Today we’re running a You’re Wrong About podcast style episode. A deep dive into a much-discussed online topic regarding the life of Christine Chubbuck. Today marks the 50th anniversary since her passing.

We’re offering speculation on what may have been going on in her life. This means we’re exploring the topics of autism, masking, and mental health.

Quite heavy topics, then, but this our longest podcast to date and we think an ever-important subject matter.

Podcast: Understanding Autism, Masking, and Mental Health

Warning! (⚠️) This podcast contains themes including suicide, depression, and mental health struggles. If that's not what you want to hear today, then please skip on this podcast and enjoy your day.

Okay, a quick overview of Christine Chubbuck. Her case is infamous as she committed suicide in 1974, with many people online wanting to see this footage. After some in-depth research on her for our 2021 feature (Humanising Christine Chubbuck) we discovered she was:

• Extremely intelligent.
• Highly respected in her community (despite not realising that).
• Something of a female trailblazer in her industry.

She graduated in 1965 with a broadcast journalism degree. She worked for the stations WTOG and WXLT-TV in Sarasota, Florida. There WXLT’s owner was impressed and handed her an early morning TV show slot (Suncoast Digest).

As referred to in the podcast, below is the footage of Christine. As far as we’re aware, this wasn’t available before and it’s the first chance for the public to properly see her. Her Suncoast Digest segment begins at the 40 minute 30 second mark.

Her story was adapted into two 2016 films.

Of those, Rebecca Hall’s performance remains very noteworthy. Christine (the film) highlighted the sensationalist nature of 1970s US newsrooms and the uncommon nature of women emerging in this field. It was a man’s arena until that blasted feminism got in the way.

The way Hall played the performance (for our take, anyway) is telling of a neurodevelopmental disorder. In a subtle way, but we think the actress perfectly captured masking behaviour.

Although, once again, we stress this is all speculation and open to different considerations.

But we do think we’ve made a decent case for this. It does match the diagnostic criteria we went through here in the UK. We just feel the loss here is these practices 50 years ago weren’t as advanced as they are now.

Our Notes on Autism

From our side, being unaware we were part of this community (for over 30 years), that’s where we can identify with Christine’s story. Regardless of whether Christine was or was not ASD, she was a misfit and struggled to fit in with her generation.

We had similar feelings of alienation. A diagnosis was the first step. Then immersing ourselves into this world, fully aware of agency, being, and our Sartre-based existential pontificating (innit).

Then there was stuff like watching Talking Head’s legendary Stop Making Sense concert twice in 2023 for its 40th anniversary. Which was a big deal.

The band’s singer, David Byrne, is autistic. It shows a great deal across the late 1983 gig. Byrne is about as idiosyncratic as it gets—in some songs (Once in a Lifetime) he actively starts juddering across the stage in a kind of euphoric seizure.

Byrne was in his early 30s at the time of recording. He didn’t know he was ASD and his unmoderated behaviour caused friction with the band. It actually contributed to the group splitting up. So it appeared he was being a jackass, when in fact he was on the spectrum.

These days the 72-year-old champions the condition and its unique benefits to life, work, and creativity.

We should note cases of autism diagnosis are increasing. What causes ASD is still a mystery, although genetic factors are recognised by scientists.

But if two neurotypical adults have a child, it’s still possible for the child to be autistic.

Rising Above the Struggles

Our major issue with current societal standing is how capitalism is designed for the ego. The structure is for the Extrovert Ideal (as Susan Cain put it in her 2012 work Quiet). It’s to the extent a more difficult way of life couldn’t have been conceived for ASD people.

And for many other disabilities, of course, the system just doesn’t accommodate for stuff that gets in the way of flat-out work.

Until recently, with post-COVID remote working, in the UK there was almost nothing to accommodate for ASD. The Equality Act 2010 (a piece of employment law legislation) often goes ignored. Lots of employees (and employers) seem clueless of its existence.

There are three forces that have helped us get through everything up to this point:

1. Culture
2. Escapism
3. Creativity

Again, we refer to our favourite Simone de Beauvoir quote:

“When I was a child, when I was an adolescent, books saved me from despair: that convinced me that culture was the highest of values.”

Our creative efforts started in 2009. We finished a full 80,000 word book in 2010 but were frustrated with the lack of continuous creative output. Then we discovered blogging in February 2012, which perfectly fits our writing needs.

And continues to do so. To the extent we don’t see the need to shift to YouTube, constant podcasting, or anything else.

Now, the spectrum is huge and not everyone will find the same cathartic release as we do here. Not all ASD people want to be creative. But certainly it’s the outlet of culture (books, films, video games etc.) that can provide a therapeutic release from day-to-day life.

Yet it’s also important to get out and about. Push yourself a little. This is especially important for kids.

The esteemed Dr. Temple Grandin (see The Autistic Brain) below makes it clear. Push ASD kids—even in small amounts. Encourage them to go beyond anxiety issues and sensory overload.

She is correct in this, the more you deal with it the easier it becomes. This is not so much about the person then leading a “normal” life, more having an early appreciation of the steps to deal with society.

As we do think work is the big barrier for neurodiversity, especially with autism. Where communication, assertiveness, time-keeping are expected instantly—executive function, as it’s known in work.

The system just doesn’t support anything less. And yet autism provides so many working life benefits, despite not being immediately obvious. Initially it may appear as the antithesis of the narcissism, sociopathy, psychopathy that so often marks modern capitalistic functioning.

What often freaks people out is how people with ASD sometimes provide a disarming sense of honesty. Something the modern right-wing saying it how it is brigade claim to promote, whilst not only really trumpeting tabloid virtues.

Not everyone on the spectrum, of course, but enough.

Such as Grandin, UK activist Jack Monroe, and many others who make their case for what autism provides to society. It’s really up to business owners and everyone else to catch on. This can be voice of equality and reason, but it’s so often drowned out by the ideals of a failed system.