Post-Autistic Subculture?

Post Reply New Topic

Ok, I'm going to make this clear. This not about a subculture of people who are "post-autistic", nor is it about subcultures in a world that is "post-autism", rather it is about a subculture that is emerging from the existing autistic subculture. Prepare for some sociology.

As much as some people deny it, there is an autism pride movement and as a result a community is forming around it consisting of diagnosed people. With the raise of the internet, websites such as Wrong Planet, and the related raise of self-diagnosis, the culture is
growing, and it is starting to transcend. This is were the whole Post-Autistic part comes in.

People come in, and they become part of the community, even if they aren't diagnosable with an ASD, and even though they aren't, they still for whatever reason identify with the community. They want to be a part of it. This can be seen right here on this forum.

Now, having an ASD is not a choice. However, like any subculture, being a part of the community is, which were I think the real heart of autistic pride lies. There are closet gays, and then there are flag waving gay paraders, and then their are people in the parade who are bisexual, transsexual, and even heterosexual. It's the same type of thing here.

This Post-Autistic culture is a distinct culture that is starting to spring up as people who were once united by a common diagnosis are now united by a community that does not care about that specific. As autism is a spectrum and there is no hard border between Autistic and NT this autistic culture is uniting people who aren't even autistic together as they still feel they have something special in common, expecially those who have other psychological/neurological conditions. Asperger Syndrome or whatever is just one arbitrary classification of all the wonderfully weird people out there.

Now this plays in with the whole "diagnosis a celebrity or fictional character thing". It's all about the need for a sense of belonging to a community. For one reason or another people feel some sort of a connection with certain people, and because autism is a major part of that persons life they see autism as the connection. The diagnosing is really just trying to belong to the same community as them, as the lines between the Post-Autistic and Autistic Community are blurred they are trying to bring that person into their community through the claim of diagnosis. It's all about a pride that transcends the individual and fills the whole community.

This whiole need to have the people you like be apart of your select community is not unique to autism by any means. This is the reason why Christians are so assertive with their beliefs, why bronies try to convert their friends, why their are hipsters and heavy metal circles. It's all about wanting to be like the select, in your select community. I know this from personal exprience.

What makes this scene unique is autism's effect on social interaction, as well as it's relationship with Internet, making it a bit of a phenomenon. Does anyone have any opinions on this conjecture in the context of sociology.

Last edited by Ganondox on 11 Jul 2012, 10:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Judging by how I do on this board, I'd fit just as well into this "autistic subculture" you're speaking of as I do in other subcultures. I won't fit in very well at all. As far as it's effect on culture on the whole? Hell if I know, it's not like I can predict the future.

I think it's pretty much bad, as then NOBODY will be diagnosed autistic except for LFAs. Or the world will become more of a lame politically correct place and everyone will claim to have Aspergers and hurt feelings over everything. And then little cliques of "Aspies" will form, and other people won't be invited and then it would just be totally lame and terrible.

Come on, you have NVLD, not AS, and you fit in fine. Anyway, this isn't about diagnosis, it's about a subculture. Is everyone a goth? No, but there is still a definite gothic culture. This is about the community surrounding AS, not AS itself.

Why would NTs want to be a part of the community? They already have friends and people who make them feel like they belong.

For me, no diagnosis here, since I haven't seen anyone, I have had years of people telling me there is something wrong with me and that I don't act normal. Some people may find out later in life that they have aspergers, OCD, or whatever it may be. So whether someone has been diagnosed, everyone wants to fit in, and there are some who want to feel 'normal' too. For me, I sometimes wonder what it would be like not to stress out all the time. I just found this place, and it is definitely nice to have people to relate to.

Most of the NTs here have a loved one who is on the spectrum. This will probably hold true for the larger Spectrumite community as it evolves.

I agree with the original poster. As we connect with each other, we are finding a common ground, and are building a community of our own. It will be very interesting to see how it evolves over time.

Wrong. That is a gross generalization. Not all misfits have Autism.

Ganondox,

This post is very thought provoking, and I think you are definitely onto something. I am feeling Vaguely McVagueVague about my response, but I don't have much more to add until I think about it more.

Sorry, you have a point. I shouldn't stereotype. Also I got the meaning of NT confused, I thought it meant anyone deemed normal by society, but now I know it means non-autistic. I say stupid stuff sometimes, so again I apologize.

Damn, you're pretty observant and articulate for a 16 year-old. When I was 16 all I cared about were my Nunchucks, rum, and vagina.

Regarding the internet, I highly recommend these two articles for further reading:

6 New Personality Disorders Caused by the Internet | Cracked.com

We Live in Public (and the end of empathy)

I get what you're saying about belonging to a community. I also get what other people in another thread are saying about exclusiveness and so-called "posers". And honestly I really cannot do anything about it even if I wanted to, because what other people do is their business, and I (probably from autism) really have no way of knowing what their intentions behind their actions are. Personally I think the two should be separate entities. If one merely desires to belong, I think the labels should be done away with. If one can connect with other people, that is all that matters, no matter what one is. If an autistic and a neurotypical share the same views about something they should discuss those views without labeling the topic as either "neurotypical" or not. An exclusive group though needs labels. That is what gives the group its identity and makes it more special. That is why we have initiations in fraternities, and political borders and immigration laws in countries. That's what I think.

Interesting post. This particular subculture has its particular internal dichotomy because, by wiring, we are loners. Yet, lo & behold, development, thanks to people like you.

I admire you! You just wrote the exact thing I wish I could say everytime someone asks me a question. I will definitly have to think about some sort of version of this to incorporate into my day to day life.

On behalf of the community, I must say... Ouch!

To make this more relevant to the topic at hand; this hurt my austim-pride.

Anyway, the behavior he describes in that Cracked article is more akin to psychopathy.

This sort of behaviour is prevelant but it has nothing to do with AS and Jason Calacanis should be ashamed of himself for using a mental illness this way. Where does he get off saying Autistics are heartless and don't care about human life.

This is not As this is how ordinary NT people behave, also it's not an internet phenomenom, it's steeped in reality. There are stories of people watching and not calling the police while a woman gets raped and killed. There were stories recently in my home town of a woman screaming outside as she's freezing to death while the neighbors hear her and do nothing. People cheer for suicidals to jump when they stand on a ledge. I don't know about you but I see stories like this constantly. This is the world we live in - consider how NTs behaved in Nazi Germany or Rewanda. It's all throughout history from conquerors who raped and killed women and children to the Roman colessiums. This is not psychopathy - this is normacy and it's scary.

This is a very complex idea so I hope that I've understood correctly and I'm not putting my foot in my mouth.

I feel I connect with the people here because of the similar experiences, ideas and traits that we share. Knowing someone falls into a similar profile as myself is helpful for me in making that initial contact but it's not the label that makes the connection. Nor does "diagnosis a celebrity or fictional character thing" give me a sense of belonging. This is not to say it isn't true for some people because I believe it is.

If there was no such diagnosis as aspergers the people here would still have the same things in common but they might not have gotten together without it. This is where I think identifying with aspergers is useful, to say, at least part of you shares something with part of these other people. Together you can explore what that means.