Finchbearer
Istar
I think fantasy as a genre attracts many of those who are neurodivergent. It satisfies a lot of schemas that divergent brains simply like.
I’ll go out on a limb here and say that I think many fantasy authors are probably ND, Tolkien likely being one. Going one further I think *most* people are ND rather than the fabled NT.
But, one problem with ‘we want more representation’ specifically in literature becomes a question of who is willing to go there. Some people don’t want that stigma attached to their ND and some people will want to shout it from the rooftops.
And the issue of a genre further marginalising those with various ND conditions might end up alienating those who were attracted to it in the first place. That shouldn’t be a reason to not write about a character with autism or ADHD, (whether that’s explicit in the text or not) but it could be.
I’ll go out on a limb here and say that I think many fantasy authors are probably ND, Tolkien likely being one. Going one further I think *most* people are ND rather than the fabled NT.
But, one problem with ‘we want more representation’ specifically in literature becomes a question of who is willing to go there. Some people don’t want that stigma attached to their ND and some people will want to shout it from the rooftops.
And the issue of a genre further marginalising those with various ND conditions might end up alienating those who were attracted to it in the first place. That shouldn’t be a reason to not write about a character with autism or ADHD, (whether that’s explicit in the text or not) but it could be.