AGXStarseed
Well-Known Member
(Not written by me)
Overwatch director Jeff Kaplan recently confirmed, via a letter sent to former IGN news editor Luke Karmali, that Symmetra’s reference to “being on the spectrum” back in her comic did, in fact, mean she has autism.
Luke Karmali on Twitter
Of course, there are a few stipulations before praising the company for their continued dedication to representation of all players. Namely: are the people represented actually happy with it? A few months back, fresh off Symmetra’s comic, I’d discussed her representation with a party who I hadn’t yet received permission to quote from. But the gist of the discussion was, simply put, that Symmetra doesn’t escape the baggage of prior media portrayals of neuro-atypicality.
After all, in the comic, she does some legally shady things to advance a corporate agenda that seems altogether too willing to take advantage of her ideals. And her own ideals of order and peace are pushed to semi-villainous extremes while tied to what makes her especially suited for her corporation’s hardlight construction technologies.
She arguably fails to escape the lens of negative portrayals used by media for those with autism. Or does she?
Resemblance
Well, the first question to ask is: though she’s described as having autism, does she actually resemble a woman on the spectrum?
“Okay, so I have talked with a few teens about this,” said Jacob Sanders, formerly of Guthrie Mainstream Services – an Arizonan educational and care services program for the developmentally delayed population. “They have older siblings who played Overwatch, and I asked them this same kind of question about Symmetra.”
Most have said that, while Blizzard’s said she is autistic, that Symmetra shows no real signs of autism like their little sister or brother does. And that Symmetra would have to be the most high-functioning person with autism to exist.”
Is that as damning as saying that Symmetra’s supposed neuro-atypicality is false advertising then? That Blizzard’s just using perceived stereotypes of what makes an autistic person, and ignoring the reality?
Nah, it’s more nuanced and difficult than that. Specifically because she’s an autistic woman, in fact.
“I genuinely would not have known Symmetra was autistic without being told,” said physical therapist and injury/ergonomics consultant Caitlin McGee, who is also a person on the autism spectrum. “Which, in my opinion, isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Autism is definitely less recognized in women, in part because our symptoms are different, and in part because research suggests women have an easier time mimicking appropriate social behavior.
Not knowing that she’s autistic unless told fits that well.”
“It’s my personal experience too,” said Cass Marshall, staff writer for esports organization Immortals and League of Legends columnist for PC Gamer. “I was diagnosed with bipolar, and then an assortment of things, before getting the autism diagnosis in, like, my 20s.”
“The girls I worked with, in general, were much more high-functioning than the boys, so that stat doesn’t surprise me at all,” said Sanders. “It was hard to recognize the autism in the girls than it was with the boys. Getting back to Symmetra, it’s probably fine and not inaccurate. However, she just doesn’t seem to display what the average autistic person is.”
So: recognizably representative? …arguably. Thanks to the issues with current diagnosis methods, that is. But, yes, it’s acceptable to consider her so, and not solely based on stereotypical tropes.
But does that make her a good representative?
Representation
“So I guess the thing with basically all of Overwatch is that it’s kind of a huge step forward for Blizzard,” said Marshall. “In that they have an extremely diverse cast on most levels. But, on the other hand, the only two Japanese characters are a samurai archer and a cyborg ninja, both of whom are the only characters in the setting who have any form of traditional magic that isn’t tech – and both of whom have strong ties to Yakuza crime.
So Symmetra’s autism is very clearly an incredibly well-intentioned step, and I applaud it. But it doesn’t really rise above the rest of the setting, which is extremely ‘Saturday morning.’ But holy hell does it rise above the rest of Blizzard’s setting.”
Marshall acknowledged that it’s possible to interpret her portrayal negatively, playing into prejudiced portrayals of disabled people as being weak, gullible, or vulnerable, but she didn’t find it personally quite so bothersome thanks to the character’s agency. “Because it’s set up as her intentionally allowing herself to be deceived: she has really strong opinions, and she doesn’t’ want Vishkar to be ****ed up.”
Echoed McGee: “To me, her sense of self seems to demonstrate agency. I think she’s complex enough to fit in with other characters who fall into tropes of their own, although I definitely get the perspective you shared. I’m biased in part because there are so few representations of ASD people out there that aren’t mocking (Sheldon from Big Bang Theory), or completely misunderstands ASD.”
Building Narrative
Acceptance of her portrayal from those represented by it is, of course, not a license to keep continuing on as if everything’s fine and squared away. Noted Marshall: “there’s also the thing where Symmetra is the only representative of being disabled in any sense beyond physical. And generally, when you have ONE character who is neuroatypical, they are THE neuroatypical character. So it becomes very easy to use them as The Way Overwatch Sees Neuroatypicality.”
She quickly cut off any excuses for using Bastion as a second, if still-token, example too. While the robot was clearly intended to reflect post-traumatic stress disorders on part of war veterans, Bastion is also very much not representative of real-world parties (or, at least, not yet).
“Bastion’s PTSD is visual shorthand – Symmetra’s autism is a character quirk,” differentiated Marshall. While Symmetra’s portrayal’s thus far met with tentative approval, Blizzard’s writers should take care not to reduce her to a mere token.
Want some info on the recent Sombra changes? Check out our YouTube channel!
Source: Overwatch Portrayal of Autism has Room for Improvement
Overwatch director Jeff Kaplan recently confirmed, via a letter sent to former IGN news editor Luke Karmali, that Symmetra’s reference to “being on the spectrum” back in her comic did, in fact, mean she has autism.
Luke Karmali on Twitter
Of course, there are a few stipulations before praising the company for their continued dedication to representation of all players. Namely: are the people represented actually happy with it? A few months back, fresh off Symmetra’s comic, I’d discussed her representation with a party who I hadn’t yet received permission to quote from. But the gist of the discussion was, simply put, that Symmetra doesn’t escape the baggage of prior media portrayals of neuro-atypicality.
After all, in the comic, she does some legally shady things to advance a corporate agenda that seems altogether too willing to take advantage of her ideals. And her own ideals of order and peace are pushed to semi-villainous extremes while tied to what makes her especially suited for her corporation’s hardlight construction technologies.
She arguably fails to escape the lens of negative portrayals used by media for those with autism. Or does she?
Resemblance
Well, the first question to ask is: though she’s described as having autism, does she actually resemble a woman on the spectrum?
“Okay, so I have talked with a few teens about this,” said Jacob Sanders, formerly of Guthrie Mainstream Services – an Arizonan educational and care services program for the developmentally delayed population. “They have older siblings who played Overwatch, and I asked them this same kind of question about Symmetra.”
Most have said that, while Blizzard’s said she is autistic, that Symmetra shows no real signs of autism like their little sister or brother does. And that Symmetra would have to be the most high-functioning person with autism to exist.”
Is that as damning as saying that Symmetra’s supposed neuro-atypicality is false advertising then? That Blizzard’s just using perceived stereotypes of what makes an autistic person, and ignoring the reality?
Nah, it’s more nuanced and difficult than that. Specifically because she’s an autistic woman, in fact.
“I genuinely would not have known Symmetra was autistic without being told,” said physical therapist and injury/ergonomics consultant Caitlin McGee, who is also a person on the autism spectrum. “Which, in my opinion, isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Autism is definitely less recognized in women, in part because our symptoms are different, and in part because research suggests women have an easier time mimicking appropriate social behavior.
Not knowing that she’s autistic unless told fits that well.”
“It’s my personal experience too,” said Cass Marshall, staff writer for esports organization Immortals and League of Legends columnist for PC Gamer. “I was diagnosed with bipolar, and then an assortment of things, before getting the autism diagnosis in, like, my 20s.”
“The girls I worked with, in general, were much more high-functioning than the boys, so that stat doesn’t surprise me at all,” said Sanders. “It was hard to recognize the autism in the girls than it was with the boys. Getting back to Symmetra, it’s probably fine and not inaccurate. However, she just doesn’t seem to display what the average autistic person is.”
So: recognizably representative? …arguably. Thanks to the issues with current diagnosis methods, that is. But, yes, it’s acceptable to consider her so, and not solely based on stereotypical tropes.
But does that make her a good representative?
Representation
“So I guess the thing with basically all of Overwatch is that it’s kind of a huge step forward for Blizzard,” said Marshall. “In that they have an extremely diverse cast on most levels. But, on the other hand, the only two Japanese characters are a samurai archer and a cyborg ninja, both of whom are the only characters in the setting who have any form of traditional magic that isn’t tech – and both of whom have strong ties to Yakuza crime.
So Symmetra’s autism is very clearly an incredibly well-intentioned step, and I applaud it. But it doesn’t really rise above the rest of the setting, which is extremely ‘Saturday morning.’ But holy hell does it rise above the rest of Blizzard’s setting.”
Marshall acknowledged that it’s possible to interpret her portrayal negatively, playing into prejudiced portrayals of disabled people as being weak, gullible, or vulnerable, but she didn’t find it personally quite so bothersome thanks to the character’s agency. “Because it’s set up as her intentionally allowing herself to be deceived: she has really strong opinions, and she doesn’t’ want Vishkar to be ****ed up.”
Echoed McGee: “To me, her sense of self seems to demonstrate agency. I think she’s complex enough to fit in with other characters who fall into tropes of their own, although I definitely get the perspective you shared. I’m biased in part because there are so few representations of ASD people out there that aren’t mocking (Sheldon from Big Bang Theory), or completely misunderstands ASD.”
Building Narrative
Acceptance of her portrayal from those represented by it is, of course, not a license to keep continuing on as if everything’s fine and squared away. Noted Marshall: “there’s also the thing where Symmetra is the only representative of being disabled in any sense beyond physical. And generally, when you have ONE character who is neuroatypical, they are THE neuroatypical character. So it becomes very easy to use them as The Way Overwatch Sees Neuroatypicality.”
She quickly cut off any excuses for using Bastion as a second, if still-token, example too. While the robot was clearly intended to reflect post-traumatic stress disorders on part of war veterans, Bastion is also very much not representative of real-world parties (or, at least, not yet).
“Bastion’s PTSD is visual shorthand – Symmetra’s autism is a character quirk,” differentiated Marshall. While Symmetra’s portrayal’s thus far met with tentative approval, Blizzard’s writers should take care not to reduce her to a mere token.
Want some info on the recent Sombra changes? Check out our YouTube channel!
Source: Overwatch Portrayal of Autism has Room for Improvement
