i mentioned this term in the previous post, but the term autismbaiting has apparently been making the rounds, which is weird because i thought it got spawnkilled months ago when it was first coined. pretty much, autismbaiting refers to one of two things:

one: trying to "bait" autistic people into engaging with their content by catering towards their interests, or

two: showing multiple traits and symptoms of the condition, but not having or seeking out a professional diagnosis.

im gonna be debunking these definitions separately, because they're both wrong for different reasons, but neither use of the term makes sense at all, because the term in itself is stupid. so, lets get to the full breakdown of why "autismbaiting" isnt a thing.

POINT NUMBER ONE: "autismbaiting refers to the phenomenon when someone attempts to "bait" autistic people into engaging with their content by catering towards their interests."
theres actually multiple reasons this is wrong. for starters, in order to cater to the interests of the autistic community, the community would have to be a monolith and all share the same interests, which is not true. because autism is a spectrum. two different people on said spectrum can have wildly different interests, which brings me to point number two: autistic people can be interested in literally anything, so technically, anything can appeal to people on the spectrum, and thus anything can be considered "autismbait..." and if everything can be, then nothing really is. lastly, if you yourself genuinely use the term to mean this, that implies you have a preconcieved idea of what people on the autism spectrum are all interested in, and thus are admitting you see the community as a monolith, and in your pursuit of claiming allyship to the community have looped right back around to supporting ableist stereotyping. the conslusion here? autismbaiting in the context of "trying to "bait" autistic people into engaging with their content by catering towards their interests" does not make sense, because it implies that autistic people are a monolith, which we are not.

POINT NUMBER TWO: "autismbaiting refers to the phenomenon in which someone displays multiple traits of autism, yet does not have or seek a professional diagnosis."
this meaning is also nonsensical, because not everyone who shows traits that are associated with autism is necessarily autistic. theres multiple traits of autism that can overlap with other conditions (see here), or present themselves without any present condition. additionally, theres reasons as to why someone might not be able to or even want to get diagnosed. most of the research done on autism until recent years was done on white men, which means people of color and/or women have more of a chance of being misdiagnosed or not taken seriously at all. getting diagnosed is also expensive as hell, and if you get sent back with nothing, you have to save back up just to pay the same amount again. even if someone has the funds to do so, and is a white man... their family might not support them getting a diagnosis, or discriminate against them for having one. you dont know someone's personal life situation and dont have the right to make assumptions. the conclusion here? autismbaiting in the context of "trying to "bait" autistic people into engaging with their content by catering towards their interests" does not make sense, because it implies that autistic people are a monolith, which we are not.

to wrap up the main point of this blog, autismbaiting is not real. it literally cannot exist, no matter what context you use the phrase in. if you mean it to insinuate someone is trying to cater towards autistic people, you're wrong because that implies that autistic people are a monolith. if you mean it to insinuate someone might have autism, but isnt actively trying to get an on-paper diagnosis, you're wrong because you're ignoring the nuances regarding why they might not be doing so. the term is stupid, it means nothing, and even if you mean well, it just shows you see the autism spectrum as a monolith.