ANNA Art Open Call

For neurodivergent women, masking is the manual, conscious performance of neurotypicality. It is the suppression of natural, self-regulating movements (stims) because they are deemed socially inappropriate.

It is the exhausting calculation of eye contact—determining exactly how many seconds to look before looking away. It is the swallowing of physical, sensory pain caused by lights, textures, or sounds just to appear 'compliant' in a neurotypical environment.

The mask is an invisible architecture of survival.