Proud to Be LGBT and Autistic?

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While I'm not sure that anyone can technically be proud of something they didn't achieve (because they don't choose to be AS or GLBT), I think coping with having AS and with being GLBT can be quite an achievement in itself due to the associated difficulties & stigmas.

It's a separate issue whether they are comfortable with it, and that's what coming out and Gay Pride is really all about. In a sense, accepting you have Aspergers is a little like "coming out".

I think when trying to refute or explain gay or trans pride and suggesting a corollary in being proud of being autistic, that it is vitally important to refer to the meaning of "pride" as used within the LGBT movement.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay_pride

It is about taking a stance against discrimination and violence and building community. It is meant to oppose shame. It is not about achievements, which is not the only definition of pride:

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/pride



While no dictionary is the strictly definitive description of word usage, it does serve as a starting point.

You have a point but it really depends upon the context of the word "pride" that was intended by d057 when he posed the question and the sense that readers will interpret it. I have to admit I for one didn't have the GLBT definition in mind because I was answering with my AS hat on, not my GLBT hat. I'm not even sure that the GLBT movement can speak for all GLBTs, since it's really a political movement, and not all GLBTs are political. Arguably, the general public thinks "GLBT pride" refers to being as comfortable with your sexuality as heterosexuals are.

I am pretty sure that childbirth is not a fun thing to experience. But I am sure it is rewarding for the mother to experience it when she sees the child for the first time.

I echo what a few posters have said about being neither proud nor ashamed of being a lesbian or having ASD as it's not something I actively chose. However, I am fiercely proud of how I negotiate the complexities of both aspects in my every day life. I think that homosexuality and autism can generate acute feelings of alienation, not quite belonging or fitting in. It takes monumental strength, courage and tenacity just to do things that others take for granted. You encounter barriers that others couldn't imagine. However, what really counts is not the cards that you were dealt, but how you play the game.

I really like the way you put that. My feelings may change someday, but for right now I find that I am proud to be gay but not proud to be Autistic.

very proud

Yeah, I think I am proud.

I'm a gender-queer bisexual Aspie. None of those things are EASY. It means I'm always taking the path of most resistance. The fact that I'm now happy and comfortable with who I really am, and can function as a member of that society, over-coming all those obstacles, is something to be damn proud of.

However, I'm 39. If you'd asked me when I was 19, my answer would have been very different. It's a cliche, but it DOES get better.

Once again in my life finding myself on the road less traveled. Thanks to Sarahliveshere for the comment about "fiercely proud"! I like that sentiment and resonate with it! One thing, as a result of being non-normative, I've had to actually come more to face my identity. It's not the easy choice and assumption. So I have to think of what I really want. When I was young, I had experiences with both genders, but when I was ready to settle down, the only model I considered was heterosexual monogamy. Similarly, I also tried to normalize my aspie behaviours. I was pretty embarrassed and highly in denial, kind of mentally whitewashed lots of early experiences for many years. Ii still get embarrassed sometimes. And I hope now I'm more often in a place of loving myself, and totally accepting wherever I am. Yes, I still want to change, and I work damn hard at it, but I also like who I am. Bright Blessings, Indique!

I'm not "proud" of it, it's just who I am. I wouldn't change it and I'll fight for it, but I'm not all "HEY GUYS I'M HERE I'M QUEER AND I'M AUTISTIC LOVE ME OR GTFO." It's a non-issue for me unless someone comes at me directly.

I'm proud of both.

no, being neither is an "accomplishment", but living with them sure as hell is.

I scored in the 99th percentile when I took the ACT, and I fell asleep in the middle of it and never studied. I doubt the notes I've taken since *kindergarten* would fill even one notebook, but I've been an excellent student my entire life. nearly everything I will "achieve" in life ties back to doing well in academics, which is purely accidental. if I'd had a different childhood environment or if my parents hadn't spoken the prestige dialect of Standard American English the same amount of work that had me at the top of my class for years would have had me failing.

if you want to get really technical about it, pretty much everything you have ever "accomplished" in life has been a result of your environmental conditioning and genetics. if you think that rules out pride then you pretty much should forget being proud of anything.

I don't feel much of anything toward having ASD or being gay. I don't really act like many gay people though, don't hang around them. Definitely not proud, would rather not be gay or autistic but I'm at peace with it.

I'm neither proud nor ashamed that I have AS, it's just a part of who I am with as many benefits as hindsights, at least in my experience. Same goes for the fact that I'm totally gay and have never been physically attracted to the opposite sex in my life. I'm not ashamed or anything, I just believe in getting on with things and trying to live my life, such as it is at present.

I've never really understood gay pride, or autistic pride. For me, pride is something I feel in my accomplishments. I feel proud that my plays were shown publicly. I feel pride that I was paid to present at a conference. I feel pride when I get an excellent performance review at work.

Being gay and being autistic are just merely conditions of my self, like being male, having hazel eyes, and standing 5'7". I can love myself, but I can be proud of things I do.

I don't feel pride in being gay or autistic, they're just aspects of myself that I learned to accept and live with.

Last edited by Knalraap on 29 Oct 2012, 11:16 am, edited 1 time in total.

Like I said, I consider myself to be in the neither proud nor ashamed vote. I don't think of my sexuality/Autism as an accomplishment nor do I consider it something that should be fixed.