Are Autistics Less Attractive Compared To Neurotypicals?

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Do you believe that people with autism are less attractive (on average) compared to neurotypicals?
Yes, people with autism are less attractive. 31%  31%  [ 14 ]
Yes, but only because attractive people are less likely to be diagnosed. 9%  9%  [ 4 ]
No 60%  60%  [ 27 ]
Total votes : 45

kraftiekortie
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05 Dec 2022, 11:18 am

What do you guys think of Daryl Hannah, who was officially diagnosed as autistic when she was young?



IsabellaLinton
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05 Dec 2022, 11:22 am

All the autistic people I know are devastatingly handsome.
They have a vibe of mystery and subtlety.
That, and the fact we lead simpler, more wholistic lives.



Joe90
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05 Dec 2022, 3:12 pm

Caz72 wrote:
autistic people are not less or more attractive than neurotypical people but i agree that theres a stigma attached to autism that says we cant be attractive like we are all expected to be overweight spotty nerds

most people dont believe me that im autistic because they say i dont look autistic because im too attractive

it is offensive and a shame so many people think that way


I wish I looked like you.


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blitzkrieg
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05 Dec 2022, 4:35 pm

Personally I don't discriminate, but I would say that since Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder, it is obvious, based on the way humans have evolved that Autistic folk are seen as less attractive versus non-disordered counterparts by non-Autistic folk, anyhow.



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05 Dec 2022, 4:41 pm

I'm trying to think of all the guys I've known in college who are likely on the spectrum.


Guy #1 was in my former club and was ugly.

Guy #2 was in my former club and was a little bit below average.

Guy #3 is in my college club and he's a bit below average looking as well.

Guy #4 is in my class and he's not very attractive, but that's also partially because he dresses like a slob and looks like the kind of guy you'd see at a nerdy convention.



I do think that autistic men, on average, are less attractive compared to neurotypical men. But that's also partially because of low social skills as well like Face of Boo said.



Joe90
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05 Dec 2022, 5:09 pm

I don't like using the word ''ugly'' to describe a person. It just sounds so hurtful.

I think many autistic men (and autistic women but probably more so men) may have awkward facial expressions or pull funny faces without meaning to, which can sometimes be a turn-off. I don't think autistic people are born unattractive.

But I can sense that writing ''are downs syndrome people less attractive?'' would be offensive to people with downs?


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r00tb33r
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05 Dec 2022, 6:40 pm

As a general case, yes, typical autism behaviors are not attractive.


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05 Dec 2022, 7:06 pm

Nades wrote:
Minder wrote:
Muse933277 wrote:
DanielW wrote:
None of your arguments are very strong, and attractiveness is subjective.



Attractiveness is mostly objective, not subjective.

Everyone agrees that Danny Devito is less attractive then Henry Cavill.

Attractiveness is subjective, but only to a certain extent. For example, some people might consider Scarlett Johansson to be an 9, while others might think she's only a 7, but almost everyone would agree that she is considered conventionally attractive. Nobody in their right mind would consider her ugly.


If attractiveness is mostly subjective, then why are most male models 6 ft tall, fit, and broad-shouldered? If attractiveness were subjective, then we would see short overweight neckbeards as male models, but we don't.


There have been a lot of actors who were on the shorter side and considered sex symbols. Tom Cruise is 5'7. Taylor Lautner isn't as popular these days, but he was very popular ten years ago or so and he's 5'8. Not that short but definitely not tall. Both were sex symbols in their time.

There are also a lot of cultural variants. At points in history, heavier bodies were considered attractive because they were a sign of wealth. As for "neckbeards", most of the examples I've seen look rather unkempt. This is off-putting, because it indicates poor health and self-care.

It is true, however, that you will be less attractive if you don't take good care of yourself. This can be harder if you're neurodivergent and don't necessarily pay attention to such things. I have ADHD, which I think made it trickier for me to shave since I kept missing patches. This made me look unkempt. My girlfriend pointed this out to me, and I now do a better job of it (I also shave more regularly, which makes it easier).

Interestingly enough, I've seen photos of Danny DeVito as a young man and he was rather handsome. He does have Fairbank's Disease, a bone disorder, which is why he's short. Being shorter does make it harder for men, though DeVito is a rather extreme example.

The objective metrics of attractiveness are facial symmetry and health. Everything else is subjective, though culture wields considerable influence on what we perceive as attractive.



Well put. I think autistics, if well groomed and taking care of their health will look identical to NT's but I noticed they struggle a lot more with looking after their appearance and health. The life expectancy of a higher functioning autistic is dreadful which alone implies many must look a bit rough for their age.

I agree with you here, many don't do themselves any favours.

I'm actually working on a YouTube channel aimed at helping men with Asperger's in terms of dating and health and fitness. Hopefully this will help a few.



kraftiekortie
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06 Dec 2022, 10:14 am

If you take a look at the pictures of themselves that people posted here, there happen to be many attractive autistic people here.

Like Isabella said, there are some autistic people who look "angelic."



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06 Dec 2022, 10:36 am

kraftiekortie wrote:
If you take a look at the pictures of themselves that people posted here, there happen to be many attractive autistic people here.

Like Isabella said, there are some autistic people who look "angelic."


You're attractive, judging by your avatar. You look a little bit like my (NT) boyfriend.
If I passed you in the street I wouldn't know you were autistic by your appearance alone unless you were obvious.

I just think Liz Truss has bug eyes and her face is too rounded and squashed. I don't know.


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07 Dec 2022, 1:03 pm

r00tb33r wrote:
As a general case, yes, typical autism behaviors are not attractive.
That seems very obvious to me.


blitzkrieg wrote:
Personally I don't discriminate, but I would say that since Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder, it is obvious, based on the way humans have evolved that Autistic folk are seen as less attractive versus non-disordered counterparts by non-Autistic folk, anyhow.
I tend to find autistic women more attractive than NT women but a lot of that is because of the personality characteristics of autism instead of physical appearance or the way they dress. Autistic women are easier for me to relate to & understand than typical NT women.


Caz72 wrote:
autistic people are not less or more attractive than neurotypical people but i agree that theres a stigma attached to autism that says we cant be attractive like we are all expected to be overweight spotty nerds

most people dont believe me that im autistic because they say i dont look autistic because im too attractive

it is offensive and a shame so many people think that way
Lots of guys find nerdy women attractive but people may be less likely to associate nerdy women with autism due to the stereotype of autism being a male disorder. Autistic guys can be overweight neckbeard types like Comic Book Guy on The Simpsons or they can seem geeky & wear coke-bottle glasses like Steve Urkel on Family Matters. People may have a more ridged view about how autistic women look than autistic guys. Autistic women may have to seem extremely geeky in order for others to make the autism connection.


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08 Dec 2022, 5:18 am

Where_am_I wrote:
Number two is utter BS.

Yes! I also liked your comment on the rcst interracial dating thread but it was locked so… :star: :star: :star: :star:



nick007
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08 Dec 2022, 6:51 pm

RiverLad wrote:
Where_am_I wrote:
Number two is utter BS.

Yes! I also liked your comment on the rcst interracial dating thread but it was locked so… :star: :star: :star: :star:
I think number 2 is sometimes at least partly true. Perhaps 2 is more about popularity than physical attractiveness persay but being physically attractive can have an effect on someone's popularity. It seems likely to me that someone who is more physically attractive, could be more popular & could have more dating opportunities as a result of their popularity.


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08 Dec 2022, 8:19 pm

nick007 wrote:
It seems likely to me that someone who is more physically attractive, could be more popular & could have more dating opportunities as a result of their popularity.



I think that in many cases, some conventionally attractive people can benefit from their looks to become popular.

My sister was very pretty growing up. She had guys fighting over her in high school level of attractiveness. As a result, she was invited to many parties, got in the "cool crowd", and had many boyfriends. Now was she a more interesting and more well-rounded person because she was really pretty? Of course not, but when you look good and are at least somewhat friendly, certain things in life will be easier.


Now her life certainly isn't better than mine because she was attractive and I wasn't, so I guess while looks definitely give some advantages in life, it's not the end all be all and someone's life isn't necessarily better because they're super hot.



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21 Dec 2022, 12:57 am

I tend to notice for guys, aspies are very juvenile looking in their teens to mid-late 20's and struggle immensely. A 21yo guy that looks 16 is not what women are looking for, neither is a 25yo man that looks 18, but he'll eventually catch up. I think the avoidance tendencies of looking too young for your age as a man can get mistaken for Asperger diagnosis. It could just be avoidance personality disorder (APD) due to bullying or criticism based Lookism and missing out on milestones such as first kiss, first intercourse. These usually happen to normies between 13-19, but much later for Aspie men.

For women i've met on the spectrum, they tend to be shut-ins and more sedentary. This leads to weight gain and they are generally fatter than average, so... yes unattractive due to their weight i suppose.



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21 Dec 2022, 1:44 am

A lot of the diagnosed women iv'e met with autism are unattractive.

A few of them were very overweight which significantly lowers a woman's attractiveness level.

One was fairly masculine looking, cut her hair short like a boy's, and just didn't have too much of a feminine appearance. She wasn't ugly but not attractive either.

One girl on the autism spectrum I met smoked too much and wasn't that good looking either. She also had a s**t personality.



I have never met a conventionally attractive woman with autism before.