I don’t like being referred to as a “person with autism”. I can’t just set it down, it’s not something I can remove. It is fundamental to the way I interact with the world, right down to how stim enters my brain. If my brain has types of inputs no allistic person can even approach, and methods of processing inherently different, it is an existence no allistic person can reach. There is no version of me that is not autistic.
A “cure” is the same as shooting me and replacing me with someone else.
The type of person I am is autistic. I am autistic.
I know it is a big trend in leftist spaces to use person first language, but in many situations that just sounds like eugenics to me. Personhood is not some distinct universal experience. There is no “ideal human mind” floating out there in the aether for them to recognize in me.
I get that person first language helps some people recognize that thoughts happen behind my eyes, but if the only way they can do that is by imagining I’m them, I don’t care.
personally, I don’t mind “person with autism.” To me, implication you ascribe to it seems like one that isn’t necessarily inherent to the text, but I understand your problem with the phrase.
interesting that you even prefer “autist,” I’d bristle at the term.
My only experience hearing the term “autist” used was from channers, so it gives me bad vibes as well.
If an allistic person calls me an autist, i’d be sus as hell, and want to know what their views are towards autistic people. But I don’t like the idea that we shouldn’t use certain terms to describe ourselves because of ablistic bigots using the term as a pejorative. I use the term autistic, rather than autist, and it recently sparked a convo with my mom where she was explaining to me that the term has a negative connotation. But my position on that is similar to the T slur: I get to say it and other trans people do (respectfully ofc) but I don’t wanna see cis people throwing it around.