Neurodivergence and Intersecting Identities
Don’t try to put me in a box. It won’t work out well for you.
Every once in a while, when someone doesn’t like my “off-topic” content on social media (usually 2s+LGBTQ posts), they say something along the lines of, “I thought this was a neurodiversity page!”
Yes, yes it is.
My neurodivergence (Autism and ADHD for me) is inseparable from the rest of who I am. Our identities intersect to make us the people we are. None of us is uni-dimensional.
A significant portion of the Neurodivergent (ND) community are also disabled in other ways. A significant portion of the ND community are queer. Autistic and other ND folks are more likely to be gender-non-conforming than neurotypicals (NTs).
Many NDs also have a heightened sense of justice.
Regardless of whether we are part of a particular community, most of us want to support other marginalized and oppressed groups. While we can never share another’s lived experience, we do know what it’s like to be “othered”, mistreated, devalued, and dehumanized.
Most ND folks (and people running related social media accounts) strive to earn the honour of being called an ally to other marginalized communities.
Most of us are also part of multiple marginalized communities.
We are not one-dimensional, and we do not have to confine ourselves to a neat little box to make ourselves more palatable for others. We’ve spent much of our lives doing that and have learned (the hard way) it’s a path to self-destruction.
To be honest, when people try to shove me into some kind of pigeon hole, I’m likely to come out even stronger. If someone asks, “I thought this was a neurodiversity page?” this is the answer.
I will not ignore other parts of myself, nor other marginalized communities, for your viewing pleasure.
A huge part of my journey as a late-identified neurodivergent person has been developing self-awareness, self-knowledge, and self-acceptance.
After decades of feeling lost, I finally have a better understanding of myself, and have found a community where I fit and I belong. I have even begun to like who I am.
I am not giving any of that up to pander to anyone, and I will never stop advocating for people who are marginalized and oppressed.
Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.
© Jillian Enright, Neurodiversity MB
Related articles
Neurodivergents: Justice Warriors
I Was Masking For So Long, I Lost Myself
What It Means to be Autistic (Part One)
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