Rethinking Neuroanarchy And The Autistic Rhizome

Consensual Hierarchy And Neurodivergent Futures

Neuroanarchy: as conceptualised by Katie Munday, the radical decoupling of neurodivergent communities from normative hierarchical structures. Munday and I co-authored an article on this here some time ago. Neuroanarchists not only reject the mainstream hierarchy of neuronormative culture, but also the identity politics within neurodivergent communities.

Rhizome: as conceptualised in the work of Deleuze and Guattari. A network with no single point of origin. No part of the network depends upon the existence of another. I have introduced the idea of this in the context of community here. All parts of a rhizomatic community provide a means of reaching the others without the need for a hierarchical or sequential journey from entry to exit. One can enter and leave a rhizomatic space wherever one desires.

Taking The Hierarchy Out Of Community

When considering the nature of the neuroanarchist, one could be forgiven for expecting to see Autistic people clad in post-apocalyptic garments decrying the existence of government. Some of us are like that. However, some of us look like a perfectly unremarkable person. We do not all walk around in Guy Fawkes masks.

Neuroanarchy as a concept is important. In any community built upon identity, identity politics come into play. Humans have this bizarre tendency to look for leadership, and when they find it, they will often defend it, even if it is overtly harmful. Neuroanarchy, however, invites us to create spaces of temporary consensual hierarchy within which the exchange of kinship and knowledge can occur without handing any single group or individual the right to make decisions for all members of a neurodivergent community at all times.