This is a weird one...but is it offensive or immoral to think the usual mannerisms and personalities of autistic men/men with Aspergers is attractive?

I'm on the autism spectrum, but I don't meet all of the criteria for aspergers. I was diagnosed by a doctor when I was really young. Through a lot of hard work, I graduated college with a 3.85 GPA, got my master's degree, and work in a counseling setting.

There are many stereotypes about us on the spectrum, but many of them only fit a small group of those on the spectrum. Even some of those who aren't as high functioning aren't retarded, unable to consent, and we do have emotions (one of the most common stereotypes I've encountered is that people think I'm unable to feel happiness, sadness, and empathy). Sure, for me I have difficulty with sarcasm and jokes (really hard to tell if people are being serious or not), read facial expressions (so it may appear to others that I "don't care about what they're feeling), etc. However, I've practiced a lot growing up and these give me less trouble than they did before.

My boyfriend thinks it's cute when I think some of the stuff he says is serious, my clients haven't had any complaints about my ability to assist them, and a majority of the people I've encountered haven't really said anything about it (maybe they suspect, but don't mention it?)

My biggest problem was when I told people (potential boyfriends), their attitude towards me changed. They acted like I was either incapable of taking care of myself, told me that I'm not capable of feeling love, started to baby me, or they broke it off saying things like they couldn't deal with dating someone who is developmentally challenged. That sort of stuff broke my heart and made me feel like I was unloveable. There are so many misconceptions about us and so many wackos who think that if we change to a gluten, lactose, [name of some other substance] -free diet, we will be cured. Most of these misconceptions seem to come from those who don't even have kids on the spectrum, but are afraid that they will have a kid who is.

I have to get to work now, but let me know if you have any questions and I'll do what I can to answer in a timely fashion :)

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