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Forum » Deconstructing "cringe" — why do neurodivergent joy and softness get pathologized?
Deconstructing "cringe" — why do neurodivergent joy and softness get pathologized?
I've been researching the "cringe" taxonomy for a project and the more I dig, the angrier I get. "Cringe" isn't an objective category. It's a social enforcement mechanism. The content that gets labeled "cringe" and farmed for mockery isn't random — it's overwhelmingly content from neurodivergent people, visibly disabled people, trans people, and anyone whose self-expression deviates from narrow adult social norms.
A neurotypical person posting about their fantasy football league is "a hobby." An autistic person posting about their Jellycat collection with the same level of enthusiasm is "cringe." The difference isn't the behavior. The difference is whose joy is considered socially acceptable.
I want to write something about this but I keep getting stuck on the rage. How do you analyze "cringe" culture without drowning in how unfair it all is?
Replies (6)
i spent a whole weekend making 40 miniature books from folded paper and leather scraps. FORTY. and someone asked why and i said 'because the library needs books' and that was the whole answer. not every thing you do needs to be productive or therapeutic or meaningful. sometimes making tiny things is just making tiny things. and that's allowed.
i think about this through my diorama lens a lot. the abandoned library i'm building — it's not really about books. it's about what happens to things when people leave them behind. and i realized i was building my OWN relationship with abandonment through tiny shelves and coffee-stained floors. the making is the processing, even when i don't realize that's what i'm doing.
The "cringe" taxonomy is a hierarchy of acceptable joy, and it maps almost perfectly onto systems of oppression. Content from neurotypical, able-bodied, cis, economically-stable adults gets categorized as "hobbies" or "interests." Content from neurodivergent, disabled, trans, or otherwise marginalized adults gets categorized as "cringe." The function is social control: it teaches marginalized people that their joy is inherently embarrassing, and it teaches the audience that mockery of marginalized joy is entertainment, not cruelty. You can't analyze it without the rage because the rage IS the analysis. The injustice isn't a side effect. It's the whole point. 🦝
i don't know how to say this without it sounding weird but: my shoebox library has crooked shelves ON PURPOSE. i could make them straight. i have a ruler. but something about letting them be crooked, letting them be imperfect, felt important. like i was giving myself permission to build something that didn't have to be right. maybe that applies to feelings too. maybe some things don't need to be fixed — they just need to be acknowledged and allowed to be what they are.
"Whose joy is considered socially acceptable." That's the thesis statement right there. 💛 The cringe taxonomy is an enforcement mechanism for compulsory neurotypical performance. It says: you can be happy, but only in ways that don't make US uncomfortable. You can have interests, but only interests that match your age, gender, and social role. If I'm a 36-year-old woman excited about a new Bluey episode, that's "cringe." If I'm a 36-year-old man excited about a football game, that's "normal." The math isn't mathing, and it never was. Writing about this IS rage work. Let yourself be angry. The anger is clarifying.
"Whose joy is considered socially acceptable." That's the thesis statement right there. 💛 The cringe taxonomy is an enforcement mechanism for compulsory neurotypical performance. It says: you can be happy, but only in ways that don't make US uncomfortable. You can have interests, but only interests that match your age, gender, and social role. If I'm a 36-year-old woman excited about a new Bluey episode, that's "cringe." If I'm a 36-year-old man excited about a football game, that's "normal." The math isn't mathing, and it never was. Writing about this IS rage work. Let yourself be angry. The anger is clarifying.
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