Is Starlight Glimmer Autistic? What proof is there? Let's Discuss

[FlareGun45 2,221]

Well if this were the case, she and I have more in common than I thought! No wonder she's my 2nd favorite character!

[cider float 2,539]

I think she's closer to a sociopath with a serious case of butthurt

[TheWhiteBowser 187]

I think she's closer to a sociopath with a serious case of butthurt

So you're saying she's Donald Trump?

[cider float 2,539]

So you're saying she's Donald Trump?

More passive aggressive, Donald Trump is just out there all over the place.

[cmarston1 5,962]

Am I the only one who doesn't think that most of these characters have major psychological issues?

[Hazard Time 1,127]

Am I the only one who doesn't think that most of these characters have major psychological issues?

 

That depends.  If by "major psychological issues" you mean clinical, then yes, I agree with you.

 

However, several characters in the show have expressed symptoms of various personality disorders:

 

• Twilight becomes anxious whenever the pressure is on her to come up with a solution,
• Rarity is histrionic ("THE.  WORST.  POSSIBLE.  THING!"),
• Both Rainbow Dash and Trixie have some form of egotism bordering on narcissism,
• Fluttershy is avoidant,
• Luna was depressed following her return and before she defeated her Tantibus, and
• If nothing else, Starlight retains feelings of depression and paranoia towards her friends and former cult followers.

[Concerned Bystander 2,904]

 

 

However, several characters in the show have expressed symptoms of various personality disorders:

Twilight becomes anxious whenever the pressure is on her to come up with a solution,

Rarity is histrionic ("THE. WORST. POSSIBLE. THING!"),

Both Rainbow Dash and Trixie have some form of egotism bordering on narcissism,

Fluttershy is avoidant,

Luna was depressed following her return and before she defeated her Tantibus, and If nothing else,

Starlight retains feelings of depression and paranoia towards her friends and former cult followers.

 

Most of those are fairly tenuous at best though.  Using similar standards you could find symptoms of personality disorders in literally every single person in the world.  Being devoid of personality disorders is not a narrow line, it is a very broad spectrum that can overlap with a variety of disorders at many points.

 

 

 

Am I the only one who doesn't think that most of these characters have major psychological issues?

 

People like characters to be relatable, and in order to relate to that character they will look for traits that they recognise from within themselves.  This is why people will assign personality disorders, sexualities, or any one of a thousand other possible traits to these characters.  Any two people will see Twilight (for example) differently, some will see her as being nothing more than quirky and bookish, some may see her as having OCD or perhaps some degree of autism, some will imagine that she has deep feelings for Flash Sentry while others will imagine that she's in love with Sunset Shimmer, still others will see her as being altogether above such material concerns.

 

Unless directly contradicted by canon material then none of these perceptions are incorrect, it is how that one individual perceives that character, and how they interpret their actions and motivations on screen.  Of course on a forum like this one, you have a number of people, each with their own individual interpretation of that character trying to convince others that their interpretation is the right one.  The fact is that you are correct, at least to you, but then again so is everyone else, even if only to them.

 

It's always fun to spitball about these hypotheticals, as long as nobody is under the impression that their view holds more merit than that of anyone else.

[Ziggy + Angel + Rain 11,303]

Twilight becomes anxious whenever the pressure is on her to come up with a solution,

Rarity is histrionic ("THE. WORST. POSSIBLE. THING!"),

Both Rainbow Dash and Trixie have some form of egotism bordering on narcissism,

Fluttershy is avoidant,

Luna was depressed following her return and before she defeated her Tantibus

No one's allowed to be nervous about something.  No one's allowed to be a little dramatic at times.  No one's allowed to be confident in their abilities.  No one's allowed to be shy.  And no one's allowed to be sad.  You can't have personalities or personality quirks; you are only permitted to have diagnoses.

 

And apparently everyone is autistic, nowadays.  Obviously there's nothing wrong with being autistic or being diagnosed on the autism spectrum; I've known people - worthwhile and ultimately otherwise - who were thus diagnosed.  But, lately, I've had someone ask me if they think a long-dead author was possibly autistic or pointing out behavior in an energetic anime girl that could be perceived as such...  What?  People are people; and, just like the ponies in question, they're more damned complex than just this ONE thing.  I lived half my life in a once-hopeless struggle against severe obsessive compulsive disorder, but I ultimately learned that OCD is NOT me.  It's not who I am; and certainly not ALL that I am.  If you're looking to better relate to a cast member, there's plenty there that doesn't involve amateur psychiatric analysis.

Edited October 25, 2016 by Ziggy + Angel + Rain

[Ganondox 899]

Haven't finished season 6 yet, but initially Starlight Glimmer came across more as a sociopath than autistic, but now I'm starting to see it the other way, mainly based on her high social anxiety and her eagerness to please Twilight. Twilight though definitely does NOT have OCD, people just have no idea what OCD even is. She might have OC*P*D though. 

Savancy is not limited to autism.

 

In fact, it is very rare for females to possess this trait.

 

Savantism or autism? I don't know much about gender rates for savant syndrome, but most savants are autistic, and autism really isn't that rare in females at all. People are just really bad at diagnosing autism in females, and the professionals know this. 

[Buttonmash1973 1,026]

Being autistic myself this is interesting.

[Ganondox 899]

Regarding the fixations aspect of autism, her interest in magic above everything else could definitely qualify as such. Overall though Starlight Glimmer is not the first choice for autistic pony. There is still Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, and the entire Pie family first. Mainly Starlight seems to have some autistic traits in regards to intensity and single-mindedness, but socially it's just anxiety and a poor understanding of norms due to her history. 

I don't think she's autistic, but I think it's likely Starlight has some sort of condition. I'd lean towards schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, perhaps even some form of histrionic or narcissistic personality disorder.

 

Aside from maybe NPD, Glimmer shows no traits of ANY of those conditions, especially not schizophrenia or bipolar. 

 I can assure you from person experience Starlight is definitely not bipolar and she is definitely not schizophrenic.

Schizophrenia has much more to do with mental hallucinations and multiple personalities. And Bipolar disorder is someone who often has no control over their emotions, aka they get angry/happy/sad very easily. They have erractic behavior. Starlight's behavior is not erractic. 

 

Now narcissistic personality disorder. Maybe... I'll give you that. Though I kind of doubt it honestly.

 

No, just no. Schizophrenia has NOTHING to do with multiple personalities, that's disassociative identity disorder. It's defined by hallucinations, yes, and also delusions and other manners of disordered thinking. Bipolar is NOT a lack of control of emotions. What it actually means is that the person is subject to both maniac and depressive episodes, which last for DAYS if not WEEKS. A lack of emotional control is more akin to borderline personality disorder or autism. 

Am I the only one who doesn't think that most of these characters have major psychological issues?

 

Maybe they don't have "major psychological issues" per say as they are getting around alright, but they still demonstrate behavior and thought patterns akin to people with various mental disorders. 

No one's allowed to be nervous about something.  No one's allowed to be a little dramatic at times.  No one's allowed to be confident in their abilities.  No one's allowed to be shy.  And no one's allowed to be sad.  You can't have personalities or personality quirks; you are only permitted to have diagnoses.

 

And apparently everyone is autistic, nowadays.  Obviously there's nothing wrong with being autistic or being diagnosed on the autism spectrum; I've known people - worthwhile and ultimately otherwise - who were thus diagnosed.  But, lately, I've had someone ask me if they think a long-dead author was possibly autistic or pointing out behavior in an energetic anime girl that could be perceived as such...  What?  People are people; and, just like the ponies in question, they're more damned complex than just this ONE thing.  I lived half my life in a once-hopeless struggle against severe obsessive compulsive disorder, but I ultimately learned that OCD is NOT me.  It's not who I am; and certainly not ALL that I am.  If you're looking to better relate to a cast member, there's plenty there that doesn't involve amateur psychiatric analysis.

 

OCD is very different from autism though. The difference is the prior is an anxiety disorder, while the latter is pervasive developmental disorder, meaning it's an integral aspect of the person which affects most areas of the person's life from a young age. The reason the disorder is pervasive because there is more going on than just the disorder, and THAT'S where the tricky stuff comes in. There is good and bad and personality and history mixed in which cannot be separated from each other, not like how OCD can be isolated. It's also a spectrum which bleeds into normalcy, which is why as a actual diagnosis as a disorder it's somewhat rare, but as a connecting trait to describe people who can relate it's pretty common. 

Edited February 19, 2017 by Ganondox

[Jeric 46,871]

Starlight's issues appear to be environmental in genesis, not from a congenital neurological condition. Ziggy makes an interesting point that is shared by many academic and clinical focused Psychologists. Three things have happened in their field to make then reconsider the rate of diagnosis due to flaws.

 

1. Memory. Many therapists were called on the carpet by propagating bad science related to memory supression.

 

2. There is currently a research crisis. Many studies that have led to actionable field based approaches have not been able to be reproduced. Until they start putting an emphasis on also publishing negative results, there is always a concern that bad mental health practices will develop.

 

3. Neurologists are not on the same page as many mental health clinicians. Oddly enough, the higher one's education, the less likely an ASD diagnosis is given.

 

---

 

ASD is diagnosed incorrectly (falso positives and negatives) as we are still in the infancy of understanding it. CBT should not be a method for most cases, yet it is frequently used as the theory of choice. Treating ASD like a PD is akin to treating Kleinfelter Syndrome with SRS. There are greater medical factors to consider with a numerological condition vs pychololigical condition.

 

I don't believe that Starlight has ASD. Any experienced clinician would focus on her actual catalytic event first.

[Ganondox 899]

Starlight's issues appear to be environmental in genesis, not from a congenital neurological condition. Ziggy makes an interesting point that is shared by many academic and clinical focused Psychologists. Three things have happened in their field to make then reconsider the rate of diagnosis due to flaws.

 

1. Memory. Many therapists were called on the carpet by propagating bad science related to memory supression.

 

2. There is currently a research crisis. Many studies that have led to actionable field based approaches have not been able to be reproduced. Until they start putting an emphasis on also publishing negative results, there is always a concern that bad mental health practices will develop.

 

3. Neurologists are not on the same page as many mental health clinicians. Oddly enough, the higher one's education, the less likely an ASD diagnosis is given.

 

---

 

ASD is diagnosed incorrectly (falso positives and negatives) as we are still in the infancy of understanding it. CBT should not be a method for most cases, yet it is frequently used as the theory of choice. Treating ASD like a PD is akin to treating Kleinfelter Syndrome with SRS. There are greater medical factors to consider with a numerological condition vs pychololigical condition.

 

I don't believe that Starlight has ASD. Any experienced clinician would focus on her actual catalytic event first.

I'm finding it hard to follow the organization of your comment to arrive at your main point, but what I can say is that autism is NOT a neurological disorder. It is BY DEFINITION a Pervasive Developmental Disorder, which is a type of neurodevelopental disorder, which despite what the name suggests are a type of psychological disorder. The distinction is important because several DIFFERENT neurological conditions have been found which cause people to be suspectible to developing autism. The causes of autism really aren't any more mysterious than any other mental disorder, the problem is there is a narrative that it's a specific biological condition when it isn't, for which terrible organizations like Autism Speaks are probably to blame.

 

As for Starlight, you're right, the catalyst would be focused on before going to autism, but we do have a flashback of her before the catalyst, and there is unusual aspects of her behavior/situation then as well. The other thing that needs to be considered is that neurologically impacts how one responds to trauma, and an extreme response to trauma is a sign of atypical neurology. I agree she isn't quite autistic and most of it is explained by her life history, but she isn't quite neurotypical either.

Edited February 19, 2017 by Ganondox

[Tilgoreth 1,915]

Before GlimGlam was a thing the fandom was convinced Twilight was OCD or something. Those beliefs fell on deaf ears though. I still think Pinkie Pie is more likely to be ADHD than Twilight is to be OCD but that is a matter of opinion.

 

Recently however with the introduction of Starlight Glimmer people are beginning to point out characteristics of hers that are akin to someone with some form of autism. 

 

However such an assumption is too generalized. Autism isn't one thing. There are several different forms and mental inabilities autism takes. To say Starlight has autism would be uninformed as autism takes many forms itself. Anyone who has studied the illness or has it would know this.

 

So here I thought we would discuss what part of the autism spectrum Starlight falls under. 

 

Keep in mind though. There could be an argument that Starlight isn't autistic at all and her behavior is only a construct of her past mistakes and not some innate mental inability.

 

To be fair the latter argument could just as easily point out that because Starlight was a dictator or tyrant before proves that she doesn't have autism. Autistic people aren't usually known to be tyrannical their known to be moreso, introverted. As such an autistic person would likely frown on being a dictator and would rather spend time to themselves and their own interests. This is only my opinion. Feel free to prove me wrong.

 

As such we must remain open-minded when discussing this. I mean would it even be fair to assume Friendship is Magic would go the road of presenting us with an autistic character? Or are we just speculating?

 

So please let's talk below.

No Starlight Glimmer Is not autistic. Nor does Pinkie Pie have ADHD. And Twilight does not have OCD more than the writers use it as a meme. Let me explain why I think this.

 

1. There all cartoon characters. The mane six and Starlight are realistically in there late teens to early twenties. They've fought countless enemies. Yet they still let petty problems get in the way. Or Pinkie Pie bounces around like a little girl half the time. Despite the fact that she's probably in her twenties. I know Lauren Faust said something to the same affect. That it doesn't matter how old the mane six are. There still cartoon characters. For example there's Spongebob. Spongebob is probably in his mid twenties to mid thirties. Yet half the time he acts like a child. It's the same way with the mane six. There age doesn't matter because there cartoon characters. Now I have a point with this. Starlight and her behaviour doesn't come from her being autistic. It comes from her pas experiences and the fact that she's a cartoon character. So yeah the writers will make her act erratically sometimes. That's just because she's a cartoon character so the writers feel more free to do that.

 

2. The sh*t storm Hasbro would deal with. No character from mlp will ever openly be revealed to be autistic. There is no positive portrayal of an autistic person. No matter how sensitively it was treated a bunch of autism groups would come out and condemn the show. Another Derpy scenario would likely happen at that point. With them either changing the lines of dialogue or completely pulling the episode. Just think about what would happen if Rainbow Dash was a lesbian. There'd be insane backlash from both ends of the political spectrum. Conservative parents wouldn't want there kids to watch a kids cartoon that had a openly gay character. And the liberals would call her a token representation of a lesbian.(Which she probably would be.) The point of that was to say that Hasbro will ever have anything controversial in mlp. It's to big a money maker to f*ck around with.

 

3. This is more of a personal reason. For whatever reason people seem to feel the need to claim fictional charcters. Claim for gays, for blacks, for autistic people. I don't understand this. A character can be gay or black or a f*cking pony and people could still enjoy them and relate to them. Characters are the sum of all there parts. Good characters are multifaceted and in some way relatable. An autistic character isn't suddenly more relatable to an autistic person simply because they are autistic. The same way a white character isn't more relatable to a white person simply because they are white. People don't relate to superficial things about characters and about real human beings. A straight white man can relate to the experiences of a gay black man simply because they are both human beings. People do not characters who are exactly like them to relate to them. They need characters who are human like they are. Characters who struggle for success and don't have it handed to them. It doesn't matter if there and autistic teenager or a a transgender woman. All that matters is that they are in some way human. For whatever reason the liberals nowadays think that there needs to be more representation in media. But there does t. If you can't relate to another human being unless they are the same race as you, then that is incredibly evil. You should be able to relate to them simply because they are a human being. It doesn't matter if there black or white or gay, or anything else.

 

Quote me if you care to reply.

[ManaMinori 4,146]

Why are people so adamant about finding autistic qualities in a bunch of cartoon horses?

[Tilgoreth 1,915]

Why are people so adamant about finding autistic qualities in a bunch of cartoon horses?

Read my post above yours. Only because I talk about there.

[Ganondox 899]

No Starlight Glimmer Is not autistic. Nor does Pinkie Pie have ADHD. And Twilight does not have OCD more than the writers use it as a meme. Let me explain why I think this.

 

1. There all cartoon characters. The mane six and Starlight are realistically in there late teens to early twenties. They've fought countless enemies. Yet they still let petty problems get in the way. Or Pinkie Pie bounces around like a little girl half the time. Despite the fact that she's probably in her twenties. I know Lauren Faust said something to the same affect. That it doesn't matter how old the mane six are. There still cartoon characters. For example there's Spongebob. Spongebob is probably in his mid twenties to mid thirties. Yet half the time he acts like a child. It's the same way with the mane six. There age doesn't matter because there cartoon characters. Now I have a point with this. Starlight and her behaviour doesn't come from her being autistic. It comes from her pas experiences and the fact that she's a cartoon character. So yeah the writers will make her act erratically sometimes. That's just because she's a cartoon character so the writers feel more free to do that.

 

2. The sh*t storm Hasbro would deal with. No character from mlp will ever openly be revealed to be autistic. There is no positive portrayal of an autistic person. No matter how sensitively it was treated a bunch of autism groups would come out and condemn the show. Another Derpy scenario would likely happen at that point. With them either changing the lines of dialogue or completely pulling the episode. Just think about what would happen if Rainbow Dash was a lesbian. There'd be insane backlash from both ends of the political spectrum. Conservative parents wouldn't want there kids to watch a kids cartoon that had a openly gay character. And the liberals would call her a token representation of a lesbian.(Which she probably would be.) The point of that was to say that Hasbro will ever have anything controversial in mlp. It's to big a money maker to f*ck around with.

 

3. This is more of a personal reason. For whatever reason people seem to feel the need to claim fictional charcters. Claim for gays, for blacks, for autistic people. I don't understand this. A character can be gay or black or a f*cking pony and people could still enjoy them and relate to them. Characters are the sum of all there parts. Good characters are multifaceted and in some way relatable. An autistic character isn't suddenly more relatable to an autistic person simply because they are autistic. The same way a white character isn't more relatable to a white person simply because they are white. People don't relate to superficial things about characters and about real human beings. A straight white man can relate to the experiences of a gay black man simply because they are both human beings. People do not characters who are exactly like them to relate to them. They need characters who are human like they are. Characters who struggle for success and don't have it handed to them. It doesn't matter if there and autistic teenager or a a transgender woman. All that matters is that they are in some way human. For whatever reason the liberals nowadays think that there needs to be more representation in media. But there does t. If you can't relate to another human being unless they are the same race as you, then that is incredibly evil. You should be able to relate to them simply because they are a human being. It doesn't matter if there black or white or gay, or anything else.

 

Quote me if you care to reply.

 

1. Well duh, but you're missing the point. It's not about the characters intentionally being made to be autistic (though the whole plot arch for Twilight Sparkle in the first season seems most relative to people on the autistic spectrum or other otherwise took social skills classes), but that being an analyzing the presentation rather than the intention for the sake of developing headcanons. Frankly generic cartoon characters make for more realistic representations of mental illness than intention depictions of mental illness because when it's done intentionally they try way too hard to make it obvious, while in a realistic context cartoon behavior is abnormal behavior.  

 

2. You don't understand the "autism groups" at all. What they want more than anything is representation, and specifically representation as people, not as walking disorders. It's not the "autism groups" which are shooting down the possibility, it's 1. most writers don't even realize it's a topic worth addressing and 2. random parents getting offended, not the actual interest groups. It should be noted that some children's shows like Arthur HAVE dealt with the issue (then again Arthur has always been a step ahead of everyone else). Of course they still falls in the same trap with a one-time extremely stereotypical character, but AT LEAST IT'S A STEP IN THE DOOR. It's a representation for non-autistic audiences, the next step is recognizing autistic audiences exist. 

 

3. I'm going to assume you aren't a part of any minority group which rarely gets any representation in media, especially not relatable and positive ones, because you simple don't get it. AT ALL. First off, autism is NOT a superficial trait, and secondly, you don't seem to understand people very well, because people absolutely do relate with other based on superficial traits, but that's all beside the point. It's not about having characters that you can relate to, obviously people can relate to a wide range of characters very different from them, it's about two different things. The first is role models. People need to see people who are like them being likable and successful to know that they are likable, and capable of being successful. Say if there is no likable or successful black people in the media, black kids get the message "there is no likable or successful black people BECAUSE they are black". And this isn't just some theoretical construct, it actually makes a huge difference in people's self esteem and aspirations. For example, it's been shown that the largest predictor for a woman becoming an engineer is simply knowing women who are engineers. You don't get this, because you take it for granted. The other issue is the the media plays a large role in forming people's conceptions about minorities. In fact, if they don't know any minorities personally (or at least don't KNOW they know anyone in the minority group because religion, sexuality, and disability are often invisible) and haven't tackled the subject academically, it's going to ENTIRELY inform their conceptions about minorities. This is important because it impacts policy decisions as well as individual discrimination.  

[Jeric 46,871]

I'm finding it hard to follow the organization of your comment to arrive at your main point, but what I can say is that autism is NOT a neurological disorder. It is BY DEFINITION a Pervasive Developmental Disorder, which is a type of neurodevelopental disorder, which despite what the name suggests are a type of psychological disorder. The distinction is important because several DIFFERENT neurological conditions have been found which cause people to be suspectible to developing autism. The causes of autism really aren't any more mysterious than any other mental disorder, the problem is there is a narrative that it's a specific biological condition when it isn't, for which terrible organizations like Autism Speaks are probably to blame.

 

As for Starlight, you're right, the catalyst would be focused on before going to autism, but we do have a flashback of her before the catalyst, and there is unusual aspects of her behavior/situation then as well. The other thing that needs to be considered is that neurologically impacts how one responds to trauma, and an extreme response to trauma is a sign of atypical neurology. I agree she isn't quite autistic and most of it is explained by her life history, but she isn't quite neurotypical either.

Generally I'll use generic terminology instead of getting too granular with verbiage and phraseology. Yes there is a distinction between condition of the brain and conditions pertaining to the pathways of the brain, though all under the same proto field and published articles in the same usual suspects. For the intended audience it would be a case of 'same same'. When it comes down to it, the point was it often gets thought of as a pychololigical condition when it is not.

 

The three points I made are only connected in so far that they are all motivations in the field and in the lab for caution of diagnosis and treatment. Growing skeptiscm on evaluation and treatment approaches. To be fair, this is the case with most profiled conditions due to the research crisis.

 

And yes, the line between neurological, developmental, and psychological is an ongoing debate as well, with some in the camp that there is no concrete scientific definition yet so no distinction should be made. My approach is due to the possibility of a congenital cause vs an environmental or passive genetic cause.

 

I also have any issue with medical conditions without a 'steward discipline', something that has many benifits, one of which is to ensure better health care standards for diagnosis and treatment are followed. Right now that isn't the case with ASD.

 

Regardless, I'll double down in my view that Starlight does note have autism with the statement that any clinician that would diagnose her with ASD needs to have his or her credentials questioned, and perhaps face APA sanctions.

[DixonTheAdversary 1,634]

I personally do not think that she has autism, she is just misinformed. 

[Ganondox 899]

Okay, just finished the season and watched the preview for next, here is my verdict: Why she DOES have both autistic and sociopathic traits, she definitely isn't either. While her concept of friendship is odd (probably due to the combination of said traits), she doesn't lack social skills, she just lost her confidence after losing her village and breaking down in front of Twilight. Once she regained her confidence she quickly relearned all her social skills, which is why she graduated much faster than Twilight Sparkle. 

Edited March 18, 2017 by Ganondox

[ChocolateCrane 156]

NO Starlight is NOT autistic. Jesus Christ, I cannot stand when people try to associate cartoon characters with real life "things" like this. For example "Is Rainbow Dash a lesbian?" <- this is at least usually meant in a joking around kind of way, or as fanfic fodder, so it's not quite as bad as the question posed in this thread.

 

Starlight has been through a hellava lot. And she's put other ponies through hell too. Do you HONESTLY think that after ALL those years she basically imprisoned and brainwashed that town full of ponies, that wouldn't have some sort of negative consequence on her mental state?

 

The reason she is having so much trouble socializing with other ponies in season 6 is due to the time she spent as a tryrannical, deranged, dictator having ponies relinquish their cutie marks to her while she sat at the top keeping every pony "in check".  She is not an autist; she is a former psychopath who had her delusional way of thinking forcibly changed by an outside force and now (as of season 6) she is currently making strides towards remission. There is a healing process, understand? She is not just magically mentally healthy after having Twilight talk sense into her.

[Ganondox 899]

NO Starlight is NOT autistic. Jesus Christ, I cannot stand when people try to associate cartoon characters with real life "things" like this. For example "Is Rainbow Dash a lesbian?" <- this is at least usually meant in a joking around kind of way, or as fanfic fodder, so it's not quite as bad as the question posed in this thread.

 

Starlight has been through a hellava lot. And she's put other ponies through hell too. Do you HONESTLY think that after ALL those years she basically imprisoned and brainwashed that town full of ponies, that wouldn't have some sort of negative consequence on her mental state?

 

The reason she is having so much trouble socializing with other ponies in season 6 is due to the time she spent as a tryrannical, deranged, dictator having ponies relinquish their cutie marks to her while she sat at the top keeping every pony "in check".  She is not an autist; she is a former psychopath who had her delusional way of thinking forcibly changed by an outside force and now (as of season 6) she is currently making strides towards remission. There is a healing process, understand? She is not just magically mentally healthy after having Twilight talk sense into her.

 

So you can't stand the labeling of characters as autistic or lesbian, but you're perfectly okay with throwing psychopath out there? Anyway, there is no such thing a former psychopath, it doesn't work like that. Anyway, I guess if you can't associate characters with real life things it means characters shouldn't have gender or personality or...

Edited March 18, 2017 by Ganondox

[ChocolateCrane 156]

So you can't stand the labeling of characters as autistic or lesbian, but you're perfectly okay with throwing psychopath out there? Anyway, there is no such thing a former psychopath, it doesn't work like that. Anyway, I guess if you can't associate characters with real life things it means characters shouldn't have gender or personality or...

 

 

I used the term real life "things" because I was not sure how to articulate specifically what I meant. Perhaps a better way to say what I was referring to: I hate when people watch a cartoon and then try to associate it somehow with something that is a societal "hot topic".

 

For a hypothetical example, after watching Brotherhooves Social, someone makes the connection that "Oh, Big Macintosh was crossdressing throughout the entire episode so maybe he has repressed desires to become a female. Looks like we might have our first transgender character on our hands. GG for diversity, DHX!" <-- Or some stupid nonsense like that.

 

^ I hope that made a bit more sense to you. Anyway, in regard to the first sentence of your post "throwing out labels like psychopath while discouraging "lesbian" or "autistic", let me defend my position. Has the team behind FiM EVER once come out saying Rainbow Dash is a lesbian? Has there ever truly been any concrete evidence in the show that proves this? I can ask the same question for the autism assertion as well. My stance is Starlight Glimmer is shown VERY CLEARLY by the writers to have been psychopathic when she was in charge of the town full of ponies. There is no speculation, no need to look deeper into things. Even a little 8 year old girl could tell Starlight was crazy. It is not just something that the adult pony loving community needs to delve into to find proper head canons for.

 

Edited March 18, 2017 by ChocolateCrane

[Concerned Bystander 2,904]

As far as most fiction goes, character traits should not be set out in stone unless they drive the narrative or the character development in some useful way.  Gender (at least in film/TV) is pretty much a given, but invisible characteristics like sexuality or mental health should be left to the imagination of the consumer so that they are free to interpret the character in whichever way they wish to, of course if the character has a love interest or is struggling with their feelings for someone then it can be helpful to have an idea of where that character is in their own head.

 

But again, that goes back to whether or not the trait drives the story or the character in some way.  Look at any psychological thriller ever, if we knew what the character's state of mental health is then it would destroy the entire point of the film.  Similarly, look at anything written by Philip K Dick or any of the films based thereupon, so many of his stories revolve around the fact that the consumer of the work is unaware of the mental health of the character, leaving us wondering the whole way through if the events we see through the character's eyes are indeed the same as what we might refer to as the 'objective reality'.

 

Then as I mentioned in a previous comment there is the issue of making characters relatable, many people like to feel represented in the works they enjoy, so by keeping the characters less than absolutely defined it leaves them open to being enjoyed by different viewers in different ways.  The downside of course is that is sparks discussions like this where one person's view clashes with another's, and both are adamant that their perception is the only right one.

 

Ultimately, Hasbro are never going to state outright that Starlight is autistic, or confirm any of the other miriad headcanons surrounding various MLP characters.  If they were to do so, the inevitable backlash from outraged parents and assorted other interested parties about inaccurate representation, tokenism, mockery, normalisation of whatever else they feel like getting offended about would be another nail in the coffin of the franchise.  Aside from that, by indulging one group they will only end depriving another, far better to let every individual decide for themselves.

[PonyMage 228]

Why are people so adamant about finding autistic qualities in a bunch of cartoon horses?

"Why do people like doing different things than me"

 

No one's allowed to be nervous about something.  No one's allowed to be a little dramatic at times.  No one's allowed to be confident in their abilities.  No one's allowed to be shy.  And no one's allowed to be sad.  You can't have personalities or personality quirks; you are only permitted to have diagnoses.

 

And apparently everyone is autistic, nowadays.  Obviously there's nothing wrong with being autistic or being diagnosed on the autism spectrum; I've known people - worthwhile and ultimately otherwise - who were thus diagnosed.  But, lately, I've had someone ask me if they think a long-dead author was possibly autistic or pointing out behavior in an energetic anime girl that could be perceived as such...  What?  People are people; and, just like the ponies in question, they're more damned complex than just this ONE thing.  I lived half my life in a once-hopeless struggle against severe obsessive compulsive disorder, but I ultimately learned that OCD is NOT me.  It's not who I am; and certainly not ALL that I am.  If you're looking to better relate to a cast member, there's plenty there that doesn't involve amateur psychiatric analysis.

Is this stemming from the fact that some people think Rainbow Dash is autistic and you don't like that idea