Neurotypical privilege

[aesmael]

Bev|Asperger Square 8, and others, have been constructing a rather excellent checklist of neurotypical privilege. It started off in an earlier post with a request for input, and has been discussed by Lindsay at Autist's Corner too - am very glad it has been, as otherwise would have forgotten to say anything publicly about this. Do take a look at Lindsay's post as well, as it carries a neat explication of how some of these factors intersect with other people.

Personal favourites, probably because they reference areas of especial personal relevance, include:

"The services that I need to survive not only already exist, but even if I use those services on a 24-hour basis, I will always be considered independent."

suggested by Amanda|Ballastexistenz and

If my sexual orientation, gender identity, lifestyle preferences or beliefs are deemed nonstandard, others will not suggest that I am pretending, incorrect, jumping the gun or unable to really know such things about myself because I am neurotypical. They will not use my neurotypical status as a basis for defending intolerant remarks or beliefs about any of these identities.

suggested by pazi_ashfeather.

Wish I had more to contribute to the discussion but my own experiences haven't been, haven't been anything I want to talk about right now. And mostly indirect too, except stuff like the above quoted - family requiring a psychologist to decide for me whether I am competent to assert a gender other than the one they put on me, and being not allowed to express that this might be anything other than right and proper. But we really don't want to get into that.

Perhaps another time. Humanist stuff tends to run on percolation and spontaneous eruption, in this one's expression.

Comments

[jessie-c.livejournal.com]

Growf. Formatting fail. Take two:
Okay, I accept that my privilege in this area is showing. I don't want that so I'm asking for your help because I really want to be sensitive to your situation. How can we show that the questioning we get is different? How can we show that being oppressed by the same words by the same people has a different impact for you than it has for me?

Given the responses I've seen from other queer/poly/trans/whatever ASD folk in the blogosphere, I think it's clear enough.

I'll give you that the wording is probably a bit cumbersome for neurotypical readers (it seems to flow more naturally for aspie-types), but at most I'd change the order of the existing words to clear that up.

I think that's important. Remember that this privilege checklist is aimed at we poor privileged neurotypical types and we don't see things the way you do. What's clear for you is confusing for me in this case. Can we clear it up? Remember that to me the distinction is vague and it's me and people like me whom you want to empathise with your situation. That's the point of a privilege checklist, yes? How can we explain it so the distinction is clearer?

[mantic-angel.livejournal.com]

Taking a shot at an illustrative example:

When I was 10 I couldn't buy cigarettes because I wasn't old enough to understand the consequences and make a rational decision for myself. Now all I have to deal with is the societal pressure that it's "wrong" to smoke and that I'm a bad, unhealthy person for it.

As an aspie, I'm not allowed to be trans, because I'm not capable enough to understand the consequences and make a rational decision for myself. Once I get past all that red tape, I STILL have to deal with the same crap you do: the societal pressure that it's "wrong" and that I'm a bad, unhealthy person for it.