Read on Twitter
if sia genuinely didn't mean to do this, that's wonderful, but i do not understand how anyone could consult with...any of us, and then platform autism speaks, it doesn't make sense. i want this to resolve well for everyone, but i am scared and worried.
there is potential for a narrative like this, that if it was created in partnership with autistic creators who use the same tech and have the same manifestations, openly, with an autistic actor, could be genuinely really beautiful and not inspo porn, but.
it's...it's hard to express, as someone who has some of the same behaviours that the actress is mimicking, how hurtful it is. I do not see joy and respect there. It hurts me. It reminds me of my bullies mimicking me to hurt me on purpose.
it reminds me of my mother harming me for displaying behaviours that she would then brag to people about me "overcoming" to "achieve great things" that she would never express the same sentiment directly to me about, only punching down
it just hurts. and i know it's hurting others far more. it hurts.
if you only see us in our worst, most traumatized and vulnerable moments and take your understanding of our uniqueness from that, it will be warped, and it will retraumatize us
as a survivor of sexual abuse, a comparison i can make is like if someone tried to say that blurred lines is an anthem about negotiating consent
that's how striking and painful this is. i'd avoided watching the trailer until now and i am not going to be able to make joyful facial expressions again for at least a full day, my face has frozen back into my masking look
compare these two photos of me. the left one was taken by a caregiver who abused me immediately after he put the camera down, several years ago. he made me use it as my social media profile picture because he "finally got a smile out of me".
the one on the right was this year.
the one on the right was this year.
if you tried to act like me based off the left image, what you would get is a warped reflection of a person living through abuse in the worst moments of their life. it would be like writing a biopic after seeing me screaming in agony in the hospital.
autistic joy is what should be looked for when writing about us or creating media with autistic characters, not our agony. not the moments that leave us burning in shame and fear of abusive and murderous reprisal.
i am so tired all the time
