Neuroqueer History: Where the Word Came From and Why It Matters

Part 2 of the Neuroqueer Series

---

If you’ve already read Part 1 - Neuroqueer Meaning: More than Just a Word - you know neuroqueer isn’t just a mashup of queer and neurodivergent. It’s a philosophy. A way of moving through the world. And for many of us, it’s the first time we’ve felt truly seen.

But every living idea has a story. Who shaped this word into being? Why did we need it? And how did it move from obscure theory to tattoos, bios, zines, and lives?

Today, we’re pulling on that bright, electric thread.

It started with a need for language

Living in the space between

Like so many terms born at the edges of culture, neuroqueer history starts with people living an experience they didn’t have words for.

Queer folks who were neurodivergent. Neurodivergent folks whose gender or sexuality shifted with every mask they dropped. People who didn’t fit a single expected script - and knew there was something powerful in that refusal.

But without a word, it’s hard to share a space. Hard to name it. Hard to build inside it.

Nick Walker and the early spark

That’s where Nick Walker comes in. Walker is a queer autistic scholar and writer whose work reshaped the neurodiversity conversation and changed how many of us think about autism, queerness, and what our society calls normal.

Nick doesn’t just reframe autism as a natural variation - Nick invited us to rethink and even "find fault with" the whole damn scaffolding of neurotypical culture.

In the early 2010s, Walker began writing about “neuroqueering” to describe this beautiful blend of identity and action.

Nick didn’t invent neuroqueering - many were already embodying it - but they gave it a name. And names can open doors no one even realized were locked.

A word with theoretical backbone

Neuroqueer draws power from three main sources:

• Queer theory, which questions the categories themselves - not just “who do you love?” but why are we even asking that way?

  
  

• Disability studies, which reframes disability as a mismatch with the environment, not a personal flaw.

  
  

• The neurodiversity paradigm, which sees neurological differences as part of natural human variation - not deficits to be fixed.

  
  

Neuroqueer lives at the messy, generative crossroads of those frameworks.

And from that crossroads, it asks:

• What if we stopped trying to pass?

• What if we let our bodies stim, our genders shift, our conversations spiral?

• What if we didn’t just call ourselves different - but acted different, even when the world flinched?

  
  

Identity meets praxis

From the beginning, Walker emphasized this wasn’t just about claiming a term. To neuroqueer is to do something.

It’s a practice. A verb. A creative and intentional disruption of social rules - especially the ones that punish neurodivergent, queer, or non-conforming behavior.

That might look like:

• Shifting pronouns over time

• Unmasking in public

• Rejecting the productivity grind

• Parenting outside traditional roles

• Building relationships without hierarchy

  
  

It’s not about rebellion for its own sake. It’s about building something that fits you better.

A word that grew legs and ran

Once the word existed, it didn’t sit still. It moved quickly through online spaces - especially where queer and neurodivergent people were already finding each other.

For many, it answered a longing they hadn’t named yet. It offered fluidity and nuance. It validated the mess and the magic of living at the intersections.

Of course, not everyone embraced it. Some find it too academic. Some say it’s been overused or aestheticized. Others worry it centers AFAB, white, or university-adjacent voices too heavily.

That’s the nature of any word with power. It stirs. It stretches. It sparks critique.

We’ll explore that more in Part 4.

Why learn neuroqueer history?

Not just where the word came from - but why it stayed.

Understanding the history of neuroqueer reminds us this isn’t a buzzword. It wasn’t invented for clickbait or branding.

It was born from need. From contradiction. From people who were tired of editing themselves to be readable.

If you’ve ever felt “too queer for the ND spaces” or “too neurodivergent for the queer ones”… you’re not alone.

And maybe, knowing where it came from will help you feel more at home in what it’s becoming.

Embracing our neuroqueer identities

Finding community

As we navigate this journey, finding community is essential. It’s in these spaces that we can share our stories, our struggles, and our triumphs.

We all have unique experiences. Yet, there’s a shared understanding that binds us.

Celebrating differences

Let’s celebrate our differences. They make us who we are. Each quirk, each trait, adds to the vibrant tapestry of our identities.

When we embrace our neuroqueer selves, we create a ripple effect. It inspires others to do the same.

The power of storytelling

Storytelling is a powerful tool. It allows us to connect on deeper levels. Sharing our narratives fosters empathy and understanding.

When we tell our stories, we validate our experiences. We remind ourselves and others that we are not alone.

Moving forward together

As we move forward, let’s keep the conversation alive. Let’s challenge norms and push boundaries.

Together, we can create a world where neuroqueer identities are celebrated. A world where everyone feels seen, heard, and valued.

--Elle

---

The Neuroqueer Series

This series isn’t here to hand you a single definition - it’s here to offer multiple doorways, so you can step through the ones that feel most alive for you.

• Part 1: Neuroqueer Meaning: More Than Just a Word - is neuroqueer an identity? A practice? A theory? A vibe? The short answer is yes. That’s part of its magic.

• Part 2: The History of Neuroqueer - how queer theory, disability studies, and the neurodiversity paradigm braided together to create the term, and how it has evolved since Nick Walker first introduced it.

• Part 3: Neuroqueering as Practice - bringing theory into the texture of daily life: relationships, creative work, language, masking and unmasking, and all the subtle, radical acts that make up living neuroqueer.

• Part 4: The Cultural Conversation - looking at the excitement, critiques, misunderstandings, and what’s at stake when communities embrace - or reject - this language.

• Part 5: Neuroqueer Futures - imagining the worlds we could build when we let queerness and neurodivergence fully shape our communities, our care, and our creative work.

  
  

---

← Previous | Blog Home | Next →

Want to Keep Exploring?

This space is still new, but it’s already full of big questions, half-formed truths, and stories that might sound a little like yours.

If you’re curious where to go next, here are a few places to wander:

• Safety Nets I've Stitched for Myself: Why Autistic Safety Systems Matter

  For me, safety is about understanding how easily the world can misread me, how quickly my own brain can work against me if I push too hard, and how I’ve had to become both my own advocate and my own accommodation just to navigate the supposedly “ordinary” parts of life.

  
  

• When Narcissists Target Neurodivergent People

  Being tangled up with someone who twists your words, rewrites your memories, and makes you doubt what’s real is a hallmark of narcissistic abuse of neurodivergent people - and you are not imagining it.

  
  

• The Queer Neurodivergent Life Map Quickstart (free download)

  A gentle, self-paced journal for autistic, ADHD, AuDHD, queer or otherwise neurodivergent women who are ready to unmask, unlearn, and rewrite their story from the inside out.

Or, if you just want to be here quietly, you can join the list and I’ll send new things your way when they’re ready. No pressure. No performance.

I love that you’re here.