For My Autistic Boys

Info dumping =/= “mansplaining”!

Info dumping is (sometimes compulsively) sharing information about a special interest subject, and if you’re like me then you have a lot of those.

Don’t feel bad for info dumping, you aren’t being misogynistic, you’re just being passionate about what you enjoy!

This is really really important. I see so much negativity when it comes to info-dumping and I figured searching it up on this wonderful website would at least have something good but all I saw was negative posts about men info-dumping. And it made me sad. So yes a hundred times to this.

mansplaining is incredibly rude, condescending and/or patronising, often about simple concepts that the listener (usually a woman) likely already knows. as you say, infodumping is about special interest topics and isnt intended to patronise the listener it’s just compulsively sharing info.

i hope the people who listen to your infodumping dont perceive it as mansplaining

You know, as a girl with autism, I never liked it when other girls and women do the thing where they make fun of men. Sure, you can keep talking about sexism and “punching up”, but that’s not what I hear. Because I know what girls and women make fun of guys for doing. They make fun of them not talking about feelings. They make fun of them for missing social cues and not reading between lines. They make fun of them for talking too much about what interests them, as a result coming off as condescending. Well, I tend to do all of that because of my autism. I don’t readily show emotion or talk about it. I don’t always read between the lines and catch social cues. I have talked too much about my interests to the point where it may come off as condescending. (And as a side note, whenever I have been talked down to or felt condescended to, it was usually by a woman.) So when women and girls make fun of guys, I feel like collateral damage.

Bringing this back because I’m in That Mood again.

Woke girls: “Ask any guy about anything and he’ll start giving a TED talk lmao”

Me, an autistic trans girl who likes explaining things: “…ah…haha…”

i will never forgive the internet for what it did to the word “mansplain”

mansplaining is a very specific phenomonon wherein a man who is NOT qualified to talk about a topic assumed he knows better than other people who ARE qualified, purely because of sexism.

sharing a fun fact you learned isnt mansplaining. infodumping isnt mansplaining. adding your relevant personal experience to a discussion isn’t mansplaining, (as long as you remain respectful of others’ experiences as well, but that’s always true). correcting someone who is objectively wrong and spreading misinformation REALLY isn’t mansplaining.

stop telling men that all of their interests and attempts at socializing are insulting and unwanted, your gender essentialism is showing.

people in my REAL LIFE i have had to convince i like to hear them talk, really:

people who AREN’T self-conscious about this:

A Note To Autistic Boys 💕

[note: this includes trans boys, non-binary boys and boys who aren’t sure if they’re boys]

Your stimming is not obnoxious or intrusive. It is just your way of expressing your emotions. Don’t feel guilty about it.

When you infodump to a girl or a femme, you are not mansplaining. You’re just infodumping, a beautiful thing. It isn’t unfeminist to infodump.

Your traditionally masculine special interests do not contribute to toxic masculinity or male privilege. They’re just your special interests.

Your traditionally feminine interests do not make you a “sissy” or a girl (this one goes especially to trans boys). They’re just your special interests.

You are not being “disruptive” by talking loudly, not understanding neurotypical social skills or excusing yourself out of class. These are just things that some autistic people do. It doesn’t make you any less valid.

You are not inherently violent or aggressive by avoiding eye contact (especially MOC). It’s just an autistic trait, that neurotypical society may demonize but still isn’t inherently negative.

Don’t make anybody feel that you aren’t strong, beautiful or good, because I promise you, you are 💕

[anybody can reblog this, whether you’re an Autistic boy or not]