Effeminate men, testosterone and Autism

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1. Is the percentage of effeminate looking and/or behaving men higher in the autistic male population than in the general NT male population?

2. Is low testosterone (low T) more prevalent in the autistic male population than in the NT male population?

Post your anecdotes, thoughts and any research studies.

I think tosstesterone makes a lot of men feel they need to prove their machoism = false front through fear that others may perceive them as gay BUT, for me (male Aspie and asexual), I am what I am. I'm not ashamed of what I am. I'm not interested in trying to be something I'm not and I feel testosterone has a lot to answer for in this world!

I think that I was and am, i certainly was!!

Indeed testosterone has a lot to answer for.

Nothing wrong with that.
Am just curious about the connection, if any, between low T and autism.

I don't know how much testosterone I have in my body.

But I know I'm not effeminate. I'm not totally macho, though.

Are female aspies low on estrogen then, or is our tendency to be more gender-ambiguous part of our hypersensitivity to female-only garments and beauty products?

And why do so many people see that as a bad thing? I, for one, do not. I'm proud of the fact that I haven't been brainwashed into smearing snake-oil gunk on my face and dressing like a prostitute. That makes me a feminazi? Oh well.

I like pink. Does than not make me a feminazi?

Sounds like you've got 'normal' (whatever that is) levels Kraftie!

A good balance!

I don't think you're a feminazi.

I don't like women who put on lots of makeup, either.

I didn't even think about it until I read the thread, but I've been asked many times if I was gay, mostly from other gay men but some women too.

I also feel no need to prove anything, or take any kind of joy in T-based activities like adrenaline events or sports.

Are you actually in Phnom Penh?

I used to play sports (not too well). I just enjoyed playing, and enjoyed winning (though I lost more than I won).

I like to watch sports now.

Im confused.

Do all autistics (males and females) have "extreme male brains"?

Or are we all swishy?

Make up your minds folks!

Last edited by naturalplastic on 12 Jan 2016, 12:34 am, edited 2 times in total.

There is also a theory on the "extreme male brain" in autism which seems like it would be the opposite of what OP is describing. Here is one link with an overview; if you google it there is more material.

https://iancommunity.org/cs/understandi ... male_brain

My ASD 8 yr old son is very obviously male but enjoys things like playing with dolls and has some mannerisms that he has been teased for as looking effeminate. I think it is just the way his awkward physical coordination developed, in his case. He is very clumsy at times which i think produces the mannerisms i see in him--he doesn't come across as effeminate in general. Besides the dolls and liking to line stuffed animals up so he can play school with them (his teaching consists mostly of complicated math problems of his own making), he also likes boy stuff too like weight lifting--he will ask me to admire his muscles ("gun show, mom! see the 'guns'!")

My hubby is likely on or close to the spectrum and i would say would be on the very high testosterone side of the spectrum. Very much a "man's man" in a world of football, hunting, and those type of hobbies; and a lot of difficulty showing any kind of emotion--i have known him for 20 yrs and can count on one hand the times i have seen tears out of him.

I am a very basic no-nonsense, low-maintenance type of girl. Not tomboyish but not feminazi either. Don't like pink much at all, very little makeup. I do like nice clothes and a good haircut. But i am not good at the girly girl stuff--a lot of my interests are not shared by most of the females i know. Don't get along super well with females in general although i have some female friends.

I must have given off some sort of strange androgynous vibe when I was younger. Men and women hit on me. Was told many times that people thought I was gay. While at the same time, other people thought I was completely straight. I had a girlfriend in High School who said I would make a pretty girl. And then, this last new years eve night, that woman saw a photo from that time period and said I looked like a ladyboy at that time, so, I dunno.

Went to a Halloween party in drag once. Shaved the legs, shaped the eyebrows, my eyelashes are very long anyway and made my own 'prosthetic' that had real bounce and thick nipples. Did the whole giant heels and short skirt. Even had to shave my chest a bit. Helped that I did theater make up at the local college while in High School. So, I was all dolled up. Nobody knew I was a man until one person noticed how I thumped the ashes off my cigarette. Forgot to study that mannerism...... Then all the women had to come by and tweak the fake nipples and asked if I was cold. Then got complained to by other women that I had better legs than they did.

No shortage of sex drive, so I'm thinking my hormones are ok. But, yeah always been taken for one way or the other.

BTW...you women who live in high heels, y'all be crazy. Screw how good they look (And, boy do they look good....). But they are torture devices.......

I was called "gay" many, many times in junior high, but I think it was more of as a general insult. I don't look stereotypically gay, which sucks, because I'm bisexual. If I looked the part, I may be able to attract men, but nope, they all think I'm straight. I joined an LGBT club in college last year, but I didn't fit in at all.

Yeah, this is typically my experience. I've gotten the "You'd make for a really pretty girl" bit more times than I can count, and indeed, both genders tend to hit on me. Including males that are straight AND fully aware that I'm also male; I try not to think about that one too much, the reasoning in it is a headache waiting to happen.

Hell, even showing just a basic face photo on forums (you know, like the "show a pic of yourself!" sort of topics), I'll get mistaken for a girl in those sometimes. These arent old pics, either, it's what I look like now. And the words used are *always* "pretty" or "beautiful" instead of things like "handsome". I'm not bothered by that though.

And as for stuff I DO, I dont do sports, or any of the typically masculine stuff or whatever. Though, personality-wise, hm, neither masculine or feminine, really. I'm sarcastic, blunt, and tend to seem kinda angry all the time, in a way that could apply to either gender really.


So I dunno, that goes along with the whole idea of this sort of thing and autism I suppose.

People with autism generally exhibit extreme male behavior (all the symptoms are pretty much normal male behavior to an extreme and disabling extent)

low empathy
social isolation (often by choice)
extreme focus
lack of interest in small talk/doesn't see the need for it
aggressiveness/combativeness
needing structure/needing order
independence of thought/not seeing social classes
and whatnot

are all typical male rather than female, behaviors

You'll find females with an ASD are close to males with these behaviors too.

Asperger noted it. As have others after him.