"We are Living in a World not Meant for Us": A Study About Why Girls Are Not Allowed to be Autistic
Abstract
In recent years, there has been an increasing amount of evidence that women have been under or misdiagnosed for autism. Some authors would say that this is due to women and girls being more adept at camouflaging their autistic traits (Attwood, 2013; Gould & Ashton-Smith, 2011; Lai, 2017). However, the findings in this thesis reveal that the missed diagnoses go further than this: girls are not allowed to be autistic. That is not to say girls are not autistic or not allowed to be diagnosed with autism, but that girls are not allowed to just be their autistic selves. Women - whether they have been diagnosed or not - try to strategically adapt to a world that is not meant for them while also balancing gendered expectations. Despite one's neurotype, there is an expectation for women and girls to be socially adept, intuitively empathetic, accommodating and nurturing (Eckerd, 2020): traits not typically associated with autism (Baron-Cohen, 2005). This thesis also explores why women often settle for self-diagnosis, what happens when neurotypical and gendered expectations clash, and the specific experiences that come with living with an undiagnosed condition.
The aim of this thesis is to explore a small but impactful part of the female experience of autism through three core concepts of conformity, concealment and anticipated stigma. Complimenting these core concepts are the operational notions of biographical illumination, strategic outness, the double empathy problem, and camouflaging/masking. This thesis explores seven case studies about autistic women speaking on their experiences. Throughout each chapter, this thesis analyses the micro-relational interactions and the specific tools they have implemented to live well in a world that is not meant for them. The case studies detail the intricacies of the three core concepts in this thesis in different forms.
As a work of sociological inquiry, this thesis's conceptual framework is drawn from Goffman's (1956) dramaturgy, critical autism studies (Davidson & Orsini, 2013; Milton, 2012), queer studies (Orne, 2011; 2013; Pfeffer, 2014) and intersectionality (Crenshaw, 1991; Collins, 2000) . Ultimately, this thesis poses a sustained reconsideration of the female experience of autism along sociological and clinical lines. Ultimately, this thesis contributes a problematisation of the construction of the autism label, the diagnostic process and why girls are not allowed to be autistic.