#disabilitySouthAfrica: critical reflections on TikTok

In this study we present a critical re#ection on the TikTok platform and the results of the search for the hashtag disability in the South African context. As the legacy of Apartheid is still visible in o+ine and on- line inequalities along racial, gender, and disability lines, the study aims to shed light on the representative potential considering the massive increase in active users on the platform over the past year. We conducted a multimodal content analysis of the first 20 #disabilitysouthafrica videos. $e emerging three narrative styles (Emotional-Inspirational, Experimentation–Fun, Re#exive–advocacy) are critically discussed as the result of human-algorithm interactions. At the intersection of exposure and performativity, nonconforming identities seem to find a space that limits as much as it allows for the lightness of self-expression. $e construction of a daily crip space seems to give voice to the claiming of one’s legitimate and individual space of existence.