Aspies For Freedom

Amen!

Oh, and I'm bi.

I remember when I first started going on the scene heavily, I used to go around telling everyone how shallow they were and how much i hated them, looking back I now think that this was probably not appropriate.

I used to love clubbing, though all I ever did was dance all night. I guess in hindsight this is quite weird.

I came out when I was 18, but only recently have been diagnosed as having Asperger's Syndrome. I think the main reason for this is that I always thought I was different because I was gay, this has turned out not to be the case.

I would be mortified to be told I was normal.

Hi ! I'm gay too  :grin:

zoot zoot zoot, I'm gay too!  :smile:

Unfortunately, I'm in a completely different environment than I was a few months ago. Back when I was in high school, I became good friends with this one girl, and so I came out to her (about being gay.) After that, it became easier and easier each time. Now I'm in college, and I feel like I've been plopped back in to 7th grade again--trying to make friends and being in the closet at the same time. It is very stressful. The first day here, some dork wore an ugly pink t-shirt that said "got tolerance?" and after that, he has been pretty isolated. I'm not sure if that is because of homophobia here, or if it's because people just think he is weird because of his ugly clothing.

The gay community can be predatory and also extremely difficult to negotiate. I had one experience where (in retrospect) someone clearly thought that they were negotiating something sexual, while I naively had failed to realise this - and didn't want any such thing with this person.

I first went out on the scene in Manchester, where I had my first ever date at age 26. Aside from events such as the one above, it was generally very safe. I was lucky to have some counselling from the local gay centre, who were able to eventually connect me with a snall social grounp that organised evening trips in the village.

I do not think that this is a good way for someone with AS to find a partner. Dangers aside, the bars/clubs are noisy, chaotic, crowded and about as close to an aspie-hell as could be invisaged. In the end I met my partner through someone I knew from work, and were I looking now I would probably risk on-line sites rather than the mainstream gay scene.

I am a 100% straight male.

As all of you know, Asperger's syndrome bears  certain attitudes which Prof Simon Cohen describes as "Extreme-Male traits". So, at least Aspergers does not disrupt my sexual orientation, i mean, my sex is extreme hetero (male) ... so it matches quite fine with Aspergers.

But how about you guys who are claiming yourselves bi-sexuals and homos? I mean, how does Aspergers affect your sexual-orientations? I'm afraid it does not really fit ....

I definitely agree with this. Aspergers and homosexuality are independent traits, although there are some intriguing suggestions of potential common causes of the conditions in some people (for example, both conditions have been linked to exposure to high testosterone levels while in the womb).

I don't think that it is helpful to worry about either condition leading to discrimination later in life. The main difficulties in both cases are largely the result how other people react to you and how you are treated by them. But equally, being different carries its own set of unique strengths and advantages.

My own experience is that being gay seems not really to be an issue. Sometimes other people behave strangely when they first find out, but this seldom lasts and mostly it seems to be a non-issue.

In contrast, I find that AS communication issues are more problematic. People seem to be able to accomodate general peculiarities (such as the need to avoid over stimulation), but the communication problems do not seem to change. This is the single most difficult problem for me as it affects my relationship and my work every single day.

What a strange thread. I always though that this kind of gossipy concern for the lifestyles of other people was very much an NT perspective on life...

Life would be a lot more pleasant if people simply respected each other and did not try to impose their religions, 'morals' or other personal problems on others.

Are you sure you are gay? I mean, as you surely know, AS (compared to NT) is a pro-male condition ... in the sense that most of AS characteristics are what is socially perceived as being extreme male (of the NT type).

This means that ALL Aspies (irrespective to their physical gender and sexual likes / dislikes) tend to be "boyish" (.... in comparison with the male versus female NT differentiation).

So, ocampo, could it be that you're classifying yourself as a lesbian because of your strong AS traits? Why don't you talk IN DEPTH with some NT-lesbians to see (= to verify) if you are really so (or not)?

Don't get me wrong! If you're indeed a lesbian, that's fine .... but since AS is the way it is, i think you'ld be doing the right thing to re-examine your classifications of yourself !

This post has really shocked me!

Ocampo, i swear that it was not my intention to be offensive!
Yes, i am a heterosexual male (coz i happened to be so ... i could have been otherwise and i still would have been glad with myself).
Believe me, i do NOT under-estimate or devalue gay-persons. You misunderstood me! I respect gays as much as i respect anyone and everyone.

I never said that Aspies cannot be homo. Who am i to state such a scientific point?!
I simply said that since AS is pro-male, there could be an overlap between AS-hetero-female and NT-lesbian. Just that!

PS: I adjusted the italics part of your post!

LG is Goldstar Corporation's new name !!

What personal attacks, exactly? I didn't say anyone was a coward. I shall explain.

The original was on this thread: Aspies & Autism, a mismatched Affair?

There is a view that, sooner or later, there will be a pre-natal test for autism.

logicalconclusion says that, in order to avoid the abortion of those autistics diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, Aspies should cease to support other autistics.

I called that tactic cowardice. Not sticking up for people to avoid a similar fate is cowardice.

He called non-aspie autists 'poop smearers'.

THAT is offensive. Will you call him out on that?

I have not once told him not to post - but, just as you have requested of others before, I have asked him to stop being unpleasant to other people. Or did you not actually read his posts, or my responses?

I wasn't offending you - you were not even joining in the debate at the time. I am not going to allow someone to offend others here just in case you find my defense of them offensive.

I did not call him a troll - my actual words were asking him not to turn into a troll:

Just to make this clear - you asked me for a response. This is it. I am not abusing you or anyone else. And I would be grateful if you would stop pretending that there is some kind of gang picking on you just because not everybody here always agrees with you.

I agree you have a right to an opinion, and many here, including me, would be very grateful if you were to post it. You are often very insightful!

So, as this is the Gay and Aspie thread do you think, as logicalconclusion put it, that:

Hi Zoe700!

WELCOME
to AFF!

Yeah, me. I'm gay and an aspie and happy about it! (If you don't recognize it, my FAVORITE Pokemon is Jigglypuff which is pink and I rather like the color pink!)

http://www.oasismag.com is also another good website for GLTB people to be themselves!