Nerd is my Gender
What's yours?
-
STFU Ableism: In honor of ablism awareness month (okay, not really, just good timing) I'm going to try to cut out hte -phobia terms...
For why it’s ablism, and also just busted: because phobias are real things. They qualify as disorders, if you want to use that term, it’s in the DSM and all that. I hate the DSM, but it’s there. I also am uncomfortable with the term neuroatypical, but phobias almost definitely qualify under the label.
A genuine phobia can have serious effects on a person’s life. Things like homophobia and xenophobia are not the same thing, but are being compared to that. This is not fair on people who have genuine phobias.
Something that I hadn’t thought of before but eateroftrees pointed out, this also makes things harder for people who actually can develop genuine phobias as a result of internalizing hatred. Although not for everyone, for some people the self-acceptance process can involve panicking, even for people who have friends who are gay/bi/trans/feminine and support those friends, because of the heavy anti-gay, anti-bi, anti-trans, anti-feminine messages in this culture. This is not the same as mistreating people for being gay or bi or trans or feminine, and conflating it with that only makes it harder for people who experience this.
This also has a very real damage to the communities. Don’t believe me? Look up “Gay Panic Defense” and “Trans Panic Defense”. The idea that hating gay people and trans people is a phobia adds to the validity of these. It sets up an ideology where a cis man on trial for brutally harming a trans woman who made no moves to harm him save for self defense can say “I was afraid for my life”, and a jury will believe it because they keep being told that people like him are severely afraid of trans people instead of being told that people like him hate trans people.
I’m pretty bad about not recognizing ablism, and this is no exception. I had to read this through twice before it clicked.
There are much better words out there that don’t end in -phobia. I use words that end in -centrism, to convey the idea that certain people think a certain way of being is (and even should be) what our society revolves around. Ciscentrism, binaricentrism, heterocentrism, etc. You can even put a dash in the middle of the word if it makes you feel better, like masculine-centric.
-
Warning, this video begins with anti-autism messages.
Here’s the description from the video creator:
There are two very different perspectives that parents can have when it comes to raising an autistic child. You can focus on the difficulties and struggles, live each day like it’s a battle against autism, and not accept your child for all they are. Or, you can embrace your child—autism and all—with unconditional love. I think we owe it to our children to choose to be positive.
I feel strongly that only showing the meltdowns, the issues, all that negativity…is not only wrong, but will have a dire effect on our children as they become adults. Who will want to reach out to our children when they are adults? If their perception of autism is that of someone who really isn’t quite a person? How will autistics ever be accepted in society, when parents are bemoaning Autism everyday?
My child is here with me, with a soul, a heart, and an amazing mind. I celebrate her life everyday.
What will your perspective be? -
The first part is in my “native language,” and then the second part provides a translation, or at least an explanation. This is not a look-at-the-autie gawking freakshow as much as it is a statement about what gets considered thought, intelligence, personhood, language, and communication, and what does not.
Awesome vid is awesome.
-
Please join me in speaking out against anti-autism fear-mongering!
Vaccines don’t cause autism. And even if they did, are we really suggesting that autism is worse than the measles? That people with autism are somehow so defective that it’s better to risk horrible illness and death than to risk “catching the autism”? For shame!
-
People are more than their mental illnesses, they are people.
Too bad some of us aren’t willing to see that (warning, link contains neurotypical superiority): http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jHSxYuFVNWk/TaoJD2G9eEI/AAAAAAAAOo8/QlkWMS3HPcU/s400/cage.jpg
Genderqueer with a touch of happy humanism.
