what'' you're interested in, so much as ''how deeply'' you're interested in it.

== Examples ==

{{Comment|Let's add a few varied examples of dedicated interests, emphasising how it's not ''just'' stereotypical ones such as trains (although that's fine too), preferably with off-site links to photos of people's collections.}}

== References ==

<references>
<ref name="james-smith">[https://www.quora.com/What-s-the-difference-between-hyperfixation-ADHD-and-a-special-interest-autism/answer/James-Smith-4601?ch=10&oid=247287365&share=e201ddd5&target_type=answer James Smith on Quora]</ref>
</references>

[[Category:Autistic paradigms and terminology]]

[[Category:Stubs]]

Special interest

2022-10-01T17:00:42Z

Tullo-x86: Tullo-x86 moved page Special interest to Dedicated interest: "Special interest" is a patronising term rooted in the language of pathology rather than that of neurodiversity

#REDIRECT [[Dedicated interest]]

Dedicated interest

2022-10-01T17:00:42Z

Tullo-x86: Tullo-x86 moved page Special interest to Dedicated interest: "Special interest" is a patronising term rooted in the language of pathology rather than that of neurodiversity

{{Stub}}

A '''special interest''' (often abbreviated to '''SpIn''') is a deep and abiding curiosity and fascination about a particular topic. The topic could be anything, and could range from a very broad field, such as physics or ocean life, to as narrow a subject as a single species of mushroom or an individual episode of a cartoon.

Special interests often come and go over a person's lifetime and may last [[Hyperfixation|a few months]] to many years. Some people have several special interests at a time while some have only one, and sometimes special interests that had faded away can come back and be a central focus again.

== Terminology ==

As some find the term "special interest" somewhat patronising, especially when applied to adults, there are a few alternatives: '''Autistic area of expertise''' ('''AAE''').<ref name="james-smith" />

{{Comment|Any others? I always used passion, vocation, and obsession before realising I was autistic...}}

== Distinction from hobbies ==

What distinguishes a special interest from a plain interest or a hobby is its intensity and the distinctive way a person interacts with it. A special interest draws your attention so strongly that you feel like you never get tired of it. You want to spend time on it every day; you might wake up thinking about it and still be thinking about it as you fall asleep. You might go looking for more information or reread your favorite passages about it whenever you get a free moment. It may be an important part of how you organize your understanding of the world, a framework you relate all your other knowledge to. It may fill you with a deep sense of satisfaction and happiness to engage with it, and you may feel frustrated and overwhelmed by the world when you have to spend too much time away from it.

== Hyperfixations ==

{{Comment|What's the difference between a hyperfixation and special interest?}}

See also: [[hyperfixation]]

== Importance ==

Special interests are often a source of great [[Autistic joy|joy and fulfillment]] in life for Autistic people, and it's important for Autistic well-being to engage with and encourage them. Some people build careers around their special interests, but that's not the only way to make a place for them in your life. Special interests that no one else understands, that you pursue only for your own satisfaction, are every bit as valuable. Spending time on special interests can be a good way to relax and get some relief from an overwhelming world. And bringing joy is enough reason to celebrate their existence.

== Bias in autism research ==

As doctors and scientists originally only looked for autism in white boys, they incorrectly believed — and sometimes still believe — that special interests can only be in things like trains, planes, and math. It's just as common for people to have special interests in horses, literature, and art. It's not about ''what'' you're interested in, so much as ''how deeply'' you're interested in it.

== Examples ==

{{Comment|Let's add a few varied examples of special interests, emphasising how it's not ''just'' stereotypical ones such as trains (although that's fine too), preferably with off-site links to photos of people's collections.}}

== References ==

<references>
<ref name="james-smith">[https://www.quora.com/What-s-the-difference-between-hyperfixation-ADHD-and-a-special-interest-autism/answer/James-Smith-4601?ch=10&oid=247287365&share=e201ddd5&target_type=answer James Smith on Quora]</ref>
</references>

[[Category:Autistic paradigms and terminology]]

[[Category:Stubs]]

Gender

2022-09-27T23:16:07Z

Tullo-x86: Format "sex"/"gender" headers as actual headers

'''Gender''' is a broad term which includes one's identity, expressions, roles, and even larger sets of sociocultural expectations. Most humans develop a sense of their own gender identity in the early years of their childhood, but this can also change over time. Those who are not exposed to the terminology needed to describe their gender may simply see themselves as atypical examples of the gender assigned to them, until they become familiar with such concepts.

== Concepts ==

==== Notable aspects of gender ====

* '''Gender identity''' refers to a person's felt sense of gender. Familiar examples include woman and man, but there are a multitude of others which are collectively referred to as nonbinary. One's gender may differ from the societal expectations of their culture for people of their determined sex (such individuals are called '''transgender'''), or it may align with them (called '''cisgender''').
* '''Gender expression''' / '''gender presentation''' refers to the various culturally-specific ways of demonstrating your gender identity. This includes things like how one dresses (such as jewellery, or wearing "traditionally" masculine/feminine clothing), as well as behavioural aspects of presentation such as mannerisms (e.g. the "pansy hand" often stereotypically associated with gay men) and tones of voice. Words such as "femme" and "butch" are typically used to indicate someone's gender presentation, along with qualified modifications like "high femme" or "soft butch".
* '''Gender roles''' are the culturally expected macro-behaviours allocated to the two binary genders (woman/man). They are outdated ways of thinking, built on sociocultural history rather than the needs of individuals. The classical example in Western society is that of the nuclear family, centred on a heterosexual couple, with "the man" as breadwinner and "the woman" as homemaker, either having or planning to have children. Another less grandiose example is that of the "macho man" who expresses a domineering, sometimes violent personality "because that's what ''real'' men do". Since gender roles are assigned by others, they consist entirely of stereotypes that cannot fit any real person perfectly. Because of their historical origins, they don't consider queer people or autistic people at all — so as a trend, we generally don't have time for such nonsense.

==== Notable aspects of sex ====

* '''Neurological sex''', your internal body map, as in your sense of what sex your body should be. This generally has a strong influence on a person's felt sense of gender, but it is not the sole determinant of gender.
* '''Primary sexual characteristics''' refers to your genitals, including gonads. These are developed during gestation, and cannot be altered without surgery.
* '''Secondary sexual characteristics''' refers to the body's response to sex hormones (primarily estrogen and testosterone). These include the presence of breast tissue, facial and body hair, and fat distribution over the face and body. Some of these will adapt to changes in hormone levels continuously (e.g. fat distribution, hair growth). Others can only develop in one direction (e.g. breast tissue grown in the presence of estrogen '''will not''' atrophy in the absence of it, and testosterone's effect on the trachea results in a permanent lowering of vocal pitch).
* '''Legal sex''' is determined by official documentation that may or may not match your actual internal body map. Given that it is socioculturally determined, conceptually it is closer to gender than sex, but governments take a while to catch on.

Because biology is complicated, there are exceptions to the usual rule that "XX becomes female and XY becomes male". Sometimes a person's sexual characteristics are mismatched from their chromosomes, or their primary/secondary characteristics are mismatched from one another, or perhaps they have an atypical set of sex chromosomes (XYY, XXY, XXYY). Collectively, people with such conditions are called '''intersex'''. It's worth noting that this list is not exhaustive.

: It's also possible to have anomalous chromosomes develop into a normally-functioning body! Typically such individuals are sterile, however, and discover that they're intersex after undergoing genetic testing. Unless you've seen results of your own genetic tests, you can't know for sure that you aren't intersex yourself — although it would be extremely dismissive of a very marginalised population to identify as intersex in the absence of evidence.

Needless to say, it can get pretty complicated, and it's easy for people to never think about their gender when it generally fits with the expectations of others. Sociologists call this effect "privilege", and it can often lead to poor treatment of those without such privilege. Some individuals even resent their simplistic ideas of gender being challenged by the existence of gender-nonconforming people. This can manifest as one individual being exclusionary or rude to trans people, or as wider effects like the introduction of laws designed to remove access to gender-affirming medical care.

There seems to be a trend that Autistic people either don't pick up on [[stereotype]]s as easily, or simply don't give them much weight, considering that they're bunk. We generally tend to think more in terms of concrete examples of, say, individual people, rather than a nebulous idea of what a generic woman or man "should" look and act like.

== Overlap between Autism and being LGBT ==

There appear to be more [[Autistic LGBT overlap|LGBT Autistic]] people per capita than LGBT allistic people, although this is likely due to us not having as much of a desire (or ability) to fit in. In other words, more Autistic than allistic people may ''appear'' to be LGBT because we're more honest with ourselves, and therefore more often correct.

Another hypothesis is that autistic people tend to have relatively low social status. Hence, they have less to lose by coming out as members of the LGBT community, which is still a marginalised community.

Yet another hypothesis states that, to autistic people, all social rules seem to be "made up" and often do not make sense anyway. Social norms about gender expression and who you can date may seem just as weird and arbitrary to autistic people as the [https://actuallyautistic.wiki/wiki/Responding_to_%22How_are_you%3F%22 "How are you?"] greeting, for example. Hence, it may be the case that autistic people simply don't bother with sticking to these arbitrary rules, and hence will more readily express their gender however they want, and date whomever they like.

== Gender bias and "female autism" ==

As society treats people differently based on their various assumed genders and sexes (with a particular disregard for people with mismatched combinations), autistic traits may present differently based on which gender you were raised as, and which gender you actually were.

For example, people assumed to be girls and raised as such tend to be coerced into masking more than people assumed to be boys and raised as such, because society gives boys more leeway than girls. Combined with [[Bias|allistic doctors' misapprehension]] that autism is a "very male brain" neurotype (it isn't), and that it affects men more than women (it doesn't), this resulted in a lot of women being unaware they're autistic until they reach burnout.

Another example is the interpretation of typical Autistic traits like special interests. Due to gender bias, people will more easily believe that a boy who is "obsessed" with trains or radios is autistic, than a girl who is "obsessed" with horses or make-up. He is a "possibly genius autistic boy", and she is a "girly girl". The "obsessive" behaviour is the same. Because the gender is different, the object of the "obsession" is different, and society is sexist, the interpretation of the behaviour is different.

== See also ==

* [[Bias]]

== Notes ==

== References ==

<references />

[[Category:Sociology]]

Gender

2022-09-27T23:14:11Z

Tullo-x86: Add top section so that TOC isn't below the fold

'''Gender''' is a broad term which includes one's identity, expressions, roles, and even larger sets of sociocultural expectations. Most humans develop a sense of their own gender identity in the early years of their childhood, but this can also change over time. Those who are not exposed to the terminology needed to describe their gender may simply see themselves as atypical examples of the gender assigned to them, until they become familiar with such concepts.

== Concepts ==

Notable aspects of gender:

* '''Gender identity''' refers to a person's felt sense of gender. Familiar examples include woman and man, but there are a multitude of others which are collectively referred to as nonbinary. One's gender may differ from the societal expectations of their culture for people of their determined sex (such individuals are called '''transgender'''), or it may align with them (called '''cisgender''').
* '''Gender expression''' / '''gender presentation''' refers to the various culturally-specific ways of demonstrating your gender identity. This includes things like how one dresses (such as jewellery, or wearing "traditionally" masculine/feminine clothing), as well as behavioural aspects of presentation such as mannerisms (e.g. the "pansy hand" often stereotypically associated with gay men) and tones of voice. Words such as "femme" and "butch" are typically used to indicate someone's gender presentation, along with qualified modifications like "high femme" or "soft butch".
* '''Gender roles''' are the culturally expected macro-behaviours allocated to the two binary genders (woman/man). They are outdated ways of thinking, built on sociocultural history rather than the needs of individuals. The classical example in Western society is that of the nuclear family, centred on a heterosexual couple, with "the man" as breadwinner and "the woman" as homemaker, either having or planning to have children. Another less grandiose example is that of the "macho man" who expresses a domineering, sometimes violent personality "because that's what ''real'' men do". Since gender roles are assigned by others, they consist entirely of stereotypes that cannot fit any real person perfectly. Because of their historical origins, they don't consider queer people or autistic people at all — so as a trend, we generally don't have time for such nonsense.

Notable aspects of sex:

* '''Neurological sex''', your internal body map, as in your sense of what sex your body should be. This generally has a strong influence on a person's felt sense of gender, but it is not the sole determinant of gender.
* '''Primary sexual characteristics''' refers to your genitals, including gonads. These are developed during gestation, and cannot be altered without surgery.
* '''Secondary sexual characteristics''' refers to the body's response to sex hormones (primarily estrogen and testosterone). These include the presence of breast tissue, facial and body hair, and fat distribution over the face and body. Some of these will adapt to changes in hormone levels continuously (e.g. fat distribution, hair growth). Others can only develop in one direction (e.g. breast tissue grown in the presence of estrogen '''will not''' atrophy in the absence of it, and testosterone's effect on the trachea results in a permanent lowering of vocal pitch).
* '''Legal sex''' is determined by official documentation that may or may not match your actual internal body map. Given that it is socioculturally determined, conceptually it is closer to gender than sex, but governments take a while to catch on.

Because biology is complicated, there are exceptions to the usual rule that "XX becomes female and XY becomes male". Sometimes a person's sexual characteristics are mismatched from their chromosomes, or their primary/secondary characteristics are mismatched from one another, or perhaps they have an atypical set of sex chromosomes (XYY, XXY, XXYY). Collectively, people with such conditions are called '''intersex'''. It's worth noting that this list is not exhaustive.

: It's also possible to have anomalous chromosomes develop into a normally-functioning body! Typically such individuals are sterile, however, and discover that they're intersex after undergoing genetic testing. Unless you've seen results of your own genetic tests, you can't know for sure that you aren't intersex yourself — although it would be extremely dismissive of a very marginalised population to identify as intersex in the absence of evidence.

Needless to say, it can get pretty complicated, and it's easy for people to never think about their gender when it generally fits with the expectations of others. Sociologists call this effect "privilege", and it can often lead to poor treatment of those without such privilege. Some individuals even resent their simplistic ideas of gender being challenged by the existence of gender-nonconforming people. This can manifest as one individual being exclusionary or rude to trans people, or as wider effects like the introduction of laws designed to remove access to gender-affirming medical care.

There seems to be a trend that Autistic people either don't pick up on [[stereotype]]s as easily, or simply don't give them much weight, considering that they're bunk. We generally tend to think more in terms of concrete examples of, say, individual people, rather than a nebulous idea of what a generic woman or man "should" look and act like.

== Overlap between Autism and being LGBT ==

There appear to be more [[Autistic LGBT overlap|LGBT Autistic]] people per capita than LGBT allistic people, although this is likely due to us not having as much of a desire (or ability) to fit in. In other words, more Autistic than allistic people may ''appear'' to be LGBT because we're more honest with ourselves, and therefore more often correct.

Another hypothesis is that autistic people tend to have relatively low social status. Hence, they have less to lose by coming out as members of the LGBT community, which is still a marginalised community.

Yet another hypothesis states that, to autistic people, all social rules seem to be "made up" and often do not make sense anyway. Social norms about gender expression and who you can date may seem just as weird and arbitrary to autistic people as the [https://actuallyautistic.wiki/wiki/Responding_to_%22How_are_you%3F%22 "How are you?"] greeting, for example. Hence, it may be the case that autistic people simply don't bother with sticking to these arbitrary rules, and hence will more readily express their gender however they want, and date whomever they like.

== Gender bias and "female autism" ==

As society treats people differently based on their various assumed genders and sexes (with a particular disregard for people with mismatched combinations), autistic traits may present differently based on which gender you were raised as, and which gender you actually were.

For example, people assumed to be girls and raised as such tend to be coerced into masking more than people assumed to be boys and raised as such, because society gives boys more leeway than girls. Combined with [[Bias|allistic doctors' misapprehension]] that autism is a "very male brain" neurotype (it isn't), and that it affects men more than women (it doesn't), this resulted in a lot of women being unaware they're autistic until they reach burnout.

Another example is the interpretation of typical Autistic traits like special interests. Due to gender bias, people will more easily believe that a boy who is "obsessed" with trains or radios is autistic, than a girl who is "obsessed" with horses or make-up. He is a "possibly genius autistic boy", and she is a "girly girl". The "obsessive" behaviour is the same. Because the gender is different, the object of the "obsession" is different, and society is sexist, the interpretation of the behaviour is different.

== See also ==

* [[Bias]]

== Notes ==

== References ==

<references />

[[Category:Sociology]]

Gender

2022-09-27T23:13:06Z

Tullo-x86:

'''Gender''' is a broad term which includes one's identity, expressions, roles, and even larger sets of sociocultural expectations. Most humans develop a sense of their own gender identity in the early years of their childhood, but this can also change over time. Those who are not exposed to the terminology needed to describe their gender may simply see themselves as atypical examples of the gender assigned to them, until they become familiar with such concepts.

Notable aspects of gender:

* '''Gender identity''' refers to a person's felt sense of gender. Familiar examples include woman and man, but there are a multitude of others which are collectively referred to as nonbinary. One's gender may differ from the societal expectations of their culture for people of their determined sex (such individuals are called '''transgender'''), or it may align with them (called '''cisgender''').
* '''Gender expression''' / '''gender presentation''' refers to the various culturally-specific ways of demonstrating your gender identity. This includes things like how one dresses (such as jewellery, or wearing "traditionally" masculine/feminine clothing), as well as behavioural aspects of presentation such as mannerisms (e.g. the "pansy hand" often stereotypically associated with gay men) and tones of voice. Words such as "femme" and "butch" are typically used to indicate someone's gender presentation, along with qualified modifications like "high femme" or "soft butch".
* '''Gender roles''' are the culturally expected macro-behaviours allocated to the two binary genders (woman/man). They are outdated ways of thinking, built on sociocultural history rather than the needs of individuals. The classical example in Western society is that of the nuclear family, centred on a heterosexual couple, with "the man" as breadwinner and "the woman" as homemaker, either having or planning to have children. Another less grandiose example is that of the "macho man" who expresses a domineering, sometimes violent personality "because that's what ''real'' men do". Since gender roles are assigned by others, they consist entirely of stereotypes that cannot fit any real person perfectly. Because of their historical origins, they don't consider queer people or autistic people at all — so as a trend, we generally don't have time for such nonsense.

Notable aspects of sex:

* '''Neurological sex''', your internal body map, as in your sense of what sex your body should be. This generally has a strong influence on a person's felt sense of gender, but it is not the sole determinant of gender.
* '''Primary sexual characteristics''' refers to your genitals, including gonads. These are developed during gestation, and cannot be altered without surgery.
* '''Secondary sexual characteristics''' refers to the body's response to sex hormones (primarily estrogen and testosterone). These include the presence of breast tissue, facial and body hair, and fat distribution over the face and body. Some of these will adapt to changes in hormone levels continuously (e.g. fat distribution, hair growth). Others can only develop in one direction (e.g. breast tissue grown in the presence of estrogen '''will not''' atrophy in the absence of it, and testosterone's effect on the trachea results in a permanent lowering of vocal pitch).
* '''Legal sex''' is determined by official documentation that may or may not match your actual internal body map. Given that it is socioculturally determined, conceptually it is closer to gender than sex, but governments take a while to catch on.

Because biology is complicated, there are exceptions to the usual rule that "XX becomes female and XY becomes male". Sometimes a person's sexual characteristics are mismatched from their chromosomes, or their primary/secondary characteristics are mismatched from one another, or perhaps they have an atypical set of sex chromosomes (XYY, XXY, XXYY). Collectively, people with such conditions are called '''intersex'''. It's worth noting that this list is not exhaustive.

: It's also possible to have anomalous chromosomes develop into a normally-functioning body! Typically such individuals are sterile, however, and discover that they're intersex after undergoing genetic testing. Unless you've seen results of your own genetic tests, you can't know for sure that you aren't intersex yourself — although it would be extremely dismissive of a very marginalised population to identify as intersex in the absence of evidence.

Needless to say, it can get pretty complicated, and it's easy for people to never think about their gender when it generally fits with the expectations of others. Sociologists call this effect "privilege", and it can often lead to poor treatment of those without such privilege. Some individuals even resent their simplistic ideas of gender being challenged by the existence of gender-nonconforming people. This can manifest as one individual being exclusionary or rude to trans people, or as wider effects like the introduction of laws designed to remove access to gender-affirming medical care.

There seems to be a trend that Autistic people either don't pick up on [[stereotype]]s as easily, or simply don't give them much weight, considering that they're bunk. We generally tend to think more in terms of concrete examples of, say, individual people, rather than a nebulous idea of what a generic woman or man "should" look and act like.

== Overlap between Autism and being LGBT ==

There appear to be more [[Autistic LGBT overlap|LGBT Autistic]] people per capita than LGBT allistic people, although this is likely due to us not having as much of a desire (or ability) to fit in. In other words, more Autistic than allistic people may ''appear'' to be LGBT because we're more honest with ourselves, and therefore more often correct.

Another hypothesis is that autistic people tend to have relatively low social status. Hence, they have less to lose by coming out as members of the LGBT community, which is still a marginalised community.

Yet another hypothesis states that, to autistic people, all social rules seem to be "made up" and often do not make sense anyway. Social norms about gender expression and who you can date may seem just as weird and arbitrary to autistic people as the [https://actuallyautistic.wiki/wiki/Responding_to_%22How_are_you%3F%22 "How are you?"] greeting, for example. Hence, it may be the case that autistic people simply don't bother with sticking to these arbitrary rules, and hence will more readily express their gender however they want, and date whomever they like.

== Gender bias and "female autism" ==

As society treats people differently based on their various assumed genders and sexes (with a particular disregard for people with mismatched combinations), autistic traits may present differently based on which gender you were raised as, and which gender you actually were.

For example, people assumed to be girls and raised as such tend to be coerced into masking more than people assumed to be boys and raised as such, because society gives boys more leeway than girls. Combined with [[Bias|allistic doctors' misapprehension]] that autism is a "very male brain" neurotype (it isn't), and that it affects men more than women (it doesn't), this resulted in a lot of women being unaware they're autistic until they reach burnout.

Another example is the interpretation of typical Autistic traits like special interests. Due to gender bias, people will more easily believe that a boy who is "obsessed" with trains or radios is autistic, than a girl who is "obsessed" with horses or make-up. He is a "possibly genius autistic boy", and she is a "girly girl". The "obsessive" behaviour is the same. Because the gender is different, the object of the "obsession" is different, and society is sexist, the interpretation of the behaviour is different.

== See also ==

* [[Bias]]

== Notes ==

== References ==

<references />

[[Category:Sociology]]

Gender

2022-09-27T22:29:45Z

Tullo-x86:

'''Gender''' is a broad term which includes one's identity, expressions, roles, and even larger sets of sociocultural expectations. Most humans develop a sense of their own gender identity in the early years of their childhood, but this can also change over time. Those who are not exposed to the terminology needed to describe their gender may simply see themselves as atypical examples of the gender assigned to them, until they become familiar with such concepts.

Notable aspects of gender:

* '''Gender identity''' refers to a person's felt sense of gender. Familiar examples include woman and man, but there are a multitude of others which are collectively referred to as nonbinary. One's gender may differ from the societal expectations of their culture for people of their determined sex (such individuals are called '''transgender'''), or it may align with them (called '''cisgender''').
* '''Gender expression''' / '''gender presentation''' refers to the various culturally-specific ways of demonstrating your gender identity. This includes things like how one dresses (such as jewellery, or wearing "traditionally" masculine/feminine clothing), as well as behavioural aspects of presentation such as mannerisms (e.g. the "pansy hand" often stereotypically associated with gay men) and tones of voice. Words such as "femme" and "butch" are typically used to indicate someone's gender presentation, along with qualified modifications like "high femme" or "soft butch".
* '''Gender roles''' are the culturally expected macro-behaviours allocated to the two binary genders (woman/man). They are outdated ways of thinking, built on sociocultural history rather than the needs of individuals. The classical example in Western society is that of the nuclear family, centred on a heterosexual couple, with "the man" as breadwinner and "the woman" as homemaker, either having or planning to have children. Another less grandiose example is that of the "macho man" who expresses a domineering, sometimes violent personality "because that's what ''real'' men do". Since gender roles are assigned by others, they consist entirely of stereotypes that cannot fit any real person perfectly. Because of their historical origins, they don't consider queer people or autistic people at all — so as a trend, we generally don't have time for such nonsense.

Notable aspects of sex:

* '''Neurological sex''', your internal body map, as in your sense of what sex your body should be. This generally has a strong influence on a person's felt sense of gender, but it is not the sole determinant of gender.
* '''Primary sexual characteristics''' are your genitals, including gonads.
* '''Secondary sexual characteristics''' are your hormonal sex. These include breasts, facial and body hair, and fat distribution over your face and body.
* '''Legal sex''' is determined by the documentation that may or may not match your actual internal body map. This seems more like a gender than a sex, but governments take a while to catch on.

Note that intersex people exist (whose primary sexual caracteristics may or may not be mismatched or ambiguous, and whose secondary sexual characteristics may or may not also be mismatched or ambiguous, either separately or with regards to each other). Also note that transgender people exist, including but not limited to people whose gender orientation and primary and sexual secondary characteristics are similarly mismatched.

Needless to say, it can get pretty complicated, something that a lot of cishet people don't want to think about... which would be fine, but they often want their lack of thinking about it to be aided by everyone else not existing, which is ''not'' fine.

There seems to be a trend that Autistic people either don't pick up on [[stereotype]]s as easily, or simply don't give them much weight, considering that they're bunk. We generally tend to think more in terms of concrete examples of, say, individual people, rather than a nebulous idea of what a generic woman or man "should" look and act like.

== Overlap between Autism and being LGBT ==

There appear to be more [[Autistic LGBT overlap|LGBT Autistic]] people per capita than LGBT allistic people, although this is likely due to us not having as much of a desire (or ability) to fit in. In other words, more Autistic than allistic people may ''appear'' to be LGBT because we're more honest with ourselves, and therefore more often correct.

Another hypothesis is that autistic people tend to have relatively low social status. Hence, they have less to lose by coming out as members of the LGBT community, which is still a marginalised community.

Yet another hypothesis states that, to autistic people, all social rules seem to be "made up" and often do not make sense anyway. Social norms about gender expression and who you can date may seem just as weird and arbitrary to autistic people as the [https://actuallyautistic.wiki/wiki/Responding_to_%22How_are_you%3F%22 "How are you?"] greeting, for example. Hence, it may be the case that autistic people simply don't bother with sticking to these arbitrary rules, and hence will more readily express their gender however they want, and date whomever they like.

== Gender bias and "female autism" ==

As society treats people differently based on their various assumed genders and sexes (with a particular disregard for people with mismatched combinations), autistic traits may present differently based on which gender you were raised as, and which gender you actually were.

For example, people assumed to be girls and raised as such tend to be coerced into masking more than people assumed to be boys and raised as such, because society gives boys more leeway than girls. Combined with [[Bias|allistic doctors' misapprehension]] that autism is a "very male brain" neurotype (it isn't), and that it affects men more than women (it doesn't), this resulted in a lot of women being unaware they're autistic until they reach burnout.

Another example is the interpretation of typical Autistic traits like special interests. Due to gender bias, people will more easily believe that a boy who is "obsessed" with trains or radios is autistic, than a girl who is "obsessed" with horses or make-up. He is a "possibly genius autistic boy", and she is a "girly girl". The "obsessive" behaviour is the same. Because the gender is different, the object of the "obsession" is different, and society is sexist, the interpretation of the behaviour is different.

== See also ==

* [[Bias]]

== Notes ==

== References ==

<references />

[[Category:Sociology]]

Gender

2022-09-27T13:56:03Z

Tullo-x86:

'''Gender''' is a very ambiguous word, which leads to people talking at crossed purposes an awful lot. There are actually several distinct concepts within gender and sex, beyond what is typically thought of by those words.

Types of gender:

* '''Gender identity''' may or may not be the same thing as your neurological sex and/or internal body map. This is innate and immutable, although for some people it's apparently fluid. Don't try to change anyone else's, that would be ridiculously entitled of you. Familiar examples include woman and man, but there are a multitude of others which are collectively referred to as nonbinary.
* '''Gender presentation''' refers to the various culturally-specific ways of demonstrating your gender identity. This includes things like how one dresses (such as jewellery, or wearing "traditionally" masculine/feminine clothing), as well as behavioural aspects of presentation such as mannerisms (e.g. the "pansy hand" often stereotypically associated with gay men) and tones of voice. Words such as "femme" and "butch" are typically used to indicate someone's gender presentation, along with qualified modifications like "high femme" or "soft butch".
* '''Gender roles''' are the culturally expected macro-behaviours allocated to the two binary genders (woman/man). They are outdated ways of thinking, built on sociocultural history rather than the needs of individuals. The classical example in Western society is that of the nuclear family, centred on a heterosexual couple, with "the man" as breadwinner and "the woman" as homemaker, either having or planning to have children. Since gender roles are assigned by others, they consist entirely of stereotypes that don't apply to anyone entirely. Because of their historical origins, they don't consider queer people or autistic people at all — so as a trend, we generally don't have time for such nonsense.

Types of sex:

* '''Neurological sex''', your internal body map, as in your sense of what sex your body should be. This generally has a strong influence on a person's felt sense of gender, but it is not the sole determinant of gender.
* '''Primary sexual characteristics''' are your genitals, including gonads.
* '''Secondary sexual characteristics''' are your hormonal sex. These include breasts, facial and body hair, and fat distribution over your face and body.
* '''Legal sex''' is determined by the documentation that may or may not match your actual internal body map. This seems more like a gender than a sex, but governments take a while to catch on.

Note that intersex people exist (whose primary sexual caracteristics may or may not be mismatched or ambiguous, and whose secondary sexual characteristics may or may not also be mismatched or ambiguous, either separately or with regards to each other). Also note that transgender people exist, including but not limited to people whose gender orientation and primary and sexual secondary characteristics are similarly mismatched.

Needless to say, it can get pretty complicated, something that a lot of cishet people don't want to think about... which would be fine, but they often want their lack of thinking about it to be aided by everyone else not existing, which is ''not'' fine.

There seems to be a trend that Autistic people either don't pick up on [[stereotype]]s as easily, or simply don't give them much weight, considering that they're bunk. We generally tend to think more in terms of concrete examples of, say, individual people, rather than a nebulous idea of what a generic woman or man "should" look and act like.

== Overlap between Autism and being LGBT ==

There appear to be more [[Autistic LGBT overlap|LGBT Autistic]] people per capita than LGBT allistic people, although this is likely due to us not having as much of a desire (or ability) to fit in. In other words, more Autistic than allistic people may ''appear'' to be LGBT because we're more honest with ourselves, and therefore more often correct.

Another hypothesis is that autistic people tend to have relatively low social status. Hence, they have less to lose by coming out as members of the LGBT community, which is still a marginalised community.

Yet another hypothesis states that, to autistic people, all social rules seem to be "made up" and often do not make sense anyway. Social norms about gender expression and who you can date may seem just as weird and arbitrary to autistic people as the [https://actuallyautistic.wiki/wiki/Responding_to_%22How_are_you%3F%22 "How are you?"] greeting, for example. Hence, it may be the case that autistic people simply don't bother with sticking to these arbitrary rules, and hence will more readily express their gender however they want, and date whomever they like.

== Gender bias and "female autism" ==

As society treats people differently based on their various assumed genders and sexes (with a particular disregard for people with mismatched combinations), autistic traits may present differently based on which gender you were raised as, and which gender you actually were.

For example, people assumed to be girls and raised as such tend to be coerced into masking more than people assumed to be boys and raised as such, because society gives boys more leeway than girls. Combined with [[Bias|allistic doctors' misapprehension]] that autism is a "very male brain" neurotype (it isn't), and that it affects men more than women (it doesn't), this resulted in a lot of women being unaware they're autistic until they reach burnout.

Another example is the interpretation of typical Autistic traits like special interests. Due to gender bias, people will more easily believe that a boy who is "obsessed" with trains or radios is autistic, than a girl who is "obsessed" with horses or make-up. He is a "possibly genius autistic boy", and she is a "girly girl". The "obsessive" behaviour is the same. Because the gender is different, the object of the "obsession" is different, and society is sexist, the interpretation of the behaviour is different.

== See also ==

* [[Bias]]

== Notes ==

== References ==

<references />

[[Category:Sociology]]

Gender

2022-09-27T13:51:57Z

Tullo-x86: