By Eliza Wilson For my third video essay I chose Everything’s Gonna Be Okay, which is a show featuring the relationship between Matilda and Drea. Both women are autistic and the show explores their sexuality and relationship. I chose to focus on the moments of happiness and joy since queer and autistic stories often focus on suffering and sadness. I highlighted their happiness by slowing down certain moments of happiness or positive milestones in Matilda and Drea’s relationship. I played an audio used in the show from after Matilda and Drea successfully spent the night alone together in a cabin. In my opinion this is the moment Matilda realized she wanted to propose to Drea so I felt this audio would emphasize the moments of joy I chose. I organized the clips in a nonlinear order to create a narrative of their relationship that focuses on the joy of it and ends the same way as the show, with their marriage. Queer visiablity means showing queer people of all neurotypes and not exclusively focusing of their suffering. There is little denotative representation for autistic people and less representation for queer autistic people. Everything’s Gonna be Okay shows two queer autistic women together. Their autism is not seen as something that causes them suffering nor does it hinder their romantic potential. But the show does not gloss over the realities of autism. Matilda and Drea must deal with not doing things like everyone else and existing as a couple in a way that makes them different. They are creating their own narrative based on their needs which goes against the normative narrative. This is important to me because it shows that Matilda and Drea are allowed to make their own choices and exist in the way that makes them happy. It shows another option for what is possible and embraces their reality. Matilda and Drea get married at eighteen, despite others disapproval due to their age. They are making their own time. “It steadfastly refuses to orient and shape queer bodies to fit into heteronormative institutions, ultimately challenging normative temporality. ‘Queer time’ opposes these narratives of growth.”(McDermott, Michael. “The (broken) promise of queerbaiting: Happiness and futurity in politics of queer representation.” International Journal of Cultural Studies) Though Matilda and Drea engage in the institution of marriage they do it according to their own terms. The relationship is non monogamous and occurs at an age that is not socially accepted. Matilda and Drea being highschool sweethearts queers the trope and opens it up todisabled people. I enjoy some tropes and I particualrly enjoy what they are queered. Matilda and Drea’s relationship is an example of what queer visability means to me. They exist as they chose and are able to find happiness in each other not despite but because of their differences from what is considered normal.To me queer visablity is inclusive and focuses on the stories of everyone in the queer community, not just cis nondisabled white men.
