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Cultural appropriation doesn't only apply to races, it can apply to a lot of minorities. A culture is a group of people (usually a minority group) who share traits, experiences & sometimes heirlooms with each other. These things are usually related to a minority group. What I wanna talk about is the autistic space and the "tiktok autistics" (or ig that's what I'll call them bc I cant think of anything else ^^'). Basically cultural appropriation is when random people come into a space that isn't made for them (like autistic spaces), they look at everything they deal with, and then take the appealing features and leave all the stuff that they don't like(or that's one kind of it anyways), which is what I've noticed in recent years.
small example (keep in mind that I'm NOT indigenous but I think I have a firm enough grasp on this topic to say what this is like since I am autistic and I know what being appropriated feels like PLEASEEE correct me if this is wrong in any way): someone who is white coming into an indigenous space, seeing all the nice-looking headdresses (ngl they are insanely cool and impressive) and- knowing all the stuff that indigenous peoples have gone through/go through (like injustice when it comes to the laws, hate from the majority groups, ect)- they put on the headdress and now they've made it so the headdress is "theirs" when it really isn't and by doing that they also ignore all the struggles of indigenous peoples to be "more favourable" to them
this is also like how people take hyperfixations, special interests & stuff like that from autistic people, not to be hateful i guess but just because they want to be perceived as "different". this leaves out all the struggles that we have to go through like meltdowns and overstimulation or stuff that's unflattering to the majority group.
Basically, these people just like the “aesthetic” of being part of a minority group when in reality they ignore all the things that minority groups go through. just because they “have hyperfixations” when that’s like specifically a neurodivergent thing. so then they just claim they are and they say things like “autism is so silly :3 I have the silly disease >_<” like seriously? have you ever gone through a meltdown? Have you ever been ‘too normal to be different, too weird to be normal’? Have you ever always stood out but you can’t tell why? It left me wondering what was ‘wrong’ with me. Same with POC too, have you ever been called “dirt” bc ur skin is darker? (not my words, actually my old classmate said this.) have you ever been to a residential school? Do you understand what that’s like? I’m none of these races(besides autism but that isn’t a race it’s just in the paragraph) but speaking from other people’s accounts it isn’t good (DUH) and people just like to glorify this and it makes me mad. We should start showing some respect to minority groups, haven't they fought to become respected by the majority population? and then they still get stolen from. we aren't educated enough. we aren't ANGRY enough.
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luke
Preface: I'm in my 20s and diagnosed autistic. I'm hoping that an older autistic person's perspective is helpful here.
I think that cultural appropriation is entirely the wrong term for this. There is no singular autistic cultural experience. There is suffering and oppression, but that is not the culture. It is part of the wider governmental, and by extension social, system and is entirely working as designed. It's true that people with any disability are marginalised but the history itself is vastly different. Autism is expressed differently by each individual as our behvaiours are still informed by the cultures in which we are part. Our lack of adherence to certain parts of those cultures are often what 'give us away'. Plenty of young people feel that they don't fit in with the social dynamics around them. That's all part of the process of growing up. What I believe to actually have caused this is the oversaturation of normal conversations with 'therapy speak' and the desire to pathologise behaviours instead of taking accountability for the things that we do. The willingness in many people to accept that they cannot grow and change because they are doomed to a life of being "diagnosed" with essentially always being wrong and weird is worrying. It's important to be aware and to be kind to people who are any kind of minority, of course, but it's not really the only thing that defines our existence.
I really don't think that the opinions and behaviours of (predominantly) children delegitimises the experience of autism in the eyes of any rational person. Anyone who thinks that entire developmental disorders can be characterised by quirky children on the internet is already clearly looking to engage with that group in bad faith. It will make for an easier life to ignore this sort of thing because it'll pass when something else crops up. You and I, and any other autistic person, are more than the diagnosis. That seems to be the only thing you and I have in common. We will have been diagnosed for different reasons and will have different lived experiences. There isn't a common culture between us. Sure, there are a few similar behavioural patterns but the DSM-5 isn't exactly the same kind of thing as a spiritual text or any other guiding text for a culture.
If you want advice on how to get round this strange situation of feeling like all those kids pretending to be autistic are ruining the chance for community, I would say that you would be better off finding community based around your interests rather than around mental health diagnoses. Failing that, reach out to any local charities that work with autistic people as they may have groups or social events where you can meet people who will have a slightly more similar lived experience to you.
I get that it's frustrating to have to share language with people that don't represent your experience, but it'll pass. I hope you're okay and I hope that this is at least somewhat useful to you