The deconstruction has begun
Time for me to fall apart
And if you think that it was rough
I tell you nothing changes
Till you start to break it down

And break apart
I'll break apart
I'll break apart
Right now it's going to start
I'll break apart

The reconstruction will begin
Only when there's nothing left
But little pieces on the floor
They're made of what I was
Before I had to break it down

--The Deconstruction by The Eels

Gender Copia and Bricolage

Autistic people, who are less aware of social norms, are less likely to develop a typical gender identity. Instead of gender as a binary or even a continuum, “Gender Copia: Feminist Rhetorical Perspectives on an Autistic Concept of Sex/Gender: Women’s Studies in Communication: Vol 35, No 1” presents gender as a fluid and multidimensional copia.

Confronting and denaturalizing social norms describes the terrain of many autistic lives. We’re social construct canaries.

Autistic writers often invite alternative understandings of sex=gender as a multiple, rhetorical phenomenon. Autobiographies, blogs, and Internet posts show how autistic individuals view gender as a copia, or tool for inventing multiple possibilities through available sex=gender discourses. Four particular discourses emerge through which autistic people understand gender: identification, neurodiversity, performance, and queer identity. 

Gender Copia: Feminist Rhetorical Perspectives on an Autistic Concept of Sex/Gender: Women’s Studies in Communication: Vol 35, No 1

The article goes on to propose a gender copia that sounds like our kind of bricolage.

The sources considered here imply not a binary model (masculine=feminine) or even a view of gender as a continuum, but something more like a copia, the rhetorical term Erasmus used to describe the practice of selecting ‘‘certain expressions and mak[ing] as many variations of them as possible’’ (17). Copia provides a strategy of invention, a rhetorical term for the process of generating ideas. To be specific, copia involves proliferation, multiplying possibilities so as to locate the range of persuasive options available to a rhetor. I find the concept of invention fitting to describe the kind of rhetoric in which many autistic individuals engage when they discuss sex and gender, a rhetoric we might consider, following Mary Hawkesworth, a feminist rhetoric, insofar as it seeks to ‘‘call worlds into being, inscribe new orders of possibility, validate frames of reference and forms of explanation, and reconstitute histories serviceable for present and future projects’’ (1988).

Individuals who find themselves engaged in this rhetorical search for terms with which to understand themselves can draw on a wide array of terms or representations, such as genderqueer, transgendered, femme, butch, boi, neutrois, androgyne, bi- or tri-gender, third gender, and even geek.

Gender Copia: Feminist Rhetorical Perspectives on an Autistic Concept of Sex/Gender: Women’s Studies in Communication: Vol 35, No 1

Their diversity does support an expanded concept of autistic gender identity that pushes past a gender continuum toward a copia, in which terms can be tried on and appropriated, discarded, and invented while still being understood as embo- died and constructed. The previous sections indicate five possible ways that gender functions rhetorically: as disidentification, as a resource for ambiguity, as a social code or symbolic order, as performance, or as idiosyncratic. Importantly, any one individual might draw on and enact any combination of these gendered processes at any one time—they are not mutually exclusive. For instance, one person might disidentify with traditional notions of femininity and draw instead on elements of clothing and behavior as resources of ambiguity; another person might consciously perform a traditional gender role as a coping mechanism, even as she struggles to interpret the social codes that make that gender role natural for others. All of these gendered processes function as rhetorical resources for self-creation, in the sense Corder describes as the rhetorical act of creating ‘‘a way of being in the world.’’ 

By generating a range of possibilities, participants can rhetorically constitute possible identities for themselves out of their embodied experiences. While gender theorists might privilege the moment of disidentification—the zero concept, in Weston’s terms—individuals who participate in these discussions seem to want to find a stasis point of some kind. Terms for gender identity seem to offer these points of identification, even if they do not square up with mainstream, binary notions of gender. No one theory of gender accounts for this range of insights; instead, we might draw from autistic descriptions an understanding of gender as identification, as ambiguity, as a social code, as performance, and as idiosyncrasy. Together, these elements might be understood as copia or congeries—a heaping up of theories, names, and qualities that range far beyond simple binaries (male=female; masculine= feminine; nature=culture; symbolic=embodied) or even continuums. 

Gender Copia: Feminist Rhetorical Perspectives on an Autistic Concept of Sex/Gender: Women’s Studies in Communication: Vol 35, No 1

These findings suggest a prevalence of nonbinary identities not thoroughly examined in the current academic autism literature. This indicates a need for further focus on definitions of gender outside of the binary in the autistic population. Nonbinary identities are valid, and nonbinary individuals have the right to access care and support, including services initially created based on binary conceptualizations of gender. These findings reveal that autistic individuals hold diverse and nuanced views of their gender identities.

What Category Best Fits: Understanding Transgender Identity in a Survey of Autistic Individuals | Autism in Adulthood

I Don’t Feel Like a Gender, I Feel Like Myself

The discussion looks at how autistic people are sometimes forced to act in certain ways to fit in, and how this can make them feel confused and depressed. The research design was led by the participants and this meant that a group who have rarely been asked their opinion were able to have a say.

Notably, all participants in this discussion felt that they did not relate to the typical presentation and activities of the female gender. 

“I Don’t Feel Like a Gender, I Feel Like Myself”: Autistic Individuals Raised as Girls Exploring Gender Identity

A number of participants described occasionally enjoying activities that they considered to be typically female as well as activities they considered to be typically male: 

Most participants reported having a fluid sense of gender, being gender-queer, or feeling male and female and seeing others in the same way. For example, Clare described: 

An absence of a sense of gender or being unsure of how their gender should ‘‘feel’’ was another common report: 

Many participants also described feeling agender or not identifying with a gender: 

Only one participant reported themselves as being trans- gender: 

Participants also noted that some of their experiences reflected prevalent attitudes when they were children. As Sally reflected: 

Participants also described ‘‘masking’’ their autistic behaviors during childhood but tended to view this as something they resisted as adults. 

Source: “I Don’t Feel Like a Gender, I Feel Like Myself”: Autistic Individuals Raised as Girls Exploring Gender Identity 

Participants also discussed how discovering their autistic identity has helped them accepting themselves. Sally said: 

Of particular note is the extent to which interests played a role in defining both gender identity and identity in general. Most participants within this study characterized their sense of identity as ‘‘fluid’’ and defined more from their interests: 

Participants also discussed ways in which the discovery of their autistic identity had helped them to accept themselves. Sally wrote:

Here, participants spoke passionately about areas of identification related to personal interests. Autism in this context served as an explanation for their personal outlooks, perceived to be at odds with typical nonautistic perspectives. These were accounts of more fluid identity constructions, less constrained by social expectations. 

These accounts, although very different, conveyed a common experience of individuals finding themselves unable to identify with the typical gender expectations within their environments, and their individual struggles to make sense of themselves against these.

Participants in this study provided powerful narratives describing feelings of alienation provoked by the pressure to conform to ‘‘gender-typical’’ and ‘‘neurotypical’’ expectations of them. Gender identity is traditionally perceived in terms of binary categories, which is not useful for those who do not con- form to them. 

Autistic individuals have described feeling pressure to ‘‘mask’’ their autism.14,41,42 They often do that by ‘‘performing’’ normative gender roles. In doing so, they are often adopting behaviors that are not instinctive to them and pretending to be someone they are not. For the participants of this project, this attempt to conform stopped as they grew older, but was a practice many of them adopted at a younger age and may have been part of the reason they were uncertain of their gender identity. This may also provide some explanation for the high occurrence of mental health problems in autistic individuals. Participants in this study articulated these challenges and their own efforts to navigate them, de- scribing struggles that persisted over many years. 

Davidson and Tamas16 highlight that ‘‘doing’’ gender as socially expected can be incredibly draining for autistic individuals. Discovering their autistic identity might help autistic individuals process their gender identity as well.

The connection between participants’ interests and gender identity was an important and unexpected finding of this research. Participants’ questioning of their gender identity often stemmed from their interests not conforming to those typically associated with femininity. 

Participants in this study provided powerful narratives describing feelings of alienation provoked by the pressure to conform to ‘‘gender-typical’’ and ‘‘neurotypical’’ expectations of them. Gender identity is traditionally perceived in terms of binary categories, which is not useful for those who do not conform to them. 

“I Don’t Feel Like a Gender, I Feel Like Myself”: Autistic Individuals Raised as Girls Exploring Gender Identity

Call me a girl again
Not asking for the hell of it
Call me a girl again
My gender's not your business
Call me a girl again
Not asking for the hell of it
Call me a girl again
Non-binary resistance!

(Woah-oh) They them, they them!
(Woah-oh) They them, they them!
(Woah-oh) Not asking for a friend
(Woah-oh) They them, they them!
(Woah-oh) They them, they them!
(Woah-oh) Not asking for a friend

--They/Them by Dream Nails

Main Takeaways

• Due both to their ability to denaturalize social norms and to their neurological differences, autistic individuals can offer novel insights into gender as a social process.
• Examining gender from an autistic perspective highlights some elements as socially constructed that may otherwise seem natural and supports an understanding of gender as fluid and multidimensional.
• Confronting and denaturalizing social norms describes the terrain of many autistic lives. We’re social construct canaries.
• Copia provides a strategy of invention, a rhetorical term for the process of generating ideas.
• Autistic people are recognising and preaching the fluidity and/or flexibility of things like sexuality, gender, time, love, career and more.
• I don’t ‘feel’ like a gender, I feel like myself.
• Interests play a role in defining both gender identity and identity in general.
• My sense of identity is fluid, just as my sense of gender is fluid.
• Autistic individuals have described feeling pressure to ‘‘mask’’ their autism. They often do that by “performing” normative gender roles.
• “Doing” gender as socially expected can be incredibly draining for autistic individuals.
• Discovering their autistic identity might help autistic individuals process their gender identity as well.
• The connection between participants’ interests and gender identity was an important and unexpected finding of this research. Participants’ questioning of their gender identity often stemmed from their interests not conforming to those typically associated with femininity.
• Autistic people describe feelings of alienation provoked by the pressure to conform to ‘‘gender-typical’’ and ‘‘neurotypical’’ expectations of them.
• Gender identity is traditionally perceived in terms of binary categories, which is not useful for those who do not conform to them. 
• If gender is a social construct, then autistic people, who are less aware of social norms, are less likely to develop a typical gender identity.
• If social constructs are made of symbols and representations, then autistic concreteness may lead to a less generalized, and more personal gender identity. Therefore, autism may redefine womanhood in a unique way. 

Why don’t you study my gender?
Tell me it’s not enough
Shout at me in the streets
Claim it’ll make me tough
Why don’t you study my gender?
Tell me there’s only two
Tell me that it's perfect
It's enough for me and you

Why don’t you study my gender?
Peddle those tired old lines
That the violence is justified
'Cause it saves the right kind of lives
Why don’t you study my gender?
Tell me I’m no fun anymore
That I used to bе quiet and pretty
And you liked thе old me more
Why don’t you study my gender?
Stretch it out so we both can see
Ask invasive questions
Pretend you’re not hurting me

Because when you study my gender
And we fight this dirty war
And I tell you that you’re trash
And you call me a whore
We’ve nothing gained and
Nothing ventured and there’s
No outcome we haven’t seen before
So go ahead, study my gender
Bring all your fears and insecurities
To the fore
'Cause when you study my gender
Guess what I like the new me more
'Cause when you study my gender
Guess what I like the new me more

Gender Studies by M(h)aol