3:21am January 4, 2014

➸ Body as a Second Language: Navigating Queer Girl Culture on the Autism Spectrum

nicocoer:

“For me, reading and speaking body language is like communicating in any foreign language — I concentrate hard, stumble, and make embarrassing errors. Turns out other queer autistic people have thi…

So my theory as to why I’ve been in relationships with more man folks than lady folks is that cishet men are encouraged to be less subtle and more direct in their advances- where as ladies, particularly those who are into ladies, are encouraged to be more subtle… And I therefore end up missing signals more easily. So though I generally like feminine folks of any gender more, I end up seeing more guys. :-/ 

Yep I’ve been in 1.25 relationships with guys even though I’m not even into guys. Meanwhile I’ve been in only one relationship with a woman, even though women and nonbinary people are my preferred genders.

The original article is really interesting.

One time I went into a gay bar. It was loud and noisy and I hate being around drunk people. Then a woman kept making steady eye contact with me…. And I jumped under the table.

Another time, a lesbian kept telling me I was cute, and she gave me her phone number. I never called it.

In a mental institution as teens, there was this girl who followed me around and did everything I did and was really focused on me. But only ten years later did I figure out why she kept telling me that she was bisexual… She had a crush on me.

I’m not incapable of understanding body language. In fact I can be rather good at it. But the body language I read is not the body language most people read, and there are large gaps in my comprehension.

But I know that differences in reading body language have played into my relationships and lack thereof.

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