disability
Double Rainbow: Parent Guides, Part 2
It was inevitable that I would come down pretty hard on these books, but in my frustration I left out an important point: These guides are not “disgusting” works of bigotry. They’re unassuming parenting guides right off the “Children with Special Needs” shelf of a... Read more »
Double Rainbow: Parent Guides, Part 1
In this post and my next one, I’m taking a look at a selection of four parents’ guides on autism and Asperger syndrome, to see how sex, sexuality, and gender are addressed. This is not a book review, but an overview of how these topics are presented in literature intended for parents of... Read more »
Double Rainbow: Autism and Masculinity
I’ve touched upon the construction of autistic masculinity and the construction of autism as inherently masculine a few times already in this series. In this post, I’d like to take a little bit of a closer look at the relationship between autism and masculinity.
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Double Rainbow: Valentine's Day Fluff
Happy Valentine’s Day!
I have a pathetic affection for this holiday. Sure, it’s a grossly problematic event dedicated to perpetuating the cultural ideal of heterosexual monogamy via capitalistic consumption. But—thanks to social conditioning too relentless and insidious for me to resist... Read more »
Double Rainbow: Deconstructing "The Geek Syndrome"
Eleven years ago, an article in Wired magazine helped establish the reputation of Asperger’s as “the geek syndrome.” As the condition has become more prominent in the popular imagination, it has acquired a close... Read more »
Double Rainbow: Asperger's and Girls Part 2: "Boys, fashion, shopping, movies, and music"
That’s what little girls are made of, apparently.
In my last post, I took a look at the book Asperger’s and Girls, a collection of essays that attempt to address the needs and concerns about... Read more »
Double Rainbow: Asperger's and Girls
In my last post, I critiqued a chapter of Tony Attwood’s The Complete Guide to Asperger’s Syndrome. Now I’m taking a look at Asperger’s and Girls, a slim collection of essays in which... Read more »
Double Rainbow: Tony Attwood tells us to "make lemonade."
Well, he tells non-autistic people to make lemonade, specifically. Guess who the “lemons” are in this metaphor.
Popular fiction both shapes and reflects cultural attitudes. In a previous post, I picked... Read more »
Double Rainbow: Autism vs. Asperger Syndrome
There has been disagreement among researchers and diagnosticians about whether the two diagnostic labels really represent distinct conditions since Asperger syndrome first became its own recognized and “official” diagnostic category. There are multiple sets of diagnostic criteria for Asperger... Read more »
Double Rainbow: Snow Cake
Snow Cake is a 2006 independent drama starring Alan Rickman and Sigourney Weaver. Shortly after Rickman’s character picks up a young hitch-hiker, he is in a sudden, brutal accident and the girl is killed. Paralyzed by guilt, he tries to reconcile with the girl’s mother,... Read more »
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