Sadly, many “gender critical” parents and mental health professionals don’t see it that way. Transphobic people often take the strong association between gender variance and Autism as a sign that we aren’t “really” trans, we’re “just” Autistic and confused.19 They presume Autistic people are un-self-aware and easily manipulated, and therefore shouldn’t be allowed to make decisions about our identities or what we do with our bodies.
