Is looking for autistic women a realistic option?
But that still leaves twice as many men as there are women. Even when ignoring the other factors, that leaves half of us with no ND matches.
I certainly would not exclude someone for being AS. But I cannot put all my eggs in that basket for the reasons I've mentioned. And if I meet that one AS woman who happens to be single and into me, but I'm not interested in her for whatever other reason; I don't want to feel like I should settle because she's my only option.
Why should you put your eggs in any basket? Unless you're a player the only basket that matters is the one person you're going to date. They're are not a category, a label, or a condition. They're an individual.
When you meet someone you like you will be faced with the reality that they're the way they are, and not exactly the way you had hoped for and planned.
Planning and theorizing in dating is pointless. Everything comes down to a chance.
That doesn't mean that it's an excuse for doing nothing, it's still your responsibility for making yourself an attractive date.
It doesn't sound like you're necessarily being asked to restrict yourself, just that it may be an option to consider that potential romantic partners who've had comparable life experiences may have that extra degree of compatibility.
My own experiences have - anecdotally, to be sure - led me to believe there is some seed of truth in that. And people who've been attracted to me, in turn, have by and large turned out to be autistic in greater proportion compared to the general population, even if they weren't diagnosed (or even aware of the possibility) when we met. So perhaps the ability to say "Oh thank goodness, I'm not crazy, there are actually other people out there like me, what a relief" is something of a factor. So is being able to regularly talk with (or come home to) a person who thinks the way you do inherently, someone you don't have to be constantly explaining your own mindset to. Someone who just... gets it, meaning that at least to some point they get you, and you can laugh together about how other people think, and be genuinely supported in who you are and how you react to things because they are like that too.
I know it's certainly something I've tried to bring to relationships, particularly with people who had been hammered on their entire lives for being 'different'. I could show them that hey, you're not alone, you have me and I'm like you; I'm not just humoring you or loving you without true understanding; this is a real thing for people and it is OK; you are not a bad person and you did not deserve all the things you went through (and are often still going through).
From my own perspective, I do find many characteristics stereotypically common to the 'autistic mindset', such as it is, fairly attractive. An ability to ruthlessly pare back fluff to assess the underlying logic, an affinity for patterns, the lack of desire for what might otherwise be considered quite a few social 'necessities', the laser-like focus on new areas of information or skills. I quite expect anyone I end up with for any length of time to have at least some area of interest, and possibly several, where they can completely whip my ass, whether that be a STEM topic, or an area of art, or creativity, or the ability to perform some particular skill or skillset. It may well even be something they never considered to be a skill or 'useful' set of knowledge, but can slap together half a doctoral dissertation on it in six minutes flat. It's amazing, some of the things out there hidden in people's brains.
...so, what's YOUR favorite dinosaur?
Anyway, if you're looking for where to find people... online isn't bad; a lot of us are more comfortable behind a keyboard than at a social meeting. Other places - the workplace, particularly if it's one which has a work-based more than a social focus; special-interest-group meetups; pop-culture conventions are a possibility but it's easier to use them as a basis for looking into (and perhaps joining or attending subsequent meetings of) local special-interest groups than socializing actually at the event. Um... night classes and workshops for specialist or technical skills or knowledge (and this can be any subject at all) - though again, not for super-heavy socializing. Open university lectures or one-subject exhibition days which are more about knowledge dissemination than meet-and-greets, perhaps.
Better sources, though, are classes, lectures, through friends.
How about those continuing education courses and lectures that you must take as a professional person?
All of those methods have already failed me over and over and over and over again.
I know it's certainly something I've tried to bring to relationships, particularly with people who had been hammered on their entire lives for being 'different'. I could show them that hey, you're not alone, you have me and I'm like you; I'm not just humoring you or loving you without true understanding; this is a real thing for people and it is OK; you are not a bad person and you did not deserve all the things you went through (and are often still going through).
From my own perspective, I do find many characteristics stereotypically common to the 'autistic mindset', such as it is, fairly attractive. An ability to ruthlessly pare back fluff to assess the underlying logic, an affinity for patterns, the lack of desire for what might otherwise be considered quite a few social 'necessities', the laser-like focus on new areas of information or skills. I quite expect anyone I end up with for any length of time to have at least some area of interest, and possibly several, where they can completely whip my ass, whether that be a STEM topic, or an area of art, or creativity, or the ability to perform some particular skill or skillset. It may well even be something they never considered to be a skill or 'useful' set of knowledge, but can slap together half a doctoral dissertation on it in six minutes flat. It's amazing, some of the things out there hidden in people's brains.
I do actually prefer women like that. And I've met many over the years. 99% of them were married, and the rare few who were available made it very clear that they only liked me as a friend.
It's because women are hard to please when it comes to neurodiversity. Women are hard for Aspie guys to get dates with, and are hard for Aspie women to make friends with. As an Aspie woman, I find NT guys easier to make friends with. Also my boyfriend is NT. If I was a man on the spectrum I might not be in a relationship this successful with an NT woman, or even an Aspie woman.
_________________
Female
It's because women are hard to please when it comes to neurodiversity. Women are hard for Aspie guys to get dates with, and are hard for Aspie women to make friends with. As an Aspie woman, I find NT guys easier to make friends with. Also my boyfriend is NT. If I was a man on the spectrum I might not be in a relationship this successful with an NT woman, or even an Aspie woman.
I'd like to hear more female perspectives on this point.
By "women" in the above paragraph, I gather that you mean "NT women" unless otherwise specified? Or do you mean to say that autistic/Aspie women, as well as NT women, are "hard for Aspie women to make friends with" as well as "hard for Aspie guys to get dates with"?
Looking back on my life, I think the vast majority of both my friendships and my romantic/erotic relationships have probably been with people who were autistic or otherwise neurodivergent. My current boyfriend, who has lived with me for 10 years, is autistic.
All of my friends and partners have been fellow oddballs of one kind or another. I've never been able to make friends with normal average folks. I just don't fit in with the latter, at all.
_________________
- Autistic in NYC - Resources and new ideas for the autistic adult community in the New York City metro area.
- Autistic peer-led groups (via text-based chat, currently) led or facilitated by members of the Autistic Peer Leadership Group.
A lot of (not all) NT women are shallow. I can't seem to make friends with NT women no matter how hard I try. They're just better at noticing any tiny, microscopic sign of aloofness or intrusiveness and can't cope with it. Aspie/non-NT women are easier to make friends with. I don't know if Aspie women are hard to get dates with for Aspie men. As a woman I find dating and relationships with NTs naturally easy. I don't think I could date an Aspie man, unless he isn't a stereotypical Aspie and just seems like a quirky NT instead and doesn't have the typical autism meltdowns that can be pretty scary. Men flapping their hands or rocking vigorously is a huge turn-off for me, sorry to say. But I could be friends with an NT guy no problem.
_________________
Female
Well, I think that settles it then.
Because the universe arbitrarily chose me out of millions to forever ruin my life, through neither fault nor control of my own, neither NT not ND women will ever want to be with me. I'm going to alone and unloved for the rest of my life because I'm a goddamned freak.
Sorry that my need to stim is a "huge turnoff", or that my occasional meltdowns caused caused by my disabilities coupled with a lifetime of trauma and abuse scare you.
Ugh, here we go. Autistic people like honesty and direct answers. You be honest and direct with them and they get all offended and take it to heart. No wonder NTs lie. I'm with the NTs on that one. It's easier to lie and keep people happy than to tell the truth and offend everyone.
You said you'd like to see women's perspectives, so I gave you mine. How I feel isn't the same as every other woman (Aspie or not) on this planet feels. I'm not saying you (and all other Aspie guys) are undesirable or unworthy of love. It's just MY opinion on the matter. I wasn't criticising you or telling you to change.
I'd like to hear you have a girlfriend. I hope you do find a girlfriend.
_________________
Female
Last edited by Joe90 on 16 Feb 2022, 8:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Because the universe arbitrarily chose me out of millions to forever ruin my life, through neither fault nor control of my own, neither NT not ND women will ever want to be with me.
It's far from settled that no ND woman would ever want to be with you. Hopefully SOMEONE will, in the not-too-distant future, start an organization for neurodivergent special ed teachers. If you were to assist with building such an org, you would have plenty of opportunities to meet ND women, in a milieu where the ND women would probably outnumber ND men (despite the opposite being the case in the world at large).
_________________
- Autistic in NYC - Resources and new ideas for the autistic adult community in the New York City metro area.
- Autistic peer-led groups (via text-based chat, currently) led or facilitated by members of the Autistic Peer Leadership Group.
You said you'd like to see women's perspectives, so I gave you mine. How I feel isn't the same as every other woman (Aspie or not) on this planet feels. I'm not saying you (and all other Aspie guys) are undesirable or unworthy of love. It's just MY opinion on the matter. I wasn't criticising you or telling you to change.
I'd like to hear you have a girlfriend. I hope you do find a girlfriend.
You misunderstand: I'm not offended by you. As you said, you're just being honest about the reality of my situation. And that reality is that my autism makes me undesirable and unlovable. That is not your fault.
They're not methods for getting you a girlfriend. They're methods for putting you in the general vicinity of people who might have something in common with you.
If you're going into them with the mindset of going on a girlfriend hunt, you are never going to have success. People in these places aren't going to them looking to be hit on or to hear about how someone has been rejected 947 times in the past. You make yourself attractive, then you go to these places, then it might take months or years before someone decides they themselves are looking, and maybe you'd be a candidate.
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