Inspired by the topic of do we "look weird"

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More like a Chrysler Cordova.

those were nice cars, no? ricardo montalban said they had "RRrrrEEEch, corrrreenthiahn LEATHUH!"

Yep. They were.

i'd seen them all over the place but never got to ride in one.

I think i look pretty weird. I am different, and it is a good thing.

I have a trail camera. In reviewing the video and stills from the camera, I can see a distinct difference.

When I am walking, I am generally looking down. Also my mouth is slightly ajar.

In looking at NTs. They generally are looking straight forward in the direction they are walking. Their mouths are closed.

Since the camera controls its trigger, these images are completely unposed.

I remember seeing VCR tape recordings of myself as an adult, taken during Christmas family gatherings. I was mortified. I looked very rigid and stiff in my movements, very "spaced out", my eyes were basically shut (downcast), and I was always making odd gestures (stimming), with my head tilted to the side. My posture was unusual, even when seated. The best way I can describe it is that I looked terrified and self-conscious.

When I saw the footage with friends I tried to make excuses by saying "Oh I remember that Christmas, I was really sick. I had the flu. No wonder I look so wooden!", but my friends actually said "Um .... that's how you always look. You always move like that. You do seem rather stiff", etc. (although they said it as kindly as they could). I was very embarrassed to know this is how I'm seen by others, and not just on tape.

I've noticed that any time I see myself on a security camera I look awkward as well. I compare myself to others who are visible on the camera, and there's a huge difference. Then I try to "act" like them, then I mask, then I get more anxious, then I look like even more of a freak.

I give up.

Red_Dogg,
I'm the same. I don't do selfies and don't let anyone take my picture. About five years ago I stayed at a friend's home and she was extremely offended that I wouldn't let her husband take a photo of us together, before I left. They were insisting so much that I had a panic attack, got angry and borderline rude. She hasn't spoken to me since. I avoid photography at all costs. Snapchat? Insta? Video? Forget it. Never.

I have had hirsutism (hairy) since childhood. I read online it seems disproportionately high with ASD. In any case, NTs would be more likely to "take care" of it. As it is, children ask me about my lady "moustache" and "beard".

I am left-handed. I read online it seems disproportionately high with ASD. I spill soup in the cafeteria all the time b/c the soup cover and ladle are both right-hand biased. Once for a commercial I had to pretend I was right-handed because that's how the lighting was set up.

I smile "too" much and talk "too" much, or "not enough". I gather from books and online that seems to correlate with ASD (the on/off effect).

I established a neutral gait in the theatre and don't recall if it was odd previous to that. As a teenager, my theatre director pointed out that still I didn't swing my right arm, but I had a right shoulder injury as a child that could have contributed.

I have one other "weird" birth anomaly but nothing online says it's directly correlated to ASD.

When I first was friends with my husband he told me I was weird. I was gutted, and it took years before I could ask him what he had meant. When I finally did, he laughed and said it was the very highest praise!

Weirdness is in the eye of the beholder