In my search for an understanding of what it means to be a woman with Aspergers/ASD/what-not, sites like Musings of an Aspie help me put things into perspective and at the same time meet people whose brains work like my own. This is a really great article on how one’s gender might influence how one lives Asperger.
I’ve been planning to write about gender and autism for a while now. Months ago, I wrote a personal reflection piece. It got two emphatic thumbs down in beta, so I let it languish in my drafts folder. Then, after some feedback from commenters here, I decided I would write a more informative companion post as context for the personal reflections, but that never happened. Then I cannibalized the personal reflections piece for something I was invited to submit to an anthology, which took me weeks to write because apparently everything takes me weeks to write lately.
Which left me still wanting to write about gender and autism here. As a first attempt, I’ve surveyed some of the ideas that people have put forth about gender and autism over the years, starting with Asperger himself.
Note: I’ve linked to a bunch of articles in this post, many of which I…
“As a “neuro-typical person”, I realized I had been taught about discrimination as something which puts others at a disadvantage, yet at the same time, I had been taught not to see one of its corollary aspects, which are that “neuro-typical privilege” puts me at an advantage.
I think “neuro-typical people” are carefully taught not to recognize their privilege, in much the same way that males are taught not to recognize male privilege.
So I have begun in an untutored way to ask what it is like to have “neuro-typical Privilege.”
I have come to view “neuro-typical privilege” as an invisible package of unearned assets which I can count on cashing in each day, but about which I was ‘meant’ to remain oblivious.
“Neuro-typical privilege” is like an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, maps, passports, code books, visas, clothes, tools…
While colour and great physical handicaps are the most visible indicators of minority groups, most minority groups are going to have to think about these 23 points that majority groups get to take for granted. We might preach equality to all but some people are more equal than others.
I’ve been wondering for ages what being a soldier for years upon years would do to a person. That is a soldier who is out fighting all the time. It would have to be the close-up kind of soldier who has to make life and death decisions for another person on a regular basis. What would that do to you, and how many of your choices would you find bearing you down?
War is a terrible thing. The Old Warriorhas been trained for a life of killing since childhood by people who treated him roughly. His choices have numbed him to the horrors he is part of. In the end that life is catching up with him, but then …
“The Nightmare” appears in the form of a little girl who has lost her mom and dad and wolf to the killers around her. She stands there in the middle of the noise and gore with an empty look on her face. “The Nightmare”. The one who manages to break through to the old warrior and create a chink in his suit of denial.
The Old Warrior was a sad and action-filled story. It ended differently from how I had expected and that annoyed me. But I also find it refreshing (and annoying – did I mention that) when closure is not reached. But life is like that. We cannot always know how things end.
Satire at its best. My goodness, all the issues an author can manage to cram into 16 pages.
I guess we cannot call Crash Landing an apocalyptic novel due to its humour. However, it is terribly tempting to place this dark humoured short story into this category due to its military and bureaucratic backdrop.
Bureaucrats were never so bored and generals were never so convinced of their ideas as the Secretary of State and General Wells of Crash Landing. The ending is a gem. All of Crash Landing is a gem. It has brought a smile to my face each time I have thought about it.
The Sable City is a winner. It is full of humour, tension and action. You know, it is strange how placing a few words on a piece of paper (e-book in this case) can bring such joy to a person like myself.
At the beginning of “The Sable City there was an episode that convinced me that this was a novel for me:
“Matilda Lanai was among them, though at the time Block knew her vaguely by face but not name. Of about typical height for a young Miilarkian woman, she was however paired against a fellow Block recognized and even knew by name as Kauna, a full-blooded Islander with a creamed-coffee complexion and a mass of black hair to his waist. While of only moderate size for a water buffalo, Kauna was an excessively large human. Block had known enough Island men of the type to suspect that later in life the big fellow ran the risk of turning astonishingly fat, but at nineteen years of age he was a chiselled mountain of a man. Stolid in nature, but capable of accidental bursts of breathtaking power.
That hot day last Fourth Month, Matilda Lanai had found herself on the business end of just such a burst.
Block’s attention had been elsewhere, but everyone in the room heard Kauna cry “Tilda!” in sudden alarm. The dwarf turned and saw the big man frozen with one knee on the mat and his arms fully extended, watching wide-eyed as the bare feet of his sparring partner kicked the air. This did nothing to prevent her sailing out head-first through an open cargo door, and dropping out of sight. Four stories up.
Block was on the other side of the room, and well past his sprinting days. As he crossed to the cargo door the dwarf had time to think at least she went out on the water-side, but then he also had time to wonder just how far the timber cart path extended out around that base of the building the hand pier-like over the water. Pretty far, he reckoned.
As everyone converged the one apprentice who had been next to the open doorway gaped, then cheered. She alone had seen Tilda clear the wooden edge of the pier forty feet below by the narrowest of margins. One more inch, as the girl laughingly told the crow later, and Tilda would have lost nose, nipples, and kneecaps.
….
Her classmates cheered, but the young woman with the sodden mop of black hair plastered to her face and shoulders did not look up. Nor did she flop gasping onto her back, as Block expected. Instead, she paused on all fours for only a moment. Then she was up, and running, along the warehouse and around the corner toward the nearest door giving backing inside. She left a trail of wet footprints slapped across the hard wood her nose had missed by a hairsbreadth.
The apprentices blinked after her, then looked around at each other. Their eyes finally settled on Kauna, who had stood up straight but not yet taken a step closer to the doorway out of which he had pitched his classmate.
“She’s all right?” the big Islander finally stammered at everyone, but one man with Varanchian-blond hair answered.
“You are going to find out in about two minutes.”
….
Matilda Lanai was of the mixed-stock know in the Islands as “Ship People.” Lighter in complexion than a Full Blood but with features typical of an Islander, with a rounded chin, broad mouth, and flashing eyes of a brown so deep the occasionally looked black. The looked that way now as she skidded to a halt, swiped her clinging hair out of her face and over her shoulder, and locked her narrowed eyes on Kauna’s wide-open ones. Tilda’s chest heaved and she stood with her feet apart, silent except for her breath and the drops of water pattering the floorboards. She held her hands loose at her sides, arms toned by boundless youth and a hard year of Guild training.
…
Kauna looked at the silt, then back at Tilda, then around at his classmates. They now stood father away from Kauna than was Tilda, for the young Guilders-in-training had been drifting away steadily since she appeared, with nary a squeak from the floor.
The big Islander nodded once, twice, then straightened to his full lofty height. He gave Tilda a short bow. Kauna turned, took two long strides into a dead run, and launched himself out through the open door with a great whoop, arcing majestically out over the pier and falling feet first into the water below.”
And that was how Captain Block found his travelling companion. Captain Block himself is a dwarf of the traditional fantasy type. His loyalty lies with house Deskata, one of the merchant families of Miilark. When the last living leader of the merchant family asks him to bring back their sole blood-line heir (who just happens to have been exiled), he and Tilda go off to the continent to find the proverbial “needle in the haystack” and end up having to follow the mercenary Dugan around to find the lost Islander.
Most of the story is told from Tilda’s point of view and much of it deals with personal and physical journeys. Getting to know Tilda has been fun. She shows us that she is capable of changing her attitudes while holding on to her values. Perhaps being trained as an assassin (among other things) has given her an extra appreciation for the sacredness of life that I know I do not have. Her love for Captain Block shines through. Perhaps he is some kind of father figure to her while away from home. Block also lets his love for Tilda shine through his gruffness. Being centuries old has made it necessary to keep a certain distance to the people he encounters, but Tilda seems to be able to reach through to him and give him back a part of his life that he had not known that he was missing.
I liked Duggan and the lessons he brought into Tilda and Block’s lives. His ability to annoy and charm the two of them is admirable. He might not be the rapscallion he tries to convince them of but there is certainly a ruthlessness there that his mercenary life has left with him.
But The Sable City is not only about the trio. Other people turn up, as is only proper during a quest that ends up in a fabled city supposedly full of treasure.
Axman Zebulon Baj Nif ends up being saved by a Samurai, Uriako Shikashe, and a Far Western healer, Amatesu, from certain death after they had attacked his unit to find him. They bring him with them so he might be a translator for their mistress – Nesha-Tari. This quartet end up adding another member in Phineas of the wizard circle. They are all going to the Sable City along with a couple of other characters who end up being gorgeous Brother Kendall Heggenauer and Father Luis Coralle of the Brothers of Jobe along with the daughter of a duke. Finally, there are dragons, mercenaries and a likeable demon by the name of Lord Dalin.
The Sable City is the kind of fantasy that has its roots back to the days of The Odyssey. As such it is a recipe for writing that has stood the test of time. It is strange that I keep on reading new novels in this genre considering how many of them I have read. But I never seem to tire of them – as long as the author writes well.
All those years sacrificed to get a degree, and you still end up borrowing money or working several jobs to get to teach at University level. The countries who are the worst in this article really should pull their act together.
Last Monday, Autism Speaks told the world that autism is:
. . . living in despair
. . . fear of the future
. . . exhausted, broken parents
. . . lost, helpless, burdensome children
I enjoy the sounds of the city around me, the strains of birdsong that I can hear even through traffic, the purring of my cat that almost but not quite manages to drown out all other sounds, the clicking of my keyboard while I’m typing. I hear the trains going past in the distance and I love getting sucked into that rhythm. When I listen to music, I become the notes, the melody, I can pick out the individual instruments and still hear how they work together to create a single sound. I sing along with…
One common characteristic of Asperger’s Syndrome (AS) is that it gives you a type of brain that loves to obsess over particular things. Lots of people are fans of things and many are obsessed with Star Trek, handbags, cars or particular celebrities. However, with AS sometimes an obsession can be quite unorthodox, or even dangerous.
A teenager with AS who is intensely interested in hair will often find a fulfilling and happy life as a barber or hairdresser. But what if their obsession is with fire to the point of becoming pyromania? Or an intense love of their Xbox (other video game consoles are available) means that they spend more time on Halo than they do with real people? This is where an obsession is defined, it completely occupies the mind. As for myself, I have several areas of interest into which I can very easily get obsessed. At the…
“I wrote this for an all-girls group I am part of and thought that maybe I should share it and see what others have to say. Be nice ok. It took a lot for me to be able to talk about this.”
“Autism and Asperger’s displays itself very differently in woman than it does in men.
Most Autistic traits in males are very obvious, they don’t hide them and it’s very clear.
With women, we actually subconsciously try to hide it, it’s in the female nature to fit in; you may find you mimic your female friends in different ways.
For example, you might copy certain phrases they use, figures of speech, accents, physical stances and behavioural habits.
I, for one, used to copy my friends self-harming and it wasn’t to get attention, it was because I assumed this was normal behaviour for other girls.
Cover art by Joshua Meadows“Iyetrais an episodic series of novellas set in a hybrid sci-fi/fantasy universe.” Each novella can be read as a stand-alone-novella. Sleeping God is the first of the series.
“At the dawn of things, in the eon known as the Whole, Iyetra was a complete, harmonious world and its inhabitants lived with the blessings of the gods, watched over under the authority of the Advent.”
In the usual manner of humans, the Shattering is the effect of our own glorious stupidity. The two opposing factions that led to the Shattering were the Advent that used the gods and magic, and the Imperium that believed in machines and destroying those who could access the powers of the aether. As a result of the fighting between the two opposing factions, the gods chose to shatter Iyetra into pieces. But for some reason they did not want all humans to die out so they made it possible for them to live in the Chaos that came from the shattering. Living on pieces of earth (floaters) the size of cities/countries/continents people go about their lives the way people generally do.
One of these floaters is Koton, the city that ambassador Tela Niala is supposed to negotiate an agreement with. Koton is led by the Magisterium, the “child” of the Imperium. While the Magisterium is not as fanatical as the Imperium, it does have a rather dim view of those who are able to access the aether.
Why Tela’s father would choose his own magically inclined daughter to travel to the male-dominated, magic-hostile floater Koton is a mystery. Perhaps he is willing to sacrifice her in a gambit to increase his own power-base. After all, even people who supposedly have a lot of power, like Tela’s high ranked senator father, can hunger after more. Tela was annoyed enough at her father that she demanded that the usual group of body-guards be left out. He relented. I found that suspicious as well. Tela’s father had to know something about the situation in Koton that we and she did not.
Tela starts off as an insecure graduate from magic school and becomes someone more comfortable with her own gifts/powers. While it might not be appropriate to call Sleeping God a coming of age story it certainly is a coming of self story. Being thrown into the jaws of death could have that effect on some people. Her father might have landed Tela the job as an ambassador, but in the end Tela earns that title through her own actions.
In 2007 Emma Bull and Will Shetterly got together and laid the groundwork for what would become the website Shadow Unit. A series bible was created and authors were contacted, which is how Elizabeth Bear and Sarah Monette got onboard the whole thing. Then they drew in Amanda Downum as art director and Stephen Shipman as technical director. The series bible was amended and improved. Finally Leah Bobet and Holly Black joined the writing team (along with Stephen and Amanda) while Kyle Cassidy had fun with the covers.
Shadow Unit I includes the first four stories from season 1:
The rest of the episodes from season 1, 2, 3 and 4 are available on shadowunit.org. As you will notice the last story available was released December 16, 2012. I recommend that you read the stories in order.
I was introduced to the phenomenon of the Shadow Unit through the above published novel. It is impossible for me to write a review without seeking out more information about the novel. This time I had a plethora of information to choose from, kindly served up by the instigators of the phenomenon. And what a fun phenomenon Shadow Unit is.
The whole group of creators at Shadow Unit are awesome for making such a large body of work available to readers and nutters all over the world for free. They wouldn’t mind donations as it is we, the readers, who are keeping the concept going, and what a fun concept and group of investigators this is.
The Anomalous Crimes Task Force (“Shadow Unit”) consists of: Stephen Reyes (boss), Esther Falkner (vp), Solomon Todd, Nicolette Lau, Daniel Brady, Hafidha Gates, Charles Vilette, Daphne Worth and Madeline Frost. Whenever inexplicable crimes are committed the task force is called upon to help find the criminals.
I recommend you use the website as your starting point and read the stories. They are of the action/thriller/mystery/horrorish kind with strange powers and strange bodies all over the place. The group itself is filled with people of all kinds – anything from the seemingly insecure to the broody ones. If you have read stuff by the above authors before, you know you are probably going to find a venue of enjoyment.
Anna Wolfe is a bleeding good writer. She, once again, engaged me immediately in Ensnared by Magic. Perhaps ensnared would be a better word to use for what she did to me. The title is appropriate in describing the effect an excellent author can have on their readers. Excellent authors certainly ensnare me in what seems to be a magical manner.
At the beginning of the novel Wolfe lets us know that there will be “sexually explicit scenes and adult language that is not appropriate for children.” This is the case. While the sex is explicit it is kind, generous, sad and fun. Anna Wolfe’s excellent writing shows in these parts as well.
Mark Little lets us see a side of himself that had not been apparent in the previous novels. In Ensnared by Magic we get to see Mark’s generous personality and more of his fun-loving side. His demon-bitten side likes to provoke anger and has Mark feeding on pain (his own and others). Thus far, we have gotten to see quite a bit Mark’s demon-bitten side. Now other traits get to come out and play. Too bad the witches have plans for using him in defiance of the Seer. The High Priestess seems to be hungry for what she cannot have – Seer’s power.
Silas is demonborn. That means that he is that product of a demonridden and a witch. “Boss-man” is old and more powerful than the demon-bitten. His strength makes it possible for him to control those demon-bitten who hail to him. Sadly, Silas is the only one left of the demonborn (I think). He is lonely without others of his kind. The Seer seems to have some kind of power over him. Exactly how free he is to live his life is difficult to say at this point. I’m glad I’m not in his position.
Edie, Callie and Hatter are all demon-bitten like Mark is. Callie is a mystery to those around her. Well, maybe not to the Seer. Exactly how strong she is or what her powers will turn out to be is not clear. Her resistance to Silas’ power is stronger than the other demon-bitten he has encountered thus far, and Silas fears that he might have to kill her in the end. Callie would prefer that to causing the kind of damage she is potentially capable of. I’m not sure her ability to resist Silas’ power is solely due to her own powers. Instead I’m kind of wondering if it has something to do with her resilience and another “mysterious” factor. We shall see (I hope).
Why I prefer Silas and Callie to the others is a good question. Perhaps it has to do with the mysteries that surround them. Or it could have something to do with the way they both refuse to let the other have control of them. Both of these factors make them interesting, but there has to be more to it than that. I know that with Callie some of her attraction has to do with all of the questions she raises in my head. People who make me ask questions fascinate me.
I know I like the fact that Wolfe’s writing does not point out an obvious “bad/good person”. Adult literature is supposed to be like that to my thinking. I thoroughly enjoy the obviousness in young adult and children’s literature. There is, however, no getting away from the fact that all the grey zones of adult literature are a lot more fun.
So, perhaps you might have noticed that I enjoyed Wolfe’s writing and recommend it to one and all.
Being disbelieved or belittled for how you are on the inside is never fun. Just because a person is a shrink of some kind, does not ensure knowledge of the way the genders differ when it comes to various syndromes. Nor does it ensure an understanding that while a professional has encountered one type of autists, it does not mean that all autists will react/behave in the same manner.
This amazing letter was written by a woman who suspected that she may be on the Autism Spectrum, prior to meeting her psychologist for the first time. Here’s what she had to say.
“Dear Dr L—
I hope in this letter I can give you a more thorough explanation of how I feel, the way these feelings affect me and why I think a diagnosis and continued support would be beneficial to me.
I have an over-active mind and experience high anxiety.
I constantly see things at multiple levels, including thinking processes and analyse my existence, the meaning of life, the meaning of everything continually.
Nothing is taken for granted, simplified, or easy.
Everything is complex.
Being serious and matter-of-fact has caused me many problems and I have been told on numerous occasions that I come across as rude and/or abrupt.
humanitysdarkerside 