Deep Special Interests and the Importance of Data Collection

We are celebrating the month of Pride - and specifically Autistic Pride on this episode of The Autistic Culture Podcast where Autistic hosts, Dr. Angela Lauria and Matt Lowry, LPP, delve into the captivating topics of sex, gender, and sexuality.

The podcast hosts discuss the life and work of with Autistic scientist, Alfred Kinsey, a groundbreaking researcher who studied human sexuality in the 1940s-1950s. Kinsey had many Autistic traits, like intense focus on special interests, bottom-up processing, love of data collection, and a desire to challenge societal norms and uncover truths.

“He talks about the love of data acquisition.  He talks about the love of displaying and organizing and lining things up to perfection--as I line up my lightsaber crystals in front of me as we talk. This is the way of our people.” –Matt

Kinsey conducted over 18,000 interviews about people's sexual histories and published groundbreaking research that challenged conservative Victorian attitudes about sex. He developed the Kinsey scale rating people's sexuality from exclusively heterosexual to exclusively homosexual.

Kinsey’s mental health suffered when he faced backlash and was called a communist for his work, showing how Autistic individuals are often marginalized. His advocacy for sexual openness and justice and volunteering in prisons, further demonstrate Autistic culture.

His findings that sexuality exists on a spectrum foreshadowed modern understanding of gender and sexual diversity. Recent research has confirmed Autistic people are more likely to reject binary notions of sexuality and gender.

Kinsey died young, likely due to Autistic burnout and heartbreak—demonstrating why Autistic life-expectancy is so low.

“He dies of pneumonia, but I think of like Autistic heartbreak…which I totally get. In the meantime, however, he does change the world.” —Angela

On this week’s virtual culture trip, Autistic hosts emphasize the need to celebrate Autistic culture and strengths like intense focus, honesty, and data-driven thinking, rather than pathologizing differences. They criticize flawed diagnostic criteria and arguments against LGBTQ+ identities.

Tune in to this episode for a deep dive into the captivating world of Autism, sex, and sexuality. It’s gonna be a hot one! Happy Pride!

Are you proudly Autistic and Queer? Tell us in the comments!

* Alfred Kinsey: Asperger disorder

* Matt’s Reframing of DSM Autism Criteria

* Christiane Rudolph’s research on Autistics and sexual orientation in Stockholm.

Related episodes…Episode 07: Apple is Autistic, Episode 24: The Trouble with Temple, Episode 15: Greta is Autistic

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