Why Entrapta Is Autistic (An Infodump By An Autistic Person)
1. Special interests/infodumping
This is easily the most obvious of all autistic traits to pin down in Entrapta. She adores technology, often changing the subject to her work and getting excited when talking about it.
She also infodumps! A lot. Even when people are visibly confused or even bored, she will continue to talk about technology, being very, very happy and enthusiastic; even while in extremely dangerous situations.
Example: Rather than actually helping Adora while she is infected by a virus, Entrapta wants to dissect her to learn about the virus (which may also show the lack of empathy also commonly found in autistic folk.)
2. Misunderstanding social cues
Obviously, that last example was a big showing of exactly how oblivious Entrapta is to social situations. She’s often portrayed as unrelentingly loud and cheerful, even in awkward or dangerous situations.
Another example of this can be her being captured by Catra, where she kept on going back to her confines, even after she can escape; because that’s what she believes to be the “correct” action to take in this social situation.
She can also come across as creepy but, clearly, is very sweet, which is something I see a lot in autistic folks. (Girls, in particular!)
Also; maybe she wears those goggles so often because she has trouble with eye contact? Just saying.
3. Black and white views (and more on special interests)
Autistic people tend to have a very black and white view on the world, and can be rather stubborn. And while Entrapta shows her stubborn, blind loyalty while being interrogated by Catra, as soon as she realizes her friends aren’t coming back…
Her black and white view changes, and she shows almost no remorse for helping people who she previously thought were horrible.
Also; notice how Entrapta acts when Catra asks about technology. Saying things like, “Nobody EVER asks about my theories!” with great enthusiasm; the first time she is happy about joining their side. Not only is Entrapta joining because she thinks the princesses don’t care, but she’s joining because the horde can give her what the princesses couldn’t; support towards and resources for her special interests.
4. Possible sensory issues
This doesn’t happen all the time, admittedly; however, I did notice how often Entrapta uses her hair rather than her actual body for things involving physical contact.
Also; her obsession with tiny foods sure seems like a sensory issue. Lots of autistic folks only eat a specific type of food, or refuse to eat a certain type. For me, I refuse to eat things that are lumpy (like oatmeal and applesauce). Maybe, for Entrapta, it’s that she won’t eat anything too big.
5. Stimming
Honestly? This might be even easier to convince you of than special interests. The scene that sealed in my mind that Entrapta is 100%, without a doubt autistic:
I do that spinny chair thing all the time when I’m talking to my friends about my special interests. And, though it doesn’t say, she’s talking into that recorder about technology. Just look at that GIF and tell me that it’s not an autistic person happy-stimming as she’s infodumping about her special interest.
Slightly less obvious is her hand and hair motions while talking. She does a LOT of stuff with her arms and hair; obvious stimming, if you ask me!
And finally…
6. Because I’m autistic and I said so.
Or you could just be stereotyping like crazy and obsessing over someone being potentially autistic or not is unhealthy and isn’t your business anyway.
First of all, I’m actually autistic and everything I talked about here is something that I do, or see in myself. This isn’t based on stereotypes, it’s based on my experiences.
Secondly, this is literally a singular post describing why I think Entrapta is autistic. Yes, it’s a little long, but I’ve also sent long texts about my opinion on food. Guess I’m obsessed with food then, huh?
Thirdly, ‘isn’t my business’? Entrapta is a fictional character, the concept of ‘personal business’ doesn’t apply between me, a viewer, and her, a character.
Lastly, (hear me out on this!) if you don’t like this post, just ignore it or block me! A crazy concept.
The reason I headcanon characters as autistic is because it makes me, an autistic person, feel like I can relate to them more. It’s harmless, and, in fact, when I first got diagnosed, the doctor recommended watching shows with autistic characters to me. So you, being out here, upset at me relating to a character is counterproductive.
So am I so I think I can comment on this if I want to :3. The issue I take with stuff like this is that autism is a whole lot more than just a cute bundle of behavioral traits. It’s a deep complicated and often difficult disorder that is completely different for every person.
Your experiences are your OWN experiences. You can’t attach them to someone else (or something else) and label them. Sure you can RELATE to a character, but trying to diagnose something doesn’t really help to educate anyone. It just muddies the water…
I’m “ACTUALLY AUTISTIC OWO” too and I certainly don’t act like that. YOU act like that, because that is how YOUR autism works for you. If you met me in person you would most likely be surprised if I said I was autistic, because everyone has these generalized ideas of what they think autism looks like.
I guess in the end it kind of bothers me when people are romanticizing the idea of being autistic. Maybe it’s cute and cuddly and “owo” on tumblr, but it’s way more complicated than that in reality…
Sorry for the wall-of-text response!!
‘Romanticizing’ is defined as ‘describe something in an idealized manner’. However, in this post I talked about sensory issues, issues involving not being able to express your special interests, and having trouble in social situations. If I was romanticizing it, I wouldn’t talk about any of that. I would simply talk about the positives of autism. (Like being ‘smarter’, ‘soft UwU’ stimmy habits, ect)
And who said I was trying to educate someone by headcanoning a character as autistic? It does help someone, and that someone is me. Because I like it, and it helps me see myself in a character. It makes me feel good and, judging by the responses on this posts, it also makes others feel good. And yes, I can relate to a character without diagnosing them. But that’s just how I enjoy things. It helps me feel less ashamed; more on that later.
I agree with you on the idea that autism is more complicated than it seems. I also act different than the typical autistic person. (I’m extremely empathetic while autistic folk are typically portrayed as having a hard time with empathy.) However, there is another side to this; sometimes, thinking about autism as a ‘complicated and difficult disorder’ can worry some people, or overwhelm them, or make them feel alienated. And that’s why I headcanon characters as autistic, and why some people make these ‘OwO autism positivity UwU’ blogs. It helps people like me, who feel overwhelmed by the prospect of a difficult or scary disorder, feel better about themselves, especially after being recently diagnosed. However, I wouldn’t say that it is romanticizing until you actively avoid the negative sides; such as sensory issues, social ineptitude, ect; and only talking about how ‘smart’ autistic people are with their special interests, and how they have ‘soft and cute stim toys’.
When you first replied to my post, I thought you were going to be annoying or ableist. However, you do have an interesting point of view that I don’t see a lot, and it made me think quite a bit about why I headcanon characters as autistic. Despite this, I still stand by my stance of headcanoning characters as autistic helping more than harming.
beinggayonmain 