"Furries are autistic"

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We've all seen the label "autistic" applied to furries, bronies, and similar groups on the internet by people who usually have no idea what autism is

I'm a furry and I have AS.

But do you think that you're more likely to be a furry, or a brony if you have Autism?

I went with other as I have an intresting perspective that does not quite fit an either or option. I do not think autistic people are anymore likely than anyone else to maybe find things about either of those appealing that all depends on individuals...but I think autistics are more likely to get heavily interested since we are prone to those special interests/obsessions. So I feel if an autistic person was to get into either of those they might do so to a more extreme degree than most neurotypicals and be more apt to heavily immerse them-self in all the trivia/knowledge about it.

I personally don't take much interest in either of those, but I am pretty obsessive about music I like like metal, psychedelic rock and I like a lot of industrial/electronic music but not the stuff most people listen to I lean more towards the darker more harsh styled electronic music rather than the sort of up-beat feel good stuff, though on the darker stuff makes me feel good especially on certain drugs. I am also quite into herbs/drugs how they effect people as well as psychology/sociology topics like how people are...and I am a rabid Game of Thrones fan, not literally rabid but very much into it.

I do however have a false fur hat with wolf ears, with parts that hang down like a scarf and have paws with claws you can put your hands in when you are walking around to keep them warm when its cold...which I like quite a lot, and me and some of my friends like to randomly meow at each other and compare ourselves to cats, but we're not into the furry sub-culture to me that seems to take it to kind of weird levels but I can't really knock it since I don't know much about it or the people who partake in that subculture.

Anyone else?

I believe that pony show should only be embraced by children, and not grown-ups over the age of 18, somehow I think its acceptable to worship this if you're under that age, but to the adults either you're out of touch with reality or have developed some sort of obsession which could be misinterpreted by other people as having an autism-related condition like OCD or ADD, and not have autism at all but having just an obsession or an addiction. I do believe some just use these things as a prank or to troll people into thinking that they genuinely like them, keep collections, wallpapers and countless youtube videos.

Same goes for other brands whether they be popular japanese cultures, such as anime, or furries like you said.

I have to disagree with this one.

Consider how some of the obsessions of many autistics are; things that are all sorts of bizarre to those that dont understand them. I remember seeing a story on Yahoo about this guy (I forget the age) who absolutely had this thing for vacuum cleaners, particularly of a specific brand. Absolutely loved the things. Why? Heck if I know. Well, this guy's birthday comes around, and his parents (who I believe he lived with) wanted to do something special for him. They contacted the company, and one of the higher-ups there ended up making a personal visit, bringing along one of the newest models as a gift. And hoboy, that pretty much made the guy's entire YEAR.

Now, I ask you: what's wrong with that particular obsession/interest/like as opposed to, say, ones that are "normal"? For example, how *lots* of people are obsessed with TV. TV, to me, is brainless. Sit there and stare at the screen, not actually interacting with it or anything else, and requiring no real thought at all. But just because I dont like or understand it, that doesnt make it any less valid. For anyone of any age. They like what they like... simple as that. It's And the same goes for the vacuum guy.

For other sorts of things, furries and bronys, I personally think it's definitely... strange. I dont understand it. But if it makes them happy, who am I to tell them wether they should or should not do it? It aint like it harms anyone. It's not being "out of touch with reality" any more than watching TV is, or any more than an interest in cars is, which to me are simple transporation methods and nothing more. It's simple admission of what you REALLY like, as opposed to trying to force yourself to push it aside to adhere to the bloody stupid norms that society hits you over the head with. It's someone being themselves, really. Which is more than can be said for so many people out there.

I myself am into gaming and anime stuff. I'm also into cosplay; the act of dressing up as characters I like at conventions that are related to anime/gaming (which are very chaotic places with all sorts of people in costumes wandering around some hotel or other). I enjoy it, and particularly considering the specific nature of the characters I tend to portray (which I'm not explaining here, though some reading this may know enough about me to guess), it allows me to be myself in ways that I cannot on normal days. And of course gaming itself is my central interest. Always has been, probably always will be.

And I figure, if someone else has a problem with that stuff... it's THEIR problem, not mine. They can just shove off, frankly. I'll do as I like, thanks.

And of course, to add to all of this.... you dont HAVE to be autistic to like any of the sorts of things I've mentioned here. I think there are plenty of people in "normal" society, NTs, that have such "strange" interests regardless of age, like the vacuum thing.... but that simply hide them. Many autistics simply dont. That's all.

I think it's important to keep in mind in this discussion that furries and bronies are largely non-sexual. They are intense interests but not necessarily fetishes.
That being said, I don't think the attraction to furry-ism or brony-ism is any more prevalent in ASDs than anyone else, but I do think that ASDs are more likely to consider them as possibilities when other people who may be just as attracted would shrug them off because they are 'not normal.' ASDs are often less swayed by popular opinion, and we're often pretty used to being 'weird,' which can have the benefit of allowing us to pursue any interests we like regardless of other's perceptions about it. While we are sensitive to criticism, we also already have reason to feel separated from society. I don't know about other people, but I feel out of place in public anyway, so if I look peculiar because of something I like, like wearing a MLP t-shirt, it only makes me slightly more peculiar, so why not?
Furries and bronies by definition need to be intensely interested in their world. A brony can gain respect from other bronies by his knowledge of MLP trivia, so the more intense the interest is, the more successful the participant becomes. This plays well into the ASD intense interest pattern of behavior.
Lastly, the subject gives the participant something to discuss, a way of socializing with others who share the same interest. ASDs can find a way to socialize more easily and more successfully with other people by developing a shared interest, so it's possible that some ASDs may engage in the brony or furry interest not because they are interested in it, but because it lets them talk to other people.

I'm not a furry or a brony. I've seen My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, and I enjoyed it, but not enough to participate in brony social groups. I don't see anything immoral or wrong about either field of interest. There's nothing wrong with an adult enjoying a cartoon for children, and I have enough experience with bronies to know that they aren't watching it for any perverted reason. What draws most people to the show is its innocence. The characters care about each other, they help each other, they support each other's interests without judgment or derision. Some people like twisting that innocence into something it's not, but most don't. Brony guys like that they have found one small piece of the world where it's ok to be nice to each other.

Coming across Bronies for the first time on the internet a few years ago, I was intrigued.

My daughter had a collection of MLP when she was a child, but I didn't know any adult fans IRL.

I posted about my discovery of Bronies on another discussion board (a board that's related to a special interest of mine, the membership of which seems to be around 98% NTs) and it turned out that one of the other members is a Bronie. Never would have thought he was.... he's like my age, or at least in his late 40s. But it made me see Bronies in a different light; they seemed a little more hip, a little more cool than I thought originally, due to their association with this guy who I think is cool.

Edited to actually answer the question: some of them may be autistic, but not all? I guess I'm stating the obvious here because few things are "all" or "nothing." The guy I "know" online, judging from his interactions with others on the board who live in the same area he does, doesn't seem to be autistic. He could be, I suppose, but I'm not asking him (I'm not "out" on that board anyway - that I know of, haha). But he has a ton of friends and actually hangs out with them in real life on a regular basis. I've never gotten the impression that he was autistic.

On the other hand I also meet up with folks from that board, once in a while, so maybe I seem NT to them (actually I doubt that). But the other 360+ days of the year, I am home, usually alone, often in my bedroom with the door shut (if anyone else is around).

Agreed.

And this too. ASDs are perhaps more likely to value kindness and sincerity. We know what it's like to not fit in. We know how much it can mean when someone is nice to us. Don't get me wrong though, I love a lot of things like Game Of Thrones where it's not very pleasant. But something sweet and positive can really appeal to me too.

I think there is a growing number of people in general who are tired of "adult" stuff/mainstream media because it is so often violent, over-sexualized, and just plain nasty, and these people are fulfilling their needs with stuff like MLP, other cartoons/fandoms, and young adult literature. I think it's just coincidence that MLP is one that became well-known, relative to other children's cartoons.

I think there might be a slight inclination towards this stuff in the autism population because

1. they are more likely to pursue and be vocal about "weird" interests due to being oblivious or not caring that it'll seem odd to people (maybe there are a bunch of NT bronies who are closeted due to their social awareness?)

2. atypical developmental trajectory, so they're more likely to be into kid's stuff as an adult (or adult stuff as a kid)

As for furryism, well, there have been a lot of autistic people on WP who've said that they understand and/or like non-human animals better than humans, and it's understandable in light of the fact that non-human animals are not as sneaky, conniving, and indirect as humans.

In addition, I think of these things that are on TV in the same light as soap operas which I also cannot stand, even though its real and not animated, I suppose in correlation to animated childrens shows like My Little Pony and the sort, I think they have the same sort of appeal to people except of course not many children would watch soaps or dramas, because they may not understand it as much as their parents. A theory could be that animated could be more easier on the eyes, which is true for me in some cases like anime which I consider a digital version of a comic book if thats the sort of analogy people see it in. But having studied media, it has altered my mind and seeing that animations are just figments of someones imagination, it sort of puts me off watching them, as opposed to reality TV etc. I hate soaps though, it's a complete mystery to me why so many people like them.

I wasn't going against people's interests, its just my opinion towards these things.

I'm autistic, I'm a furry, and I'm also a bit of a brony, three things the internet just loooooooooooooooooves to hate. I'm not entirely sure if people on the spectrum are necessarily more prone to being furry fans, but it has often been said that autistics often identify more closely with animals than other humans. As well, anthropomorphic animals are often featured in cartoons and other works aimed at children, and it just so happens that a lot of us are "young at heart" and don't let go of "childish" things so easily... not that that's a bad thing.

I think if I were to have a "totem animal", it would be a housecat. I mean, cats are lazy, independent, stubborn, intelligent, and sometimes a bit skittish, but under the right circumstances, they can also be extremely friendly and affectionate, kinda like me.

They aren't lazy; they're just extremely energy-efficient.

Someone made a documentary called "Bronies" in which at least one of the main subjects was autistic. Also the fury episode of Entourage is pretty great.

I saw that documentary. It was pretty good. It didn't make as much fun of bronies as I was afraid it would, unless I missed some underlying meanness or something.

That's a good way of putting it. I always say that laziness is just a form of efficiency.

Well MLP they have cutie marks which are their special talent and obsession so that's probably relatable to autistic people. And autistic people are more likely to be more obsessed than non-autistic people just by nature. But I'm not sure if liking it in the first place would be more autistic. Possibly is. Some of us are young for our age, I am. And MLP's intended market being children puts off a lot of people from wanting to be associated with it, but since we're less affected by social rules I don't think that bothers us. We just like what we like. But some people, especially here, are mature for their age and wouldn't enjoy MLP one bit. So obviously not all people with autism will like furry or MLP stuff, but I think in general they are more likely to than NTs. Well for MLP anyway, I don't think it is the case for furries, that's just a fetish, nothing else. I wouldn't say being a furry or liking MLP is an autistic thing though, not at all.