Neuroqueer

The term “Neuroqueer” was coined by Dr. Nick Walker, Athena Lynn Michaels-Dillon, and Remi Yergeau and essentially speaks to the intersection between neurodivergent and queer experiences. There are many ways this term can be used, which Dr. Walker discusses in her official article here. I specifically experience my neuroqueer identity manifest in my relationships with the world. In regards to gender, I’ve never experienced much of a connection to society’s concept of gender and I accept any pronouns. While I typically use the more widely know term “agender,” there is a term called “autigender” that more specifically summarizes my experience. Unlike “agender,” autigender is not as much of an identity as it is a description of how one’s connection with gender is influenced by how their autistic brain processes the social cues and expectations around them as it relates to gender. When autism influences the way one perceives stereotypes and roles, gender, which is heavily influenced by these roles and expectations, simply isn’t perceived the same as it would be for an allistic person.

It isn’t much of a secret that the percentage of autistic people who are queer is higher than that for allistic people. A lot of queerness is biological but the way it’s nurtured and expressed within society is influenced by the environment in which we’re raised. Autistic people won’t pick up on the same cues of a binary gender society and gender stereotypes and heteronormativity that most kids learn growing up. Because autistic people are less likely to internalize these lessons, queerness is never suppressed unless directly forced by those in someone’s life. This provides autistic people with a unique lens to envision a society less tainted by the neurotypical and heteronormative image we’ve been shown growing up. For this reason, the intersection of neuroqueer pushes for others to consider the way neurodivergent and queer experiences would be fully actualized if society was built with us in mind.

When we discuss the act of “queering” an environment, we push to destabilize the system of heteronormativity and rewrite the setting for queer people. This plays off the idea of “queer” meaning “weird” or “unusual,” embracing this need to disregard the idea of “normal” at all, specifically with the LGBTQIA+ community in mind. When we seek to neuroqueer a space, we engage in this same act of destabilizing society from the neurodivergent point of view. To queer a space would mean rejecting the gender binary in our language, embracing a less narrow image of love outside of romantic partnerships, and expand what it means to be a family. To neuroqueer a space may involve the act of normalizing needing to walk around or stim in environments normally reserved for sitting still. It may involve challenging the notion that eye contact equals respect or that medication is something to be whispered about as if it is taboo. When we seek to neuroqueer the world around us, we state that we’re tired of pushing for individual accommodations or the crumbs of inclusion that the church provides to queer people. We’re tired of taking on the weight of needing to adapt to fit society instead of simply building a new world that is big enough for all of us. This involves asking a lot of questions and making a lot of people angry, those who have relied upon the power dynamic with which the current systems provides them. However, for those who exist at the intersection of neuroqueer, it is the only way to truly create a world worth living in.

Image from https://neuroqueer.com/neuroqueer-an-introduction/