Neurodiversity Movement v Trans Rights Movement
A comparison: Gender Ideology, Autism is now an 'identity', Women don't matter, Nothing means anything anymore... all in the name of progress. Do we really want to be tangled up in this?
My earlier piece The Trans Brainary Fallacy That Is Actually Real dives into a rambling nonsensical, yet thought-provoking story told from within a challenging and controversial ideology. Using a fictionalised character, I painted a scenario where a radical movement appears in a different form, giving readers a fresh perspective on what many women today experience due to gender ideology.
In that piece, I portrayed a fictional “Neurotypical Movement” that encroaches on Autistic rights, stirring hostility against those advocating for themselves. Through this fictional parallel, I aimed to compare it to the Trans Rights Movement, which encroaches on Women’s Rights, inciting hostility toward women trying to maintain their own spaces and autonomy.
Of course, there is no “Neurotypical Movement”—I made it up. But there is a Neurodiversity Movement, and it shares some notable themes with the Trans Rights Movement, such as the ideas of Self-ID (in the trans movement) and Self-Diagnosis (in the neurodiversity community). Both movements may have begun with positive intentions, aiming to foster acceptance and understanding around differences, but it is no longer the case.
In the Neurodiversity Movement, autistics don’t demand the erasure of neurotypical spaces. While frustration with neurotypicals does appear in some online circles, the ultimate goal remains equal opportunities and accommodations for all, well mostly. This requires understanding between neurotypicals and autistics and the willingness to communicate about needs openly. Neurodivergent individuals are often passionate about discussing these issues, even critiquing autism studies and research critically—even when these come from trusted sources or well-known autism advocates. This commitment to analysis reflects a community that questions, learns, and self-assesses… or so you’d think.
In contrast, the Trans Rights Movement is pushing for the removal of women's accommodations and discouraging open dialogue, creating a climate where disagreement leads to conflict. Research or literature seen as misaligned with the movement’s views are labeled transphobic, shut down without critique or engagement, and often uncritically celebrated by advocates—even when legitimate concerns are raised about harm. For a laugh about the whole situation, read The Future Of Autism Politics Part 1
Autism and other forms of neurodivergence are often used to support the idea of gender ideology as a legitimate form of brain divergence. Proponents point to the overlap between autism and trans identities as evidence of a “natural” divergence within neurodiversity. However, this perspective overlooks how autistic individuals often develop various coping mechanisms—like “masking” or “camouflaging”—to navigate social challenges and “fit in” with others. These adaptations are ways of managing the social disconnects autistics may feel, not indicators of innate gender identities.
Autistic people are also statistically more susceptible to co-occurring mental health issues, such as gender dysphoria or eating disorders like anorexia, which can be influenced by the unique social and emotional challenges of being neurodivergent. Neuro-affirming care seeks to work with a person’s neurology to help them understand and address these experiences. In contrast, gender-affirming care frames these challenges as biologically rooted gender issues, suggesting that medical interventions like surgeries are needed, and ignores autism. This approach often conflicts with neuro-affirming care, which emphasises understanding and accepting one's experiences without medicalising them.
It’s worth noting that many autism spaces now overlap with trans activism. Many of us understand the apparent connection between these struggles - differences and social acceptance - both movements began as calls for acceptance and celebration of diversity. However, issues have emerged. For instance, some trans activists now label autism diagnoses in gender clinics as transphobic, arguing that such diagnoses may ‘invalidate’ trans identities, whilst simultaneously appropriating autism and other neurodivergences as props to their ideology, just like they do with womanhood.
Man and Woman are being decoupled from biological sex turning women into a performative act that anyone can perform to claim womanhood and encroach on our rights and spaces. Using Queer Theory’s stupid lens I ‘appropriate’ their theory and direct it at neurology and neurotypes instead to show how ridiculous a concept it is: decoupling Neurotypical and Autism from neurology… with the wonderful and ‘progressive’ Neuro Queer Theory. If Man and Woman can be social constructs then so can autism! Sounds good?!
Now, some of these things are happening in the Neurodiversity Movement - with “Self Diagnosis is valid” and anyone who disagrees is a bigot. Some people are advocating for autism to be removed from the DSM and no longer classified as a medical condition or a disability, it has become an ‘identity’ rather than a lived reality. There are heated disagreements between the Medical Model and the Social Model of Autism. Is this the future of autism politics? We already have #ActuallyAutistic fighting against self diagnosis, much like #AdultHumanFemale.
The purpose of my article is to spotlight how dangerous these shifts can be when observed through a different lens, like a fictional “Neurotypicals vs. Autistics” identity clash. It shows how the disregard for others’ needs, spaces, and autonomy affects all involved.
It can feel alienating to encounter a culture where critical thinking is dismissed or discouraged. And as we lose spaces that once embraced us for our unique qualities, many of us find ourselves isolated, unable to recognise or connect with a community we once held dear.
Gender critical autistic voices are rising up to gain grounding in our own spaces again.