I thought it might be helpful to have a little Q&A, so here it is.
Q. Why did you start this blog?
A. I wrote a little about that here. Essentially, I heard about a few autistic zines, wanted to find more, and couldn’t find a list anywhere. So I did a bit of research and wrote one, and then started chucking posts up on the blog cause it seemed like a vaguely useful thing to do.
Q. Is the author of this blog autistic?
A. Yep.
Q. What’s their name?
A. I prefer to be a little bit anonymous really.
Q. Why do you use the term “autistic person/people”, not “person/people with autism”?
A. This is an example of the identity-first vs. person-first language debate. I actively choose to refer to myself as an autistic person for reasons outlined by others here and here. This convention is overwhelmingly supported by the autistic community in the UK as evidenced by a number of polls and surveys. However I accept that different stakeholders have other views and I would certainly change my language in an individual post if the zine maker themself requested it. The most important thing is to use the language that the person prefers. (Side note: In the UK people who experience disability generally prefer to be called “disabled people” rather than the person-first alternative.)
Q. What’s the deal with the pronouns?
A. There’s some evidence to suggest that gender expression varies more in the autistic population than in the mainstream, so in autistic spaces it becomes especially important to try not to assume someone’s gender identity based on their name or appearance. As such I will generally refer to people as “they/them/their” rather than “she/her/hers” or the male equivalents unless I am sure of the person’s preference otherwise. In practice I’ll probably just stick to using gender-neutral pronouns because it’s less work and a good chance to practice the habit. At first I found it a bit awkward but having read up on the history of the “singular they”, met a number of nonbinary and trans people, and come to understand a little of violence they experience when misgendered, it really seems like the compassionate choice.
Q. A lot of these zines talk about queerness, trans people, unusual gender identities and so on. What’s your position in all that?
A. As far as I’m aware I’m a relatively white heterosexual man. Not only that but a bog-standard cisgender man too. It feels a bit uncomfortable actually – to be writing these posts about the work of people who suffer oppressions that I don’t, so I’m trying to be as sensitive and thoughtful as possible.
Q. Isn’t it a bit morally treacherous making a list of ‘autistic zines’?
A. Well, yes, it does feel weird. And I’d really like to know what people think about it from a moral/ethical perspective. Not only due to issues around outing, but also segregation, stereotyping, categorising – all sorts of weird tensions. But the thing is – autistic culture is a thing – it’s out there. And zines made by autistic people are a part of that culture, so why not make it slightly easier for people to find them, as long as the maker is out or explicitly mentions autism? What do you think?
Q. Would you take down posts if the zine-maker requested it?
A. Yes, that seems like the only reasonable and kind option.
Q. Is this is single most important and authoritative source on the subject of autistic zines on the whole Internet?
A. Nah. I don’t know. I’ll probably abandon it soon anyway.
Autistic Zines 