Representations of Autism in US Magazines for Women in Comparison to the General Audience

Abstract

This paper investigates the portrayal of autism in magazines directed toward two different audiences in English-speaking North America. It compares answers to three questions: What is autism? What is said to cause it? What can and should be done about it? in articles in magazines whose audience is primarily female with magazines for general interest (male and female) audiences. The findings suggest that autism is framed in contrasting ways in the two different types of magazines. In the general interest magazines, autism is encapsulated in stereotypical discourses valuing science, numbers, genetic and other biological research, and objectivity. In the magazines for women, autism is described as a tragedy, usually identified first by heartbroken mothers who then go on to “move heaven and earth” to fight for their child and “normality”. Neither magazine focuses on the perspective of the person diagnosed with autism nor reflects the debates about whether or not ASD is necessarily a problem or just a difference.