Constructions of “female autism” in professional practices: A Foucauldian discourse analysis

The rapid rise of literature concerned with “female autism” warrants critical analysis due to its implications for women and girls and understandings of neurodiversity. We sought to explore these implications, as well as broader institutional and ideological ramifications, through examining how female autism is constructed in professional practices. A Foucauldian discourse analysis was undertaken of descriptions of female autism in reports and resources provided by UK-based clinicians. Female autism was framed in these texts as an advance in medical–scientific knowledge and gender equality, its identification in women and girls argued to be crucial to their personal flourishing. However, attending to the power dynamics at play, a more complicated story developed, whereby the construction of female autism extends the reach of the “expert gaze” through expanding the category of autism while reproducing patriarchal norms and reinforcing hegemonic, binary understandings of gender. Interpretive in nature, our analysis intends a troubling of female autism, with the aim of encouraging critical feminist theoretical engagement as well as reflective clinical practice.