Is there a difference between a Taylor Swift obsession by an Autistic and such by a neurotypical woman?
Actually, there may not be a difference.
One of the hallmarks of Autism Spectrum Disorder is that of hyperfixating on a topic of interest.
This is often referred to, in the autism community, as a special interest.
I have a late clinical diagnosis of ASD. One of the things that reinforced my suspicion that I was autistic was a lifelong propensity to get hyperfixated on unusual topics.
However, an autistic individual can also become infatuated with popular or mainstream topics among neurotypicals – including trains, dinosaurs, books, birds, art, rock bands and … of course … Taylor Swift.
An extended family member of mine, who’s neurotypical (NT), is obsessed with Taylor Swift.
It’s one thing to be a big fan of a popstar.
But this family member’s interest seems to be in the obsessive range, based on her Instagram posts.
I just wouldn’t expect this level of infatuation to be coming from a neurotypical individual.
I certainly have no reason in the world to believe that my relative has undiagnosed autism. Nope. She’s a straight NT.
So one day at a pizza social for autistic adults, I asked a newly-met autistic woman, “What’s your current special interest?”
She immediately replied Taylor Swift.
I responded, “Well, I have a relative who’s very obsessed with Taylor Swift, but she’s neurotypical. So I’m wondering if there’s actually a difference between an Autistic’s special interest of Taylor Swift and a neurotypical’s.”
The woman replied quite simply, with a glow in her eye and a smile, “I know way too much about her!”
Fair enough. However, I’d find it difficult to believe that my NT relative doesn’t know “way too much” about the popstar.
I’m sure my relative’s knowledge of TS is right up there with the autistic woman’s.
But this doesn’t mean that the level of “obsession” is the same in both these young women.
There could still be a big difference between my NT relative and this autistic individual as far as how their obsession with Taylor Swift goes.
Difference Between Taylor Swift Obsession in an Autistic and a Neurotypical
The biggest thing that immediately comes to mind is that my family member probably doesn’t talk about TS any chance she gets when socializing.
It’s quite likely she confines what seems to be an obsession to Instagram and TikTok, where she has a combined 1.8M followers.
The Instagram posts (which, quite frankly, do indeed indicate something of an obsession) may even be desperate filler material to maintain engagement or even increase followers.
I’m not saying she’s faking her interest; it’s there alright. But it’s conceivable she plays it up to attract more followers.
She could be running out of material (her original platforms are not related to TS) — and so figures that any post about a recording superstar with the biggest-selling concert tour in history could reel in a whole new crop of faithful followers.
Hmmm…that’s not a far-fetched theory. But again, I’ve seen enough of these Instagram posts to conclude that there definitely is some degree of obsession going on.
Nevertheless, despite all that, it’s a strong bet that because she’s NT, she knows when to stop talking about her favorite singer by recognizing that others in the room have had enough.
An autistic woman who’s all-out hyperfixated on Taylor Swift will want to talk about her any chance she gets, such as talking about this special interest to anyone who’ll listen, such as the stranger beside them on a plane or train, or in line at the supermarket, or the bank teller. I don’t think my relative would ever go this far.
Family members of an autistic person whose special interest is Taylor Swift will report that she “talks too much about her,” or, in anticipation of a visit, will be like: “I sure hope she doesn’t go on and on about Taylor Swift like she always does.”
The autistic woman I had met at the pizza social actually didn’t talk much about her other than answer a question I had about her songwriting. After she answered she went on to other topics.
I had given her an opening to talk all about her intense interest, but she had not jumped on this golden opportunity.
Normally, an Autist will gleefully talk all about their passion when asked about it – and even when not asked!
Look, I’ve done this myself with sharks, facial deformities and how wrong it is to hold onto a treadmill.
So it’s possible that her interest in Taylor Swift was what I term “neurotypical-grade” or “NT-grade.”
In other words, people shouldn’t assume that every single hobby or interest that an Autistic has is of an obsessive nature. We can have NT-grade passions as well.
For example, I have a passion for cultivating Kalanchoe daigremontiana – the so-called Mother of Thousands succulent houseplant.
I’m damn good at this and just LOVE these plants. But you won’t find me wanting to discuss them, even online.
And I spend what would be considered a normal amount of time admiring them.
This hobby is as NT-grade as is my NT sister’s hobby for growing orchards.
So pizza social aside, there certainly are Autists who are truly obsessed with Taylor Swift, while millions of neurotypicals have made her one of the wealthiest recording artists in history.
The stark difference is that Autists may be thinking of her throughout the day, buying all sorts of TS paraphernalia (much more so than NTs will), and will insert her into unrelated conversations as much as possible.
And they will know everything about her. Now, it could be said that an NT fan might know everything about TS as well.
But the difference is that the Autistic may know highly specific details such as where every single concert was ever performed, plus its date; which ones, if any, were cancelled and why; how much revenue every single concert generated; who all the opening bands were; and other esoteric data.
However, I’m tempted to believe that there may also be a blurry line between autistic-grade and NT-grade interest when it comes to a recording artist who has legions of hardcore NT fans across the world and is constantly in the news.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical and fitness topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer. In 2022 she received a diagnosis of Level 1 Autism Spectrum Disorder.
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