Autistic people are a lot more likely than the neurotypical population to identify as transgender — something I personally chalk up to us having a keener eye for social norms that make no sense (the gender binary being no exception). As an autistic trans person who has to deal with the social repercussions of both these parts of myself, I have noticed how society is built not only to prioritize cisgender neurotypical people, but to actively shun those who don’t fit in either category in very similar ways.

For many trans people, passing as their desired gender is a daily effort that requires them to perform gender roles almost to an extreme and uncomfortable point. We have to think very carefully about each social interaction and analyze not only our physical appearances, but our tone of voice and how we carry our bodies to align more with society’s idea of what our gender is supposed to look like physically manifested. Passing also isn’t possible for some trans people for a variety of reasons. They could fail to have a binary gender identity of “man” or “woman” that is widely accepted, they could have physical conditions that prevent them from undergoing hormones or surgeries, said hormones/surgeries still could not be “enough” for them to pass for everyone in every scenario, and the list goes on. Some trans people don’t even want or care to pass! (it is important to point out that cis people also have the capacity to be misgendered because of the social nature of gender, but trans people face the brunt of this phenomenon and the most harm because of it)

Now let me rephrase this exact paragraph, just with some different nouns plugged in:

For many autistic people, masking to appear neurotypical is a daily effort that requires them to perform social roles almost to an extreme and uncomfortable point. We have to think very carefully about each social interaction and analyze not only our physical appearances, but our tone of voice and how we carry our bodies to align more with society’s idea of what proper social etiquette is supposed to look like physically manifested. Masking also isn’t possible for some autistic people for a variety of reasons depending on the scenario and their support needs. Some autistic people don’t even want or care to mask because of the harm it can cause! It is important to point out that neurotypical people also have the capacity to be socially misunderstood and shunned for nebulous reasons, but autistic people face the brunt of this phenomenon and the most harm because of it.

While they aren’t entirely comparable and there are real differences between them that make them deserving of their own communities and activism, I do find comfort in knowing there are many trans people who are autistic like me, and vice versa. The ways in which people are oppressed for going against social structures of interaction and embodiment are more similar than we often give them credit for.