Unmasking is the process of reducing or stopping masking behaviours — the learned strategies autistic people use to hide or minimise traits in order to fit into neurotypical expectations. Unmasking means allowing one’s natural communication style, movement, interests, and ways of thinking to show more fully. It can feel liberating, authentic, and healing, but also deeply vulnerable, especially in environments where difference is still misunderstood or stigmatised.
Unmasking can happen voluntarily, through conscious self-acceptance or connection with other autistic people, or involuntarily, when exhaustion, burnout, or stress make it impossible to maintain a mask. Both forms can bring relief as well as grief — confronting the loss of time spent suppressing parts of oneself, or the realisation of how much masking once protected against harm. For many, unmasking involves rebuilding a sense of identity and learning what feels genuinely comfortable, safe, and sustainable.
A brief history
The idea of unmasking emerged within autistic advocacy spaces in the 2010s as a counter to masking, a term used to describe the often-invisible labour of performing neurotypicality. As autistic adults began sharing their experiences online, unmasking became a powerful concept in community language — one that speaks to both personal healing and collective resistance. It remains closely tied to ideas of self-acceptance, neurodivergent pride, and the right to exist openly without fear or performance.