Trans and Autism: A Common Overlap?

Non-binary, pansexual, and poly here 🙋🏻‍♀️🙋🏻‍♀️ as are most of my autistic friends. I'd say (like most others commenting here 😝) that this totally stems from the lack of feeling a need to assimilate to "society" or what people think, allowing us to explore those parts of ourselves better. I lack that rigidity in thought of "what's possible" and who I can or can't be.

Yep. Enby Austistic Person here. Identity is a portion of how you interact with the world. If your brain is as creatively diverse as the ocean floor creatures then parts are going to overlap and yet seem so contradicting.

Yuh!

I think it does. Me personally, I have autism and I identify as nonbinary for now, but all of my records and things say I'm male. I am a supporter of LGBT because I believe that whatever people want to do, I'm completely fine with. It's their choice, and I'm not stopping anyone. Although some people, including my parents, disagree with my thoughts about me being nonbinary and maybe even going further, I am free to make my own decisions.

Just speaking from my experience, but I think it might also might have to do with us feeling different to begin with. Like I already felt alienated from other people so when I started to feel like a girl the social consequences of being trans just didn’t seem to matter as much for me because people already think I’m weird and I’m aware of it. Like people treating me like a freak or something isn’t anything new to me, so might as well follow your heart, you know?

Yes! I am autistic and non-binary. (Meaning I don't identify as male or female)

I completely agree! I've also heard a lot of other autistics say the same thing. I believe part of it is not just us easily being able to reject social norms, but the fact that because of our unique thinking, we experience our own gender in a different way than allistic people would. I completely believe that is I weren't autistic I would have a totally different gender experience, but my gender is a part of who I am, and I wouldn't want to change that ever.

yeah! i went thru a lengthy gender exploration but ended up on "i identify with my birth gender but enjoy expressing myself in ways unaligned with a specific gender". i think its bc i think the social contruct part is stupid but dont really experience dysphoria (felt some pretty strong body dysmorphia that i needed to take some time to unpack, hence the thorough exploration phase)

yeah this is fully a fact! i believe autistic people are 6 times more likely than allistic people not not identify with their gender assigned at birth

i completely agree that there is an overlap, not just with being trans, but in the lgbt+ community. i identify as bisexual (and have been through the ringer with my gender identity ultimately deciding i just do not give a flip) and i think the rejection/lack of awareness of social norms in autism allows lgbt autistics to explore themselves more as they aren’t completely worried about what outsiders think because they already don’t worry about it.