A Queer Perspective on Autism Acceptance Month

April is Autism Acceptance Month, and while every month is an Autism month around these parts, I thought it would be a good opportunity to talk about the overlap between the LGBTQ+ and Autistic communities. I’ll also explore the ways in which queer spaces can be inaccessible for Autistic folks, despite many of us existing in that overlap.

Research on autism and LGBTQ+ identity 

I’m about to show you some scientific research supporting the overlap of LGBTQ+ identity and autism, but first, I want to give a little disclaimer. This research can be cool, and understanding these things can help a lot of people understand themselves and their peers better. However, and this is important, I am always hesitant about research that even comes close to trying to find the cause or source of queerness, transness, or something like autism. 

My hesitance comes from the fact that initially, these sorts of studies were done in the name of eugenics—an ideology entirely built around our erasure. While eugenics may not be quite as popular these days, many important figures still tout its ideals, and I think the potential harm of finding the “cause” of autism much outweighs the good it might do, without significant legal and cultural changes. 

So, with that in mind, let’s briefly talk about a 2022 literature review about Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Gender Dysphoria/Incongruence (GD/GI). 

I choose this piece of research because it is a good overview of a lot of other research, and its medical terminology isn’t too grating. However, you can easily find other articles supporting similar findings! 

To quickly summarize some of its key points: 

• There is a definite link between ASD traits and feelings of GD/GI 
• Autistic folks have a higher prevalence of GD/GI feelings than the allistic (non-Autistic) population 
• And vice versa: folks with feelings of GD/GI are more likely to be Autistic 

To me, lived experience and community wisdom can be just as valid as, if not more than, medical research. And many Autistic folks will tell you that being queer/trans seems more common among other Autistic folks than among allistics. Of all my Autistic or otherwise neurodivergent friends, I can name precisely 0 cishet ones. 

Why does this occur? 

Science doesn’t have a thorough answer to this question, which might be a good thing. From my own conversations and options, I have a possible theory, one that is at least partially discussed in the above article. 

My idea centers around one core truth: Autistic folks are famously less likely to understand, care about, and/or follow arbitrary social norms. This doesn’t mean we are always completely ignorant of social norms, contrary to popular belief. Often, it means we know the social norm is a thing, but we think it’s ridiculous and baseless, so we don’t see why we should follow it. 

Gender and sexual identities are, of course, constructed social categories. An individual’s experience of gender or sexual attraction doesn’t need to fall neatly into a category, but will often be informed by the categories they’ve evolved alongside. And as our society has created and modified these categories, so has it assigned moral values to them. 

Considering gender specifically, dominant social norms say that your sex assigned at birth should be the gender identity you hold throughout your life, and divergence from that identity is considered abnormal, immoral, and even evil. Yet, I still haven’t heard a convincing argument as to why that should be the case. What is the harm in someone assigned male at birth wanting to be a girl some days and a genderless blob on others? (Definitely not speaking from experience here.) 

The unfortunate truth is that the why is usually just to uphold structures of power and conformity—but that’s another post altogether.

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So, if our gender and sexual norms are arbitrary social constructions, and Autistic folks are more likely to question or ignore arbitrary social norms, then, well… 2 plus 2 is looking a lot like 4 to me. 

On the flip side, folks who exist as a LGBTQ+ person are more familiar with breaking social norms, and may be more likely to question their neurotype, leading to more diagnoses and discoveries. 

Again, this is just a theory, albeit one based on much reading and experience. It won’t match everyone’s experiences, and probably doesn’t explain all the inner workings that create this overlap—which, hopefully, we will never fully understand. 

Excluding autism from LGBTQ+ Spaces 

Given how likely it is for an Autistic person to be LGBTQ+, it infuriates me that so many queer spaces are inaccessible to us. This includes popular queer gathering sites, but also individual LGBTQ+ events that are either poorly designed or openly hostile to Autistic people. 

For example, an incredibly popular queer social space, especially for younger people, is bars and clubs. These spaces are practically designed to be difficult for many Autistic folks: loud music, flashing lights, constant overwhelming sensory input, ambiguous social interaction, and enthusiastic consent thrown out the window. 

This isn’t to say bars are bad, and in fact, I know some Autistic people who enjoy them. They are valuable safe spaces for many LGBTQ+ individuals. Rather than getting rid of them, I can’t help but wonder: what would a bar/club that was designed to be sensory-friendly look like? And how could we change the norms of these spaces to be both more clear and more respectful of consent and comfort? 

Unfortunately, ableism is so woven into our culture that many people don’t even realize they’re perpetuating it. I’ve also noticed a trend in some LGBTQ+ folks (mostly white LGBTQ+ folks) to think that because they’re marginalized, they can’t also be engaging in oppression/discrimination. This is a line of thought to actively push against, because anyone can be ableist or otherwise discriminatory! I mean, I’m disabled and I’ve been ableist before. 

Creating accessible LGBTQ+ spaces 

When planning queer events and spaces, there are some simple steps that folks could take to make them more welcoming for Autistic people: 

• If taking RSVPs, ask people about access needs, and then respect their answers. This is perhaps the simplest way to both welcome people and let them know it’s a safe space. You can also do this as part of introductions, and model sharing. 
• Consider the sensory environment you’re creating and if it might be too overwhelming. If so, are there unnecessary parts you can modify? 
• For larger events, consider offering a social narrative—a document walking through the event, expectations, and other things attendees might want to know. 
• Actively invite Autistic people into your space. People aren’t going to show up if they don’t know about it/don’t know it’s for them!

While the overlap of autism and LGBTQ+ identity is being more and more understood, it’s clear that we’ve still got a ways to go in making our spaces more inclusive and welcoming. For this Autism Acceptance Month, I challenge you to think of one way you could modify a space, event, or other LGBTQ+ happening to make it more autism-friendly.

Do you have other thoughts on the overlap of LGBTQ+ identity and autism? I’d love to hear from you! Let me know in the comments on this post if you’re so inclined.

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