Beyond masking: how society shapes Autistic life
Autistic masking is complex, unconscious, and systemic. This article explores what it means to survive, adapt, and seek authenticity as an Autistic person.
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Autistic masking is complex, unconscious, and systemic. This article explores what it means to survive, adapt, and seek authenticity as an Autistic person.
Autistic masking is becoming a slightly more well-known phenomenon, but it often is discussed in a very black and white manner, lacking the nuance that the concept deserves. Whilst living in the society we do, it can sometimes feel unlikely that we could ever reach a fully unmasked version of ourselves.
Masking autism at its core is about autistic people presenting more like an allistic (non-autistic) person, generally done as a survival mechanism whilst living in an allistic & neurotypical society. This can include a huge number of aspects of our being, from hiding physical characteristics like forcing eye contact to changing how we speak, pretending to understand jokes, or scripting our conversations.
Masking can be both conscious or unconscious, and is a particularly exhausting and often traumatic experience. Sometimes it is more subtle than other times, or we may feel comfortable to peel back some layers and not others. It can often be a cause of autistic burnout or mental health crisis, and this is extremely common amongst unidentified autistic people who are not aware they are doing it.
In professional and medical circles, autistic masking is often referred to as “social camouflaging”. Whilst much of this can surround social and communicative aspects of being autistic, I feel that for most of us, masking or camouflaging goes beyond just how we socialize, and it can therefore feel like a term that downplays the extent of the way we mask.
For me, masking is more - it is how I cover over my sensory needs, tell doctors that no, I’m not having any side effects, how I interact with eating, and how my trauma intertwines with my autistic self.
Autism has always been put forward as a “social and communication condition” (formerly disorder). I am firmly of the belief that this is because these are the traits that can be seen externally, whilst those that are primarily internal are easily ignored, misunderstood and not given precedence in the diagnostic criterias nor assessment - our sensory systems being the primary example of this.
This is not to say that social and communication differences are not a part of being autistic - of course, for many, this is a core part of our experiences and a key part of how we interact with a world not built for us; a huge element of our masking especially. Nonetheless, it is important to see them as a part of a bigger picture.
In much of its media representation, masking is portrayed like a light switch, almost a physical mask that can simply be taken on and off; implying we simply come across as allistic in one moment and autistic once we get home and take the mask off.
For most of us, there is much more to it than this. The process of “unmasking” is long, achingly so, and includes a huge variety of layers, needs, and levels of understanding that we have not previously had. We may find it simple to start with some of the more obvious aspects of our masking - for example, not forcing eye contact, or wearing the clothes we want to rather than those which hide us away - but are still searching for our authentic, unmasked selves years into the journey.
And perhaps, this is because we cannot know who we are if we were fully unmasked. Society doesn’t allow for us to understand ourselves this way, in a capitalist and ableist system, and at a fundamental level we have been built to try to conform; masking neurodivergent traits is almost a version of survival of the fittest. This is particularly true for those who are multiply marginalized and especially those who are Black or from the global majority, who may feel extremely unsafe engaging with unmasking and being more “visibly” autistic.
To understand autistic masking, it is particularly important to understand just how often this is an unconscious practice. Whilst in some scenarios, I am aware I am masking certain aspects of myself, in many I do not realize until later in the day (if at all).
Sometimes it feels like I am slipping into the mask, my subconscious deciding that I need to protect myself or appear more like them. Other times, it can be when I’m in a certain place or with certain people.
It isn’t always about whether I believe that those around me will not accept me as who I am - it is simply built into my system, hardwired from years of not knowing I was doing it and not knowing about how my brain worked.
Dr Devon Price, the author of Unmasking Autism, talks in depth about society’s role in the ability of autistic people to be able to unmask, and that it is not only the responsibility of autistic individuals to engage in that process:
“Masking also obscures the fact that the world is massively inaccessible to us. If allistics never hear our needs voiced, and never see our struggle, they have no reason to adapt to include us. We must demand the treatment we deserve, and cease living to placate those who overlooked us.”
If we discuss unmasking, we need to discuss it within the context of how society has pushed us towards our masks and acknowledging that we have not been given the opportunity to find out who we could be. It is a product of the systems we live in, and those systems do not disappear when we are trying to engage in the unmasking process.
One of the most interesting parts of discussions of masking is that both being able to mask or being able to unmask can and are a privilege in different ways when it comes to being safe or being employable, for example. We must apply a heavy level of nuance when it comes to this topic, or we are doing it an injustice.
Autistic masking is complex, often hardwired. As individuals, many autistic people are working towards unpicking and uncovering their true selves behind their mask, but we must understand that there is deep complexity at hand. Within our society, it can feel almost impossible to peel back every single layer, and it can feel extremely difficult to stop the way that masking occurs unconsciously, no matter how hard we try.
Society needs deep change in order or autistic people to feel consistently able to be themselves, and to be given the space to find out what that actually means for them.
We've previously also explored masking in men and masking in women, so if you'd like to read about masking from a gender specific angle, then check out those articles.
Autistic masking is complex, unconscious, and systemic. This article explores what it means to survive, adapt, and seek authenticity as an Autistic person.
Autistic masking is becoming a slightly more well-known phenomenon, but it often is discussed in a very black and white manner, lacking the nuance that the concept deserves. Whilst living in the society we do, it can sometimes feel unlikely that we could ever reach a fully unmasked version of ourselves.
Masking autism at its core is about autistic people presenting more like an allistic (non-autistic) person, generally done as a survival mechanism whilst living in an allistic & neurotypical society. This can include a huge number of aspects of our being, from hiding physical characteristics like forcing eye contact to changing how we speak, pretending to understand jokes, or scripting our conversations.
Masking can be both conscious or unconscious, and is a particularly exhausting and often traumatic experience. Sometimes it is more subtle than other times, or we may feel comfortable to peel back some layers and not others. It can often be a cause of autistic burnout or mental health crisis, and this is extremely common amongst unidentified autistic people who are not aware they are doing it.
In professional and medical circles, autistic masking is often referred to as “social camouflaging”. Whilst much of this can surround social and communicative aspects of being autistic, I feel that for most of us, masking or camouflaging goes beyond just how we socialize, and it can therefore feel like a term that downplays the extent of the way we mask.
For me, masking is more - it is how I cover over my sensory needs, tell doctors that no, I’m not having any side effects, how I interact with eating, and how my trauma intertwines with my autistic self.
Autism has always been put forward as a “social and communication condition” (formerly disorder). I am firmly of the belief that this is because these are the traits that can be seen externally, whilst those that are primarily internal are easily ignored, misunderstood and not given precedence in the diagnostic criterias nor assessment - our sensory systems being the primary example of this.
This is not to say that social and communication differences are not a part of being autistic - of course, for many, this is a core part of our experiences and a key part of how we interact with a world not built for us; a huge element of our masking especially. Nonetheless, it is important to see them as a part of a bigger picture.
In much of its media representation, masking is portrayed like a light switch, almost a physical mask that can simply be taken on and off; implying we simply come across as allistic in one moment and autistic once we get home and take the mask off.
For most of us, there is much more to it than this. The process of “unmasking” is long, achingly so, and includes a huge variety of layers, needs, and levels of understanding that we have not previously had. We may find it simple to start with some of the more obvious aspects of our masking - for example, not forcing eye contact, or wearing the clothes we want to rather than those which hide us away - but are still searching for our authentic, unmasked selves years into the journey.
And perhaps, this is because we cannot know who we are if we were fully unmasked. Society doesn’t allow for us to understand ourselves this way, in a capitalist and ableist system, and at a fundamental level we have been built to try to conform; masking neurodivergent traits is almost a version of survival of the fittest. This is particularly true for those who are multiply marginalized and especially those who are Black or from the global majority, who may feel extremely unsafe engaging with unmasking and being more “visibly” autistic.
To understand autistic masking, it is particularly important to understand just how often this is an unconscious practice. Whilst in some scenarios, I am aware I am masking certain aspects of myself, in many I do not realize until later in the day (if at all).
Sometimes it feels like I am slipping into the mask, my subconscious deciding that I need to protect myself or appear more like them. Other times, it can be when I’m in a certain place or with certain people.
It isn’t always about whether I believe that those around me will not accept me as who I am - it is simply built into my system, hardwired from years of not knowing I was doing it and not knowing about how my brain worked.
Dr Devon Price, the author of Unmasking Autism, talks in depth about society’s role in the ability of autistic people to be able to unmask, and that it is not only the responsibility of autistic individuals to engage in that process:
“Masking also obscures the fact that the world is massively inaccessible to us. If allistics never hear our needs voiced, and never see our struggle, they have no reason to adapt to include us. We must demand the treatment we deserve, and cease living to placate those who overlooked us.”
If we discuss unmasking, we need to discuss it within the context of how society has pushed us towards our masks and acknowledging that we have not been given the opportunity to find out who we could be. It is a product of the systems we live in, and those systems do not disappear when we are trying to engage in the unmasking process.
One of the most interesting parts of discussions of masking is that both being able to mask or being able to unmask can and are a privilege in different ways when it comes to being safe or being employable, for example. We must apply a heavy level of nuance when it comes to this topic, or we are doing it an injustice.
Autistic masking is complex, often hardwired. As individuals, many autistic people are working towards unpicking and uncovering their true selves behind their mask, but we must understand that there is deep complexity at hand. Within our society, it can feel almost impossible to peel back every single layer, and it can feel extremely difficult to stop the way that masking occurs unconsciously, no matter how hard we try.
Society needs deep change in order or autistic people to feel consistently able to be themselves, and to be given the space to find out what that actually means for them.
We've previously also explored masking in men and masking in women, so if you'd like to read about masking from a gender specific angle, then check out those articles.
Autistic masking is complex, unconscious, and systemic. This article explores what it means to survive, adapt, and seek authenticity as an Autistic person.
Autistic masking is becoming a slightly more well-known phenomenon, but it often is discussed in a very black and white manner, lacking the nuance that the concept deserves. Whilst living in the society we do, it can sometimes feel unlikely that we could ever reach a fully unmasked version of ourselves.
Masking autism at its core is about autistic people presenting more like an allistic (non-autistic) person, generally done as a survival mechanism whilst living in an allistic & neurotypical society. This can include a huge number of aspects of our being, from hiding physical characteristics like forcing eye contact to changing how we speak, pretending to understand jokes, or scripting our conversations.
Masking can be both conscious or unconscious, and is a particularly exhausting and often traumatic experience. Sometimes it is more subtle than other times, or we may feel comfortable to peel back some layers and not others. It can often be a cause of autistic burnout or mental health crisis, and this is extremely common amongst unidentified autistic people who are not aware they are doing it.
In professional and medical circles, autistic masking is often referred to as “social camouflaging”. Whilst much of this can surround social and communicative aspects of being autistic, I feel that for most of us, masking or camouflaging goes beyond just how we socialize, and it can therefore feel like a term that downplays the extent of the way we mask.
For me, masking is more - it is how I cover over my sensory needs, tell doctors that no, I’m not having any side effects, how I interact with eating, and how my trauma intertwines with my autistic self.
Autism has always been put forward as a “social and communication condition” (formerly disorder). I am firmly of the belief that this is because these are the traits that can be seen externally, whilst those that are primarily internal are easily ignored, misunderstood and not given precedence in the diagnostic criterias nor assessment - our sensory systems being the primary example of this.
This is not to say that social and communication differences are not a part of being autistic - of course, for many, this is a core part of our experiences and a key part of how we interact with a world not built for us; a huge element of our masking especially. Nonetheless, it is important to see them as a part of a bigger picture.
In much of its media representation, masking is portrayed like a light switch, almost a physical mask that can simply be taken on and off; implying we simply come across as allistic in one moment and autistic once we get home and take the mask off.
For most of us, there is much more to it than this. The process of “unmasking” is long, achingly so, and includes a huge variety of layers, needs, and levels of understanding that we have not previously had. We may find it simple to start with some of the more obvious aspects of our masking - for example, not forcing eye contact, or wearing the clothes we want to rather than those which hide us away - but are still searching for our authentic, unmasked selves years into the journey.
And perhaps, this is because we cannot know who we are if we were fully unmasked. Society doesn’t allow for us to understand ourselves this way, in a capitalist and ableist system, and at a fundamental level we have been built to try to conform; masking neurodivergent traits is almost a version of survival of the fittest. This is particularly true for those who are multiply marginalized and especially those who are Black or from the global majority, who may feel extremely unsafe engaging with unmasking and being more “visibly” autistic.
To understand autistic masking, it is particularly important to understand just how often this is an unconscious practice. Whilst in some scenarios, I am aware I am masking certain aspects of myself, in many I do not realize until later in the day (if at all).
Sometimes it feels like I am slipping into the mask, my subconscious deciding that I need to protect myself or appear more like them. Other times, it can be when I’m in a certain place or with certain people.
It isn’t always about whether I believe that those around me will not accept me as who I am - it is simply built into my system, hardwired from years of not knowing I was doing it and not knowing about how my brain worked.
Dr Devon Price, the author of Unmasking Autism, talks in depth about society’s role in the ability of autistic people to be able to unmask, and that it is not only the responsibility of autistic individuals to engage in that process:
“Masking also obscures the fact that the world is massively inaccessible to us. If allistics never hear our needs voiced, and never see our struggle, they have no reason to adapt to include us. We must demand the treatment we deserve, and cease living to placate those who overlooked us.”
If we discuss unmasking, we need to discuss it within the context of how society has pushed us towards our masks and acknowledging that we have not been given the opportunity to find out who we could be. It is a product of the systems we live in, and those systems do not disappear when we are trying to engage in the unmasking process.
One of the most interesting parts of discussions of masking is that both being able to mask or being able to unmask can and are a privilege in different ways when it comes to being safe or being employable, for example. We must apply a heavy level of nuance when it comes to this topic, or we are doing it an injustice.
Autistic masking is complex, often hardwired. As individuals, many autistic people are working towards unpicking and uncovering their true selves behind their mask, but we must understand that there is deep complexity at hand. Within our society, it can feel almost impossible to peel back every single layer, and it can feel extremely difficult to stop the way that masking occurs unconsciously, no matter how hard we try.
Society needs deep change in order or autistic people to feel consistently able to be themselves, and to be given the space to find out what that actually means for them.
We've previously also explored masking in men and masking in women, so if you'd like to read about masking from a gender specific angle, then check out those articles.
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