From masking to meaning: A sociolinguistic model of gendered pragmatics in autistic women’s communication

Abstract

Autistic women frequently engage in pragmatic adaptation to align with gendered communicative norms. This paper frames camouflaging as anticipatory pragmatic labour: the pre-emptive modulation of language across cognitive, pragmatic, and social levels. A Three-Tier Sociolinguistic Model is proposed to capture this process. Drawing on interviews, naturalistic recordings, and culturally adapted inference tasks in the UK and China, preliminary findings reveal consistent use of hedging, prosodic mimicry, and affective suppression. These behaviours reflect internalised norms and socio-discursive pressures. The study reframes camouflaging as an effortful, norm-responsive practice shaped by gender, neurotype, and culture.