On The Subject Of Plushie Dreadfuls (warning For Anti-autistic Ableism)

On the subject of Plushie Dreadfuls (warning for anti-autistic ableism)

So, Plushie Dreadful’s most beloved plush; their Gender Dysphoria Rabbit; often makes the rounds on here! It looks like this:

(ID: an image of a plush toy against a white background. It’s a white rabbit sitting on a gray box. It has blue and pink details, and the trans symbol on its chest. It seems to be designed to appear scratched up and messy. End ID.)

A lot of people really love this design and the posts featuring it get a lot of notes!

Plushie Dreadfuls are a line of plushies based and themed off of a multitude of things. These things include gender and sexuality, emotions, and disorders. These designs are very cute and charming, which is why what I’m about to tell you is frustrating.

Plushie Dreadfuls, as the plushies can be based off of disorders, have a plushie for autism spectrum disorder. It looks like this!

(ID: a plush rabbit toy, a bag, and a blue pop-it stim toy against a white background. The bag is a tote bag, and it appears to say, ‘respect the full spectrum’, and ‘hope’. The pop-it is rabbit-shaped. The plush rabbit toy has a blue infinity symbol on its belly, and the insides of its ears have a checkered pattern. End ID.)

This is the Hope Rabbit! This rabbit is cute, and I have little to no issues with it in terms of design. The infinity symbol being blue wasn’t the best choice, but I understand that it likely was simply made that color to go with the rest of the design. It would have been better to go with another color, but hey. I’m willing to go easy on that aspect because all Plushie Dreadful designs are made by people with direct experience, as it says via their website. This particular design was created by an actually autistic woman!

It’s in the official description of the plush where I find issues. First, they describe it as ‘for Autism Awareness Month’, which is a minor mistake that I can easily let slide. However, the official description of this item also states, quote, “10% of the proceeds go to the A.E. Wood Foundation when you purchase a Hope Rabbit from the Mysterious Shop.”

As much as one small Google search will tell you that A.E. Wood Foundation preforms autistic behavioral therapy. Autistic behavioral therapy is abuse and torture of autistic people, in order to make them act more ‘normal’. This is where the plushie’s use of the infinity symbol becomes infuriating. The infinity symbol is the symbol of autism acceptance. If they did research into it, they would know this. Autism acceptance; what the infinity symbol stands for; and ABA which forces autistic children to conform to allistic standards cannot coexist. They are opposites.

“So what can I do?”

Please do not buy this plushie from Plushie Dreadfuls from the Mysterious Shop! Your money will go towards the torture of autistic people. If you must have this plushie, buy it secondhand!

If you feel it appropriate, you can also boycott the entire Plushie Dreadfuls line.

Leave a review on the Hope Rabbit, letting the people who buy it and the sellers know what this organization does and what it supports!!

Email their customer support, support@mysterious.design

Plushie Dreadfuls has a Twitter too. Bring your issues with this up in the comments of this account’s posts! But do NOT harass them.

Remember, our goal out to be to stop the donations to A.E. Wood! Not for the plush to be discontinued, nor to ‘cancel’ the brand. I do not doubt for a moment that this is a simple mistake born from good intentions, due to this brand’s prioritization of the voices of the disorder they base plushies on. Let’s be calm and civil!

That’s all! Again, I bring this all up due to the Gender Dysphoria Rabbit’s popularity. I think that you can feel free to buy that rabbit, because it doesn’t have its proceeds donated to ABA. But if you choose to shop at Plushie Dreadfuls, please do not purchase the Hope Rabbit!

Update #1: We have a response from customer support! From what we can tell, Plushie Dreadfuls’ owner seems to support A.E. Wood and ABA therapy, and seems unwilling to reverse this decision so far. Perhaps if we all voice enough concern, we can change their minds?

Update #2: A perspective from someone who is familiar with the people behind the brand!

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syr3n-go-merp

6 months ago

Welp, everything’s going to shit! =D

TGS MAY CRUSH MY SOUL BUT OF TGS MONDAYS I SHALL NEVER TIRE

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the glass scientists tgs meme tgs mondays *gasp!* JOCE? SWEARING?! WHAT STRANGENESS!

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syr3n-go-merp

9 months ago

NOOOOOOOO CURSE YOUUUUUUU!

Also yay! Hope you had a fun trip! ^O^

@syr3n-go-merp I’m back!!! >:D

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5 months ago

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syr3n-go-merp

1 year ago

Because activism is more than BLM in your bios and black posts on your instagrams, here is a list of Black people and Black owned businesses’ to support. I’m doing some research as best as I can, so if I I do add someone on my list who has said/been bigoted in the past and hasn’t made any changes to be better, let me know so I can edit the post!!

Youtubers:

MacDoesIt: Queer comedian with GREAT content of all different types.

https://www.youtube.com/user/MachaizelliDoesIt

JayYoung’s ASMR: Great ASMR youtuber with lots of variety

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB0HnS2Ksu9bdK3w9KME-lg

Swan Creates: Not that well known Black artist who uses a variety of different mediums and makes amazing art!

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpemq_ZLdX4ml0EOMZ1WrWw

Hotea: Another small yet amazing Black artist on youtube with AMAZING art. I absolutely love her art style and her Tea Time series is amazing. She has really nice short videos if you just want to watch something real quick, and her voice is so relaxing.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHyL9pJnIl4aVCtW0PxaIAQ

Black owned Etsy shops:

EllieMayClay: Artist who makes all sorts of earrings out of clay! Studs and dangles, with cute different aesthetics and all sorts of colors!!!(Plus, every item has free shipping!)

https://www.etsy.com/shop/EllieMayClay?ref=simple-shop-header-name&listing_id=827799061§ion_id=32120828

MuddyIndigo: Spiritual jewlery made with crystals and/or resin

https://www.etsy.com/shop/MuddyIndigo?ref=simple-shop-header-name&listing_id=839413320

BlackEpiphany619: Black owned clothing store with a wide variety of options with sizes S-2X. They have hoodies, leggings, dresses, crop tops, and many different kinds of t-shirts! Many of these clothes are meant to be worn by black people, so please keep that in mind when shopping! (Or buy them for your friend instead!) But definitely give this shop a follow!

https://www.etsy.com/shop/BlackEpiphany619?ref=simple-shop-header-name&listing_id=947294085

UniquelyBathCo: a lovely shop filled to the brim with different bath items like soaps and scrubs! A variety of scents too!!! They have and Etsy store and their own shop!! (Please note that would probably prefer to make sales through their own website, but they only offer GooglePay and ShopPay

InkandCottonShop: Another Black owned clothing store with tons of options! This store has some more options for non-black people to wear, along with sizing running from S-3X (the sizes are also in different categories, like Hoodie, Sweatshirt, Adult shirt, Ladies, Gents, etc) There are also different color options for certain items!

https://www.etsy.com/shop/InkandCottonShop?ref=simple-shop-header-name&listing_id=986961518

This is just a small taste of the tons of black creators out there that you can follow and support!! Please add anyone that I didn’t mentions that you feel needs to be mentioned!! Activism is going far beyond just saying we support Black people and the Black community, now we actually have to show support to them.

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syr3n-go-merp

6 months ago

Why must classic literature books of all things become random hyper fixations of mine

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syr3n-go-merp

1 year ago

Your impact on other people is bigger than you think. Someone still giggles when they think of that funny thing you said. Someone still smiles when they think of the compliment you gave them. Someone silently admires you. The advice you give has made a difference for people. The support and love you’ve offered others has made someone’s day. Your input and opinions have made someone think twice. You’re not insignificant and forgotten. Your existence makes a positive difference, whether you see it or not.

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syr3n-go-merp

8 months ago

[This user has auditory processing disorder.]

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syr3n-go-merp

1 year ago

Conservatives finally say the quiet part out loud:

They would rather have a dead child than a trans child.

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syr3n-go-merp

6 months ago

hello again (bill clinton limewire voice) my fellow americans

There are a few states that actually have Shield/Refuge laws designed to help trans people fleeing from trans-unsafe states, which also guarantee trans folks access to healthcare. These states are:

California

Colorado

Illinois

Oregon

Vermont

Washington

Minnesota

New Mexico

Maine

Massachusetts

Rhode Island

Connecticut

Washington D.C.

Additionally, some states have "trans sanctuary" executive orders signifying safety for trans folks seeking healthcare. These states are:

Maryland

New Jersey

New York

Living as a resident in these states means you are protected by state's rights and state government to continue or begin receiving trans healthcare. These laws have been codified in their states so everything has been a-ok'd by their state governments.

Stay alive. You got this. I love you.

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syr3n-go-merp

10 months ago