According to an article in Spectrum News
"People who do not identify with the sex they were assigned at birth are three to six times as likely to be Autistic as cisgender people are.."
Over the past few months many states such as Tennessee and Georgia have passed bills that prohibit multiple types of gender-affirming care that includes gender reassignment surgeries and hormone replacement therapies for those under the age of 18.
Eric Garcia who is the author of the book We're Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation wrote an article for MSNBC entitled: Georgia's New Anti-Trans Law Also Disparages Autistic People Like Me.
Garcia wrote:
"Unfortunately, conservatives are denying the natural link between autism and queerness and are instead choosing to describe autistic people who identify as transgender and are seeking gender-affirming care as the victims of exploitation. They are delegitimizing the needs of autistic people who experience gender dysphoria and not treating them as people whose self-reported experiences and desires for treatment are worthy of respect."
I have been saying for a while now that I would not be surprised if those who oppose equal rights protection for LGBTQIA+ people equate the number of those who are Autistic as proof that those of diverse sexual orientations and/or gender identities is proof that they are both "disorders." Now, I have a confirmation of that.
It is important for us to keep in mind that when laws that infringe upon the equal rights protections of any marginalized group of people, Autistic people are affected. Autistic people and LGBTQIA+ people have a lot in common in terms of not being accepted and celebrated as people deserving respect and being allowed to pursue a life that is happy and fulfilling. Both groups are constantly stigmatized by medical pathologies that are used to determine where we fit on the totem poles of political legislation that makes us second class citizens.
Passing laws that prohibit gender affirming care, drag queens, and women's reproductive rights while guns that kill children and other minorities are not regulated at all is a mangled moral compass.
Remember, you do have the power to help change the course of these event. Vote when it is time to vote. Speak out when these injustices take place. If you see attitudes of bias within yourself, acknowledge them and work to change them for yourself and the world around you.
The future of Autistics and other marginalized groups is in your hands. Please do what you can.
