I’m neurodivergent and here’s my issue with Netflix’s Wednesday

KOOKY, creepy and spooky, Wednesday Addams took the world by storm following the release of a new hit series in November.

But beyond the mainstream praise, Netflix‘s show is a small punch to the gut for many members of the autistic community. Here’s why.

Wednesday Addams – a goth icon for the ages

Before bursting out on to the small and big screens, Wednesday’s child of woe was first confined to Charles Addams’ comic strip.

Introduced to the public in 1938, Wednesday is the eldest child of Morticia and Gomez Addams.

Needless to say, she’s never been like the other girls.

From beheading her dolls, hanging out with her monstrous butler Lurch to keeping a pet spider, Wednesday has always been interested in everything dark and macabre.

After some decades kept in the dark, her favourite place, Wednesday was popularised in 1960 with the help of actress Lisa Loring.

But Wednesday only became a huge hit in the 1990’s (thank you Christina Ricci) in Barry Sonnenfeld’s The Addams Family and The Addams Family Values.

The ultimate weird girl before Daria Morgendorffer even hit our screens on MTV, Wednesday was a comfort for any outcast with interests deemed as “strange.”

While my parents were nothing like loved-up “Tish” and Gomez, I would often be found keeping wild snails as pets or talking endlessly about serial killers and paranormal phenomena at the dinner table… although I was only nine.

Seeing Wednesday or fellow goth icons in the likes of Lydia Deetz in Beetlejuice being celebrated was a reminder that I wasn’t alone and that being the “weird girl” wasn’t a crime.

As a former metalhead and current high fashion goth extraordinaire (according to my best friend, at least), my excitement was just as palpable as I grew into a young adult.

Like many fans of hers, and Melissa Hunter for her YouTube series Adult Wednesday Addams, I would recreate Wednesday’s iconic pigtails and school girl outfit, even outside of Halloween. 

However, when You and X actress Jenna Ortega sensationally reprised the role, Wednesday was finally given the autism label.

Shining a light on a misunderstood condition

Debuting on November 23, 2022, (on a Wednesday, obviously), the Addams Family spin-off has enjoyed a huge success.

The Latin-American community (I asked my Chilean relatives, trust me) was notably pleased to see Jenna, an actress of Mexican and Puerto Rican descent, as the colourphobic character.

According to Glamour UK, the series has accumulated 341.23 million hours of viewing time on the platform, overtaking a record previously set by fellow giant Stranger Things. 

The Wednesday-mania came back to life while, on social media, many autistic and neurodivergent people recognised themselves in Wednesday’s monotone and blunt disposition.

And she does fit the bill. 

The umbrella term “neurodivergent” was coined in 1998 refers to differing in mental or neurological form from what is considered “normal.”

This includes but isn’t limited to conditions like autism, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dyslexia and dyspraxia.

According to the DSM-5, the standard classification of mental disorders used by professionals, autism can be recognised by a series of behaviours.

These include hyper or hyposensitivity to smells, sounds or tastes, difficulty processing information, verbalising emotions and even making friends.

Autism being a spectrum condition, many will struggle to communicate and can be entirely non-verbal.

A lack of eye contact, a misunderstanding of social norms and a strong rigidity of mind are also part of the behaviours many autistic people will display.

To top it all off, in the likes of Wednesday, most are considered rude due to their brutally honest character and disinterest in social interactions.

With Wednesday Addams on the forefront, representing a community that is often misunderstood and stigmatised, one can assume enough awareness has been spread.

While I can only applaud Netflix for the light they shine on the autistic community, I can’t help but notice some blind spots.

Former real-life “outcasts” speak out

After being wrongfully diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, which suffers from a massive stigma of its own, I was finally correctly diagnosed with high-functioning autism (HFA) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at the age of 26.

Two years later, and my therapists began to speak about my ADHD potential, the latter often going hand-in-hand with autism.

Much like Joseph Quinn’s Eddie Munson, Wednesday, an autistic coded, thus neurodivergent, character, was a huge hit on social media.

TikTok users quickly made and jumped on a new trend replicating her dance in the fourth episode of the Netflix series.

Among them, people who were recognised as bullies of the same type of individuals who heavily identified with Wednesday during their childhood or adolescence. 

This led to an uproar coming from former “outcasts” who had survived the teasing and bullying they may have endured for being neurodivergent.

As Tiktok user Goblyn Lawless put it in one of their posts: “I’m reminded that I’m liked more as a concept, from afar, than as a real person.” 

Fellow TikTok user Reggie 1423 also added: “The Wednesday Addams trend but you’re autistic and had to manually blink and work on facial expressions as a kid to not freak people out.”

As an autistic woman with potential ADHD, I can only relate.

From a young age, I taught myself to keep my eyebrows perpetually raised in an attempt to appear approachable and friendlier.

I would smile so much my cheeks would hurt… before I was told this was a form of masking my condition.

I got constant proof that kids could be cruel when I would be called a “freak” for being interested in the anatomy of conjoined twins and true crime as a nine-year-old.

The books I would read came straight from my mother’s philosophy collection – and I would immediately be deemed a “nerd” whenever I’d be caught reading them.

I drew all things creepy, from Grim Reapers and coffins to anatomically-correct hearts.

I would get apples and books thrown at me on the school bus and would desperately try to fit in.

When that didn’t work, I was diagnosed with depression at the age of 15. 

Now at 28, following my autism diagnosis, I never mask it, having fully accepted who I am.

My RBF has never been more noticeable but, I promise, I don’t bite. 

Despite the many awkward situations I may embark on due to it, my autism is high-functioning, thus manageable.

You would never know I’m neurodivergent at first glance.

However, this isn’t the case for everyone who was diagnosed autistic.

According to a study mentioned by SpectrumNews.org, “nearly one in three autistic people has intellectual disability, defined as an intelligence quotient (IQ) below 70.”

The study tracked down 106 children at four time points from the ages of 5 to 20.

I can only imagine what they must have gone through whenever they’d be surrounded by individuals who didn’t understand their condition.

Many people with autism require the help of a carer to go through their everyday life and are sometimes isolated because of their autism and the lack of understanding they receive.

Much like ADHD, and as I’ve experienced myself, depression and anxiety are conditions autistic people tend to suffer from as a result.

Seeing Wednesday was a breath of fresh air I deeply needed but it doesn’t mean I am fine with seeing my neuro-divergency become a social media trend.

While the representation can only be helpful, Netflix’s Wednesday only shows the “quirky” and socially-acceptable side of autism.

I must admit, I’m sometimes even concerned it’s bordering on glamourisation as the goth subculture is taking up space in mainstream media and some individuals diagnose themselves with rare and difficult disorders for online views.

Is the wave of acceptance here to last?

Or will autism awareness be swiftly swept under the rug for another trend to take its place?

Let’s find out.