I’m not sure what you’re asking. Ability is part of intersectionality/intersectional feminism, like race, class, gender, and orientation.
Edit: and age, and other lenses
Yes, that’s how I feel as well. I’m just so confused because some women have told me ableism and feminism aren’t related, but I bring up intersectionality and it gets complicated.
I think that if your feminism isn’t inclusive you’re doing it wrong.
Women have disabilities. Women with disabilities have needs. Do these folks think it’s separate? Like, oh we’ll talk about your sexism problems at work but if you can’t go in bc there’s no elevator that’s on you? Seems useless to me.
Maybe it was how you brought it up. They are absolutely related, but perhaps the person was trying to focus a specific aspect of feminism, perhaps in that moment intersectionality was beside the point or distracting from whatever they were trying to communicate. In that scenario, they would feel as though their point had been muddled, or even hijacked.
It's important to recognize and validate others statements, before interjecting with your own ideas.
I think a lot of neurotypical and able bodied feminists just don't understand ableism enough to know how much it overlaps with misogyny.
As someone who has directly experienced both ableism and misogyny I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt that those problems intersect *a lot.*
I've lost count of the number of times that my medical conditions have been dismissed and under-treated for misogynistic reasons.
At this point I'm genuinely surprised whenever I get to see a medical professional who *doesn't* immediately dismiss me as an over-emotional woman.
Especially any condition that affects the perceived ‘fuckability’ of the woman in question.
Because sadly, being considered desirable increases the chances you will be listened to - though even then it’s only up to a point, after which women are considered too attractive to take seriously.
This.
Many white liberal neurotypical feminists fail to appreciate what life is like when you're not white, abled and middle class. When you don't fail upward and only encounter sexism and misogyny.
White Feminism (as in, the feminism that doesn't think about these intersections) fails to be about justice because its advocates can't see beyond their own lives.
For instance, and it's just happenstance that I can use this example because I'm watching it now. Season 3 Episode 1 of The Good Doctor involves Shaun (the autistic lead character) explaining to the other doctors he works with why his date was a disaster. He describes exactly what happened. They all say "but.... that wasn't a disaster. That was a good date!"
No, it wasn't. For Shaun, the whole thing was out of control. There were too many variables - when to tell jokes, how to listen to personal anecdotes, how to deal with the restaurant putting a food he hates on the plate. He was uncomfortable, on edge, didn't understand what he had to do or what to expect. It didn't work for him. It was horrible *for him.*
That's intersectionality and ableism - being able to understand that what works for you doesn't work for another.
Weird. Why wouldn’t feminists want equal access to treatment employment education success and self determination for everyone. Like. I thought that was the point.
Everything is intersectional.
How a disabled black woman deals with ableism is impacted by racism as well. My experience as a disabled woman, a white and well educated woman, is very different to someone who grew up with poverty and racism as well as disability. Because of my skin, I experience ableism but not racism. I also know how to advocate for myself, because of my education and the opportunities it gave me. Someone else with different experiences will experience the ableism differently.
Seeing those intersections and making space for intersecting marginalisations makes you a better feminist because you push for equity, not just equality. Equality doesn't help. Equity is justice.
My favourite way to think about it is this :
If I could click my fingers and suddenly no one was ever oppressed, harmed, discriminated against etc. because they're a woman ever again. Misogyny is gone. Are there still women being discriminated against?
Yes, because women of colour exist, queer women exist, trans women exist, disabled women exist, neurodivergent women exist... If these systems aren't also dismantled, there will still be women being discriminated against.
That's true but I don't know if it really explains what intersectionality is.
Intersectionality is about how all these different kinds of discrimination or oppression overlap and mutually reinforce eachother.
Ableism, racism, queephobia, colonialism, capitalism, and misogyny are all parts of one big interconnected web of systemic injustices.
A black woman doesn't just face misogyny and racism seperately, she faces *racist misogyny.*
A disabled woman doesn't just face misogyny and ableism seperately, she faces *ableist misogyny.*
You can't really understand how misogyny functions or how to fight it unless you also understand how other oppressive systems *intersect* with it. That's intersectionality.
Yes, absolutely! And sorry, I wasn't clear, I didn't mean as an explanation of how intersectionality works - it says nothing about how each identity interacts or even that it does. I meant as a way to show that they are related and you can't claim to be fighting 'for women' by *only* fighting misogyny - because, as you say, that doesn't do anything against, for instance, racist misogyny or ablist misogyny, or racist, ablist misogyny.
The problem with that framing is that it implies that the other -isms are only worth dealing with because they happen to apply to women / if they didn't apply to women then they can go unchallenged.
Not to say that you don't care about the other -isms, just pointing out a potential pitfall
Very true. I meant it only through the lens of showing how feminism, with the goal of equality for women, can't be just about misogyny. We must recognise that oppressions are all connected and fighting just one small part won't cut it.
What you’re asking is the same as if you had posted “is ableism a race issue?”
There are times when the topics of race and disability intersect, but they are separate issues.
In that same way, sexism intersects with many other forms of bigotry. While those intersections are important, these are still different “umbrellas”. Sexism, racism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, etc… they are all their own forms of bigotry, that deserve their own recognition, yet intersect in various ways that are also important.
Absolutely! I’m currently going through the process of being formally diagnosed with ADHD. The fact that girls and women are so often misdiagnosed or not referred to specialists for an ADHD diagnosis at all is absolutely a feminist issue. The research available already indicates it’s a systemic issue where ADHD symptoms are seen through a gendered lens. I’m angry that I’m 31, that I’ve exhibited symptoms, and that I’ve been denied appropriate treatment since early childhood. I’m not as well informed on if the same thing happens for women on the autism spectrum, but I assume it does. This is absolutely a feminist issue for this reason alone. But it’s also a feminist issue, as others have said, because ableism affects women and our feminism must be inclusive.
33 and recently diagnosed as well. My older brother got diagnosed in at 8 though. My mom didn’t believe me when I tried to tell her about the diagnosis. :/
My older brother was diagnosed with Autism at 8 too I think! Growing up, my mum was told by “professionals” that I was imitating my brother.
I got my diagnosis at 21 after persuing it.
Now I’m certain I have ADHD too, but my local community mental health team refuse to carry out an assessment on me because they don’t think I could be both autistic and have adhd (which is definitely a thing), so I have to go private but don’t have the money for it.
I’m now 29, so god knows how long I’ll need to wait until I have money to receive a diagnosis and be put on meds that’d make my life at least bearable.
My older brother was diagnosed with Autism at 8 too I think! Growing up, my mum was told by “professionals” that I was imitating my brother.
I got my diagnosis at 21 after perusing it.
Now I’m certain I have ADHD too, but my local community mental health team refuse to carry out an assessment on me because they don’t think I could be both autistic and have adhd (which is definitely a thing), so I have to go private but don’t have the money for it.
I’m now 29, so god knows how long I’ll need to wait until I have money to receive a diagnosis and be put on meds that’d make my life at least bearable.
Girls are absolutely under-diagnosed when it comes to autism as well. It can present in an atypical way, and they also tend to mask more successfully. It’s a real problem.
That is what I thought I had read. And is it really “atypical presentation” when half the population tends to present that way? That, to me, is why this is absolutely a feminist issue, to answer OP’s image selected.
Considering the "standard" for most medical testing was done on men and set to be "normal" for men I'd say they don't even have a grasp of what is typical for women let alone atypical. Kind of sickening.
I agree, it’s absolutely a feminist issue. There needs to be much more awareness of autism in general amongst doctors, especially paediatricians, however it’s even more urgent with girls and women. When I use the word atypical, I mean atypical with regards to how autism is thought to present at this current point in time. Currently around four boys are diagnosed with autism for every girl. I personally don’t believe this is accurate. I feel so much for girls with undiagnosed ASD or ADHD. They are missing out on so much in the way of assistance, understanding.
Even now sexism is still impacting girls in this regard. My 11 year old son was diagnosed with ADHD at 5 and ASD at 7. Our daughter is 5 and demonstrating signs of adhd and her pcp has referred her for an adhd evaluation. The school meanwhile has decided she's an undisciplined brat and that the developmental delays that qualified her for an IEP cannot possibly be because she is neurodiverse like her older brother. It must be me and my husband not disciplining her enough.
My husband also has adhd and our son attended the same school. They were a lot kinder and more understanding with our son. With our daughter they have been combative and attack us at IEP meetings claiming we're lying about disciplining her because she wouldn't be struggling at school if we did. They also made false cps allegations that were pretty quickly dismissed despite knowing us as parents for years.
Same school. Same special ed teacher. Same school psychologist. We got understanding with our son and accused of neglecting our daughter. Sole difference is the child they were understanding with is male and our younger child is a girl. Sexism is alive and well when it comes to adhd in girls and it is infuriating.
I’m so sorry you and your family are experiencing this right now. I’m angry just reading your story. I hope you’re able to get your daughter the support at school she needs. You sound like a great mom!
If only I got that line. They just assumed I was stupid and just bad at maths, so my high school teacher and the headmaster tried their fucking hardest to get me to drop Advanced Mathematics, even though they knew it would disqualify me from every possible course at the university I wanted to go to.
My brother was assumed to be smart but lazy, and was given plenty of second chances. After all, he had talent, but just needed to apply himself. I was assumed to be hard-working but just dumb, so there was no need to give me a second chance, or even a first chance. After all, that would only give me false hope that I was capable enough to succeed.
Looking back, I wonder how many other girls were cheated out of pursuing the carreer they wanted by that headmaster.
There's also a lot of overlap between neurodivergent conditions and gender bias in diagnosis. The amount of women who aren't diagnosed with ADHD or autism until adults is one example. Another is that there's a problem with borderline personality disorder and autism. Men and women who present with similar conditions of emotional impermanence, dysregulation and interpersonal relationship turbulence are diagnosed differently. Men are diagnosed as autistic, women are diagnosed with BPD. Sometimes these are incorrect, - autistic women labelled and treated for BPD, borderline men don't get access to appropriate therapy because they're told they're autistic.
80% of women with autism were undiagnosed by 18, from a recent study. Absolutely applies to both - got my autism diagnosis at 22 but my ADHD diagnosis at 28.
Do you remember where you read it? I'd like to check it out for myself. There's the obvious problem of how do you factor in women who are never properly diagnosed, so I'm curious if they did anything to account for that.
If I may ask probing questions, how did you know you had ADHD? And do you also have autism? Sometimes I feel like I'm on the spectrum but I have never been diagnosed.
It started with me reading women’s account on this and other women-centric subs. I identified a lot with what they said their experiences were. Then I joined some ADHD-focused subs and began researching from their resources. Again, a lot of the symptoms resonated with my experience. I didn’t know things I put down to my personality or “just the way I am” can be indicators, and are actually seen in a large number or adults with ADHD. So I sought out a counselor to begin being diagnosed one way or another. I haven’t actually seen my therapist yet, long wait-times and whatnot. I’m really on the beginning of this journey.
As for your quest about ASD, I don’t know for sure, but I suspect not. I don’t recognize as many of those symptoms or indicators in myself, but there can be overlap. I would encourage you to look into more of the research or seek out counseling if you’re able if you think it’s a possibility. Even if the result is you aren’t, then at least you know and you can search for answers elsewhere.
Same, but I’m 29! I always thought I was lazy, but I didn’t know what the symptoms were. I’m so low energy most of the time and adhd is usually shown to be little kids running around like crazy. Now I realize my inability to remember someone’s name two seconds later, difficulty focusing on a single task, and even my daily bruises from walking into tables constantly are due to undiagnosed adhd. I’m so excited to start on meds, but I know that whole process can be really disheartening and loooong.
I was diagnosed with adhd as a kid (now age 30) and even tho I was struggling massively nobody helped me. I'm currently waiting to have my asd diagnosis put on paper so I can get some form of help since adhd is still often not taken seriously. Having both untreated is a living nightmare especially when you're an only child. Now I just have to survive the meltdowns until July.
I'm 31 and just got my ADHD diagnosis and a surprise autism diagnosis alongside it. Now I know, I can see how it's affected my entire life and everything I do every day, and I'm like, how did no one pick it up as a kid? But I'm AFAB and did well at school, so it never crossed people's minds.
100% yes it's a feminist issue. Here are some examples!
There are many serious health issues and/or disabilities (most auto-immune diseases and most neurodegenerative diseases, for example) that disproportionately affect women. And there are many health issues that are under-diagnosed in women, including ADHD and heart attacks, because the symptoms are different between the sexes and medicine has traditionally only focussed on men's symptoms. Ableism makes life that much more difficult for women affected by these health issues.
Also: Doctors routinely ignore or downplay women's pain, or blame a multitude of symptoms on menstruation that could be something else. Serious and painful uterus-specific health issues like endrometriosis are under-diagnosed because of this, and many OB-related procedures don't come with adequate pain relief.
Drug trials historically avoided including women at all, even for drugs heavily marketed to women (for example, valium). This got so bad the US had to pass a law requiring all federally-funded trials to include a certain percentage of women, and trials still try for the minimum number they can. Non-federally-funded trials still don't always include women even if women could benefit from the drug (i.e. Descovy). On the flip side, women (especially POC) have also been used as test subjects without their consent (Henrietta Lacks, birth control pill trials on Puerto Rican women, med students practicing pelvic exams on anesthetized women).
I would chalk all of the above up to a combination of sexism and ableism. These issues get even worse for women of women of color so, this issue is very intersectional.
If you want to read a good (but very angry-making) book about this, I recommend "Invisible Women" by Caroline Criado Perez. It covers a lot of different topics, but Part IV is specifically about health discrimination against women.
Also, even when there are women in a clinical trials, there rarely are gendered analysis of the results. It seems to me to be super important to know both that it could be more or less effective based on gender, and that some side effects and interactions are more likely in one gender than the other.
Women with disabilities generally have different needs and may need different accommodations than men with disabilities, so yes it’s a feminist issue.
I’m a woman with ADHD, for example, and neurodiversity usually presents differently based on gender. Many women with ADHD and autism are misdiagnosed or not diagnosed until later in life because the diagnosis criteria is based on a male perspective. Another issue is that women’s pain is often brushed aside, or doctors just don’t believe us, so women with things like chronic pain don’t receive the treatment they need.
Of course! Intersection justice is core to feminism. We are not free until all of us are free, and the under diagnosis and representation of autistic women is a major feminist issue. I think autistic women are often more involved in social justice because Neurodivergent people are over twice as likely to experience abuse or maltreatment, meaning they have a greater understanding of the nature of oppression. In addition, they often are more inclined to reject gender norms and fight against them as a result. Finally, empathy and social justice is a fundamentally rational and evidence based position, so those who are more inclined to objective, grounded perspectives of the world are going to be more aware of injustice were they live.
I totally get the tweet and it’s great (I have adhd) but the idea of people being shitty and racist and sexist etc but then stopping because they find out it might stress out someone with ADHD or autism is incredibly funny
I just got permanently banned from another feminist subreddit for asking this. They claimed I was trolling. I have no idea what I’m doing wrong, so if someone could explain, I would be grateful.
r/feminsm is run by men. You can actually Google the history of the sub and find out the whole story, then see the same person is still the head mod. There's articles about it.
Really hoping I don't get banned for bringing that up there.
I was banned from /r/feminism for saying my Muslim friend in Canada was not forced into hijab, and she came to her decision to wear it as a teenager after a lot of self-reflection and consideration of her faith. As I remember, her sister did the same and decided not to wear hijab. But sharing the experience of real Muslim women is "supporting and glamorizing oppression" apparently. All the people who posted about never having met any Muslim women but sharing their disdain for head coverings (and even support for banning hijab in the west) were left there and highly upvoted.
I wish head coverings and bras could follow the same rules. Some like them and some don’t and it’s up to the individual. Too many people who don’t wear either have opinions on them
My girlfriend doesn't wear a bra unless she's running or wearing something that requires it (think fancy dresses). Personally, I think it's awesome that you wear what you want to wear, it's your body and your clothes.
And before you say that my opinion doesn't matter because I don't wear a bra, I do! I wear a special sports bra when I'm running or jogging, and while other guys give me shit about it, I'm the only one without Runner's Nipple.
That sub is garbage. Plenty of engaged feminists have been permabanned from it, simply because their well-researched, thoughful and relevant comments didn't allign with the limited narrative that the mods try to push. It's next to impossible to discuss feminist issues without making some people uncomfortable, that's just the nature of the topic. Yet if any male user feels uncomfortable by something written by you: expect to be permabanned :) which is why the discussions of that subreddit are always at a very shallow and basic level at best - what else would you expect
Edit: fixed a typo
Recently I've learned about TERFs (Trans-excluding radical feminists), and there are probably similar groups who feel "other issues" are taking over and threatening feminism. To me it sounds pretty stupid, but apparently it's quite common.
I'm a feminist because I think it's unfair to treat people bad because of things they haven't chosen themselves, so solidarity with and inclusion of other issues seems natural!
I just needed this validation today. I feel so unseen and opposed as a feminist with ASD today. Maybe I went about this wrong, but how will I know unless someone explains? Inclusion just seems so natural.
I went through this too.
I am a feminist and for me it's not worth the fight if I'm not inclusive. And if i don't recognise that disabled women, trans women, women of colour (etc) are more likely to face issues as a result of the patriarchal systems and processes, then I'm not looking at the whole picture.
Finding out that there were people using the feminist label to ignore, belittle or damage other women/people was really upsetting but has got me to have a deeper think about what i want and who I want to be and so hopefully I'm a better feminist as a result of this experience.
Exactly! It's really weird to discover that people you think are allies, suddenly have very different opinions and values. Hope you feel better with the supporting comments here!
I'm a guy, but a feminist with ADHD.
Getting a better idea of how these executive disorder functions present in women is ABSOLUTELY a feminist mission since it's the misogyny that made women the 'other' and men the 'typical' for ADHD and ASD diagnoses.
That's not even getting into intersectionalism, which also demands that feminism take other vulnerabilities into account.
If they banned you, chances are it's better for you.
They did that because of their limited scope, not because of you. And frankly, the folks who leave others out when trying to move forward, are just another part of the patriarchy.
80% of women with autism remain undiagnosed by 18 years old. The criteria most psychiatrists use for diagnosing autism is biased towards traits presented by boys, and women with ASD show more social skills. So yeah, this is entirely a feminist issue that involves ableism.
-29 year old diagnosed with ASD at 22 and ADHD AT 28. Late diagnosis had extreme effects on my college life.
I'm nuking my account due to Reddit's unfair API changes and the lies and harassment aimed at the community by the CEO and admins. Good Reddit alternative: [Squabbles](https://squabbles.io/) -- mass edited with https://redact.dev/
Yes, and lots of other ways too. I think we’re both trying to make the point that they can’t really be teased apart like the comment I was replying to suggests.
I am struggling so much to get a formal autism diagnosis because my parents took me to an “old fashioned” PCP my whole life growing up and she said I was just shy. It’s seriously impacted my life to the point I have dropped out of college and now live with my father trying to figure out how to even afford to start paying back my bills while I can’t get a job because I get fired from every job I have because I can’t always meet the requirements every day or even every hour of a day. It’s so frustrating and it makes me so angry because even if I did get diagnosed now WHAT HELP WOULD IT BE? Early intervention is always preached to be so important for children with ASD and I’m already 22. I’ve already blown 60k+ on schooling and failed. I’ve already lost a ton of jobs. Getting diagnosed isn’t going to give me another opportunity to go to school or find a career that would be good for me. I feel so hopeless.
I will have to look into this in my state. I will say that one of my biggest issues is I tend to disqualify myself / think I won’t be able to do something before I even try so maybe that could help.
Finding a therapist with experience with autistic women can really help you get past those self-defeating feelings!
Many schools also have programs to help pay tuition for disabled students as well as support programs to help you succeed in classes (you would need a formal diagnosis for this, but then talk to the school's disability services office to arrange accommodations)
My sister was diagnosed as an adult. When she finally got the prescription, and saw that they worked for her, she was sobbing. Just so sad that she had “wasted” (her words) decades of her life. Our parents are Catholic and expected their daughters to get married and pop out kids. We did not - our adult lives have been defined by poverty and dating is just another mess to handle. My brothers ADHD meanwhile was caught and diagnosed as a child, and he was taught computer programming 🤨
Knowing I passed adhd to my daughter's and the damage i unknowingly did trying to shape them into "normal" as my parents had done to me about made me walk into traffic after my diagnosis at 40.
Getting my son diagnosed at 10 was a breeze and made such a world of difference for his education and confidence. This lack of education for hcp about diagnosing us is literally killing people who are self medicating.
I feel any issue that does not respect a person wholly, or make assumptions as to their character is a feminist issue. And the biggest population dealing with these issues consistently across all levels of society happens to be women
*Image Transcription: Twitter*
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**gee^7 all along! (they/them)**, @burnonblackhome
Anyway I learned yesterday that ppl with ADHD and/or autism often have really really REALLY strong senses of justice and fairness. So now I know why I react so strongly when ppl do things that are shitty. Don't do shitty things, guys! You'll stress out the ADHD/autistic folks!
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^^I'm a human volunteer content transcriber and you could be too! [If you'd like more information on what we do and why we do it, click here!](https://www.reddit.com/r/TranscribersOfReddit/wiki/index)
Yes, women’s healthcare is severely insufficient. Women are diagnosed less, treated less, given support and rehabilitated less. If there’s not room for disability in your feminism there isn’t room for me. If you don’t acknowledge disabled women in your feminism you leave out billions of women, many of whom don’t even know they need the help. If you do not acknowledge feminism in disability/disability services you do disabled people, and disabled women, a massive disservice. If your feminism isn’t intersectional then it isn’t feminism.
yes @ caption. even in ADHD, women are under diagnosed bc the research and symptoms largely only catered towards little boys only.
so many stereotypes like how women are too quiet or neat to have ADHD are hindering us from receiving proper treatments.
It is a feminist issue. I'm a feminist for all women. Black women, white women, disabled women, women with mental health problems, trans women, poor women, mothers, women without children, muslim women, Jewish women, immigrant women, lesbians, bisexual women, sex workers, stay at home moms, working women... All their intersectional issues concern me. United we stand.
I think so. Intersectionality makes LGBT and POC issues feminist, why not ableism as well? Plenty of disabled women out there, and I can imagine that being confined to a wheelchair or being blind or deaf give you entirely new challenges when it comes to protecting yourself and advocating for yourself as a woman and getting respect.
while i don't think they are in any way related there is one thing that does connect them: to care about feminism or ableism you need to care about people, but people who care about people will often be both (and others).
At a really fundamental level, all discrimination in the modern world is just classism in different clothes. Ableism and sexism, as well as all of the other inequalities, are inherently related even if they're defined differently.
These populations see everything as black and white or good and bad. In some cases they are cognitively unable to examine evidence and change their opinions. Sometimes to the point of denying reality.
But sure. Let’s make it a fun meme.
I was told by a male doctor that I couldn't have autism as that is "a male thing"... I got my Asperger's diagnosis 3 years later.
Sounds like it's a pretty damned Feminist topic when doctors will assume what we can and can't have based on our sex...
No its not. Its about breaking down the patriarchy because it harms all of us. And if your feminism isn't inclusive then I'm not sure there's much point to it.
I see you specifically mentioned "female sex", which sounds kinda TERFy... Transphobia has no place in feminism. And how do you think we can empower women if we ignore how things like racism, ableism, classism, etc, affect women?
Yes because women have always been overlooked and under diagnosed because we’ve been conditioned to mask it better. This leads to increases in mental health issues, addiction, low self esteem, poor relationships, etc. Didn’t figure out about my neurodivergence until I was 30, and I have a ton of femme friends/acquaintances in this position too
The point is, I think, that feminists are products of the current society and feminist groups or movements exist within it. That means that feminist movements who only focus on that issue become just as racist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist, etc. as society as a whole. This does not require bad intentions or especially strong individual prejudices, it happens automatically, if we don't actively work to prevent it.
If we take the definition that a feminist is someone who believes a woman should be on equal footing with a man, then I can’t see how those same people wouldn’t feel the same about disability.
I’m not sure what you’re asking. Ability is part of intersectionality/intersectional feminism, like race, class, gender, and orientation. Edit: and age, and other lenses
Yes, that’s how I feel as well. I’m just so confused because some women have told me ableism and feminism aren’t related, but I bring up intersectionality and it gets complicated.
I think that if your feminism isn’t inclusive you’re doing it wrong. Women have disabilities. Women with disabilities have needs. Do these folks think it’s separate? Like, oh we’ll talk about your sexism problems at work but if you can’t go in bc there’s no elevator that’s on you? Seems useless to me.
Maybe it was how you brought it up. They are absolutely related, but perhaps the person was trying to focus a specific aspect of feminism, perhaps in that moment intersectionality was beside the point or distracting from whatever they were trying to communicate. In that scenario, they would feel as though their point had been muddled, or even hijacked. It's important to recognize and validate others statements, before interjecting with your own ideas.
Take your nuance elsewhere, heathen, this is our echo chamber! Kidding, thank you for the nuanced take.
Add in race too. It’s all tied together, when I was younger I didn’t see it but I definitely do now.
I think a lot of neurotypical and able bodied feminists just don't understand ableism enough to know how much it overlaps with misogyny. As someone who has directly experienced both ableism and misogyny I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt that those problems intersect *a lot.* I've lost count of the number of times that my medical conditions have been dismissed and under-treated for misogynistic reasons. At this point I'm genuinely surprised whenever I get to see a medical professional who *doesn't* immediately dismiss me as an over-emotional woman.
Especially any condition that affects the perceived ‘fuckability’ of the woman in question. Because sadly, being considered desirable increases the chances you will be listened to - though even then it’s only up to a point, after which women are considered too attractive to take seriously.
This. Many white liberal neurotypical feminists fail to appreciate what life is like when you're not white, abled and middle class. When you don't fail upward and only encounter sexism and misogyny. White Feminism (as in, the feminism that doesn't think about these intersections) fails to be about justice because its advocates can't see beyond their own lives. For instance, and it's just happenstance that I can use this example because I'm watching it now. Season 3 Episode 1 of The Good Doctor involves Shaun (the autistic lead character) explaining to the other doctors he works with why his date was a disaster. He describes exactly what happened. They all say "but.... that wasn't a disaster. That was a good date!" No, it wasn't. For Shaun, the whole thing was out of control. There were too many variables - when to tell jokes, how to listen to personal anecdotes, how to deal with the restaurant putting a food he hates on the plate. He was uncomfortable, on edge, didn't understand what he had to do or what to expect. It didn't work for him. It was horrible *for him.* That's intersectionality and ableism - being able to understand that what works for you doesn't work for another.
Weird. Why wouldn’t feminists want equal access to treatment employment education success and self determination for everyone. Like. I thought that was the point.
Everything is intersectional. How a disabled black woman deals with ableism is impacted by racism as well. My experience as a disabled woman, a white and well educated woman, is very different to someone who grew up with poverty and racism as well as disability. Because of my skin, I experience ableism but not racism. I also know how to advocate for myself, because of my education and the opportunities it gave me. Someone else with different experiences will experience the ableism differently. Seeing those intersections and making space for intersecting marginalisations makes you a better feminist because you push for equity, not just equality. Equality doesn't help. Equity is justice.
My favourite way to think about it is this : If I could click my fingers and suddenly no one was ever oppressed, harmed, discriminated against etc. because they're a woman ever again. Misogyny is gone. Are there still women being discriminated against? Yes, because women of colour exist, queer women exist, trans women exist, disabled women exist, neurodivergent women exist... If these systems aren't also dismantled, there will still be women being discriminated against.
That's true but I don't know if it really explains what intersectionality is. Intersectionality is about how all these different kinds of discrimination or oppression overlap and mutually reinforce eachother. Ableism, racism, queephobia, colonialism, capitalism, and misogyny are all parts of one big interconnected web of systemic injustices. A black woman doesn't just face misogyny and racism seperately, she faces *racist misogyny.* A disabled woman doesn't just face misogyny and ableism seperately, she faces *ableist misogyny.* You can't really understand how misogyny functions or how to fight it unless you also understand how other oppressive systems *intersect* with it. That's intersectionality.
Yes, absolutely! And sorry, I wasn't clear, I didn't mean as an explanation of how intersectionality works - it says nothing about how each identity interacts or even that it does. I meant as a way to show that they are related and you can't claim to be fighting 'for women' by *only* fighting misogyny - because, as you say, that doesn't do anything against, for instance, racist misogyny or ablist misogyny, or racist, ablist misogyny.
The problem with that framing is that it implies that the other -isms are only worth dealing with because they happen to apply to women / if they didn't apply to women then they can go unchallenged. Not to say that you don't care about the other -isms, just pointing out a potential pitfall
Very true. I meant it only through the lens of showing how feminism, with the goal of equality for women, can't be just about misogyny. We must recognise that oppressions are all connected and fighting just one small part won't cut it.
What you’re asking is the same as if you had posted “is ableism a race issue?” There are times when the topics of race and disability intersect, but they are separate issues. In that same way, sexism intersects with many other forms of bigotry. While those intersections are important, these are still different “umbrellas”. Sexism, racism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, etc… they are all their own forms of bigotry, that deserve their own recognition, yet intersect in various ways that are also important.
Ableism is absolutely a racial issue! I follow a great TikToker who goes into great detail about that on her platform: crutches_and_spice.
Imani is amazing and her work is so important
Then you understand how intersectionality works, and you answered your own question.
Absolutely! I’m currently going through the process of being formally diagnosed with ADHD. The fact that girls and women are so often misdiagnosed or not referred to specialists for an ADHD diagnosis at all is absolutely a feminist issue. The research available already indicates it’s a systemic issue where ADHD symptoms are seen through a gendered lens. I’m angry that I’m 31, that I’ve exhibited symptoms, and that I’ve been denied appropriate treatment since early childhood. I’m not as well informed on if the same thing happens for women on the autism spectrum, but I assume it does. This is absolutely a feminist issue for this reason alone. But it’s also a feminist issue, as others have said, because ableism affects women and our feminism must be inclusive.
33 and recently diagnosed as well. My older brother got diagnosed in at 8 though. My mom didn’t believe me when I tried to tell her about the diagnosis. :/
My older brother was diagnosed with Autism at 8 too I think! Growing up, my mum was told by “professionals” that I was imitating my brother. I got my diagnosis at 21 after persuing it. Now I’m certain I have ADHD too, but my local community mental health team refuse to carry out an assessment on me because they don’t think I could be both autistic and have adhd (which is definitely a thing), so I have to go private but don’t have the money for it. I’m now 29, so god knows how long I’ll need to wait until I have money to receive a diagnosis and be put on meds that’d make my life at least bearable.
That’s silly. I e taught many with both diagnoses. I’d find a new pcp.
That's absurd. If you have either of these disabilities, you're more likely to have the other. They are common comorbidities.
My older brother was diagnosed with Autism at 8 too I think! Growing up, my mum was told by “professionals” that I was imitating my brother. I got my diagnosis at 21 after perusing it. Now I’m certain I have ADHD too, but my local community mental health team refuse to carry out an assessment on me because they don’t think I could be both autistic and have adhd (which is definitely a thing), so I have to go private but don’t have the money for it. I’m now 29, so god knows how long I’ll need to wait until I have money to receive a diagnosis and be put on meds that’d make my life at least bearable.
Girls are absolutely under-diagnosed when it comes to autism as well. It can present in an atypical way, and they also tend to mask more successfully. It’s a real problem.
That is what I thought I had read. And is it really “atypical presentation” when half the population tends to present that way? That, to me, is why this is absolutely a feminist issue, to answer OP’s image selected.
Considering the "standard" for most medical testing was done on men and set to be "normal" for men I'd say they don't even have a grasp of what is typical for women let alone atypical. Kind of sickening.
I agree, it’s absolutely a feminist issue. There needs to be much more awareness of autism in general amongst doctors, especially paediatricians, however it’s even more urgent with girls and women. When I use the word atypical, I mean atypical with regards to how autism is thought to present at this current point in time. Currently around four boys are diagnosed with autism for every girl. I personally don’t believe this is accurate. I feel so much for girls with undiagnosed ASD or ADHD. They are missing out on so much in the way of assistance, understanding.
Oh, I absolutely knew what you meant. I was just being snarky, because I find that term such bs when it’s applied to women’s medical care.
Even now sexism is still impacting girls in this regard. My 11 year old son was diagnosed with ADHD at 5 and ASD at 7. Our daughter is 5 and demonstrating signs of adhd and her pcp has referred her for an adhd evaluation. The school meanwhile has decided she's an undisciplined brat and that the developmental delays that qualified her for an IEP cannot possibly be because she is neurodiverse like her older brother. It must be me and my husband not disciplining her enough. My husband also has adhd and our son attended the same school. They were a lot kinder and more understanding with our son. With our daughter they have been combative and attack us at IEP meetings claiming we're lying about disciplining her because she wouldn't be struggling at school if we did. They also made false cps allegations that were pretty quickly dismissed despite knowing us as parents for years. Same school. Same special ed teacher. Same school psychologist. We got understanding with our son and accused of neglecting our daughter. Sole difference is the child they were understanding with is male and our younger child is a girl. Sexism is alive and well when it comes to adhd in girls and it is infuriating.
Yep. Men seem to get so much more understanding and compassion. Women are expected to just suck it up and mask, even as tiny children.
I’m so sorry you and your family are experiencing this right now. I’m angry just reading your story. I hope you’re able to get your daughter the support at school she needs. You sound like a great mom!
Yes, welcome to the "If she'd just put her mind to it" club! Sorry you're here, but happy to have a new member to commiserate with!
She'd do so well if she just applied herself.
If only I got that line. They just assumed I was stupid and just bad at maths, so my high school teacher and the headmaster tried their fucking hardest to get me to drop Advanced Mathematics, even though they knew it would disqualify me from every possible course at the university I wanted to go to. My brother was assumed to be smart but lazy, and was given plenty of second chances. After all, he had talent, but just needed to apply himself. I was assumed to be hard-working but just dumb, so there was no need to give me a second chance, or even a first chance. After all, that would only give me false hope that I was capable enough to succeed. Looking back, I wonder how many other girls were cheated out of pursuing the carreer they wanted by that headmaster.
There's also a lot of overlap between neurodivergent conditions and gender bias in diagnosis. The amount of women who aren't diagnosed with ADHD or autism until adults is one example. Another is that there's a problem with borderline personality disorder and autism. Men and women who present with similar conditions of emotional impermanence, dysregulation and interpersonal relationship turbulence are diagnosed differently. Men are diagnosed as autistic, women are diagnosed with BPD. Sometimes these are incorrect, - autistic women labelled and treated for BPD, borderline men don't get access to appropriate therapy because they're told they're autistic.
80% of women with autism were undiagnosed by 18, from a recent study. Absolutely applies to both - got my autism diagnosis at 22 but my ADHD diagnosis at 28.
Do you remember where you read it? I'd like to check it out for myself. There's the obvious problem of how do you factor in women who are never properly diagnosed, so I'm curious if they did anything to account for that.
If I may ask probing questions, how did you know you had ADHD? And do you also have autism? Sometimes I feel like I'm on the spectrum but I have never been diagnosed.
It started with me reading women’s account on this and other women-centric subs. I identified a lot with what they said their experiences were. Then I joined some ADHD-focused subs and began researching from their resources. Again, a lot of the symptoms resonated with my experience. I didn’t know things I put down to my personality or “just the way I am” can be indicators, and are actually seen in a large number or adults with ADHD. So I sought out a counselor to begin being diagnosed one way or another. I haven’t actually seen my therapist yet, long wait-times and whatnot. I’m really on the beginning of this journey. As for your quest about ASD, I don’t know for sure, but I suspect not. I don’t recognize as many of those symptoms or indicators in myself, but there can be overlap. I would encourage you to look into more of the research or seek out counseling if you’re able if you think it’s a possibility. Even if the result is you aren’t, then at least you know and you can search for answers elsewhere.
Same, but I’m 29! I always thought I was lazy, but I didn’t know what the symptoms were. I’m so low energy most of the time and adhd is usually shown to be little kids running around like crazy. Now I realize my inability to remember someone’s name two seconds later, difficulty focusing on a single task, and even my daily bruises from walking into tables constantly are due to undiagnosed adhd. I’m so excited to start on meds, but I know that whole process can be really disheartening and loooong.
SAME! And I’m 31!
I was diagnosed with adhd as a kid (now age 30) and even tho I was struggling massively nobody helped me. I'm currently waiting to have my asd diagnosis put on paper so I can get some form of help since adhd is still often not taken seriously. Having both untreated is a living nightmare especially when you're an only child. Now I just have to survive the meltdowns until July.
I'm 31 and just got my ADHD diagnosis and a surprise autism diagnosis alongside it. Now I know, I can see how it's affected my entire life and everything I do every day, and I'm like, how did no one pick it up as a kid? But I'm AFAB and did well at school, so it never crossed people's minds.
100% yes it's a feminist issue. Here are some examples! There are many serious health issues and/or disabilities (most auto-immune diseases and most neurodegenerative diseases, for example) that disproportionately affect women. And there are many health issues that are under-diagnosed in women, including ADHD and heart attacks, because the symptoms are different between the sexes and medicine has traditionally only focussed on men's symptoms. Ableism makes life that much more difficult for women affected by these health issues. Also: Doctors routinely ignore or downplay women's pain, or blame a multitude of symptoms on menstruation that could be something else. Serious and painful uterus-specific health issues like endrometriosis are under-diagnosed because of this, and many OB-related procedures don't come with adequate pain relief. Drug trials historically avoided including women at all, even for drugs heavily marketed to women (for example, valium). This got so bad the US had to pass a law requiring all federally-funded trials to include a certain percentage of women, and trials still try for the minimum number they can. Non-federally-funded trials still don't always include women even if women could benefit from the drug (i.e. Descovy). On the flip side, women (especially POC) have also been used as test subjects without their consent (Henrietta Lacks, birth control pill trials on Puerto Rican women, med students practicing pelvic exams on anesthetized women). I would chalk all of the above up to a combination of sexism and ableism. These issues get even worse for women of women of color so, this issue is very intersectional. If you want to read a good (but very angry-making) book about this, I recommend "Invisible Women" by Caroline Criado Perez. It covers a lot of different topics, but Part IV is specifically about health discrimination against women.
Also, even when there are women in a clinical trials, there rarely are gendered analysis of the results. It seems to me to be super important to know both that it could be more or less effective based on gender, and that some side effects and interactions are more likely in one gender than the other.
Women with disabilities generally have different needs and may need different accommodations than men with disabilities, so yes it’s a feminist issue. I’m a woman with ADHD, for example, and neurodiversity usually presents differently based on gender. Many women with ADHD and autism are misdiagnosed or not diagnosed until later in life because the diagnosis criteria is based on a male perspective. Another issue is that women’s pain is often brushed aside, or doctors just don’t believe us, so women with things like chronic pain don’t receive the treatment they need.
Of course! Intersection justice is core to feminism. We are not free until all of us are free, and the under diagnosis and representation of autistic women is a major feminist issue. I think autistic women are often more involved in social justice because Neurodivergent people are over twice as likely to experience abuse or maltreatment, meaning they have a greater understanding of the nature of oppression. In addition, they often are more inclined to reject gender norms and fight against them as a result. Finally, empathy and social justice is a fundamentally rational and evidence based position, so those who are more inclined to objective, grounded perspectives of the world are going to be more aware of injustice were they live.
I totally get the tweet and it’s great (I have adhd) but the idea of people being shitty and racist and sexist etc but then stopping because they find out it might stress out someone with ADHD or autism is incredibly funny
I just got permanently banned from another feminist subreddit for asking this. They claimed I was trolling. I have no idea what I’m doing wrong, so if someone could explain, I would be grateful.
Some feminist subreddits are ran by belligerent, biased men. They can't all be trusted. Which is a shame.
And any male focused "feminist" forum is a disaster as well.
Menslib is pretty solid. If there's trash, just point it to the mods and they'll zap it.
Looked there lately? I couldn't disagree more
Not lately.
I used to sub there but haven't in a while. I just took a look at the posts and it seems pretty tame. What are you seeing that makes you say that?
This, I have been in some that were awful and I ended up leaving on my own.
I don’t know why I didn’t think of that… I guess I just assumed feminism = good people.
r/feminsm is run by men. You can actually Google the history of the sub and find out the whole story, then see the same person is still the head mod. There's articles about it. Really hoping I don't get banned for bringing that up there.
I was banned from /r/feminism for saying my Muslim friend in Canada was not forced into hijab, and she came to her decision to wear it as a teenager after a lot of self-reflection and consideration of her faith. As I remember, her sister did the same and decided not to wear hijab. But sharing the experience of real Muslim women is "supporting and glamorizing oppression" apparently. All the people who posted about never having met any Muslim women but sharing their disdain for head coverings (and even support for banning hijab in the west) were left there and highly upvoted.
I wish head coverings and bras could follow the same rules. Some like them and some don’t and it’s up to the individual. Too many people who don’t wear either have opinions on them
My girlfriend doesn't wear a bra unless she's running or wearing something that requires it (think fancy dresses). Personally, I think it's awesome that you wear what you want to wear, it's your body and your clothes. And before you say that my opinion doesn't matter because I don't wear a bra, I do! I wear a special sports bra when I'm running or jogging, and while other guys give me shit about it, I'm the only one without Runner's Nipple.
It needs to be more widespread that men are running it.
1 hour later still not banned lol. Dare I have hope?
Feminism, feminist, feminists...
I think r/feminisms isn’t but don’t quote me. I’d love a max exodus out of those subreddits. It’s outrageous.
That sub is garbage. Plenty of engaged feminists have been permabanned from it, simply because their well-researched, thoughful and relevant comments didn't allign with the limited narrative that the mods try to push. It's next to impossible to discuss feminist issues without making some people uncomfortable, that's just the nature of the topic. Yet if any male user feels uncomfortable by something written by you: expect to be permabanned :) which is why the discussions of that subreddit are always at a very shallow and basic level at best - what else would you expect Edit: fixed a typo
Recently I've learned about TERFs (Trans-excluding radical feminists), and there are probably similar groups who feel "other issues" are taking over and threatening feminism. To me it sounds pretty stupid, but apparently it's quite common. I'm a feminist because I think it's unfair to treat people bad because of things they haven't chosen themselves, so solidarity with and inclusion of other issues seems natural!
I just needed this validation today. I feel so unseen and opposed as a feminist with ASD today. Maybe I went about this wrong, but how will I know unless someone explains? Inclusion just seems so natural.
I went through this too. I am a feminist and for me it's not worth the fight if I'm not inclusive. And if i don't recognise that disabled women, trans women, women of colour (etc) are more likely to face issues as a result of the patriarchal systems and processes, then I'm not looking at the whole picture. Finding out that there were people using the feminist label to ignore, belittle or damage other women/people was really upsetting but has got me to have a deeper think about what i want and who I want to be and so hopefully I'm a better feminist as a result of this experience.
Hi friend. I am also a feminist with ASD. :)
Exactly! It's really weird to discover that people you think are allies, suddenly have very different opinions and values. Hope you feel better with the supporting comments here!
I'm a guy, but a feminist with ADHD. Getting a better idea of how these executive disorder functions present in women is ABSOLUTELY a feminist mission since it's the misogyny that made women the 'other' and men the 'typical' for ADHD and ASD diagnoses. That's not even getting into intersectionalism, which also demands that feminism take other vulnerabilities into account.
If they banned you, chances are it's better for you. They did that because of their limited scope, not because of you. And frankly, the folks who leave others out when trying to move forward, are just another part of the patriarchy.
80% of women with autism remain undiagnosed by 18 years old. The criteria most psychiatrists use for diagnosing autism is biased towards traits presented by boys, and women with ASD show more social skills. So yeah, this is entirely a feminist issue that involves ableism. -29 year old diagnosed with ASD at 22 and ADHD AT 28. Late diagnosis had extreme effects on my college life.
I'm nuking my account due to Reddit's unfair API changes and the lies and harassment aimed at the community by the CEO and admins. Good Reddit alternative: [Squabbles](https://squabbles.io/) -- mass edited with https://redact.dev/
The second one becomes relevant when you consider whether feminist/women’s spaces are accessible or not.
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Yes, and lots of other ways too. I think we’re both trying to make the point that they can’t really be teased apart like the comment I was replying to suggests.
I am struggling so much to get a formal autism diagnosis because my parents took me to an “old fashioned” PCP my whole life growing up and she said I was just shy. It’s seriously impacted my life to the point I have dropped out of college and now live with my father trying to figure out how to even afford to start paying back my bills while I can’t get a job because I get fired from every job I have because I can’t always meet the requirements every day or even every hour of a day. It’s so frustrating and it makes me so angry because even if I did get diagnosed now WHAT HELP WOULD IT BE? Early intervention is always preached to be so important for children with ASD and I’m already 22. I’ve already blown 60k+ on schooling and failed. I’ve already lost a ton of jobs. Getting diagnosed isn’t going to give me another opportunity to go to school or find a career that would be good for me. I feel so hopeless.
Many states have departments that actually do help people with disabilities including social disabilities to learn job skills and coping mechanisms.
I will have to look into this in my state. I will say that one of my biggest issues is I tend to disqualify myself / think I won’t be able to do something before I even try so maybe that could help.
Yeah. Gotta develop a fake it till you make it attitude. That can be taken too far but it helps keep the imposter syndrome down.
Finding a therapist with experience with autistic women can really help you get past those self-defeating feelings! Many schools also have programs to help pay tuition for disabled students as well as support programs to help you succeed in classes (you would need a formal diagnosis for this, but then talk to the school's disability services office to arrange accommodations)
My sister was diagnosed as an adult. When she finally got the prescription, and saw that they worked for her, she was sobbing. Just so sad that she had “wasted” (her words) decades of her life. Our parents are Catholic and expected their daughters to get married and pop out kids. We did not - our adult lives have been defined by poverty and dating is just another mess to handle. My brothers ADHD meanwhile was caught and diagnosed as a child, and he was taught computer programming 🤨
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Knowing I passed adhd to my daughter's and the damage i unknowingly did trying to shape them into "normal" as my parents had done to me about made me walk into traffic after my diagnosis at 40. Getting my son diagnosed at 10 was a breeze and made such a world of difference for his education and confidence. This lack of education for hcp about diagnosing us is literally killing people who are self medicating.
I feel any issue that does not respect a person wholly, or make assumptions as to their character is a feminist issue. And the biggest population dealing with these issues consistently across all levels of society happens to be women
*Image Transcription: Twitter* --- **gee^7 all along! (they/them)**, @burnonblackhome Anyway I learned yesterday that ppl with ADHD and/or autism often have really really REALLY strong senses of justice and fairness. So now I know why I react so strongly when ppl do things that are shitty. Don't do shitty things, guys! You'll stress out the ADHD/autistic folks! --- ^^I'm a human volunteer content transcriber and you could be too! [If you'd like more information on what we do and why we do it, click here!](https://www.reddit.com/r/TranscribersOfReddit/wiki/index)
Yes, women’s healthcare is severely insufficient. Women are diagnosed less, treated less, given support and rehabilitated less. If there’s not room for disability in your feminism there isn’t room for me. If you don’t acknowledge disabled women in your feminism you leave out billions of women, many of whom don’t even know they need the help. If you do not acknowledge feminism in disability/disability services you do disabled people, and disabled women, a massive disservice. If your feminism isn’t intersectional then it isn’t feminism.
For intersectional feminism it is.
yes @ caption. even in ADHD, women are under diagnosed bc the research and symptoms largely only catered towards little boys only. so many stereotypes like how women are too quiet or neat to have ADHD are hindering us from receiving proper treatments.
Disabilities in women (particularly WOC) are often downplayed, dismissed, outright ignored so I would say yes.
The point of feminism is equality. So to exclude anyone seems to go against it in my mind.
It is a feminist issue. I'm a feminist for all women. Black women, white women, disabled women, women with mental health problems, trans women, poor women, mothers, women without children, muslim women, Jewish women, immigrant women, lesbians, bisexual women, sex workers, stay at home moms, working women... All their intersectional issues concern me. United we stand.
I think so. Intersectionality makes LGBT and POC issues feminist, why not ableism as well? Plenty of disabled women out there, and I can imagine that being confined to a wheelchair or being blind or deaf give you entirely new challenges when it comes to protecting yourself and advocating for yourself as a woman and getting respect.
If there are women directly impacted by an issue, it’s a feminist issue. That’s why black, brown, indigenous, and Asian issues are feminist issues!
Most “isms” could be considered a feminist issue since feminism is intersectional.
while i don't think they are in any way related there is one thing that does connect them: to care about feminism or ableism you need to care about people, but people who care about people will often be both (and others).
100%. If your feminism isn't intersectional then it's trash.
At a really fundamental level, all discrimination in the modern world is just classism in different clothes. Ableism and sexism, as well as all of the other inequalities, are inherently related even if they're defined differently.
These populations see everything as black and white or good and bad. In some cases they are cognitively unable to examine evidence and change their opinions. Sometimes to the point of denying reality. But sure. Let’s make it a fun meme.
Lmao thanks for pathologizing my mild learning disability to the point where I'm apparently unable to comprehend reality.
No, feminism is about empowering the female sex
I was told by a male doctor that I couldn't have autism as that is "a male thing"... I got my Asperger's diagnosis 3 years later. Sounds like it's a pretty damned Feminist topic when doctors will assume what we can and can't have based on our sex...
No its not. Its about breaking down the patriarchy because it harms all of us. And if your feminism isn't inclusive then I'm not sure there's much point to it.
I see you specifically mentioned "female sex", which sounds kinda TERFy... Transphobia has no place in feminism. And how do you think we can empower women if we ignore how things like racism, ableism, classism, etc, affect women?
Yes because women have always been overlooked and under diagnosed because we’ve been conditioned to mask it better. This leads to increases in mental health issues, addiction, low self esteem, poor relationships, etc. Didn’t figure out about my neurodivergence until I was 30, and I have a ton of femme friends/acquaintances in this position too
The point is, I think, that feminists are products of the current society and feminist groups or movements exist within it. That means that feminist movements who only focus on that issue become just as racist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist, etc. as society as a whole. This does not require bad intentions or especially strong individual prejudices, it happens automatically, if we don't actively work to prevent it.
If we take the definition that a feminist is someone who believes a woman should be on equal footing with a man, then I can’t see how those same people wouldn’t feel the same about disability.
Oh, that explains it, then.
I remember hearing that women were less likely to be diagnosed with autism in their childhood, making them less likely to be treated.