As an #ActuallyAutistic Gender Vague enby assigned Female At Birth Belle seems to fit MY "Female #Autism." She would rather read than talk to people aside from her father. Her fantasy world is all-consuming & adventure is her goal! The book she is reading at the beginning of the song is Jack and the Beanstalk which was one of my favorite fairy tales! The fact that Belle enjoys reading about a character of the opposite gender would be considered “Odd”. simply because Belle isn’t “Represented” though her longing for adventure is. Her adventure doesn’t just involve being kidnapped at some point during the adventure, her adventure is being kidnapped, which is the adventure I hoped to have as a small child! Being that there have been accusations of Stockholm Syndrome and positive portrayals of abusive relationships that have dogged the film for years, it’s not impossible to see Belle’s behavior as “Odd.” (To take a quote from the movie.) Her Autism may be the reason she falls in love with the Beast. #ActuallyAutistic me is very trusting, and will fight those who threaten or hurt me! Also, she might just not care about social norms. Her Autistic empathy causes her to conflate her feelings of oddness with the Beast’s frustrated feelings about his visible differences.
