Theories on why more males than females have AS

Post Reply New Topic

and than me as well, I happen to think that ANYONE is better at anything than me, I suppose I am too negative, anyway.... I have to say that, because I have seen with my own eyes, that gender has nothing to do with success, problem solving and anything that has to do with capabilities, physical and mental, however, gender is related to a few conditions which affect one more than the other, due to genetic factors. A theory is that men are more likely to be autistic than females because of having just one X chromosome.

IMO the ratio is 1:1. Many female aspies are not diagnosed because it doesn't matter if a woman is seemingly withdrawn or not employable--she can always become a housewife. In theory that is. But I predict that with increased awareness, the statistics will begin to equalize.
It's definately not because women are "more social". But we are probably more emotional, which may be another reason symptoms are overlooked.

Does being more emotional make you more social? Because you understand other peoples feelings better.

Also, this is just in, that theory is false according to a recent study. since its just.....weird.

You seem to have missed my point. Women in general are more interested in fashion, that's true. My argument is that this and other behaviors are not biologically in the brain, but rather an accumulated socialization. Men and women are both responsible for socialization, it starts from infancy, and it often happens in a more passive than active way. It's a pretty recent development that women are getting to actually choose what to be good at, but expectations from the past don't go away immediately. Historically, I'd say the concept of women as sex objects is an invention of men even though women have greatly elaborated on that concept independantly since then. I'm not blaming men, I'm just saying causes for things can be much more distant than what we can see happening in our generation. Men may not know much about fashion, but women are still taught by everyone early on that pretty is important, and therefore have a responsibiliy to be pretty. It's not just designers or women who are solely responsible for this thinking. Straight men are often in charge of media entertainment, though they may not design the outfit they do pick the look. There are many many things involved, but very few of them I belive to be biological. I'm not sure what point you were trying to make, or why you chose to shout so many words at me in caps. If I offended you, I didn't mean to be offensive. I'm just looking at it from my angle. Of course we are all speaking strictly in generalizations and those are never 100% true.

No, no, and no.

When I say women are more emotional, I mean we are more sensitive and have natural mood swings related to our hormone cycles. Therefore many AS-related symptoms, especially meltdowns, are dismissed as being part of this cycle. But if a male has a meltdown, then it's more likely to be scrutinized because it can't be explained away--which would lead to more males getting diagnosed.

Hey I went into the womans issue forum and looked at a question are you lesibian bi.

Most were bi and I didn't see anyone that was straight. Look for yourself!!

http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt27223.html

I think lesibians are woman with male brains and
gay men are men with female brains.

So to me it is a male brain thing. Male brains can't handle being slightly autistic like female brains can.

If you are a woman and have a more male brain( bi lesbian) you have a greater chance of being having AS.

That is why more men than woman have AS.

Have I discovered something new??

So if my theory is right there should be very few gay or bi AS men.

But that still doesn't answer whether it's innate or a product of learning. Brains change with use, the patterns aren't set at conception and development. If you're steered into socialization instead of math, however it happens, you will compensate and your brain will eventually begin to take on patterns to match the use you put it to.

Girls as a class do tend to behave differently, but I think it's a mistake for us to try to attribute traits to one cause or another when we have no untainted data and we can't create control situations in which some groups either have no genes or have no exposure to explicit or implicit social norms and expectations. I think 'gendered' traits are unlikely to be mostly biological, because they change over time or depending on what stereotype is being evoked, but I'm not ruling it out.

The rest of what you say I agree about.


I also agree with those who say that interpretation of the same behavior differs depending on the subject. In girls, even having no friends and exhibiting poor social skills can be attributed to a socially oriented nature (she is obviously trying to act adult to impress the teacher) or normal growth (she is just too shy or sensitive to approach others but will get better as she gets to know her classmates). Part of the cause might be that girls are allowed a wider range of behavior and expression to be 'normal', and more signs will be misinterpreted than if the same behavior were exibited by a boy.

Well, I'm a guy and I was quiet and passive during my elementary school years (I still am to a lesser extent), but got diagnosed with AS nonetheless. And this was when it was a relatively new diagnosis.

You're all over the map, and I'm not connecting the dots.

OBVIOUSLY AS affects your brain. You might even say that Aspies have 'overly male' brains, but that is a stereotype of male behaviour. If you have 2 X chromosomes, you're a woman, if you're XY, you're a man, and that's the end of it as far as gender goes. If some men act 'feminine' and some women act like men, then it doesn't change their gender.

No, I'm not a lesbian, but I know several. Some are tomboys, others are really feminine, both in appearance and mannerisms. I don't see what sexual orientation has to do with having a certain type of brain, that doesn't make sense.

cas - Oh, I don't necessarily agree fully with the info I posted... I was just passing along what I heard! I agree with you. Humans, by nature, are highly social animals, so you cannot really understand ANYTHING about people's behavior without taking into account people's reaction to socialization and social norms. So yeah, we always have to stop and think about whether or not certain "tendencies" of males or females aren't actually, in fact, learned gender roles rather than actual sexual differences.

Oh, and "gender" by definition isn't biological. If it relates to the biology, it's "sex." If it relates to social and cultural identity, it's "gender."


MR_BOGAN - Be careful! There's no reason to assume that a women who is a lesbian or bi has a "male brain." I think it's fair to say that differences in types of intelligence between the sexes is a far more complicated matter... and that's DEFINITELY true in regards to understanding human sexuality. Sexuality is an extremely complex thing.

Are you bi, do you mind me asking?

No one said they were straight on that forum. ???

Sure there are butch gay men. But most gay men I have met seem to act like woman to me. The opposite should be the same for woman. I don't think it has anything to do with the XY chromosomes, if it did pure autistic male and female wouldn't be about even.

perhaps there is no answer...the end

I think this way too. I think AS doesn't show the same in men as women. It is less disruptive in women socially, so goes unnoticed.

I'm straight, as are most women. Why would you reply to a thread about lesbians/bis if you weren't one yourself? Just to say "hi, I'm not a dyke/bi, but great thread here. Bye." ??? It's just common logic.

Gay people come in all sorts, the butch/fem thing is just a stereotype. I know plenty of effeminate men who aren't gay, and plenty of straight butch girls.

I have no idea what your last sentence is.

As I stated in my previous post - human sexuality is an extremely complex subject, and I'm a bit disturbed by your assumption that lesbians/bisexual women "obviously" have a "male brain".