Queerness, Autism and Fan Fiction with Erin Ekins (Queerly Autistic)

Doing It! with Hannah Witton

Global Media & Entertainment

Health & Fitness, Relationships, Sexuality, Society & Culture

4.8 • 651 Ratings

🗓️ 21 April 2021

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In this episode, Hannah is joined by Erin Ekins, who is the author of Queerly Autistic: The Ultimate Guide for LGBTQIA+ Teens on the Spectrum. Erin discusses coming out as bisexual, being diagnosed with autism, and the combination of societal hypersexualization of bisexuality with the infantilization of autistic people. She and Hannah talk about the potential vulnerability of being autistic and the potential for abusive platonic or romantic relationships. They chat about Torchwood and how fandoms and fanfic can be a great way to explore your sexuality. Finally, Erin tells Hannah about the term "queerplatonic", gives advice for people in relationships with or friends with autistic people, and talks about the current poor state of research into autism.

CW: abusive relationships (12:00 - 17:29; 4 minutes 30 seconds) and suicide (30:46 -31:59, 1 minute and 13 seconds). These timestamps are without ads: you may or may not be served ads whilst listening to the episode which may change the time stamps. If you hear a section start and don’t want to listen, just skip ahead the length of the section to avoid it.

✨MORE ABOUT ERIN EKINS✨
I am a queer, autistic woman who writes and advocates on issues surrounding being queer and autistic. I also work on wider disability justice and various other social justice topics. I have written for The Independent, Huck Magazine, and Neuroclastic, and have featured on Channel 4, The Victoria Derbyshire Show and BBC Radio 5 Live.

My first book, Queerly Autistic: The Ultimate Guide for LGBTQIA+ Teens on the Spectrum was released by Jessica Kingsley Publishers in 2021. I run a YouTube channel called Queerly Autistic, and you can also find me on Twitter as @QueerlyAutistic

- Queerly Autistic: The Ultimate Guide for LGBTQIA+ Teens on the Spectrum: https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/9781787751712
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/queerlyautistic
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfOTz1cKoHxSieKCV_4p5UQ
- Website: https://queerlyautistic.com/

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Transcript

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0:00.0	I found a study where they did find that autistic people were more likely to identify
0:04.6	as some level of not straight, as it were.
0:06.9	Yeah.
0:07.4	They also paired that with the fact that the autistic people were far less likely to have actually had.
0:13.3	Like, I think it was just sex in general, but a same-sex relationship, definitely.
0:17.7	So they came to the conclusion that because of that, kind of these autistic
0:21.0	people just think that they're not straight, but actually their sexual behavior doesn't play
0:26.5	out that. And I was there like, I don't think that's how sexuality works.
0:34.8	Welcome to Doing It with me, Hannah Witten, where we talk all things, sex, relationships, dating and our bodies.
0:46.7	Hi, welcome back to doing it. How are you? But really, how are you? Have you been to beer gardens and bookshops or still staying mostly
0:55.3	inside? Nothing wrong with that. If you do find yourself in a bookshop though, you should
1:00.5	totally ask for a copy of my guest this week's book. Erin Eakins is the author of Queerly Autistic,
1:07.2	the Ultimate Guide for LGBTQIA plus teens on the spectrum.
1:12.5	And in this episode, we talk all about what it's like to be autistic and queer.
1:17.6	Before we get into it, content warning for abusive relationships and suicide, our
1:22.4	listener's well-being is so important to us, so please take care of yourself.
1:26.5	We get into all sorts in this episode, Erin's experience of coming out as bisexual and being
1:31.8	diagnosed with autism, the hypersexualization of bisexuality teamed with the infantilization
1:38.3	of autistic people and what that's all about.
1:42.3	We talk about the potential vulnerability of being autistic and risks
1:46.3	of abusive relationships, romantic or platonic. We have a good old time chatting about Torchwood
1:52.9	and how fandoms and fanfic can be a really great way to explore your sexuality. I discovered
	...

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