{"title":"It gets better when you fall in Love on the Spectrum","authors":"E. Ryalls","doi":"10.1080/15295036.2023.2228377","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Love on the Spectrum (2019–) premiered on Netflix in July 2020. The reality television show follows young autistic adults in Australia as they date, fall in love, and get married. I argue Love on the Spectrum (LOTS) ignores the marginalizing forces of ableist structures in favor of telling individual “supercrip” stories of autistic success that are grounded in heteronormative conventions of the romantic comedy genre. Specifically, I suggest LOTS sends a message to the loved ones of autistic people that “It Gets Better” through a classist and heteronormative narrative that suggests the problems of autism—familial dependence and being nonverbal—can be solved through heterosexual love and societal tolerance. LOTS erases queer identities (i.e. asexuality and bisexuality) to normalize neurodiversity and reinforce heteronormativity. The show calls on its presumed neurotypical audience to root for the “right” kind of autists — those who are palatable and place romance before personal interests—while problematically marking as strange and laughable autists who are too far removed from neurotypicality.","PeriodicalId":47123,"journal":{"name":"Critical Studies in Media Communication","volume":"20 1","pages":"150 - 162"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1000,"publicationDate":"2023-05-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Critical Studies in Media Communication","FirstCategoryId":"98","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15295036.2023.2228377","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"COMMUNICATION","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
ABSTRACT Love on the Spectrum (2019–) premiered on Netflix in July 2020. The reality television show follows young autistic adults in Australia as they date, fall in love, and get married. I argue Love on the Spectrum (LOTS) ignores the marginalizing forces of ableist structures in favor of telling individual “supercrip” stories of autistic success that are grounded in heteronormative conventions of the romantic comedy genre. Specifically, I suggest LOTS sends a message to the loved ones of autistic people that “It Gets Better” through a classist and heteronormative narrative that suggests the problems of autism—familial dependence and being nonverbal—can be solved through heterosexual love and societal tolerance. LOTS erases queer identities (i.e. asexuality and bisexuality) to normalize neurodiversity and reinforce heteronormativity. The show calls on its presumed neurotypical audience to root for the “right” kind of autists — those who are palatable and place romance before personal interests—while problematically marking as strange and laughable autists who are too far removed from neurotypicality.
期刊介绍：
Critical Studies in Media Communication (CSMC) is a peer-reviewed publication of the National Communication Association. CSMC publishes original scholarship in mediated and mass communication from a cultural studies and/or critical perspective. It particularly welcomes submissions that enrich debates among various critical traditions, methodological and analytical approaches, and theoretical standpoints. CSMC takes an inclusive view of media and welcomes scholarship on topics such as • media audiences • representations • institutions • digital technologies • social media • gaming • professional practices and ethics • production studies • media history • political economy. CSMC publishes scholarship about media audiences, representations, institutions, technologies, and professional practices. It includes work in history, political economy, critical philosophy, race and feminist theorizing, rhetorical and media criticism, and literary theory. It takes an inclusive view of media, including newspapers, magazines and other forms of print, cable, radio, television, film, and new media technologies such as the Internet.
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