palpablenotion:

themadcapmathematician:

“Autistic and a-spec coding often go hand in hand because NTs use both of these identities to Other a character and make them seem ‘not quite human’” is a good breakdown of the problem, not “making autistic aspec characters is automatically ableist/aphobic” and CERTIANLY not “lack of sexual attraction dehumanizes characters” and otherwise throwing irl autistic aspecs under the bus

This.

A-spec and autism are both often used to dehumanize. Autistic characters are portrayed as lacking sexual (and usually romantic) urges, attractions, feelings because they “can’t comprehend those emotions.” A-spec characters are often stripped of any emotional “intelligence” and uncaring/ignorant of societal boundaries.

Specifically because autistic coding is usually lacking emotional intelligence and completely ignorant of how to act in public/manners in general and specifically because a-spec coding is usually lacking any sexual/romantic urges and feelings (which is different than lacking sexual/romantic attraction) and often as if the character feels “above” such base urges…

Because the stereotypes that don’t automatically go with being either autistic or a-spec essentially uses the same ridiculous coding as each other, it’s virtually impossible to tell if many writers meant to code autism, a-spectrum, or both. Perhaps no coding was intended at all.

These issues aren’t the fault of a-specs or autistics or a-spec autistics. And they aren’t the fault of a-spec autistic headcanons. These issues are society’s, these issues are with allosexuals and allistics that don’t even try to understand what either of these identities mean or how they intersect.

I’ll continue to headcanon autistic a-specs, because I’m an autistic a-spec, because I know this identity isn’t ableist or aphobic.