There is abundant research on autism issues, but almost no research papers look into the representation of autistic women. Women are generally excluded from autistic medical research (D’Mello, 2022), and thus they are inaccurately portrayed in canonical autistic characters (Dean & Nordahl-Hansen, 2021). The gap between autistic women's existence in the real world and the lack of their recognition in the media landscape has led to the communities claiming some well-known characters as “headcanons”, representing said community (Shafee, 2021). Such characters exhibit autistic traits while being generally more intersectionally diverse, and provide relatable characters that are not reduced to their disability, and that do not fit into narrow boxes of cinematic tropes of disability representation. These characters frequently serve as role models, but misconceptions surrounding their identities can result in inaccurate portrayals, consequently contributing to the stigmatization of real-life autistic women (Maich & Belcher, 2014). As an autistic researcher of autism, I strive to comprehensively explore autistic behavioral traits exhibited by female characters in popular movies, especially those characters not explicitly labeled as autistic, and the diversity of the image that they create. By employing content analyses, intersectionality analyses, and analyses of narrative codes, the research aims to contribute to a more accurate understanding of autistic representation in popular filmography and its potential real-life implications, proving greater diversity in the representation of autistic women through headcanons.

Authors:
Maria Borzenko, European Humanities University, Lithuania

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Posted by Clive Staples Lewis

Last updated: 2023-02-23 23:45:00

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