G is for Gender …

G is for Gender …

Throughout this piece TGD is used as an acronymfor Transgender and Gender Diverse

You may have noticed I have been re posting a series of posts I wrote a few years ago which can best be described as an alphabet of autism. Over the last several days it has become clear to me that I missed a few issues as I went through this process previously. For example, I had G is for Game On and Q is for Quack. It seems far more relevant now to have made those posts about Gender and Queerness. So, it is time to rectify that.

G is for Gender, Gender Identity, Gender expression.

Let’s be clear there are not only two genders and gender is absolutely not tied to biological features such as genitals. If you can’t accept the reality that there are infinite possibilities of gender then perhaps don’t read on.

Let’s also be clear that Trans and Gender Diverse(TGD) and Intersex are not to be conflated.

Gender identity and expression are very important issues generally but extremely important in the context of autistic folk. There is an evolving body of research which shows a correlation between Trans and Gender Diverse folk and Autism. It is getting to the point where this simply can’t be denied. It is in autistic community a very common intersection.

Autistic folk have something of a battle of having themselves seen as autonomous human persons in many spaces. This is even more true of TGD autistic folk. Thanks to a history of autism research and therapeutic practice that has focused on cause cure and conversion autistic folk have had to fight every step of the way to construct their identity and have that identity accepted as a valid human identity.

TGD folk also have a similar fight around their identities being accepted.

When autism and gender identity intersect in a human person then that person has a journey ahead of them where they will, far too often, have to justify their identity to others, and sadly often to those closest to them and those that are meant to care for and support them.

As an autistic person who is also trans I have had to hear on many occasions comments that attempt to invalidate who I am. Comments such as these are commonly delivered as if they are meant to be sincere. They are not. There is simply no sincere way to tell a person their very identity is invalid.

“Oh you’re not really trans it is just your current obsession” — there is nothing sincere in such a statement.

“You don’t have the social capacity to understand the social construct of gender” — nothing sincere here

“you can’t be trans you don’t understand human emotions”

Apparently, it is autistic folk who are said to lack empathy! I have experienced very little empathy in any of the above comments.

This is not a gender 101 post if you are interested in understanding gender then google is your friend.

G is for gender…

We know there is a high proportion of TGD folk within the autistic community. We know this! Research is confirming this consistently. And yet specific services and spaces for TGD autistic folk are few and far between.

We know this and yet local, regional, state and national autism task forces and strategy think tanks fail again and again to make TGD and Queer folk generally a priority in these discussions. Research shows that upwards of 35% of autistic folk identify on the LGBTIQA+ spectrum and yet are consistently forgotten about in strategies for autism and autistic people.

This is simply not good enough.

G is for Gender…

The fact that strategy and research in this area for the wellbeing of autistic TGD folk is a case of neglect by the professional autism organisations.

We know that the life expectancy of autistic folk is one of the lowest of any group of people — lower even that that of Indigenous Australians.

We know that around 50% of TGD folk have attempted suicide before they reach the age of 18

When these two things intersect the risk to autistic TGD lives is palpable. Governments and professional organisations need to stop pretending we don’t exist and stop erasing us from strategies and plans and start living up to their goal of supporting autistic folk.

G is for Gender…

As the gay men in the early 80’s cried “we’re queer, we’re here and we will not live in fear” so too to we autistic TGD folk proclaim we’re here too. We need you to see us. We need you to acknowledge us, we need you to consider us.

G is for Gender …

Our identity is valid, our pronouns are valid, our gender expression is valid.

We are valid.

G is for Gender …

It may seem like an inconvenience but getting our pronouns correct is important. Referring to us by the words we use to describe ourselves and not invalidate or belittle is important. I don’t really care what you actually believe about us but it is our identity and it is simple respect to respect it.

As autistic folk making our way in public spaces can be difficult in its own right. Making our way in public spaces as TGD autistic folk can be even more so. Public bathrooms for autistic folk are often hell, loud noisy dryers, harsh lighting, a myriad of smells etc. This is even more so the case when you have to negotiate that space with the fear of being told you don’t belong there, being harassed and publicly outed ads another layer of complexity to all of this.

G is for Gender…

We are here, we are diverse and we are magnificent.

We ask simply that you see us, include us, and celebrate us.

G is for Gender …

And Gender is fabulous!