New research from the Autism Research Center at Cambridge University has shown that the sexual identities of neurodivergent people have something different.
According to her findings, adults with autism identify “much more often than asexual, bisexual or homosexual than people without autism”.
The survey included interviewing 2,400 adults who were given options for non-heterosexual identities, including bisexual, homosexual, asexual, and others.
People with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are nine times more likely than the general population to identify as LGBTQ on the spectrum of human sexuality.
Why are people on the autism spectrum more likely to identify as LGBTQ and less interested in heteronormativity?
While there is still no official explanation in science, it seems to be clear to many that people with Autism Spectrum Disorder are less concerned with social norms.
“One possibility is that people with autism may be less attached to social expectations,” said researcher Elizabeth Weir, “and feel more free to express their true identity.”
Leon Feingold, a polyamory advocate and TED spokesman who falls into the spectrum, believes this is the correct conclusion.
“Non-traditional orientations are just more logical,” he says. “At least taking these orientations into account instead of just following the restrictions of others.”
Feingold also explains that people on the spectrum are determined more by their ability to argue through an argument than by how society pushes them to feel about it.
If something doesn’t make sense, the idea of squeezing yourself into an ill-fitting shape just for compliance reasons won’t be exposed.
“The whole idea of arbitrarily and externally restricting people’s options is completely counterintuitive and illogical,” he says. “The only reason we’re doing this is because of social pressure. This is a combination of religion, tradition, and expectations we have of ourselves based on how we believe others will judge us. “
We’re catching up on what most of the people on the spectrum already know about autism and sexuality.
Dylan Kapit, a strange trans-non-binary autistic person who is aiming for a PhD. At the University of Pittsburgh, which works on creating sex education materials for autistic people, the autistic community has long believed this – and mainstream research often struggles to catch up.
“Most of the research is done by people without autism,” they say. “People who do race research can see this parallel much better. We are still very productive as a society, so the focus is on the person with disabilities who has problems, rather than society making room for people who are different. “
Kapit firmly believes that novel research into neurodivergent communities often uncovered ideas that were already known to the communities themselves.
“It’s speculation by neurotypical people,” they say, “but it’s not speculation by the autism community.” We have always accepted it for who we are. Neurotypical people are like we’re thinking about this theory, and autistic people are like it’s a fact. “
Kapit and Feingold agree that neurodivergent people are less interested in adhering to social norms. But they suggest that the science is behind what has already been accepted by the population.
“There’s no research here,” says Kapit, “but it’s generally accepted that we’re more queer and trans because we don’t know as kids that we’re supposed to be anything other than ourselves.”
The Cambridge study combines a growing number of results that suggest the same possibility.
It is starting to look like Kapit is right, and that studies by academics outside of the autistic community only reinforce ideas neurodivergent people are already familiar with.
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A major problem is the lack of sexual education resources for those on the spectrum.
Although the notion that autistic people are less interested in sex used to be a common theory, people on the spectrum are no different in their sexual drives from other adults who are not on the spectrum.
Part of Kapit’s job is to provide resources to people who are neurodivergent to explore healthy sexual lifestyles like everyone else.
As of now, transition plans for high school students will mainly include professional and professional training to lead to professional growth outside of school.
But there is much to be desired about other aspects of human life that legislation and educational services have not yet officially provided.
There is already a higher number of reported cases of sexual abuse in autistic communities than in the general population.
With this in mind, it is extremely important to ensure that everyone on the spectrum has the tools they need to learn about healthy and appropriate physical activity, regardless of the alignment with which they identify.
Kevin Lankes, MFA, is an editor and writer. His fiction and non-fiction have appeared in Here Comes Everyone, Pigeon Pages, Owl Hollow Press, Huffington Post, Riverdale Press, and others.
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