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If selective mutism had a cultural moment, all sorts of people who aren't selectively mute would begin to believe they were, and mild cases of selective mutism would begin to be identified, and it would be hard to tell the difference.
There would be more understanding and accommodation for adults and children who were selectively mute, and there would likely also be an increase in stigma, disbelieving people, thinking people were faking.
I've known a couple people who had childhood selective mutism and still have some symptoms as adults, and it is quite difficult to tell when someone has lost speech, even if you know them and know they have this symptom. It's very easy to think they're just quiet people.
It's very interesting to me to think about why a symptom like panic attacks has this cultural resonance where somehow those of us who don't have panic attacks relate to the idea of panic attacks. Whereas another symptom, like mutism, doesn't have that feeling of relatability.
Those of us without mutism can't quite imagine ourselves unable to speak, or perhaps imagining it fails to engage any sense of fascinated horror. Very quiet people aren't a romantic type, at this particular moment. There's no Tony Soprano of selective mutism.
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