Why is the aspie stereotype ugly?

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In the eyes of many, asperger seems to be synonymous with being physically unattractive and repulsive for some reason.

ADHD has become the "cool" diagnosis with many actors and athletes suffering from it. Having ADHD doesn't seem to be such a big deal and many neurotypicals describe ADHD traits as "cute".
AS however is almost exclusively associated with really ugly f**ktards, and neurotypical children who just learned what AS is, through some uneducated middle-class gossip in the school's parental group, claim they would "rather be dead than have AS".

I think the reason why AS is a more shameful label than ADHD and even mental illnesses like bulemia and anorexia has more to do with the stereotype of AS people as the most unattractive thing you can ever be.
You never ever see a good-looking and well dressed aspie whose sophisticated neurosis and uptight personality come across as intellectually cool or aristocratic, anywhere in western popular culture, instead you see movies about grown men sitting in their own filth or things like this:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jkBOU9etRA[/youtube]

I laughed like hell btw, but it's nothing I can relate to in any way.

Last edited by Zoonic on 03 May 2009, 8:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I can't say I had ever noticed the stereotype. I must be too lost in my own little world

Most people honestly don't even know what Asperger's is, let alone have an opinion on it.

Firefox's spellchecker doesn't even have it in the dictionary. The shame

Why? Because they don't realize that we walk among them. They like to think they can pick us out just by how we look.

Well, people with AS/autism are more likely to be unkempt, unfashionable people compared to neurotypical people, depending upon where on the spectrum one is.

Btw, that video is stupid, but it shows how easy the name "Asperger's" is to make fun of, which is why I have advocated a name change.

Also part of the problem may be in how wide the spectrum of functionality is for both AS and autism. There is high- and low-functioning in an effort to create a seperation, but there is still this perception of mental handicap tied to AS/autism. Again, this is reason for a name change. I suspect this will happen eventually as we gain more understanding.

Last edited by carzak on 03 May 2009, 9:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I think it's starting to become more visible. 15 years ago I don't think a single person in the western world, other than scientists and specialized psychiatrists, knew what AS was, but these days you see bloggers and vloggers everywhere, both aspie and neurotypicals, enforcing the disgusting stereotype of really ugly and uncool people. Münchausen mothers who treat their children like pets onto which they project their idea of "cute and awkward" contribute to distorting the self-image of AS children with average intelligence, making them believe they are biologically programmed to lack a fashion sense for example. AS has become synonymous with the bad taste of these people and also a way for really average people to project their own ugliness on someone else, someone "below".
AS is a form of psychological dumping. Just like japanese do with koreans and iranians do with kurds, making up idiotic ideas about them having lesser abilities etc, in order to make themselves seem better.

The "ugly aspie" stereotype is there to make average f**k faced neurotypicals feel beautiful and talented. It's become a trailer trash diagnosis and a way of saying "there's always someone beneath". It's collective psychological dumping for low class people.

Last edited by Zoonic on 03 May 2009, 9:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Oh yeah, the vast majority of neurotypicals dress in fart-impregnated jeans and jogging shoes. The average neurotypical investment banker doesn't even know what the true meaning of "tailor made" is but instead wears horrendously fitted suits. Even most neurotypical models have stylists who make them look decent.

This idea about aspies having a worse fashion sense than an average neurotypical math teacher who wears the same jeans every day is just plain BS. Newly "enlightened" aspies as well as their overzealous parents embrace stereotypical distortions like this and spread them like the plague, on WrongPlanet, YouTube and everywhere. AS has become a sort of ugliness diagnosis, a way for average neurotypicals to say "hey! it's okay to be ugly! just look at my pet son with AS! Isn't he adorable?"

Well, I've done my part to help you understand, but you're welcome to continue being agry at the world.

I'm talking about AS specifically here, not autism. Mental retardation is a known issue with autists, however not all AS people are subject to retardation. I for one support a split/namechange to separate extremely high-functioning people with AS from those who are more within the typical autistic spectrum.

Still I believe this is a low class syndrome. A way for average white trash mothers to get attention from authorities and people on YouTube.
The upper classes in many western societies protect their children from public healthcare and public schools. Even if they have an AS child who fails, they can in many cases support them and get around the diagnosis. Upper class AS people aren't being forcefed with the idea that they must have a bad fashion sense or be "mommy's little pet" to project her own inferiority feelings on.

AS people are punching bags for highly average neurotypicals who deep down resent their own averageness. It's a way for vulgar minds to dump supressed pride and greed. It's far from noble behaviour.

Last edited by Zoonic on 03 May 2009, 9:39 pm, edited 2 times in total.

I'm very sorry to state that many people here have near zero clinical experience with aspies, aspergers is one of the most misdiagonosed unfortunately. Most clinically diagonosed aspies have severe problems functioning independently. Many of the aspie conferences I went to with people that actually deal with real aspies frquently, aspies ran the gamut from:

Very attractive, to very ugly... most aspies at the conference were either: Tall lanky and nerdy, or tendency towards being overweight, chunky or obese. There was a clear trend towards thin and nerdy or fat and nerdy, take your pick. Take alex for instance: He's clearly an example of thin and nerdy.

I'm buff and beautiful.

I do not think it that question about being physically ugly, but more of "selling". Aspie normally do not have the sense that clothing, hair style, etc. is an important way of communicating something. For my own I learned this "dress lingo" only over the years, when I had to wear a tie and when not and which tie is suitable and which not.

It is for a bit like painting Chinese letters, knowing that they mean anything, but not really has a deeper understanding.

A question regarding the term "clinically diagnosed aspie": Does this term not indicate that those per se are those which have severe difficulties? When I look around my friends (the most I know from training and college - IT and electronics), at least three have trails of Asperger, but are not so severe that they couldn't manage their lives relatively well - weird, but established (even they own only two pairs of shoes and think the t-shirt is approbate for any occasion ...).

The thing is, even many (most) neurotypicals aren't really style-conscious when it comes to ties and suits, so I don't think your issue with having to learn what the right occassion for using something would be is anything connected with AS. If you look at rules regarding formal dress codes for example, it's all about upbringing. Everyone needs to be taught and a neurotypical who just got his first "suit job" after graduating will have the same issues as you did. Depending on personality type some can have an even harder time developing a sense of style.

I'm not sure if there exists an Asperger's stereotype, physically. We all look different to some extent. A few of us might have a certain look, like, maybe we share a few common ancestors but just don't know it, but not all of us.
As for ugly, you can find ugly in all dimensions. Shallow too.

A sense of style is something different and I do agree that only minority has one - but there is something different: NT catch up the "common style" within a group very easily, even it consist of a horrible style. This unconscious gaping of a groups dress code is, in my experience, better with NT.

The way I learned it was to learn a set of rules, like not the wear shoes of brighter colour than the suit or to understand what a certain tie would tell about me.