Our May Live & Unfiltered: Autism, Identity & Institutional Shifts
Our take, years later - analyzing our own analysis!
Thank you to everyone who joined us for our May Live + Unfiltered discussion. We enjoyed seeing both old friends and new faces - your insights continue to shape our evolving group here in Substak.
This month, we revisited a foundational episode of Gender: A Wider Lens:
🎙️ Episode 17 – Autism & Gender Dysphoria
We had a lot of new thoughts, reflecting years later on this salient topic.
We also explored two major developments in the current landscape:
The new Texas bill, which requires insurers who cover “transition” to also cover after-care associated with regrets, complications, or detransition.
The recent HHS report, our version of the UK’s Cass Report, which reviewed all the current evidence on the treatment of Gender Dysphoria in Youth.
Some Highlights from the Conversation
💬 The Autism "Spectrum" and Its Consequences
Many of you reflected on how the broadening of the spectrum has washed out meaningful distinctions. For example, the collapse of Asperger's and classic autism has had real-world impacts on diagnosis, treatment, and parental guidance. Sasha talked about her years of working in the field of autism (before gender) and her experience with ABA therapy - which has recently become controversial with the rise of disability activism’s celebration of neurodivergence.
🎯 The Therapists Are Missing the Full Picture
Multiple parents voiced concern that their child’s therapist was either affirming too quickly or projecting inappropriate feelings onto the child, leaving many of you feeling heartbroken and sidelined.
🌀 Autism, Hyper-Focus & Gender Fixation
We heard again and again about teens and young adults hyper-fixating on gender identity after first leaning into an ADHD or autism label. For some, “transition” has been presented as the only “solution” to their pain, even when autism is the root issue. So could this be part “special interest” and part indoctrination?
📺 Online Influence, Mimicry, and Recycled Phrases
Whether it’s TikTok tics, Reddit scripts, or Sims 4 avatars with mastectomy scars, many of you are watching in real time how cultural narratives are shaping not just beliefs—but behaviors and identity. Starting online and spilling out in the real world.
💡 Somatic Awareness and Emotional Vocabulary
How can we help kids identify what they’re feeling, especially when they struggle to describe their emotions physically or relationally? Several parents shared experiences trying to build emotional literacy, sometimes with mixed results. This can be particularly challenging for kids with autism traits and diagnoses.
🧠 Empathy, Over-Attunement & Identity Diffusion
Some young people, especially those who are highly empathetic, may struggle to form separate identities from those around them. This led to some thought-provoking discussion about over-identification with others, becoming a “surrogate therapist” and identity fusion.
💣 What Will It Take for Institutions to Shift?
We discussed legal liability, media pressure, and institutional reputation—and what might actually force groups like the AAP or AMA to re-evaluate their positions. Jamie Reed, Lisa Selin Davis, and the groundswell of pushback came up.
📣 What Might We Talk About Next Month?
At the end of the event, we asked for your topic suggestions—and wow, what a list! Here are some of the ideas that stood out:
Wider personality traits of gender-questioning young adults—how they respond to challenge, how rigid/flexible they are in other areas
College-age and older kids—how to navigate “learning to adult” while parenting from a side angle
Gaming & pop culture influence—like Sims 4 adding mastectomy scars and how these visual cues affect teens
Institutional word games—like the AAP’s possible “reverse ferret” and morphing definitions of “affirming care”
FTM dating patterns—like heterosexual FTMs eventually forming relationships with other FTMs
If one of those jumped out at you—please drop us a comment and let us know!
📅 Don’t Miss the Next Live + Unfiltered
We’ll be back on Friday, June 6th at 5:00 pm ET for our next private event.
And yes—we’ll keep alternating times so that more of you can join live from around the world.
We’ll share the Google Meet link in a few weeks
🔗 Links Shared in the Chat
📖 The Age of Diagnosis by Suzanne O’Sullivan
📖 Sleeping Beauties: And Other Stories of Mystery Illness – also by Suzanne O’Sullivan
🎧 Pioneer Series interviews with Susan Bradley and Steensma and DeVries (who started “The Dutch Protocol” with puberty blockers, along with Peggy Cohen-Kettenis)
🎥 Bill Maher on tribal political thinking: Video Clip
📜 Texas bill write-up by Genspect: Genspect Substack
📰 Jennifer Block’s Article on Planned Parenthood, our biggest distributer of cross-sex hormones
⚖️ Gender Critical Law Society: Substack
🎓 Genspect’s College Support Project: college.genspect.org
As always, thank you for being part of this thoughtful, engaged community. We hope to see you in June—Live & Unfiltered.
With appreciation,
Sasha & Stella
College age and older please!
And institutional language games is such a huge part of manipulating the culture! This is so important. (‘Be kind, gender affirming CARE, inclusivity, reproductive rights, top surgery, able bodied, cis…) I recently saw a post on substack discussing an article written in a main stream outlet. In the main stream article, the phrase gender affirming Care was smoothly blurred to included REGULAR healthcare such as strep throat, for example. Because, you see, trans people will fear seeking out basic healthcare if they feel like the doctors will discriminate against them or not treat them based on their trans identity. Therefore we MUST support gender affirming care b/c really it is just regular, everyday healthcare.
This is a language game. Blur the lines. Confuse people who really do not care to know what is happening to kids. They count on good, kind liberals to do the work of normalizing gender identity and medical treatments on kids and young adults.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-daily/id1200361736?i=1000709561278
If you listen to the first intro to this episode, they are giving a call out for people who have been affected by gender affirming care, parents and kids, to create an episode. The normal listener of the show will be pro gender affirming care. We need to spread the message so they get lots of submissions from parents and kids who are against it and who it has harmed. Can you help spread the message?
They looking for short voice memos to be sent to genderstory@nytimes.com They’re asking for submissions by kids and parents with experience with GAC. How the recent govt actions have affected you and how do you feel about the future? They are curious about “where it came from who it was meant to help and how it became a political fight which would end it”
Spread the message! This could be our chance to tell our side of the story!!! Flood their inbox!