this post was submitted on 05 Sep 2023
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Autism
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I don't know about the other people involved in this discussion, as I know that obsessive interests are part of different communities, but I am someone who studies languages and word meanings.
The information that I am sharing is not my perspective. Those words do have that context in common spoken English in the year 2023.
That would not have been the case many decades ago, but the word "identify" tends to be used ironically and sarcastically and with derision. It doesn't matter if the word is used by itself or paired with the word "self".
I'll point out the definitions on Urban Dictionary, to point this out(and not just on the first page, but on pages beyond that):
https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=identify
Insisting that people who have not been professionally diagnosed use "self-identified" will lead to even more bullying and social abuse from neurotypical people who already use that context when trying to justify their bullying and social abuse.
"Self-assessed" would be a phrase which is more exact and does not have that additional context of being tied to groups that have been targeted for bullying and social abuse.
Most of us here don't seem to hear it that way so I don't think it's so cut and dry. I know, you study word meanings, but I'm a descriptivist, and if enough people take a certain meaning from it then that's what it means to me.
The issue is not what meaning we(those of us who are autistic) take from it. The issue is that the people who will bully will use it as further justification to bully and to socially abuse people.
Maybe this is region dependant? Or maybe a thing in online spaces? Because in my experience, in real life interactions, for example, I've heard case workers refer to an individual as someone who identifies with a disability rather than saying a disabled person. And this is a more recent change and I actually appreciated as instead of saying something about the person it makes it about what they feel and gives them power and autonomy.
I understand and sympathize with how it can be weaponized against trans people but that's not the universal experience and not the connotation I get from it. Agree to disagree, and I will consider your point of view in the future when using the term. Thank you.
Also, I'm not diagnosed autistic, but I'm pretty sure I've self-something'd it