Being autistic has greatly influenced my gender expression. I care more about sensory issues and comfy clothes than I care about fashion. I was the big sweater, same jacket every day kind of teen. I never fully broke gender rules, yet not socially acceptable either. Just odd.

Unaware of my own body; walking a bit slumped, like I'm not even trying. Never a straight back, sitting down all sprawled. It wasn't even aware of it, in my head my body expression didn't differ from others. It took me a long time to realize I stood out. Again, just weird.

I barely spoke to people in my class until I was 15. It might seem weird but I didn't realize I needed to speak to socialize. Just listening to conversations, I felt like I was taking part in them. Until this moment I was so unaware of social rules I lived happily in my bubble.

My best friends in childhood were also social "weirdos", so we all had interests that didn't fit the social norms. We didn't exhibit romantic desire or attraction until later, nor in the same way others did. I suspect most of them were Neurodivergent.

Most of us were also queer/gay, which made us defy social expectations early on. Defying heteronormativity made it easier to care even less about social rules. But it also clouded my perception, since I thought that was the only reason why I didn't fit in a normative society.