What is me and what is camouflage?

Letting the mask down a bit certainly isn't without it's problems. I've had comments from a few people that since my diagnosis I have become "worse" in some way or other - i.e. they expected that my diagnosis would mean getting "fixed" so that my autistic traits would go away, when what I really need is greater acceptance of them so that masking doesn't have the awful repercussions for my mental health that it always has previously. There is also a sense from some that I am simply using my diagnosis as an excuse for behaviours which previously I have always suppressed; that I have "given up trying", because they haven't the slightest sense of what the "trying" entails. After all, there's not a lot of point in masking if one gives away the fact that one is doing it, so the costs have always been completely concealed from other people, and the mental health problems always attributed to other causes.

However, at the very least, I have experienced huge relief from not masking when I'm alone - I have lost the guilt and anger that I felt towards myself for "acting insane" even when there was no-one else there to see it. And unmasking oneself doesn't have to be all or nothing, nor done at all times, nor done in every kind of situation or in every kind of company. Around people who have accepted my diagnosis wholeheartedly, I allow myself to stim, providing it's not disruptive in a practical sense; but I still would try not to do it when, say, travelling on a bus - the benefits of the stimming are lost anyway because of the self-consciousness that it makes me feel. But I will have a damned good stim when I get home after the journey, which I would previously have denied myself.

If "unmasking" seems like it's taking a lot of conscious effort and stress, then there's little point in it anyway - you'd just be trading one kind of pressure upon yourself for another. As I said previously, the right balance is something better "disovered" rather than "hunted for", IMHO.

i really don't know the answer. i'm left handed and at home we would use the knife on the right hand and the fork on the left hand. i've always struggled with that. When i found out i may be on the AS, i started to use the knife on my left hand, which felt very good. But, i couldn't get used with the fork on my right hand... THe same with masking, i believe. After 47 years masking how can i leave my mask now? i wouldn't cope. Perhaps all we can do is talk about autism, telling NT to help autistic children not to ware any kind of masks... so that they don't have to mask as we had to.

I really would like to know myself without masking, perhaps i would be free (or dead).

I really like your breakdown into the three categories - I'd never thought to analyse sarcasm in those kind of terms, but it made immediate sense as soon as I read it. I certainly have a strong tendency to "type 1" myself, which as you say, can take quite a bit of self-analysis for me to keep in check.

In my autie mind (which I admit, is not in tune with all minds) I see 3 types of sarcasm. 1. Cynicism, the most negative, 2.irreverence / insincerity, the avoidant type but where I want to be friendly and don't know how, 3. Sarcastic Wit, which is deliberately meant to provoke humour in an exaggerated way or with irony. 

I use all of them but I try to check I'm not type 1 all the time as I have a tendancy to be negative. Using 3 all the time can also be annoying to others, particularly if I'm reeling off some favourite tropes. 

I'm just starting the journey too and that stereotype trips me up a bit too, because I actually enjoy sarcasm.

I'll also agree with what others have said in their comments, and I do probably use sarcasm as a sort of defence mechanism to avoid being serious more often than I should.

Hi, I am autistic but I love sarcasm, riddles, crossword puzzles and word games.  Sometimes it's just "insincerity". Autistic people can make good comedians.  I think can be something we use as a shield when we know we should show empathy but we lack the nuances needed.  Sarcasm is a side-step for acting more serious and showing empathy. I reckon I nearly always prefer to make a sarcastic response than a serious one. 

However, when I set the subject myself I can be dead serious. So it can also be a defence against the lack of control over the topic or the situation.

The "camouflage or real me?" question is one that I've struggled a lot with since my diagnosis, I must admit. I was always conscious of being a rather "different person" when I was totally alone - but my camouflaging had become so ingrained that, even then, I would quite often get angry with myself if I started flapping my hands, pacing in circles, or what I call my "talking in tongues". I always felt that they were "insane" urges that I should try to get rid of at any cost. Of course, there can be good reason to supress them in some circumstances because they cause more trouble than it's worth - the important thing is whether you're freely choosing that option as a gesture of friendliness or are straining every nerve in your body because you'd otherwise feel incredibly ashamed of something that's really rather harmless. Like me, a lot of autistic people describe a very strong urge to bend over backwards to please other people rather than looking for a reasonable compromise - if you'll excuse the terrible pun; I have a very bad case of "contact doormat-itis"!

The best advice that I can come up with is that it seems to be one of those things where it's better to wait for it to come to you in its own time, rather than burning a lot of energy hunting for an answer. Looking back, I've spent far too much time chasing my own tail like that. Whenever you you feel an urge to do something that you might normally dismiss, try to remember to ask yourself why you dismiss it - Is it because it's something that you genuinely don't want to do? Is it because it makes you feel a little ashamed? Is there any logical reason that it should be shameful? Are you dismissing it just out of habit? Does it feel like it comes naturally, or does it feel forced?

As for the sarcasm (I'm trying really hard to resist ironically posting a sarcastic answer!): Well, firstly, the idea that all autistic people don't understand or can't use sarcasm is total nonsense - it's true of some of us, but I've met quite a few who use withering sarcasm as a great put-down to folks who are rude to them about their autism! Are you using it properly? I can't say for sure, of course, but a good test might be this - do the people around you react to it in the way that you expect? If they completely ignore it, or get way more offended than you intended, then maybe there's a problem; otherwise, I'd try not to worry about it too much.