The Age of Awwtism: Inspecting the Commodification and Fetishization of Neurodivergence

Let’s kick this piece off with a fun little video:

What a catchy tune, right? Something about the line “Don’t care if it’s ADHD or the ‘tism, long as that head game working” really tugs on your heartstrings. Jokes aside, have you noticed how lately the public sentiment on neurodivergence has gone through a major makeover? Gone are the days where kids were outright shunned from the school playground for liking Star Wars a little too much.

Autism is the new chic these days. — Aliyah

Like, not only is it weirdly common for an acquaintance to offhandedly mention they’re ‘soooo ADHD’ or ‘lowkey autistic’, it is actively desired for potential partners to have a “touch of the ‘tism”. Characters who are known for their quirkiness - think Phoebe from friends or Amelie Poulain from Amelie - get neurodivergent stamped on them, and they’re prominently featured on ‘dream girl’ memes. And it’s not only guys doing this. I’m sure we’ve all seen a Tiktok, or Reel, or whatever else, where a girl describes her ideal type as tall, nerdy, and a liiiiittle autistic. So what is it about neurodivergence that has captured the hearts of the public so rapidly? Let’s take a look.

Ah yes, Jesse Pinkman, the quintessential autistic. Btw did you guys know autismcore is a real thing on pinterest? Super awesome stuff! || Photo Credits: Pinterest

Self-diagnosis: From Stigma to Status

For starters, you may be aware that the AuDHD ‘boom’, so to speak, gained traction throughout the pandemic. Let’s go back to that for a second; an entire generation of adolescents, cooped up in their homes, eyes glued to one screen or another at any given time. We were bound to stunt our social skills in one way or another. The thing is, online platforms, Tiktok being the biggest one, took that and ran with it.

Have you been feeling down for a couple days? Might wanna get checked out for chronic depression! Getting a sudden unshakable germaphobia that couldn’t possibly be related to the fact that there’s a virus going around that has killed literal millions? Uh oh! Must be that pesky OCD. ‘Neurodivergent’ and ‘mentally ill’ suddenly became a consistent part of many people’s vocabulary. Almost every other scroll had something to do with it. The Covid-19 Pandemic brought about an entirely separate issue. The Self-Diagnosis Pandemic: What happened to just being weird?

Let me be clear though, I’m not saying this to discredit self-diagnostic tools as a whole. Psychology has come a long way and it has certainly been beneficial in increasing individual and public awareness on mental health. But we need to acknowledge that not only are these tools being used far beyond its scope, a good chunk of people don’t even bother to consult these tools before adding another psychiatric Pokemon to their repertoire. It’s hard to deny that this has done significant damage to people who have genuinely been affected by these conditions.

Ok this one’s joke of course, but you would be surprised at how many people misuse autism to excuse their issues || Credits: @paeticdweller on X

Dilution of neurodivergence: More Harm than Good

In particular, the meaning of Autism and ADHD had been diluted by a mile. People have mostly forgotten that these conditions involve a structural difference in the brain. Now being autistic just means that you’re a little bit quirky and oh so full of whimsy. The line between having some idiosyncrasies and having full blown autism has been blurred, so much so that the average person’s perception of autism tends to be way off the mark.

The simplest things could promote you from ‘regular loser’ to ‘awwtistic’ in the public eye. — Aliyah

For example, being particularly shy or reserved, being passionate about a certain subject, fidgeting with your pencil in class. While yes, these traits tend to be observed in people with autism, it really does not mean that having one of them makes you autistic.

To be honest, I don’t feel that the spotlight on autism has been all bad; it’s great that people are starting to view it in a more positive light. But I do feel that we have molded and shaped these autism and other conditions into something they simply aren’t, to make it more palatable for other people. In actual fact, it has been doing more harm than good towards the community as the public’s perception lends a shallow insight, if any at all, into the autistic mind.

Autism in dating: Neurodivergence or Neuro-token?

Obviously, this heavily altered view on neurodivergences has had a huge hand in the uptick of people wanting ‘autistic’ partners. The fundamental understanding of autism is so off base that when someone says this, an immediate reaction would be to internally roll your eyes and think “Here we go again”. They don’t truly want someone who has autism, they want someone who portrays the perfect autistic.

You guys can’t tell me you haven’t heard something like this before, or even said it yourself. || Credits @yaparus on X

Docility and social ineptitude are considered cute and charming. People who struggle to make friends because of neurodivergence are seen as ‘loners’, and this bumps them up a couple notches on the ‘dream awwtistic partner’ scale. This begs the question, when people say this as their dream partner, are they even considering the person, or is it just a set of criterias and tropes that they see as a canvas to project their fantasies on? Because let’s be honest here, the minute your girlfriend doesn’t shower for a week straight because she was hyperfixated on her new video game, you’re probably crafting a million ways to get the heck out of dodge.

At the end of the day, people are allowed to have their preferences in partners and all, but gathering a bunch of innocuous traits and calling that autism really diminishes the impact that it has had on people’s lives. — Alyah

It’s a given that on social media, you can’t have the good without the bad, yes people are less hateful about autism and neurodivergences as a whole these days, but that comes at the cost of a widespread misconception of what even is.

Concluding Thoughts

So how do we deconstruct this harmful view that a lot of us have? For starters, and this is gonna sound wild, but educating yourself on this subject matter away from Tiktok may just be the answer. Try not to view those videos of psychiatrists online as the sole diagnostic tool for yourself or people around you. Rather, you should seek out further reading and study if it is something you truly want to understand. Learn to empathize with the neurodivergent condition, not just the savoury parts, but as a whole. Autism has been ostracized for far longer than it has been in this weird partial acceptance limbo. Only once we’ve learnt to fully accept it for what it is should people go around asking for partners with a “touch of the ‘tism”.

---

Writer’s Notes:

I'm not going to lie, I've had manyyyyy thoughts about this topic for a while. So when it came up as a prompt I knew I had to grab it. I feel like the prevalence of social media in our lives has led to a marked diminishing in the meaning of things. In particular, mental health and mental conditions have been a large recipient of this treatment. I won’t act like a saint and say that I’ve never made jokes about being autistic, but I think that just goes to show just how universal this mindset has become. I hope that by reading this piece we will reflect on the way we have been viewing autism as of late, as well as how we can better treat it and people with it in the future.

Writer’s Biography:

Helloo everyone. I’m Aliyah, a first year student doing economics. To be honest, I don’t know what else to add here. I’m an extremely chalant person who loves having an outlet to yap about anything and everything to anyone willing to listen (you guys!!), hence the whole IGNITE writer thing. I hope that my writings are able to help people make sense of things or at least make them let out a giggle. Ok boring now here’s a fun fact: my favourite movie (+ best movie ever) is the Lego Batman Movie 🦇

---

Contributing Writer: Aliyah

Editor: Penelope (Penny) Cheang

Co-Editor-in-Chief: Emma Gerard