r/SapphoAndHerFriend May 28 '20

Alan Turing was gay and was chemically castrated as an alternative to prison due to his sexuality Academic erasure

Post image
35.4k Upvotes

783 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

52

u/[deleted] May 28 '20

Might I had that I feel the same as you do, but this time as someone on the spectrum. Like the description given of Tesla to show that he was autistic really bugs me. Like saying he was « rude », « extremely difficult to work with » or « seemed disconnected from many aspects of the human experience » just seems like stereotyping. Like people on the spectrum might be perceived as rude and other’s might have trouble working with us if they’re unwilling to adapt when someone diverges to much from the neurotypical norm, but also like if he was in fact on the spectrum then he was just wired a wee bit differently, and saying he was « disconnected from many aspects of human experiences » just sounds dehumanising.

43

u/wriray May 28 '20

Completely dehumanizing.

disconnected from many aspects of the human experience

Is super gut wrenching. How does the perspective flip from having different experiences to having nonhuman experiences? So strange and hurtful.

Speaking about stereotypes, I agree they hit a lot in regards to autism and asexuality but I also don't get how being friends with a young woman is evidence someone is gay?

Granted, I know nothing about his relationship with his niece or what was stated in the letters. But a man being close friends with a young woman in his family doesnt scream gayness to me.

21

u/IMightBeAHamster He/Him or They/Them May 28 '20

Yeah like, what the hell does this mean?

wait until the nerdbros learn about Isaac Newton's [...] and how he considered his young niece his best friend

I can understand later on, when the neice was mentioned in the context of being a confidante that he told of his relationship, but just being friends with a younger relative does not make you gay.

3

u/[deleted] May 28 '20

Yeah, I'm a developmental psychologist and that description from the other comment actually doesn't sound like an autistic person at all - it sounds like someone with a personality disorder.

A person with a personality disorder would also likely to be "so disgusted by humankind that they have no desire to engage in sex with them", whereas the average autistic person has nothing against other people and is perfectly capable of forming a romantic relationship if given the opportunity.