Published on 12, July, 2020
I can't stand stereotypes and do not wish to be defined by my condition. I would rather people saw me as an individual with strengths and weaknesses, some of which can be explained by me having Asperger's syndrome, rather than defining me by a label. This is why I can't stand the word 'aspie'. While having Aspergers is an important part of my identity, it is no more important than me being female, no more important than my sexuality or my age. I would hate it if someone did not see past me being a woman or past my age, why is having aspergers any different? The disability movement campaigned for disability to be seen not as an individual affliction or difference, to move beyond individualising disability and to see it as a societal problem: people with disabilities should campaign collectively to change society, making it imperative to see the person before the disability. I am a person with asperger's syndrome, not an aspie. I share traits that other people with AS may have, but I don't share all the traits, just enough to have aspergers. We are all different, to say I am an aspie suggests conformity with other 'aspies' and obliterates the part of me that defies easy categorization.
He suggests that science, engineering and gadgets necessarily and naturally attract more men than women, although he understands that women do go into these fields, just not as many as men (which is true, but I argue that this is because of societal expectations, not neurology). You might say there is no relative difference between counselling (a female role for Cohen) or Science because they both help build a decent society, complementing each other, which is indeed true. But my point is that by seeing Science as a 'male' pursuit in the main, we encourage the erroneous attitude that women on average should not enter Science. A very pernicious attitude considering the fact that Science, particularly hard Science, is still a predominantly male activity.