There’s a fine line between representation and objectification when it comes to the portrayal of neurodivergent traits in women in the media. I was scrolling through social media the other day and saw a tweet that reminded me just how much women are objectified for doing absolutely anything- including existing with neurodivergent minds. The tweet (posted by a man) simply read: “there’s something so attractive about a girl who doesn’t know what’s going on ever.” Of course, my immediate response as someone who would frequently be seen as the “girl who doesn’t know what’s going on” due to my disability was to compose a snappy retort along the lines of:
“There’s something so attractive about people who don’t take advantage of the power differential between neurotypical men and neurodivergent women by reducing neurodivergent traits to a facet of sexual desirability so as to exploit the differences in neurotypes, gender, and corresponding societal inequalities for personal gain…” Though I must admit, it didn’t roll off the tongue quite as easily as the original tweet, I believe it got my point across nevertheless. After I had gotten that out of my system, I began to think about the all-too-common media “trend” of objectifying neurodivergent women, as well as the societal fascination with the archetype of the young, female protagonist who struggles to navigate a world that most neurotypical adults can move through with relative ease. These fictional women seem to have been created in part for the purpose of eliciting feelings of sympathy, endearment, and amusement from viewers, as well as perhaps having the added effect of giving neurotypical people a way to feel a bit better about themselves knowing that they would never be so “naïve” and “confused” as to make such mistakes. It’s the perfect combination of ableism and misogyny to appeal to those who enjoy both stories of seemingly “powerless” women AND media that furthers the disempowerment of neurodivergent individuals (and corresponding elevation of neurotypical minds). While the entire country is finding entertainment in the fictional stories of women who struggle with conforming to social norms, navigating employment or education, and figuring out how to complete other necessary life tasks, real-life neurodivergent women are experiencing high rates of mental illness, suicide attempts, and sexual violence while also watching the world laugh at our everyday struggles. This is not to say that all media needs to show the dark side of life with a disability, but rather that we need more portrayals of strong, multi-dimensional neurodivergent women as well as more representation of neurodivergent traits that are normalized in the context of the plot, rather than being used as jokes or punchlines.
Let’s first look at two popular Netflix series: The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and New Girl. If we look at the protagonists in these shows, both are women who struggle with understanding social conventions and with navigating foundational aspects of adult life. In the case of Jess from New Girl, her “quirks” and mistakes specifically function as a source of entertainment for her male roommates and we as viewers are invited to see her behavior from their point of view before we are let into Jess’ own perspectives. This is only one example of the many ways that neurodivergent women are frequently objectified or reduced to a narrow set of stereotypical assumptions in ways that farther marginalize us and present barriers to success in our social lives, careers, and educations.
Another element of neurodivergent female representation that both New Girl and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt exemplify is the problematic reality that when it comes to neurodivergent women, the line between “quirky” and “weird” exits in accordance with presumed judgements of conventional desirability as well as expected adherence to oppressive and unrealistic societal beauty standards for women. For example, Kimmy Schmidt frequently misuses or mispronounces words and makes seemingly “uninformed” decisions (like bringing a backpack with 20,000 dollars into a crowded club and then losing it) yet her mistakes come off as niave, cute, relatable, and endearing. Seeing as both Kimmy and Jess are played by thin, white, conventionally attractive, young women, viewers have to ask ourselves: had we seen an individual living in a less societally privileged body make the same mistakes, would the errors in question elicit the same kind of sympathy? Of course two different people could have different perceptions or interpretations of the same TV show, but when we look at the ways that the shows’ writers positioned Kimmy and Jess as being sympathetic and lovable lead characters throughout the two series, we can see that the contexts clearly point to strategic appeals to societal biases regarding physical appearance and the corresponding beliefs surrounding the social acceptability of neurodivergent-coded individuals according to other various social identities. When detached from the elevation that comes with youth and desirability, the neurodivergent traits exhibited by Jess and Kimmy are frequently viewed as weaknesses and character flaws in real life, yet when masked by more highly valued characteristics, the narratives that invite amusement at the expense of neurodivergent individuals are hidden beneath the guise of aesthetic appeal as defined by a patriarchal worldview. For this same reason, a woman who is viewed as “quirky” will likely be met with affection, while a woman who is seen as “weird” may face ridicule and dehumanizing treatment.
To illustrate this, let’s look at the portrayal of neurodivergent-coded women in a third TV show: The Middle. While The Middle attempts to portray neurodivergent characters in a semi-positive light, the representation is not without problems. Though there is much I could say about the two brothers in the family, let’s look at two of the neurodivergent-coded female main characters: Sue, the sweet and enthusiastic middle child in the family, and Ashley (who is actually jokingly referred to as “weird Ashley” throughout the series), a woman who the oldest brother mistakenly asks to prom. Though both women exhibit neurodivergent-coded characteristics, Sue’s difficulties with spacial awareness as well as with social situations are framed by the presumed implication of relatability, while Ashley’s character seems to have been written with the specific goal of inviting audience amusement (and perhaps a bit of discomfort) at her expense. In other words, the writers’ manipulation of audience feelings towards these two characters seems to be strategically steering us in the direction of relating to Sue but distancing ourselves from Ashley. Whether intentional or not, this distancing tactic contributes to the stigmatization of neurodivergent women and farther solidifies ableist societal constructions of “normative” behavior, even within neurodivergent communities. One of the big differences between neurodivergent-coded women who are portrayed by the media as sympathetic characters vs. those who are not is that female characters who exhibit behaviors that could be viewed as exaggerated versions of common neurotypical social faux pas are more likely to be portrayed from well-intentioned (though probably somewhat objectifying) perspectives. On the flip side, neurodivergent women in the media who do not conform to ableist behavioral expectations are more likely to be portrayed in a dehumanizing light. In fact, writers seem to more frequently exaggerate the divide between neurotypes when constructing a character with fewer neurotypical-coded behaviors while using manipulations of presumed relatibility as a way of closing this divide when portraying an individual living with a more neurotypical-passing body-mind.
My hope for the future is that we will begin to see more portrayals of strong neurodivergent women in the media with complete lives, multi-dimensional personalities, and plot lines that neither ignore their disabilities nor focus on them exclusively. Though I understand that the characters I’ve referenced aren’t explicitly labeled as being neurodivergent, it is still important to realize that the association between those particular behaviors and comedy stems from ableism as well as the widespread belief in one normative way of being in the world.
Dyscalculia Community 