jamesebtrout wrote:
I am ALWAYS appalled when I hear people on the Spectrum define Autism or people who are LGBTQ define their sexual orientation as "the only thing they have." As if they have no interests or independent thoughts.
Lack of interest in a prospective partner's "interests or independent thoughts" is not limited to the autistic and LGBTQ worlds.
I've run into quite a few people in the world at large who don't seem to care at all about a prospective partner's interests or ideas, but only about looks, "personality" (in the sense of personal charm), age, and other demographic categories of one kind or another, such as ethnicity or religion.
I've never understood this looks-charm-and-demographics-only approach. I have always (except during some very brief sexual experimentation phases) refused to date people who seemed to be interested in me
only for these kinds of superficial reasons.
For me, intellectual companionship, including shared interests, has always been a prerequisite to any serious and deep friendship or romantic relationship.
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