Month: September 2023

Conan O’Brien has never been big on political humor, but he definitely has some thoughts about Donald Trump‘s affect on late night comedy. Conan delivered his hot take during a new interview with Kara Swisher where he confessed that he just doesn’t have an interest in topical comedy. He much prefers the “visceral” humor in old school Warner Bros. cartoons.

“I was never as comfortable with comedy where I needed to make a point about something,” Conan told Swisher. When she noted that Trump served up an endless opportunity for jokes, Conan couldn’t have disagreed more.

“It didn’t serve comedy well,” Conan said. “I actually think Trump has been — people say all kinds of, you know, he’s committed all these different horrible acts. But I think one of the worst is I think he’s bad for comedy.”

Conan elaborated that Trump is already a parody of a politician, so there’s not a whole lot to work with. Via Mediaite:

“You can’t parody something that already has that crazy irregular shape. It’s not possible. So I always thought that when Trump came along, what a lot of people have to revert to is, ‘Doesn’t he suck? I hate that guy. He’s an asshole.’ And those aren’t jokes,” O’Brien said.

Of course, realizing the position that he’s arguing has an air of ridiculousness to it, Conan doubled down on his remarks, but this time with his tongue firmly in cheek.

“I’m really going out on a limb here saying — that’s his greatest crime,” Conan quipped before joking. “I think the January 6th thing is a blip compared to how much he’s hurt comedy.”

(Via Mediaite)

After a pretty spectacular Week 2 in the world of college football, the Week 3 slate looks a bit sleepier on paper. There aren’t clear must-watch games in every window, you’ll need various streaming services to catch all the top teams in action, and there are no matchups between ranked teams.

However, we know there will be something fairly shocking that happens this weekend, because that’s just the nature of college football, but identifying exactly where that will be is a tricky proposition. We’ll try our best in this week’s watch guide to pinpoint the games that figure to be the most interesting, but I have a feeling this will be an especially important week to be nimble and ready to bounce from game to game based on the scoreboard.

LSU (-9.5) at Mississippi State, 12:00 p.m. ET (ESPN)

The noon window features four ranked teams going on the road, which is always a setup for some shenanigans. These are the easiest games to overlook on the schedule and for the unranked squads, these games are going to be circled on the calendar. We’ll start in Starkville where LSU is still trying to get themselves back on track, and if they haven’t cleaned up the sloppy mistakes that cost them dearly against Florida State in the opener, they could find themselves with their hands full against the Bulldogs.

Penn State (-14.5) at Illinois, 12:00 p.m. ET (FOX)

Drew Allar’s looked the part in Penn State’s first two games, but this will be his first road game. Illinois has not impressed to this point in the season and just got torched by Kansas on the road last week, but that’s also the perfect recipe for the Nittany Lions to sleepwalk into Champagne and run into a little bit of trouble. We’ll find out just how mature this Penn State team is by how this game goes, because it should be a comfortable win but it’s in exactly the kind of spot where it’s much harder work than it should be.

Georgia Southern (+19.5) at Wisconsin, 12:00 p.m. ET (Big Ten Network)

Wisconsin has not looked particularly good to start the season, beating Buffalo in their opener (but not in particularly impressive fashion) and then losing to Washington State on the road last week. Now they welcome in a Georgia Southern team that’s been playing solid ball to open the season, particularly on offense, and the Eagles know how to go get it done on the road against a Big Ten West opponent after beating Nebraska last year. Given how they’ve played so far this season, the Badgers should be giving the Eagles their full attention and trying to get back on track with a big win, but if the transition remains rocky, this could be one to keep an eye on if the Eagles can keep it close.

Kansas State (-4) at Mizzou, 12:00 p.m. ET (SEC Network)

I can’t quite figure out why this line is this short either, but the oddsmakers clearly think the Wildcats will face some troubles against Mizzou. I’m rarely high on the Tigers, so I must admit I could very well be overlooking them, but it’s not been a particularly strong start to the season (they squeaked by Middle Tennessee last week) and I wouldn’t think the Wildcats would struggle to get up for a road game against an SEC foe. Still, it’s possible and we’ll keep an eye this one to find out if the folks in Vegas do indeed have the right premonitions about this being a tight one.

Iowa State (-3) at Ohio, 12:00 p.m. ET (ESPNU)

The other ranked road team is FSU at Boston College, but I try not to subject myself to BC football unless absolutely forced. My preferred brand of mediocre college football is played by the fellas from Ames, and they’re headed on the road to Athens, Ohio to face a Bobcats team that has some spunk. Kurtis Rourke is a legitimately good quarterback, and if Iowa State’s offense gets stuck in the mud as they often do, they might have some trouble with the Bobcats on the road.

South Carolina (+27.5) at Georgia, 3:30 p.m. ET (CBS)

Georgia’s cruised through a soft opening schedule, but the offense has taken some time to get going in both games thus far. This is South Carolina’s Super Bowl each year, and while I don’t feel good about the Gamecocks offensive line having to go up against this Georgia defensive front, I am fascinated to see what Shane Beamer breaks out to try and steal some points off the Dawgs. Spencer Rattler might be in for a long day and this might be one to eject from quickly if Georgia gets rolling, but I just want to see if Carson Beck can finally open it up against Georgia’s first SEC opponent or if this is gonna be another game where the Dawgs aren’t putting offensive points of the board til the second quarter.

Minnesota (+7.5) at UNC, 3:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)

The 3:30 slate is really pretty rough, but I will once again have eyes on Chapel Hill where the Tar Heels have made life pretty difficult on themselves in the first two weeks but escaped with a 2-0 record. In comes a Minnesota team that will test the Heels’ physicality and has a quarterback in Athan Kaliakmanis that could take advantage of any holes in the UNC secondary. Drake Maye will be facing a good defense this week and this will be one NFL fans will want to keep an eye on to see how he manages this game. His throwing ability makes him a top prospect for the 2024 NFL Draft, but I want to see him be a bit more surgical and this will be a good test of his ability to do that, as Minnesota loves to take the ball away.

San Diego State (+24.5) at Oregon State, 3:30 p.m. ET (FS1)

The DJ Uiagalelei hype is back after a strong start to the season from the Beavs, and this week they welcome a San Diego State team that had a miserable time against UCLA a week ago. This is a litmus test for the Oregon State offense, as it’s clear the Aztecs are not the defensive team of a few years ago and Oregon State should cruise here. Should is the optimal word, as SDSU would love to muck this game up and make life difficult, but I’m just not sure they still have the juice to pull that game plan off.

Washington (-16.5) at Michigan State, 5:00 p.m. ET (Peacock)

If you have Peacock, then you’ll have access to one of the more intriguing games in the midday window. The 5 p.m. kick might be perfect if all the 3:30 games have gotten out of hand, and we’ll see how Michael Penix Jr. and the Washington offense travels as they head to East Lansing to face a Michigan State team now under new leadership amid Mel Tucker’s sexual harassment investigation. This is a huge game for them as they welcome in a top 10 team, and if they aren’t careful, Penix can light up the scoreboard in a hurry and try and further cement his status as an early Heisman contender.

Tennessee (-6) at Florida, 7:00 p.m. ET (ESPN)

The Vols got caught sleepwalking in the first half against Austin Peay, but eventually pulled away for a three score win. This week, they head down to the Swamp for a rivalry game with the Gators that will tell us a good bit about both teams. Billy Napier and Florida desperately need a good showing against the Vols here, and maybe Graham Mertz can put forth a better performance at home than he did in his first primetime start for the Gators at Utah. On the Tennessee side, I want to see if Joe Milton has really taken a step forward as a quarterback late in his college career, or if the Gators can trap him into some overconfident throws into coverage and steal some possessions for Mertz and the offense.

James Madison (+2.5) at Troy, 7:00 p.m. ET (NFL Network)

The best G5 game of the week comes to you from Troy, Alabama, where the Trojans play host a very good James Madison team that’s fresh off a comeback win at Virginia. Troy had a rough go of it last week in the Little Apple, and things don’t get a whole lot easier having to play the Dukes. JMU meanwhile can’t allow overconfidence to settle in after a comeback win against a bad ACC team, and I think this one could be pretty fun.

Pitt (+2.5) at West Virginia, 7:30 p.m. ET (ABC)

The evening window isn’t a whole lot better than the rest, but any time we get to watch the Backyard Brawl it’s fun. Even in a year where neither team seems to be particularly great, this is a very fun rivalry game and it’s especially important to Neal Brown and West Virginia, as he’s on the hot seat and a rivalry win would be his best chance at a run to extend his tenure. Pitt, meanwhile, needs a bounceback after losing at home to Cincinnati last week, and will look to what Penn State did to this Mountaineers offense and try to replicate that effort.

Syracuse (-2.5) at Purdue, 7:30 p.m. ET (NBC)

It’s pretty wild seeing Syracuse as a road favorite against a Big Ten team, even if that Big Ten team is Purdue. This could turn into an up and down track meet, not unlike the Boilermakers opener with Fresno State, and probably starts as a second screen game but could get upgraded if it gets as fun as it has potential to be.

BYU (+7.5) at Arkansas, 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2)

Arkansas has one of my favorite players in all of college football in quarterback KJ Jefferson. He’s gigantic and hard to tackle when he runs and has a cannon for an arm — albeit not always the most accurate one. This is my favorite college QB archetype. BYU has former USC and Pitt quarterback Kedon Slovis slinging it around now and I think they have a chance to make this a game, but we’re gonna learn just how good the Cougars defense is after playing a Sam Houston team that is completely disinterested by the concept of offense and Southern Utah to open the season.

Georgia Tech (+17.5) at Ole Miss, 7:30 p.m. ET (SEC Network)

This just feels like a game that could get weird. It also could go very wrong for the Bees and they might be down three scores with haste. Just keep an eye on it and if it’s a one score game in the second half, flip on over cause some dumb stuff is bound to happen from one or both teams.

TCU (-7.5) at Houston, 8:00 p.m. ET (FOX)

Two teams that have not gotten off to the start to this season they wanted, and that could mean a very weird, oddly tense game. I would not be surprised by just about any outcome here and the potential for chaos is pretty good. A very nice second/third screen option with the possibility it deserves your full attention by the time it’s late in the fourth.

Colorado State (+23.5) at Colorado, 10:00 p.m. ET (ESPN)

We got coach beef in the great state of Colorado, and in case folks weren’t already locked in on every Buffs game after a 2-0 start to the Coach Prime era, Jay Norvell talkin’ bout respect has only fired things up for this in-state rivalry. The Buffaloes very much might try to run this thing up, but this is also the Super Bowl for the Rams. The clear frontrunner for your attention in the night slate, although it could get over in a hurry.

Fresno State (-3) at Arizona State, 10:30 p.m. ET (FS1)

If that is indeed the case and you need some late night viewing, I’d pop over to FS1 for Fresno State-Arizona State. The Bulldogs already picked off one P5 road win at Purdue in the opener and they’ll have full belief they can do it again here. Jaden Rashada has moments of brilliance for the Sun Devils and there are points to be had against Fresno. The real question is whether they can limit the mistakes to avoid a second home loss in as many weeks.

You don’t have to be the biggest K-pop fan on the planet to know that Blackpink is one of the most recognizable groups within the genre. Their popularity has grown in a relatively short time to what can only be described as “juggernaut” status. They have played stadiums all across the globe, and even Tom Brady, the walking definition of “All-American” (he played for the PATRIOTS, fer cryin’ out loud), was seen vibing out at one of their shows.

But just knowing about Blackpink doesn’t mean you know who they are. So, if you ever wondered who the members are, we’ve got you covered. Blackpink was formed in the mid 2010s by YG Entertainment, making their debut in 2016 with four members: Jennie, Jisoo, Lisa, and Rosé. They were introduced as Blackpink after seven years of auditions and training and at least one false start, when the group was initially planned to comprise seven members.

Jennie

Jennie, the group’s rapper, had joined YG’s training program in 2010, but made appearances throughout the early 2010s on songs by other artists such as G-Dragon. Jennie also made her US acting debut earlier this year on HBO’s The Idol, receiving acclaim as the best part of what turned out to be a messy production.

Lisa

Lisa, who hails from Thailand and also raps, was one of 4,000 Thai applicants for the trainee program — and the only one to be accepted. Lisa and Rosé were the first two members of the quartet to go solo.

Jisoo

Jisoo and Rosé both joined YG later (2011 and 2012, respectively), with Rosé moving from Australia to Korea. Jisoo also made her solo debut early this year.

Rosé

Rosé was the final member of the group revealed in 2016, and was the first member of the group to go solo in 2021 with her album R. She initially auditioned in Australia following a suggestion from her father, which she thought was a joke.

Once lovers, now musical collaborators: At midnight tonight (September 15), Drake and SZA have released a new collaborative single, “Slime You Out.”

Drake first hinted that he and SZA dated on his 21 Savage collab “Mr. Right Now” back in 2020. Last year, upon the release of her sophomore album, SOS, SZA confirmed they dated, but they remain on good terms.

But in the past few weeks, several fans have taken to TikTok to share theories suggestion that Drake and SZA have been hiding secret messages to each other in their songs over the course of their entire music careers.

On “Slime You Out” Drake steps back into his R&B bag, as he croons over what sounds like a slowed-down Jersey Club beat.

Drake seems to be reminding a woman about how he’s spoiled her, singing, “Sent wires on wires on wires, like Idris /
Lucky that I don’t take back what is given.”

SZA responds, accusing Drake of not coming through on his promises, singing, “Fightin’ out here, like you d*ckin’ me out / And I ain’t even comin’ over now / And you ain’t ’bout the sh*t you rappin’ about.”

The song arrives ahead of Drake’s ninth studio album, For All The Dogs.

While the romantic tension, whether real or feigned, is evident on the track, their musical chemistry is undeniable.

You can listen to “Slime You Out” above.

For All The Dogs is out 9/22 via Republic Records and OVO. Find more information here.

When St. Louis rapper Sexyy Red left her favorite destination spot, “Pound Town,” the self-proclaimed hood’s hottest princess did so in style. For Red, that means in the latest muscle car. On her new track “Hellcats SRTs 2,” she’s joined by Lil Durk as they skirt off into the rap’s fast-paced release streets. In August, the pair teased the collaboration, and after weeks of waiting, it’s finally here.

The link-up between the two Midwest natives is precisely what you’d envision for the single. Sexyy’s inspiration behind the track is evident as she rapped, “Bad b*tches, we like fast cars / We like n****s that sell drugs with fast cars,” in the song’s introduction.

Durk added his thoughts on hip-hop’s restored interest in American-made vehicles and how it helps him pull in lovers. “C-H-I-C-A-G-O, go, b*tch we from the ‘Raq / Smoke before we f*ck in the hotel, got my deposit snatched / Nah, this ain’t no Scat, or no Cat, b*tch, this just a Track’ / Suck it while I’m drivin’, wig for her, I just hold it back / Can’t be seen when I pull up, I f*cked your friend, her sheisty ass / Vanish mode, I did that for a reason, he gon’ beat her ass,” rapped Durk.

The dynamic duo is off to the races as soon as the track starts, and they refuse to slow down until the track concludes.

Listen to Sexyy Red & Lil Durk’s “Hellcats SRTs 2” above.

Hood Hottest Princess is out now. Find more information here.

Last year, Zara Larsson shared that her new album, the follow-up to 2021’s Poster Girl, was almost done. However, that was over a year ago, and fans are growing impatient. Luckily, the pop star is back today with the glimmering song “On My Love” with David Guetta.

“On My Love” is an upbeat, jovial anthem for the end of the summer. It pulsates with an infectious beat as she sings about her confidence in a romance: “I’ll pay the price, I’ll sacrifice / That’s on my love.”

Earlier this year, she shared the song “End Of Time.” She told Uproxx about the track, “The song was written by Casey Smith and Rick Nowels, who I’ve been working a lot with on this album. One day, when I was away doing something, they were in the studio and still writing songs for the project. I got back and they were like, ‘We would love to play you a song,’ and they had made ‘End Of Time.’ And I thought, ‘Oh my God, I should have been in the studio that day.’ But also, if I had been maybe they wouldn’t have come up with ‘End Of Time.’ It was so beautiful. I love the melodies. I love that it feels big, but it feels like a classic song. And in a way, it’s danceable, it’s pop, and it’s just like a very existential love song about wanting to love somebody until the very end of time.”

Listen to “On My Love” above.

If you’ve forgotten that Corey Lewandowski used to hold a decent amount of power in the Trump circle, you are not alone. Over the years since he rose to MAGA fame, he has acquired an odious reputation and has been accused of sexually harassing a pro-Trump singer and assaulting a Breitbart reporter. Reportedly, Trump even agreed that he is so skeevy that he should be banned from Trump properties. Well, Lewandowski is back, and it seems like he never left, given that he has reportedly been carrying on a “years-long clandestine affair” with South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, according to the Daily Mail.

You might recognize Noem as the MAGA governor who is a “family values” proponent and has outwardly advocated for initiatives like “Stronger Families Together.” She had a no-good answer to states potentially forcing 10-year-old rape victims to have babies. She has also bragged about how her toddler granddaughter “already has a shotgun and she already has a rifle.” Noem is married, as is Lewandowski.

The Daily Mail has now reported that the pair has been a romantic pair since 2019 and possibly earlier. This report puts her rumored status as a Trump VP candidate into an awkward position, and Daily Mail notes that “[n]either denied the affair” when contacted for comment. The publication spoke with ex-Trump operative Charles Johnson, who spoke of Noem and Lewandowski acting flirty during a 2020 Republican Attorneys General Association meeting at a swanky resort in Georgia, and he’s not the only one who noticed:

Two other sources who were at the RAGA event were surprised by the obvious affection between Noem and Lewandowski.

‘A lot of people were talking about it,’ says one, a conservative political strategist who saw the two as they were headed off for a long walk on the beach.

Additionally, the Daily Mail reports that the pair has frequently taken private plane rides together, and one gubernatorial staffer claimed, “We often had no idea where she was, or even if she was in state or out of state, she would simply disappear.” The article continues to detail a deep-sea fishing trip and a week of travel (during a massive snowstorm that caught South Dakota off guard) that raised eyebrows “over the time and money she was spending on out-of-state travel.” Supposedly, that week included some political events, and Lewandowski was acting as some sort of advisor, but those who spoke with the Daily Mail acted like plenty of people wondered what the heck was going on with all that closeness. Noem, meanwhile, questioned the “timing” of this report, but again, neither party explicitly denied the affair.

(Via Daily Mail)

As K-pop becomes more and more of a cultural force in the US, one of the new groups that has become a huge force within K-pop itself is NewJeans. A quintet that only just debuted in 2022, their 2-step-inspired, chilled-out take on pop-R&B has already helped establish them as one of the most popular girl groups stateside.

The five members of the group are: Danielle, Haerin, Hanni, Hyein, and Minji. All of them had previously been established in entertainment for the decade preceding their breakout; Daniellewas a regular cast member on a Korean variety show, Hanni was a member of a dance troupe in Melbourne, and Hyein sang in a children’s music group.

They were assembled as NewJeans by Min Hee-jin, the former chief brand officer of Big Hit. After auditioning and recruiting the members, Min moved the project to her new independent label ADOR. While NewJeans’ debut was planned for 2021, it was postponed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Interestingly, the group’s success literally came as a surprise for fans; they released their first single, “Attention,” with almost no promotion in July last year, followed by “Hype Boy.” Both reached No. 1 on Billboard‘s South Korean chart. Their latest single, “Super Shy,” has been even more successful, with 85 million views on YouTube and over 222 million streams on Spotify, while their new EP Get Up became their first No. 1 on the US Billboard 200 chart.

After the two reportedly buried the hatchet, Donald Trump agreed to an interview with Megyn Kelly where he basically admitted to committing the crimes in the classified documents indictment. There’s a reason Trump’s attorneys do everything in their power to keep him from testifying. The guy will blab himself right into a confession.

The moment went down when Kelly asked Trump about his storage of top secret material at Mar-a-Lago, which resulted in Trump flat out boasting that he refused to hand over the documents when the Department of Justice subpoenaed him. He also claimed he had the right to ignore the subpoena because of the Presidential Records Act, which doesn’t work like that. The Morning Joe crew couldn’t believe what they were watching.

“Confession is good for the soul,” Joe Scarborough quipped before co-host Willie Geist went long on watching Trump announce his crimes out loud.

Via Raw Story:

“We have a new Trump classic among thousands, where he said, ‘I know that, I don’t even know this,’ immediately contradicting himself when told, ‘When a subpoena is presented to you, you have to turn over the documents,’” Geist said. “Also, he can keep citing the Presidential Records Act and keep being wrong about that. That doesn’t mean that you as an individual get to take the documents with you when you leave the White House, not remotely what the act says. They go to the archives, and the documents belong to the government. I guess it plays well to his audience, the base, but for the 1,000th time, that’s not at all how the Presidential Records Act works.”

Guest Mike Barnicle was also astonished at how often Trump does the prosecution’s job for them.

“Can you imagine being his lawyer or lawyers?” Barnicle said. “I mean, every appearance is the tale of the tape, that’s where it goes. It goes directly to a tape, that all I have to do in the prosecution is turn on the tape.

(Via Raw Story)

The most recent data shows that about one in 68 children in the U.S. are affected by autism and boys are four times more likely than girls to be diagnosed.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is marked by communication and social difficulties, sensory processing issues, and inflexible patterns of behavior. Almost everything that researchers have learned about the disorder is based on data derived from studies of boys.

However, researchers are starting to learn that ASD manifests differently in girls. This has led many girls to be undiagnosed or misdiagnosed.

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“The model that we have for a classic autism diagnosis has really turned out to be a male model,” Susan F. Epstein, PhD, a clinical neuropsychologist said according to Child Mind.

“That’s not to say that girls don’t ever fit it, but girls tend to have a quieter presentation, with not necessarily as much of the repetitive and restricted behavior, or it shows up in a different way,” Epstein added.

Stereotypical ASD behaviors may also get in the way of recognizing the disorder in girls.

“So where the boys are looking at train schedules, girls might have excessive interest in horses or unicorns, which is not unexpected for girls,” Dr. Epstein notes. “But the level of the interest might be missed and the level of oddity can be a little more damped down. It’s not quite as obvious to an untrained eye.”

Girls with ASD are usually better at hiding their autistic behaviors, so they suffer in silence.

See on Instagram

Paige Layle, a 19-year-old eyelash technician from Ontario, Canada, has autism but because she’s a social butterfly, most people don’t realize she has the disorder.

“I get that a lot, that because I’m good-looking, nothing can be wrong with me — so I want to show that mental illness is diverse,” Layle told BuzzFeed.

To help people better understand how autism manifests in girls and women, Layle has made a series of videos on her TikTok page.

“I decided to start making videos because of an audio that was going all over TikTok that was making fun of autistic people. I hated it. I feel like many people don’t understand how many people are autistic,” she said.

Layle’s videos are eye-opening because they shatter some big myths about autism and show how difficult it can be to live with the disorder, especially if you don’t know you have it.

@paigelayle learn more about autism! 🙂 i get many questions every day to make more vids about it, i will continue to show you guys! #feature #fup #fyp #featureme ♬ original sound – paigelayle

In the first video, she explains how the initial research done on autism was only on boys or men.

“Girls usually end up showing different traits than guys do. Which is why it can take us years to get diagnosed. I was 15 when I got diagnosed and that’s considered early for a girl.”

She also explains that girls often are diagnosed later because they are better at hiding autistic behaviors.

“This is something we call masking. Masking is basically just being like a really good actor.

It’s where you take traits that everyone else is showing and start portraying them as yourself. It’s like a lot of copying going on. … In your mind you don’t think you’re copying. You think that this is normal and everyone feels the same way you do.

You basically feel like an alien and you’re really good at hiding that. Which is why I don’t seem autistic.”

In part two, she discusses the idea of being high-functioning.

@paigelayle no such thing as high/ low functioning autism!!! it’s just how YOU perceive us. not about how we’re affected. #feature #featureme #fup #fyp ♬ original sound – paigelayle

“Get high-functioning and low functioning out of your vocabulary. It doesn’t help anybody. I know you may think that saying ‘Oh like you’re high-functioning’ is compliment. It’s not a compliment. It’s also like a reminder that I’m just masking, and it’s so hard.

Masking is the most exhausting thing in the world… ‘High-functioning’ is basically a label that you can use to be like ‘Your autism doesn’t affect me that much.’ But I’ll tell you that everyone you think is high-functioning is greatly affected by their autism.”

In part three, Paige discusses common autistic traits that girls have.

@paigelayle more on special interests later ☺️ #feature #autism #fyp #fyp #featureme ♬ original sound – paigelayle

“I am overly social. I give way too much eye contact. I’m really good in social situations. It’s also very common for girls with autism to have other mental disabilities or mental disorders as well. I have seven and one of the main ones is OCD.

All of these mental illnesses stem from having autism. But OCD, anxiety, and depression are very common, especially in girls. Just the feeling that the world needs rules for you to understand it. That’s why a lot of autism special interests include things like anatomy, the human body, psychology, just figuring out how the world works is our way to figure out how to live in it.”

In part four, Paige discusses the topic of masking.

@paigelayle ahhh masking. can’t live with you, can’t live without you. #feature #fup #fyp #featureme #autism ♬ original sound – paigelayle

“When you’re in the autistic closet and you are not known to be autistic yet … you like subconsciously know that you’re weird and you don’t know how to act or how to be.

It’s like the way you walk, the way you talk, the way you wear your hair, like your mannerisms. Like everything you say. Everything you think. Everything you think that you enjoy. It’s all what you are accustomed to from your peers.

I’ve been diagnosed for four years and I’m still trying to figure out who I am and what I actually like to do. You just get to used to creating this mask that when it’s like ‘Hey, you can take it off,’ It’s like what the frick is underneath it? I don’t know what’s going on.”

This story originally appeared on 03.11.20