I'd say that 80% of it is just "Tumblr headcanon" type of posts, when people who aren't autistic headcanon characters as autistic because they're socially awkward or very smart or nerdy. It's very common, and it's frustrating because being autistic is so much more than just being nerdy or socially inept.
Also, part of it seems to be that people throw it in for "progressive points," when it's part of a long list of "X is autistic and loves soft blankets! And Y is a demigirl!" with no real justification. It makes autism seem like tokenism, and it also perpetuates obnoxious stereotypes about autistic people.
(I've never felt that I've been discriminated against for my gender, sexuality, or religion, but there have been times where I know I've been discriminated against for my autism, whether people believe that I have it and stereotype me, or whether people refuse to believe that I have it and treat me cruelly for it. That's very strange, now that I think about it.)
I also don't like it when people use it to excuse a character's genuinely harmful behavior, which seems to be something that pops up for villains occasionally.
Like...I've read one Kylo Ren story where he was autistic, told from Poe's POV, and I liked that Kylo's Force sensitivity and autistic sensory processing issues were not made to be the same thing in the story, but were shown as being somewhat similar and interacting with each other. It didn't excuse his tantrums or his going dark, but it did put a unique spin on his relationship with Poe and the way he used the Force to relate to others. That was a good one.
What I don't like: "Kylo Ren is autistic because he can't make eye contact and he has a monotone voice and he doesn't seem to have any empathy for others (not because he's a Dark Side force user who is deliberately suppressing his compassion to feed his lust for power)." That also deeply misunderstands the concept of operational empathy, and the whole "lack of empathy" thing is from a deeply flawed and disproven study anyway.
What I also find frustrating: "Kylo Ren has tantrums...I have tantrums. I am autistic. Therefore, Kylo Ren must be autistic. Therefore, you can't make fun of him for having tantrums, because that is making fun of him for being autistic." I understand the feeling. I understand the thought process. I understand sympathizing with a character because they do a thing you do. But that particular way of thinking has a lot of logical flaws.
Anyway, that's my thoughts on it. Thank you for asking, I am happy to discuss this pretty much any time.
Re: i just wanted to get this off my chest
I'd say that 80% of it is just "Tumblr headcanon" type of posts, when people who aren't autistic headcanon characters as autistic because they're socially awkward or very smart or nerdy. It's very common, and it's frustrating because being autistic is so much more than just being nerdy or socially inept.
Also, part of it seems to be that people throw it in for "progressive points," when it's part of a long list of "X is autistic and loves soft blankets! And Y is a demigirl!" with no real justification. It makes autism seem like tokenism, and it also perpetuates obnoxious stereotypes about autistic people.
(I've never felt that I've been discriminated against for my gender, sexuality, or religion, but there have been times where I know I've been discriminated against for my autism, whether people believe that I have it and stereotype me, or whether people refuse to believe that I have it and treat me cruelly for it. That's very strange, now that I think about it.)
I also don't like it when people use it to excuse a character's genuinely harmful behavior, which seems to be something that pops up for villains occasionally.
Like...I've read one Kylo Ren story where he was autistic, told from Poe's POV, and I liked that Kylo's Force sensitivity and autistic sensory processing issues were not made to be the same thing in the story, but were shown as being somewhat similar and interacting with each other. It didn't excuse his tantrums or his going dark, but it did put a unique spin on his relationship with Poe and the way he used the Force to relate to others. That was a good one.
What I don't like: "Kylo Ren is autistic because he can't make eye contact and he has a monotone voice and he doesn't seem to have any empathy for others (not because he's a Dark Side force user who is deliberately suppressing his compassion to feed his lust for power)." That also deeply misunderstands the concept of operational empathy, and the whole "lack of empathy" thing is from a deeply flawed and disproven study anyway.
What I also find frustrating: "Kylo Ren has tantrums...I have tantrums. I am autistic. Therefore, Kylo Ren must be autistic. Therefore, you can't make fun of him for having tantrums, because that is making fun of him for being autistic." I understand the feeling. I understand the thought process. I understand sympathizing with a character because they do a thing you do. But that particular way of thinking has a lot of logical flaws.
Anyway, that's my thoughts on it. Thank you for asking, I am happy to discuss this pretty much any time.