The worst is behind us
I'm Bliss, truly Bliss, 24 year old fangirl living large and keeping it weird in Austin Texas. More pictures from The Black and Tan show.
More photos from The Black and Tan show of me and my beautiful friend and designer Anslee.
Pictures from last night at The Black and Tan show.
Better pictures to come later, but for now here’s these. I rocked the Black and Tan! I even talked to a ton of the designers and apparently there was something of a fight over me when I walked at the model call, one designer even dropped out when they couldn’t get me! So yeah, I’m a bad bitch~
Smoldering temptress~
Getting some new stuff ready to put up, but in the innerum don’t forget that The Primrose and The Amy Pond are still available at Truly Bliss Creations.
Gifted or git? Ass or Asperger’s? That seems to be the first question that comes to mind these days when discussing the mannerisms and methods of a certain consulting detective. So, is Sherlock Holmes arguably Autistic?
The most common theory is that Sherlock suffers from a syndrome known as Asperger’s that falls under the blanket of the Autistic spectrum. This pervasive developmental disorder involves delays to skills as basic as socialization, communication and imagination. The symptoms, of course, vary from person to person in severity. If we assume that Sherlock Holmes then ranks on the high functioning end of the Asperger’s scale let’s take a look at some of the common symptoms he would present.
Obsessive behavior and the strict following of certain self-created rituals are common among those with Asperger’s. For example, keeping an index for one’s socks comes to mind. It’s also very common for them to have limited fields of interest. For example, math and music are two fields in which they tend to excel. Similarly, it can be anything from memorizing maps, studying science or even solving puzzles. This can also lead to amazing and extraordinary talents fostered at a young age.
Clumsiness or a lack of coordination is one drawback that affects many of those suffering from Asperger’s. But it’s hardly the biggest problem, nor one we see in Sherlock Holmes who we watch leap and run along rooftops and fire escapes in the BBC’s Sherlock. The biggest difficulty those with Asperger’s face is a lack of basic social skills. Being able to make eye contact and read facial cues or body language is normally quite difficult for those with Asperger’s. Even understanding when it’s a bit not good to say or not say something in a social setting is a grace many struggle with. They’re even often confused for having a lack of empathy or being narcissistic. This is also not a quality we see in Sherlock Holmes who as a consulting detective relies on his ability to read people and situations to solve cases. As we see in A Study in Pink Sherlock is able to deduce John’s military career from a tan and how he stands.
But, it’s still easy to see why so many people are of the belief that Sherlock Holmes has Asperger’s. His anti-social behavior and apparent lack of empathy as well as his ability to store a vast wealth of very select sets of knowledge in his “mind palace” do sound very aspy. But, are these actual social traits or are we only seeing what we want to see?
Um. Okay, so, I think that you haven’t offered a single shred of evidence here that Sherlock isn’t autistic.
You can be shit at reading people’s emotions or reacting appropriately to a situation and still be able to read clues about a person’s daily activities (such as what a person ate, where they’ve been, who they’re sleeping with).
Autistic doesn’t mean no empathy. So your “evidence” of “great emotional depth” (which is good, by the way, and I’m glad you provided those examples) is not really evidence against autism. Sorry, but it’s not.
I want you to consider what was going on when Sherlock made the statement about “lowering the IQ of the street”. Here, read it in the transcript. It’s during the drugs bust, when there is a LOT of activity, and a lot of people moving about, invading his space, and chattering when he’s trying to think . That’s frustrating for a neurotypical person. It’s a fucking cacophany for an autistic person. I would tell Anderson to shut up, too (and may even have been as scathing in my comment to him, depending on how frustrated I was), because he was interrupting Sherlock’s train of thought and his deduction, basically.
You ask “why should it matter” if he’s autistic. BECAUSE THERE ARE VERY FEW CHARACTERS IN MEDIA WHO CAN EVEN POSSIBLY BE CONSIDERED AUTISTIC. Do you know what it’s like to grow up and not see anyone you can identify with on tv and then, one day, this character that you’ve admired in books and identified with shows up on your tv screen and HE MOVES LIKE YOU. He has similar characteristics to you. You recognize so many different things, all of the things that make you autistic. It matters to autistics.
I just had to laugh at this statement.Perhaps then it’s out of kindness that we try to label him as Autistic. It certainly would put a stop to at least some of the name-calling.
Because no, no, it wouldn’t. You do not know what it is like to be autistic if you believe this to be the truth. Hey, do you know that autistic people are killed by their parents? Do you know that most of us are put through abusive therapy as a way to make us “look normal”? That Sherlock, in his BBC incarnation is old enough to probably not have a diagnosis at all (unless he acquired it in adulthood or unless he was nonspeaking during much of his childhood) and was taught to be ashamed of his symptoms and that he should hide who he was, and he should not stim, and he should force himself to make eye contact and be social, etc. Do you ever notice that the things he’s called out on by the fandom has nothing to do with when he’s doing things that are actually terrible (like slut-shaming Sally Donovan, insulting Anderson’s intelligence, making snide comments about Mycroft’s weight or sexuality, and putting John through an experiment that could very well trigger his PTSD). Instead, they focus on his social missteps. Don’t understand why a mother would mourn their stillborn child years later? Ah, let’s make fun of him. Say something inappropriate at a crime scene? More teasing. Names like “Freak”? No big deal.
You don’t have to think he’s autistic, but don’t you DARE use ableism and misconceptions about autism and act like it’s a “kindness” to call him autistic and it’s going to keep him from being bullied because that is fucking bullshit.
You know who the biggest stans of the idea of autistic!Sherlock are? AUTISTIC PEOPLE. Maybe you could, you know, LISTEN?
Hi there. So for the record I’d like you to know that I’m also autistic. So is my sister and her father. I’ve worked with autistic children and adults since I was in middle school. On top of that I also trained for years to be a neurodevelopmentalist before I changed fields. I understand the plights and hardship that comes with being on the spectrum. But I also believe that Autism as a label is becoming a widely overused. Telling someone that they’re autistic when they’re not is like sticking a band-aid on deep wound. It doesn’t fix anything, and often makes things worse.
I get the feeling that you misunderstood the point of my essay. I’m not saying Sherlock isn’t autistic, I’m also not saying he is. What I’m saying is that before labeling him anything we should remember that the spectrum is wide and very nearly all encompassing. Just because he fits some of the traits doesn’t mean that he should be lifted up to become a symbol.
Gifted or git? Ass or Asperger’s? That seems to be the first question that comes to mind these days when discussing the mannerisms and methods of a certain consulting detective. So, is Sherlock Holmes arguably Autistic?
The most common theory is that Sherlock suffers from a syndrome known as Asperger’s that falls under the blanket of the Autistic spectrum. This pervasive developmental disorder involves delays to skills as basic as socialization, communication and imagination. The symptoms, of course, vary from person to person in severity. If we assume that Sherlock Holmes then ranks on the high functioning end of the Asperger’s scale let’s take a look at some of the common symptoms he would present.
Obsessive behavior and the strict following of certain self-created rituals are common among those with Asperger’s. For example, keeping an index for one’s socks comes to mind. It’s also very common for them to have limited fields of interest. For example, math and music are two fields in which they tend to excel. Similarly, it can be anything from memorizing maps, studying science or even solving puzzles. This can also lead to amazing and extraordinary talents fostered at a young age.
Clumsiness or a lack of coordination is one drawback that affects many of those suffering from Asperger’s. But it’s hardly the biggest problem, nor one we see in Sherlock Holmes who we watch leap and run along rooftops and fire escapes in the BBC’s Sherlock. The biggest difficulty those with Asperger’s face is a lack of basic social skills. Being able to make eye contact and read facial cues or body language is normally quite difficult for those with Asperger’s. Even understanding when it’s a bit not good to say or not say something in a social setting is a grace many struggle with. They’re even often confused for having a lack of empathy or being narcissistic. This is also not a quality we see in Sherlock Holmes who as a consulting detective relies on his ability to read people and situations to solve cases. As we see in A Study in Pink Sherlock is able to deduce John’s military career from a tan and how he stands.
But, it’s still easy to see why so many people are of the belief that Sherlock Holmes has Asperger’s. His anti-social behavior and apparent lack of empathy as well as his ability to store a vast wealth of very select sets of knowledge in his “mind palace” do sound very aspy. But, are these actual social traits or are we only seeing what we want to see?
Now he sits down at the table
Right next to the window
And begins his quiet ascension
Without anyone’s sturdy instruction
To a place of no religion
Has found a path to our alikeness
And eats a small lump of sugar
And smiles at the moon like he knows her
