🐱 ‘I’m an autistic trans person and I understand who I am’

CatParty


July is Disability Pride Month. Laura Kate Dale is an autistic and trans author, who has done much to challenge misconceptions about disability. She exudes queer joy. It was a delight catching up with her.

I began by asking Laura why Disability Pride Month is important to her?​

Disability is still one of the inherent aspects of a person that often is assumed to be a negative – it is assumed that any person who is disabled would not take Pride in that element of their identity. You see it in the conversations that people have around disabled people. ‘Would you accept a cure for being yourself? Would you accept having children who are disabled?’ There is this real sense that to be a disabled person is to be lesser – that it is not a state of being that anyone would be happy with. It manifests in a sense of pity towards disabled people. It manifests in a lack of conversations around disabled people’s joy and specifically the joy that can come from elements of themselves that may be disabilities.

Can you expand on this further?​

There are so many areas of life in which disabled people are still denied basic autonomy. For me, as an autistic person, I have experienced this in terms of barriers to healthcare. I am often assumed, as a person with a formal autism diagnosis, of being incapable of making decisions about my own sense of identity – about my own existence. As an autistic trans person I faced additional barriers to accessing transition related healthcare because I was assumed to have less of an ability to understand my own sense of self, because I am autistic. There are so many ways that disabled people are assumed to not be capable and assumed to not have happy, fulfilling and loving lives.

Can you tell us more about your own experiences as a gay autistic trans woman?​

I wrote a book called Uncomfortable Labels about being a gay autistic trans woman. I wrote that book initially because I really struggled with a lack of support and resources for my specific intersection. It wasn’t until I started researching that I realised how common the overlap of being autistic, trans-LGBTQ+ is. It’s really disappointing that so few people talk about the specific needs and accommodations that sometimes crop up when you’re at that intersection. For example, I really struggle with make-up. I know there are things that I could do to be more immediately read as female societally, but I can’t stand the sensation of make-up against my face. Autistic trans people may have additional barriers to transition.

That’s really insightful. Can you tell me more?​

A lot of anti-trans people will weaponise the fact that there is a statistical overlap between the autistic and trans communities, as a reason to deny the right to transition – that we should ban trans people from transitioning because lots of them are autistic and autistic people shouldn’t be trusted to make decisions about their own identity. There is an infantilisation and weaponisation of autistic existence to use as a bludgeon against trans people. I’m an autistic trans person and I understand who I am!

Are LGBTQ+ people more willing to speak about ableism?​

It wildly varies across the LGBTQ+ community. When you’ve got areas of intersection you will see people more willing to talk about ableism – for example – when you look at the Black LGBTQ+ community or the trans community. There is a disappointing lack of discussion or consideration, usually, from cis white gay men. I think we are improving among young LGBTQ+ people, but in older segments of the community there is sometimes a mindset that we don’t have any room beyond our specific struggle.

Where can our readers find your books and learn more about your campaigning?​

You can find Uncomfortable Labels anywhere that sells books. My most recent book Gender Euphoria is an anthology of trans, non-binary and intersex writers – real life positive and gender-affirming stories. I have a book releasing on 18th August called Me and My Dysphoria Monster, which is an illustrated children’s book dealing with gender dysphoria as a topic. I’ve also got a novel releasing early next year, called Who Hunts the Whale, a satirical novel about the exploitation that goes on in the video game industry.
 
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Nisha's monster follows her everywhere. It used to be small, but recently her monster has begun to grow. And as her monster gets bigger and bigger, Nisha feels more and more unlike herself.

When people refer to her as a boy, or when she tries to hide her true gender identity, Nisha's dysphoria monster grows larger and larger. Until, one day, Nisha meets Jack - a trans man - who shows Nisha how she can shrink her dysphoria monster back down to size.

This touching story is the perfect book for discussing gender dysphoria with children, explaining what it is and how they and their families can deal with it. It also includes an accompanying guide for parents with further information about gender dysphoria, terminology, and first-hand examples of the author's own experiences.
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Oh no :stress:.
 
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Laura Kate Dale

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Would the makeup itself be trying to escape his face?
I imagine his books to be condescending.
 
Disability and transgenderism are celebrated in part to move up the progressive stack. This is also a real-life application of bio-leninism. None of it should ever have been tolerated.
 
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Before I came to this thread I said “I bet it’s Laura Kate Dale” and I WAS FUCKING RIGHT!

I’ve known of this particular indicidual since Sterling started pushing Dale like ecstasy tabs at a Phish concert and I swear, after trying to learn more about Dale as a person all I’ve been able to determine are as follows:

Autistic
Trans
Pathological liar
Obsessed with butts

That’s LITERALLY this weirdo’s whole personality and has somehow used that to successfully grift for a decade, including getting fans to pay for their penis deletus because the mean, evil, villainous NHS demanded our poor, brave and totally not a sex pest hero wouldn’t stop taking SSRI’s

I swear I saw a post in the Jimquisition Facebook Group around 2015 where Dale was whining about the “Stupid NHS requirements” or something to that effect and noting that SSRI use disqualifies you from the surgery, which led to the crowdfunding to pay for the operation.

TL;DR, Dale is a literal grifter with no personality who was accused of lying when they broke the PS4 Slim story simply because, prior to that, the times Dale told the truth in regards to anything was literally zero.
 
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