Who Do You Think You Are?

I’ve been sitting with some big questions about identity for what feels like my whole life—what we call ourselves, what’s been put on us, what we outgrow, and what still feels like home. I read three things this week (linked below),  that cracked me open, especially around the language of neurodivergence, the limits of diagnosis, and how easy it is to forget who we were before the world started naming us. After reading the first two (they are linked in order of how I read them), I got uncomfortable with calling myself neurodivergent- not because I am ashamed of it, but because after reading the first two articles calling myself neurodivergent felt...unaware. For a minute, I felt ignorant and wanted the words off my website. To un-name myself. Then I read the third one and it brought things full circle- identity is older and more complicated than that. In this episode I explore remembering that identity isn’t something we need to discard or defend—it’s something we can let evolve. Something that can hold complexity without collapsing under it, help us find kinship, and be a place to begin. Why I Don't Say "Neurotypical"on the radical power of vision and queer illegibility—a guest post on The Spiral Lab by BJ Ferguson Psychiatric diagnoses & bioessentialism will not liberate usLetting go of my attachment to individual diagnostic labels is part of my decolonizing journey Ayesha Khan Neurodivergence in Ancient Africa: What History Forgot but Our Ancestors KnewHow West African societies embraced autism, ADHD, and neurodivergence as spiritual gifts and communal roles—long before diagnosis existed. Lovette Jallow Also here's BJ Ferguson BJ Ferguson revel*ution rip