Christopher Badcock

{{pseudoscience}}
'''Christopher R. Badcock'''<ref group=note>Okay, get the giggles out of your system now, please.</ref> {{lived|1946}} is a [[British]] [[sociologist]] who promotes pseudoscience about [[autism]] and makes other [[Bad faith|bad-faith]] arguments. Badcock is an Emeritus Reader in the Department of [[Sociology]] at the London School of Economics and Political Science.<ref>[http://www.lse.ac.uk/sociology/people/christopher-robert-badcock Dr Christopher Badcock] http://www.lse.ac.uk</ref>

==Autism and schizophrenia pseudoscience==
{{cquote|In other words, while autistics don't mentalize enough, [[psychotic]]s mentalize too much; where autistics [[Ableism|don't seem to have minds at all]], psychotics suffer from cancers of the minds they do have.|||Christopher Robert Badcock,<ref>[https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-imprinted-brain/201803/autistic-brains-function-oppositely-psychotic-ones Autistic Brains Function Oppositely to Psychotic Ones] - Psychology Today</ref> who doesn't seem to realize that he's talking about actual human beings}}

In 2016, Christopher Badcock published two ''[[Psychology Today]]'' articles claiming that autistic people were "[[evolutionary psychology|undomesticated humans]]"<ref>[https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-imprinted-brain/201608/autistics-undomesticated-humans Autistics as Undomesticated Humans] - Psychology Today</ref> (using "[[evidence]]" like [[phrenology|head size and ear shape]] and the debunked<ref>[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4331245/ Aggression in children with autism spectrum disorders and a clinic-referred comparison group] - Autism</ref><ref>[https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/12/autism-is-not-psychosis/266434/ Autism Is Not Psychosis] - The Atlantic. Though psychotic breaks don't usually cause violence.</ref><ref>[https://theconversation.com/toronto-attack-autism-does-not-increase-risk-of-violence-95636 Toronto attack: Autism does not increase risk of violence] - The Conversation</ref> claim that autistics are violent) and people with [[schizophrenia]] were "hyper-domesticated humans."<ref>[https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-imprinted-brain/201609/schizophrenics-hyper-domesticated-humans Schizophrenics as Hyper-domesticated Humans] - Psychology Today</ref>

Badcock has also published articles with other "fun" claims, like:
* Autistics lacking {{wpl|theory of mind}}<ref>[https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-imprinted-brain/201501/hyper-mentalism-in-children-reporting-psychotic-experiences Hyper-mentalism in Children Reporting Psychotic Experiences]</ref> (debunked<ref>[https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2019-75285-001.html Empirical Failures of the Claim That Autistic People Lack a Theory of Mind]</ref><ref>[https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/right-incentive-can-erase-autism-deficit/ The Right Incentive Can Erase an Autism Deficit] - Scientific American. Maybe autistic kids just aren't that interested in answering strangers' weird questions.</ref><ref>[https://www.huffpost.com/entry/autism-theory_b_1594706 Debunking the Theory of Mind] - Huffington Post</ref><ref>[https://dsq-sds.org/article/view/3876/3405 Clinically Significant Disturbance: On Theorists Who Theorize Theory of Mind] - Disability Studies Quarterly</ref>)
* Wealth causing the "autism epidemic"<ref>[https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-imprinted-brain/201809/why-affluence-is-the-true-cause-the-real-autism-epidemic Why Affluence Is the True Cause of the Real Autism Epidemic]</ref> (which probably isn't a real thing<ref>[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4232964/ Three Reasons Not to Believe in an Autism Epidemic] - Current Directions in Psychological Science</ref><ref>[https://www.spectrumnews.org/news/large-swedish-study-casts-doubt-on-autism-epidemic/ Large Swedish study casts doubt on autism 'epidemic'] - Spectrum News</ref><ref>[https://www.vox.com/the-big-idea/2018/4/28/17295398/cdc-autism-rates-epidemic-diagnosis-vaccines-myth The CDC just announced one in 59 children are autistic. Here's why that's not evidence of an epidemic.]</ref>{{efn|The [[tl;dr]] is that we're getting a lot better at diagnosing autism in people who would have otherwise been missed.}})
* Males being naturally more autistic and females naturally being more psychotic, and [[Western world|Western society]] being more autistic and thus having more "[[LGBT]]-ism"<ref>[https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-imprinted-brain/201909/diametric-diagnosis-the-new-british-disease A Diametric Diagnosis of the New British Disease]</ref>{{efn|Individuals on the Autism spectrum tend to be less influenced by or responsive to societal expectations or constraints, so they may be more likely to identify with their LGB attraction or gender dysphoria.<ref>[https://www.aane.org/sexual-orientation-gender-identity-aspergerautism/ Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Asperger/Autism] Jamie Freed, Autism Network aane.org</ref> Some research indicates that androgen exposure in the womb may cause autism.<ref>[https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/02/180207120622.htm Male susceptibility to autism linked to male hormones in early-stage brain development]</ref> Prenatal androgen exposure is also a factor in development of non-heterosexual attraction (see {{wpl|Prenatal hormones and sexual orientation}}). You could argue there may be be some overlap; however, autistics tending not to care what others think is just as convincing.}}
* Failing to examine gendered biases in diagnosis, like thinking that "the overwhelmingly [[female hysteria|female incidence of hysteria]] in the 19<sup>th</sup> century" was a sign that women were mentally ill more often<ref>[https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-imprinted-brain/201403/being-female-protected-autism-risk-psychosis Being Female: Protected From Autism But at Risk of Psychosis] - Psychology Today</ref> (instead of being more likely to be diagnosed by men after they dared to protest against [[sexism]]).

In 2020, these articles surfaced on [[Twitter]], where autistics expressed their disappointment. "Apparently we autistics are nothing more than undomesticated humans with aggressive behavior, facial anomalies and… weird ears," wrote autistic parent and artist Steve Asbell.<ref>[https://twitter.com/steve_asbell/status/1234879836927201285 Tweet by Steve Asbell]</ref> Another autistic person said "Just curious, does the author think we’re irritable and agressive{{sic}} before or after showing us this article?"<ref>[https://twitter.com/cinnamonremote/status/1234949027298455557 Tweet by @cinnamonremote]</ref>

== Other ==
{{main|Debunked: gay men have 500-1000 partners}}
In 2017, Badcock penned an article about promiscuity for ''[[Psychology Today]]'', in which he claimed: "one study in San Francisco found that nearly 50% of gay men had more than 500 partners" without a citation.<ref>[https://www.psychologytoday.com/nz/blog/the-imprinted-brain/201703/it-s-the-mode-men-have-more-sex-partners It's the mode men have more sex partners] by Christopher Badcock, Phd (2017) on psychologytoday.com</ref> The statistics he cites  appear to have [[Debunked: gay men have 500-1000 partners|come from a 1978 survey of sex club attendees and prostitutes]] (Bell & Weinberg). Badcock also inflated the original statistic to 50% (from 43%). The statistic is commonly recited by extremist anti-gay organizations. Perhaps Badcock was talking about himself when he said "autistics don't seem to have minds at all".

==See also==
*[[Autism]]
*[[Schizophrenia]]
*[[Debunked: gay men have 500-1000 partners]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Badcock, Christopher}}
[[Category:Authors]]
[[Category:British people]]
[[Category:Pseudoscience promoters]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Homophobes]]
[[Category:Ableism]]
[[Category:Autism woo]]

Categories: Authors, British people, Pseudoscience promoters, Living people, Homophobes, Ableism, Autism woo