Addressing Sia and Ableism

Content Warning: Sia, Ableism

Howdy! I usually do cheerful "How to help autistics" and such posts, however, it is now 2021 and the autism community still faces extreme ableism from a major influencer and musician. Worse yet, we are the only ones fighting back.

In this blog post, I will use the terms NT and ND. For those unaware, NT stands for Neurotypical, someone who is not autistic or have other neurological disorders, while ND stands for Neurodivergent. Someone with autism and other neurological disorders.

Please, do read on. It may bore you or not seem of interest. And you may believe Sia is innocent, however, I can assure you she is not and is hurting many with her actions and words. Clicking off this post is turning a blind eye to her ableism, and hurting the autistic community with ignorance.

I have previously made a Facebook post stating such if you'd rather read it there.

A few months back, Sia shared the trailer for her film 'Music' of which I will link for you to see how hurtful it is. In this, Maddie plays a non-verbal autistic. Watching her try on our stims and behavior for a movie is extremely uncomfortable, as spoken by many autistics.

We tried to approach Sia and explain how hurtful the movie was, however, her responses were appalling. She claimed one autistic must be a 'bad actor' and it was a 'shame we haven't seen the movie'

and 'aren't giving it a chance'. When in fact, a trailer is your chance for the public to decide if it's acceptable.

NT's went on to support Sia, encouraging her to ignore our voices and turn a blind eye to how she has hurt so many.

Making it worse, Sia revealed she has done multiple years of research for this movie and worked with a group called 'Autism Speaks' to create it. Autism Speaks are actually a hate group to autism and treat it as a disease to be cured.

The controversy died down for a short few weeks as Sia apologized for her actions and claimed she never meant to hurt anybody. But now, she had spoken up once more and her apology no longer matters as what she has said hurt so many over again.

Sia has admitted in an interview that she is ableist and nepotistic. Nepotism is the practice among those with power or influence of favoring relatives or friends, especially by giving them jobs. In this case, Maddie Ziegler.

Sia does not need or have a sense of self-preservation as the general public does not hold her accountable for her wrongdoings. No one but the autism community is holding her accountable, meaning we need all the help we can get.

The problem lies in the fact Sia is able to admit to all of this, in interviews millions will watch, and face no consequences.

Autistic people are the only ones pushing back against her. And we are not being taken seriously, and treated like a joke, much like always.

Sia nor her fans care at this point and all we can hope to do is educate the general public about how not ok this is. Maybe then we can dent the number of people who see her movie. And if not, at least they will have heard of the ongoings as Sia no longer cares.

However, while Sia may not care, there are people who will listen. However, it is few. The autistic community is in need of support right now. So if you are not autistic, and this news is upsetting to hear, speak up about it.

Amplify the voices of autistic people who are trying to talk about the issue and being ignored. It is clear we are getting no further support as when you log onto social media, people are busy complaining about how they can not have parties due to current times.

Something needs to change. Autistic voices are not disposable. Listen to us. We are not a joke, and neither is this.

If you'd like to help out, please share this post and many more on Instagram and other social platforms to raise awareness. Sia is not helping to raise awareness with her movie, but making it harder for us to gain acceptance with her NT fanbase slowly viewing us as people who are rude to their idol.

Speak out.

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