POST3: Symbolic Interactionism and Women on the Autism Spectrum
Symbolic Interactionism and Women on the Autism Spectrum As a woman on the autism spectrum, I am, naturally, very interested in the lives and experiences of other people on the autism spectrum, especially other women. Autistic people, as a rule, are often misunderstood and mistreated by society at large, and this is especially true for autistic women. Due to the historical assumption that autism is a condition that mainly affects boys and is best understood by the study of the behaviors of autistic boys, girls and women on the spectrum are constantly overlooked. We are more likely to go undiagnosed, more likely to only be diagnosed in adulthood, sometimes after years of bullying, and much less likely to be accepted by other people as "truly autistic". One of the most useful sociological frameworks for understanding the struggles faced by women on the autism spectrum is that of symbolic interactionism. Symbolic interactionism, at its core, is the idea that social interaction...