“Comphet is Ableism's Nextdoor Neighbor": #Neuroqueer Counterdiscourses on TikTok

• In Event: Disability and Media

Abstract

While we have some understanding of how marginalized groups are using social media, not much is known about the novel hybrid identity of neuroqueer that is being strategically deployed over social media. My findings from a critical discourse analysis of 40 TikTok videos suggest that people who identify as LGBTQ+ and neurodivergent are using social media to share discourses that counter normative cultural scripts and assumptions about gender, sexuality, and ability. By virtue of these counterdiscourses, which are being circulated through hashtags such as #neuroqueer, is an emergent neuroqueer counterpublic that is reshaping cultural narratives and how we think about a politics of visibility in the hyper-digital age.

Author

• Jules Vivid, Rutgers the State University of New Jersey