Autistic and Living the Dream

Category: Gender

  • Stories from across the “double rainbow”: trans and non-binary Autistic narratives [plain language summary]

    Stories from across the “double rainbow”: trans and non-binary Autistic narratives [plain language summary]

    In my research I spoke to 13 trans and / or non-binary Autistic people (people said to live under the double rainbow of neurodivergence and queerness). I wanted to know about their lives, what they thought about representation and their recommendations for double rainbow research. It was important for me to do this work as…

  • Trans and Autistic: Accessing gender identity healthcare

    Trans and Autistic: Accessing gender identity healthcare

    I’m excited to finally be able to share a paper I have been working on with Harley Bruce and Steven Kapp entitled: Exploring the experiences of Autistic transgender and non-binary adults in seeking gender identity healthcare. Harley spoke to 17 Autistic trans and / or non-binary people from across the globe to better understand the…

  • Trans and Autistic: sorting my gender after diagnosis

    Trans and Autistic: sorting my gender after diagnosis

    I have always been weird. At school I always played alone at breaktimes, I talked to myself as I explored the sports field and wild areas of the playground. In my pockets I collected interesting things I found; acorns, a shiny rock, part of a bird egg. I was happy in my distant reveries, often…

  • Trans and Autistic: supporting gender diverse Autistic students

    Trans and Autistic: supporting gender diverse Autistic students

    Living at the intersection of trans and Autistic identities is a unique and insightful experience, however many of us who occupy this space have difficulty in gaining support within educational settings. Many of us find it difficult to find teaching staff who are both knowledgeable about, and affirming to, Autistic and transgender experiences. Those who…

  • Trans and Autistic: Where do I belong?

    Trans and Autistic: Where do I belong?

    Group membership and a sense of belonging can improve the physical and emotional wellbeing of gender diverse Autistic people. However, there remains real risks of transphobia within queer spaces. At the 2018 London Pride march which was infiltrated by a small group of anti-trans protesters. These protesters made disparaging remarks about transwomen and shared literature…

  • Trans and / or non-binary Autistic narratives: research poster

    Trans and / or non-binary Autistic narratives: research poster

    In 2020 I started my MRes at University of Portsmouth, researching trans and / or non-binary Autistic narratives. I wanted to make my work free and accessible to as many people as possible. Participants have given informed consent for me to publish this information, all identities will be kept confidential in line with UoP’s ethics…

  • Living at the blurry edges of gender and neurotype

    Living at the blurry edges of gender and neurotype

    I am the odd one out in a lot of rooms. Sometimes I even feel that I am on the outskirts of the marginalised groups I belong too. I belong there but not in the way I used to imagine. I am non-binary but not in a way that people feel is ‘obvious’. I am…

  • What Pride means to me

    What Pride means to me

    Queer pride is a difficult one for those of us who feel things differently. Do I know what pride feels like? Probably not, not in a way I could explain anyways. Feeling and showing pride as an alexithymic person is difficult (read Alexithymia and interoception: what the Hell is going on!?). Pride, and other feelings,…

  • I wish I could dress like a boy

    I wish I could dress like a boy

    I have pretty intense sensory processing differences – I get mega tactile joy from soft, light materials and clothing which flows off me. And I hate stuffy, thick, clunky clothing. Tags in clothing make me want to scratch the skin off my body. I find it difficult to wear full length trousers as I don’t…

  • Doing gender the Autistic way

    Doing gender the Autistic way

    Gender is tricky – it is reliant on the complex interweaving of cultural and social factors, including race, class and disability – for many Autistic people this means our gender is inextricable from our neurology (see Autigender: is autism and gender entwined?). Gender norms are influenced by culturally specific expectations, attitudes and norms, modelled to…