Autistic trans camouflaging: an early phenomenological exploration

This publication is included in the Autistic Autism Scholarship Project. one author of this publication is identified as autistic in the project.

About the autistic author marker

Metadata sources used for this reference

OpenAlex Crossref OpenCitations
Learn more about the sources used

Hake, R. (2024). Autistic trans camouflaging: an early phenomenological exploration. Philosophical Psychology, 38(1), 150-167. https://doi.org/10.1080/09515089.2024.2385056

Publication date: 17 Sep 2024 Added to AutiHub: 14 Sep 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
Publisher source (DOI) Full text OpenAlex source

This publication is integrated into AutiHub through:

Authors

Publication authors
1
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 1 (100.0%)
  1. Ruby Hake *

Abstract

Autistic people often camouflage, i.e. they adopt certain behaviors in order to fit in in neurotypical environments. Autobiographical accounts suggest that autistic trans people experience camouflaging in a unique, more complex and often heightened way than cis autistic people, and this has not been studied. They have autistic traits to mask, as well as gendered traits, in a hostile neuronormative and cisnormative world. This intersection of experience is worthy of exploration, not least because this group of people are typically misunderstood and silenced, as well as being particularly at risk of the mental distress that can come from camouflaging. In this paper I discuss autistic trans people’s accounts of camouflaging and begin a preliminary phenomenological analysis. I draw primarily from Simone de Beauvoir’s concept of “doubling”, whereby (cis) women experience being both oneself and the image of oneself, under patriarchal objectification. One can argue that autistic people are similarly “doubled” when camouflaging, experiencing their neurodivergent selves as well as their more neurotypical presentation. Going beyond de Beauvoir, it can be further argued that many trans people experience “tripling” and therefore that trans autistic people experience being at least “quadrupled” if not “quintupled”.

Bibliography cited by this reference

Cited references are imported from external metadata sources when they are available. The list may be partial.

Cited bibliography overview

These indicators describe the bibliography cited by this publication. An author name is counted each time it appears in one cited reference, so the same person can be counted more than once. Names not yet linked to an author already present in AutiHub are treated as unknown, not as non-autistic. Last computed: 14 Sep 2026 18:08.

Cited references
51
With a DOI
32
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
19
4 / 51 (7.8%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
7 / 51 (13.7%)
References with detected author names
44 / 51 (86.3%)
Without detected author names
7
Without a structured title
7
Without a stable identifier
18
References with raw author names still to review
7
References with external metadata lookup issues
0
These indicators apply to cited references displayed on this page, after technical duplicates have been merged. A reference without a DOI can still support author statistics when a title and author names are available.
Author names detected in the cited bibliography
98
From DOI or external metadata
98
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
7
35 / 98 (35.7%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 63 / 98 (64.3%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
6 / 98 (6.1%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 6 / 35 (17.1%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 6 / 90 (6.7%).
  1. Dan Zahavi , Josef Parnas (2003). Conceptual problems in infantile autism research: Why cognitive science needs phenomenology . In Journal of Consciousness Studies (pp. 53).
    Type: Book chapter OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W400116525
    Crossref OpenAlex
  2. Noah Adams * , Bridget Liang * (2020). Trans and Autistic . Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
    Type: Book DOI: 10.5040/9781805014621 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W4403641427
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  3. Alyssa Lynne (2021). Paired Double Consciousness: A Du Boisian Approach to Gender and Transnational Double Consciousness in Thai Kathoey Self-Formation . Social Problems, 68(2), 250-266. Oxford University Press (OUP).
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1093/socpro/spaa073 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W3155144846
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  4. Joyce Davidson , Sophie Tamas (2016). Autism and the ghost of gender . Emotion, Space and Society, 19(October), 59-65. Elsevier BV.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1016/j.emospa.2015.09.009 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W1909144836
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  5. Alecia D. Anderson , Jay A. Irwin , Angela M. Brown , Chris L. Grala (2020). “Your Picture Looks the Same as My Picture”: An Examination of Passing in Transgender Communities . Gender Issues, 37(1), 44-60. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1007/s12147-019-09239-x OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2963324476
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  6. Jennifer Murphy , Freya Prentice , Reubs Walsh , Caroline Catmur , Geoffrey Bird (2020). Autism and transgender identity: Implications for depression and anxiety . Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 69, 101466. Elsevier BV.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1016/j.rasd.2019.101466 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2979173006
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  7. Dan Zahavi (2010). Complexities of self . Autism, 14(5), 547-551. SAGE Publications.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1177/1362361310370040 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W1978330888
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  9. Sparrow M. (2020). Spectrums . Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
    Type: Book DOI: 10.5040/9781805014935 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W4403642394
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  10. Pier Jaarsma , Petra Gelhaus , Stellan Welin (2012). Living the categorical imperative: autistic perspectives on lying and truth telling–between Kant and care ethics . Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy, 15(3), 271-277. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1007/s11019-011-9363-7 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2020065055
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  11. Berger J. (2008). Ways of seeing . Ways of seeing.
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  12. Dan Zahavi (2009). Is the Self a Social Construct? Inquiry, 52(6), 551-573. Informa UK Limited.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1080/00201740903377826 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2021414263
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  13. Thomas J. Billard (2019). “Passing” and the Politics of Deception: Transgender Bodies, Cisgender Aesthetics, and the Policing of Inconspicuous Marginal Identities . In The Palgrave Handbook of Deceptive Communication (pp. 463-477). Springer International Publishing.
    Type: Book chapter DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-96334-1_24 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2942923379
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  14. Shaun Gallagher (2004). Understanding Interpersonal Problems in Autism: Interaction Theory as An Alternative to Theory of Mind . Philosophy, Psychiatry, & Psychology, 11(3), 199-217. Project MUSE.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1353/ppp.2004.0063 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2115438263
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  15. Louise Bradley , Rebecca Shaw , Simon Baron-Cohen , Sarah Cassidy (2021). Autistic Adults' Experiences of Camouflaging and Its Perceived Impact on Mental Health . Autism in Adulthood, 3(4), 320-329. SAGE Publications.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1089/aut.2020.0071 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W3170765972
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  16. Ilan H. Meyer (2003). Prejudice, social stress, and mental health in lesbian, gay, and bisexual populations: Conceptual issues and research evidence. Psychological Bulletin, 129(5), 674-697. American Psychological Association (APA).
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1037/0033-2909.129.5.674 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2125568653
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  17. Rachel S. Coleman-Smith , Richard Smith , Elizabeth Milne , Andrew R. Thompson (2020). ‘Conflict versus Congruence’: A Qualitative Study Exploring the Experience of Gender Dysphoria for Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder . Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 50(8), 2643-2657. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1007/s10803-019-04296-3 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W3011530588
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  18. Kristen Schilt (2010). Just One of the Guys? University of Chicago Press.
    Type: Book DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226738086.001.0001 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W4245080070
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  19. Kate Cooper , William Mandy , Catherine Butler , Ailsa Russell (2022). The lived experience of gender dysphoria in autistic adults: An interpretative phenomenological analysis . Autism, 26(4), 963-974. SAGE Publications.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1177/13623613211039113 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W3184285365
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  21. Michelle Dean , Robin Harwood , CONNIE KASARI (2017). The art of camouflage: Gender differences in the social behaviors of girls and boys with autism spectrum disorder . Autism, 21(6), 678-689. SAGE Publications.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1177/1362361316671845 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2559694411
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  22. Crenshaw K. (2018). Kimberlé Crenshaw on intersectionality, more than two decades later . Kimberlé Crenshaw on intersectionality, more than two decades later.
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  23. Ella Perry , William Mandy , Laura Hull , Eilidh Cage (2022). Understanding Camouflaging as a Response to Autism-Related Stigma: A Social Identity Theory Approach . Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 52(2), 800-810. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1007/s10803-021-04987-w OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W3150043110
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  24. Judith Gould (2017). Towards understanding the under-recognition of girls and women on the autism spectrum . Autism, 21(6), 703-705. SAGE Publications.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1177/1362361317706174 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2740451639
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  25. Laura Hull , Lily Levy , Meng-Chuan Lai , K.V. Petrides , Simon Baron-Cohen , Carrie Allison et al. (2021). Is social camouflaging associated with anxiety and depression in autistic adults? Molecular Autism, 12(1), 1. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1186/s13229-021-00421-1 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W3132619758
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  26. Victoria Milner , Hollie McIntosh , Emma Colvert , Francesca Happé (2019). A Qualitative Exploration of the Female Experience of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) . Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 49(6), 2389-2402. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1007/s10803-019-03906-4 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2917614824
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  27. de Beauvoir S. (1953). On ne naît pas femme: On le devient: The life of a sentence . On ne naît pas femme: On le devient: The life of a sentence.
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  28. Decore C. (2022). The point of masking is not always passing. https://disableddiscourse.ca/2022/08/25/the-point-of-masking-is-not-always-passing/
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  29. Steven D. Stagg , Jaime Vincent (2019). Autistic traits in individuals self-defining as transgender or nonbinary . European Psychiatry, 61, 17-22. Cambridge University Press (CUP).
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1016/j.eurpsy.2019.06.003 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2952198618
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  30. Cristiana Kaipper Dias , Leonardo Rafael Leite da Rocha , Luca Tateo , Giuseppina Marsico (2021). “Passing” and its effects on Brazilian transgender people's sense of belonging to society: A theoretical study . Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 31(6), 690-702. Wiley.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1002/casp.2535 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W3163897498
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  31. DuBois W. E. B. (1990). The souls of black folk . The souls of black folk.
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  32. Fanon F. (1986). Black skin, white masks . Black skin, white masks.
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  33. Charles des Portes (2020). Fifty Concepts for a Critical Phenomenology . Journal of the British Society for Phenomenology, 51(3), 276-278. Informa UK Limited.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1080/00071773.2020.1741151 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W3011642138
    OpenAlex
  34. Henry Wood-Downie , Bonnie Wong , Hanna Kovshoff , William Mandy , Laura Hull , Julie A. Hadwin (2021). Sex/Gender Differences in Camouflaging in Children and Adolescents with Autism . Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 51(4), 1353-1364. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1007/s10803-020-04615-z OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W3044619148
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  35. Heyworth M. (2018). #takethemaskoff (but what if I don’t know how?) – reframing autism. www.reframingautism.com.au/takethemaskoff
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  36. Valentina Petrolini , Ekaine Rodríguez-Armendariz , Agustín Vicente (2023). Autistic camouflaging across the spectrum . New Ideas in Psychology, 68, 100992. Elsevier BV.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1016/j.newideapsych.2022.100992 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W4307851045
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  37. Kimoto T. (2018). APA newsletter on LGBTQ issues in philosophy . APA newsletter on LGBTQ issues in philosophy, 16.
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  39. McWeeny J. (2017). On ne naît pas femme: On le devient: The life of a sentence . On ne naît pas femme: On le devient: The life of a sentence, 231.
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  40. Elizabeth M. Radulski (2022). Conceptualising Autistic Masking, Camouflaging, and Neurotypical Privilege: Towards a Minority Group Model of Neurodiversity . Human Development, 66(2), 113-127. S. Karger AG.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1159/000524122 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W4287738988
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  41. Isobel Moore , Gareth Morgan , Alice Welham , Ginny Russell (2022). The intersection of autism and gender in the negotiation of identity: A systematic review and metasynthesis . Feminism & Psychology, 8(8), 1. SAGE Publications.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1177/09593535221074806 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W4213344923
    Crossref OpenAlex
  42. Kimberly Ann Brauner (2023). Spectrums: Autistic Transgender People in Their Own Words . Journal of Applied Rehabilitation Counseling, 54(4), 327-328. Springer Publishing Company.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1891/jarc-2023-0006 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W4387874414
    OpenAlex
  43. Porter R. (2020). Autism masking and trans identity. https://medium.com/age-of-awareness/autism-masking-trans-identity-5cc1987ca69b
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  44. Rivera L. (2020). What is AutiGender? - the relationship between autism & gender - an autistic perspective [video online]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmneogJXWoc&list=WL&index=3&ab_channel=NeurodivergentRebel
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  45. Rivera L. (2022). #ActuallyAutistic #AskingAutistics - why do you think there are so many trans autistic people?. https://twitter.com/NeuroRebel/status/1486053505731289093?t=OIMonA9UHsgT4kyVLTUv2g&s=07
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  46. Rutzebeck E. (2023). Gender: Reflections and intersections . Gender: Reflections and intersections.
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  47. S O. (2023). Autistic + trans. https://itgetsbetter.org/blog/autistic-trans/
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  48. Thaemlitz T. (2004). Viva McGlam? Is transgenderism a critique of or capitulation to opulence-driven glamour models? The future has a silver lining: Geneologies of glamour . Viva McGlam? Is transgenderism a critique of or capitulation to opulence-driven glamour models? The future has a silver lining: Geneologies of glamour.
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  49. Transtistic. (2017). Passing and passing Transtistic: At the intersection of Transtistic and autgender. https://transtistic.wordpress.com/2017/04/25/passing-and-passing/
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  50. Weiss G. (2020). Fifty concepts for a critical phenomenology . Fifty concepts for a critical phenomenology.
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  51. Williams P. S. (2017). I’ve lived as a man & a woman – here’s what I learned . I’ve lived as a man & a woman – here’s what I learned.
    Type: Other
    Crossref