Let me be honest — dating shows are very "dated" (no pun intended). They are always the same kind of people, the same storyline, and almost no diversity. I mean, how is "The Bachelor" just now appointing a lead who is not white?
Dating shows need to show more love from all walks of life.
One thing that dating shows have hardly covered is those who have disabilities — that is, until Love on the Spectrum. The show is about autistic adults as they navigate dating, relationships, and love.
"Love on the Spectrum" originally aired in Australia, but can be watched on Netflix in the U.S. It's only four episodes, but even with these few episodes, I feel like autistic people are being heard — one episode in I want to know more.
As an autistic person, I am always drawn to shows or movies that center around autistic people.
I like how this shows that autistic people are capable of love.
There are people who think individuals with autism don't have emotions, but we do.
Michael is one of the people featured in the show. He wants to be a husband and has even handcrafted a cute heart plaque for the woman he plans to marry. Then there's Chloe, who once got turned down by a guy for because she was autistic. All she wants is to experience love, to experience what she's seen other people go through. And there's Ruth and Thomas, who have been dating for four years and living independently.
That's the same situation that my fiance, Peter, and I are currently in.
Throughout the show, the narrator shares various facts about autism, teaching the viewers more about it. I appreciate the fact that they are using the rainbow infinity symbol instead of the puzzle piece. Many autistics actually prefer the infinity symbol over the puzzle piece because the rainbow represents the diversity of autism, while the blue puzzle piece symbolizes that autism is a puzzling condition that needs to be cured and gives the message that it is only a boys condition.
Of course, the show is not without its flaws — one thing I would like to see is more diversity.
Maybe they can follow some autistic people who are also POC, or maybe a few non-verbal people, maybe some lower-class people — maybe if Netflix decided to make an American adaption of it, we would see more of that. With shows and movies getting more diverse now, it's time we started showing the diversity of autism.
It is, in fact, a spectrum. No autistic person is the same.
I would also like to see more LGBTQIA representation, on Instagram I started following more autistic people and a good chunk of them are part of the community so it would be good to know that they are represented, too.
Most dating shows are made for neurotypical audiences. This one, on the other hand, should have been made with autistic people in mind. Maybe some of the producers of the show should be autistic. Then again Netflix has always been good on listening to what people want like when they cast actually autistic actors in "Atypical" for their second season, they also had diversity in there, too. I hope there is an American adaption of this because I would love to see what they would do.
Despite some of the flaws, I really feel like I related to the cast. I will probably watch the show again.
Please realize that autistic people are capable of love and they want what everyone else wants — they don't want to be seen as inspiration you share on your timeline for the likes then forget about it the next day.
We want to be seen as people, just like you.
I want to encourage all of you to watch the show and recognize that autistic does not mean undateable. Give them a chance. You never know if they are the one if all you see is their differences. I found my love and we are getting married soon.
To any autistic person who might be looking for love, it is out there! If Peter and I, and the cast of "Love on The Spectrum," can find it, so can you. I have faith in you!
