Elizabeth Barrette (ysabetwordsmith) wrote,
Elizabeth Barrette
ysabetwordsmith
  • Mood: busy

Another Autistic = Fey Thing

I noticed this poster about autism.  It lists inappropriate laughter/giggling as a symptom.  That is so iconic of the fey -- laughing at funerals, for example -- that it's in a number of fairytales.  It's often one reason a human husband slaps his fey wife, and she leaves him for it.
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  • 4 comments
kimuro

kimuro

July 24 2016, 14:22:07 UTC 4 years ago

Any careful reading of changeling tales reveals that those so identified represent a range of illnesses and genetic disorders. Polio, menegitis, Downs syndrome, Williams-Beuran syndrome as well as autism ... and others, I'm sure. As a mother with a son on the spectrum ... and being myself on the spectrum, those tales infuriate me.
ysabetwordsmith

Well...

ysabetwordsmith

July 24 2016, 18:11:29 UTC 4 years ago

I think part of that is perspective, and part of it depends on which stories you read. There are some about the humans abusing the fey and getting away with it; the changeling branch is one of the few where that seems to be the norm instead of the exception. Most of the stories have an underlying theme of "do not fuck with the Good People or they will destroy you." I like that. I especially like the ones where a human goes Underhill and doesn't know any of the manners and everything they do is wrooooooong.
rhodielady_47

rhodielady_47

July 25 2016, 13:00:26 UTC 4 years ago

THIS begins to make me wonder if many of the so-called "fey" people were in reality on the autistic spectrum!

I also realize sadly that all the traditional folklore recommended such "fey" be treated in very rough if not lethal ways--particularly babies and very young children!
:^{

ysabetwordsmith

Yes...

ysabetwordsmith

July 25 2016, 19:01:14 UTC 4 years ago

>> THIS begins to make me wonder if many of the so-called "fey" people were in reality on the autistic spectrum! <<

That's one possibility. Another is overlap. A third is that this is what happens when fey genes suddenly re-express themselves due to a change in environment. There are many tales about fey lovers, after all. I know some morphlocked selkies. The physical traits, however, are still manifest in things like being able to locomote immediately after birth. Human infants just don't do that.

>> I also realize sadly that all the traditional folklore recommended such "fey" be treated in very rough if not lethal ways--particularly babies and very young children!
:^{ <<

Yeah, that's a problem. But the changeling branch is almost the only one where humans get away with that. Normally if you piss off the fey, they destroy your life for it. They're very powerful. And I like that representation of difference as an asset. The breadth of fairytales is exceptional for exploring difference and disability. Some are proud to be fey, to be monsters, to be aside from the ordinary. Some are ashamed of it. That's life.