Normal

I’ve been suspicious of “normal” for many years. That suspicion continues to grow as I get older. As I continue to look around me at the culture in which I am immersed, I am aware that what is considered normal is often restrictive, rigid and restrained. Normal gives a high degree of stability and offers the security of the status quo. Sometimes, it also appears somewhat toxic and stifling. Normal lacks creativity and innovation.

In many cultures, the trickster has played the role of disrupting the rigid normal. The trickster is often a welcome and expected part of the culture. I think that some of us who show up on the autism spectrum play that role in society.

I am thinking more and more how being on the autism spectrum introduces a trickster element into society. Perhaps that slightly unhinged element of society is actually the more flexible, evolving aspect of humanity. What we typically consider normal is locked in, rigid and inflexible. Normal is not about evolving but preserving. I think we benefit from both.

I’m noticing that trans individuals, especially young people, are challenging the rigid, inflexible notion of what gender is. They are pointing out that there may be no such thing as normal when it comes to gender. The natural world of animals and plants already point this out. I think it is up to humans to examine more closely the artificial notion of what is gender normal.

I have always had the feeling that I didn’t quite fit in. I have even resisted elements of what others considered normal. I guess being typical has not ever felt right or appealing to me. Now I think being one of the divergent individuals is just fine. My not being typical is becoming more my notion of what I am contributing to those considered more normal. I like that role more and more.