#ActuallyAutistic

A term that will appear throughout my discussions is topos which is Greek for "place" but in a rhetorical sense is used more like a grounding point for various arguments within a movement. Topoi are common threads or tropes that you might see multiple rhetors use in order to connect their argument to the larger cause. I learned this word from Ruth Osorio's article on the #ActuallyAutistic Twitter thread in which she explores neurodivergence on social media. She uses data analysis of the tweets that fall under this hashtag in order to identify topoi and better examine the movement away from negative sentiments toward autistic people. Osorio argues that the movement is successful in its apparent goals to convey autistic voices to the public, encourage others to embrace neurodivergence, and call out anti-autistic ableism online where it's present. While social media can be a useful enough tool for anyone to have their voice heard, the alternative activist platform is especially significant to those who could not (or were for other reasons not willing to) use traditional activist platforms.

I think that this terminology and method of finding common arguments and tracing them through a movement will be crucial for my studies; I might try to focus on satire and political-style cartoons as a way to understand (recent?) anti-consumerist sentiments online. Although I have not done extensive research on it so far, I don't tend to see actual anti-consumerist activism, or at least not in my feed, but I do see a lot of memes about the state of the economy and how it affects the environment, the workplace, racial tensions, etc.

First image: "Humans living out their extremely fulfilling lives in the greatest economic system ever created," picture of Mr. Incredible sitting at his office computer looking dejected

Second image: "Remember what you're fighting for," images of cookie-cutter suburban houses, traffic stopped on a high-way, shelves full of things you're supposed to want to buy, the elderly looking bored at a nursing home

Topoi: the economy is not conducive to individual fulfillment, the military protects mundane lifestyles like suburban sprawl, the American work week is damaging to people's social lives and self image

Works Cited

Osario, Ruth. "I Am #ActuallyAutistic, Hear Me Tweet: The Autist-Topoi of Autistic Activists on Twitter. Enculturation. May 26, 2020.