Society's changes in what's socially acceptable

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Did you ever stop to ponder that, in the Western world, society has changed its norms over time to be more like those that would be more suitable to an Aspie?

It's almost like we were ahead of the curve; if we had our l'il way, we'd have changed these social customs LONG ago. Some examples:

- Way back, men had to dress up in suits when they went out, women had to wear covered-up dresses, even in the summertime - just think in Eastern North America when it's horribly humid...and you can't put on lighter clothing. I mean heck if I lived back then, I would have put practicality over social custom and just worn something more comfortable in the summer!! !

- Smoking was considered socially acceptable and there was more peer pressure surrounding it; if you were in a group of the guys at the office, the bar, etc, you had to light up too, and I'm sure that a sense-sensitive Aspie would cringe at a smoke-filled room so aren't you glad that now, smokers are the ones being frowned upon and had their smoking rights curtailed in every possible setting.

- Restaurants, mostly fancy restaurants, had a dress code - up until circa 1986, you had to dress up to go to a steak dinner or you wouldn't get served, now you can wear a golf shirt and jeans and tennis shoes and it's no big deal.

- In the workplace, you had to address the boss as "Sir" or "Mr. Smith", and it was unthinkable to be on a first-name basis with him. Guess where we've been since the 1980s? much more conducive to the Aspie way of thinking, I'd say.

So the question is, do you see social norms continuing to morph into something that favours us more?

I think people are being raised to be more accepting of diversity (cultural diversity, gender identity, physical ability, and neurodiversity). Go back and read a book written in the nineteenth century in North America or northwestern Europe, and you'll read a kind of sneering superior attitude toward people of other cultures and even women and working classes within their own cultures. And it was even worse for people with conditions like autism. They considered us to be simple, belonging in an institution, possibly to be sterilized in some sort of eugenics program (*shudder*).

There was a movement in the 1960s as an offshoot of the civil rights movements to teach children to view diversity as a positive, to be ourselves and bring our unique attributes to contribute to society. There were programs like "Free To Be, You And Me," promoting the idea that boys and girls could both accomplish great things. We started studying the histories of non-Western cultures, and countries established laws like the Americans With Disabilities Act to provide access to differently abled people. It gives all people permission to be a little different, not just people of color or folks on the spectrum.

No doubt we have a ways to go, but we have come a very long way in just a few decades.

I think as well as the way people are raised, the population of many regions throughout the world are becoming more diverse, which eventually gives rise to more tolerance, because cultural norms become harder to define and people realise they've lost the battle to keep the race "pure." I would join a homogenous group at my peril, unless they were all very similar to me, and that's pretty unlikely.

I have the opposite view. Society talks more about diversity in in many ways such as LGBT rights has made great strides.

This is not true with ASD. Sure there are television characters with Autistic traits which proves people are entertained by us not that they like us or want to accommodate us. People skills have become more important to succeeding in all aspects of life. Networking is how 90% of the jobs are obtained, open offices, open classrooms, school work and employment is increasingly more group oriented. Multitasking is a much more necessary and required skill these days. In the post 9-11 mass shooting era there is increasing fear of different personality types, especially the quiet loner type. The hiring process used to be one or maybe two interviews. Now it is rounds of interviews with different teams and all sorts of personality tests.

With all the screens and noise and because of devices people are always on call sensory stimulation is much more now.

I firmly believe that there are a lot of people melting and shutting down now who with the same severity of autism if they made through school bullying was able to lead a different or odd but somewhat functional life.

Does it occur to you some people with aspergers might smoke? I don't know what your on about rights being curtailed in every possible setting as far as I know I still have just the same rights as any other citizen. Not smoking in public buildings is reasonable I prefer to smoke outside anyways.

I still do this, to an extent. I don't wear three piece suits and fedoras granted, but am extremely uncomfortable with being dressed casually. I'll always wear long pants (usually dark jeans) covered shoes and long sleeved collared shirts, and am more comfortable with a jacket and a hat on. The idea of wandering around in shorts and a singlet in public is a bit uncomfortable to me. Too much exposure. As for getting caught in pyjamas/naked by anyone whatsoever - forget it.