Autistic media needs an intervention | Shania Cox | TEDxTufts

Autistic and Black: The Journey of Masking

In this talk, the speaker discusses her experience as a black autistic woman and how she had to hide her autism in order to fit in. She talks about the importance of representation in media and how it can affect the diagnosis and treatment of autistic individuals.

Hiding My Autism (0:00:09 - 0:02:43)

• The speaker talks about hiding her autism since fifth grade.

• She explains that being black and a woman were familiar qualities for her family, but autism was new territory.

• The speaker describes masking as hiding autistic traits in order to fit in during social interactions.

• She explains that masking was tiring but worked well for fitting in.

Lack of Representation (0:04:34 - 0:05:47)

• The speaker talks about looking to TV for relatability but only seeing white males with autism.

• She explains that not seeing herself on TV made her feel alone.

• The speaker highlights the disparity between white and black children receiving an autism diagnosis at an early age.

• Many women are not diagnosed until their teen or adult years leading them to feel largely out of place for most of their childhood.

Importance of Representation (0:05:47 - end)

• The speaker emphasizes the importance of representation in media for marginalized communities, especially those with disabilities like autism.

Autistic Representation in Media

The media often portrays autistic characters as socially awkward, genius-like white males. Attempts to step outside of this mold have often caused harm. Accurate representation is important for safety and marginalized groups who deal with autism.

Harmful Representations

• Sia's recent film "Music" portrayed autistic people as childlike and immature, casting a non-autistic actor to play the part.

• The visuals consisted of bright flashing imagery, something commonly overwhelming for autistic people.

• This film ended up becoming something harmful to the very individuals that it was supposed to represent.

Safety Concerns

• Autistic representation is also a matter of safety. Stimming, an innocent stress reliever, could be mistakenly interpreted as a threat by police.

• Police violence against marginalized groups terrifies the speaker, being a black autistic woman.

• Lack of accurate information can deeply impact marginalized groups who deal with autism too.

Combating Misrepresentation

• Platforms like YouTube and TikTok are giving autistic people the chance to share their experiences in their words.

• We need to respond to autistic voices and requests for autistic actors to be casted.

• Show realistic and successful lives of autistic characters on screen instead of just them being defined by their autism.

Conclusion

• It's time to make this world safe for marginalized autistic people by engaging with media that serves us.