Disabled Creators on TikTok Go Beyond ‘Inspiration Porn’

In the disabled community, “oversharing is caring” is often the mentality. When you are endlessly made to feel like you are the only person to experience something, you share your experiences in hopes of reaching audience members who are like you and making them feel less alone. Novakowski says she believes her sass and openness about her life allows young disabled girls watching around the world to finally feel some representation. “I love getting a little *spicy* with my content and talking about embarrassing things like getting blackout drunk or getting ghosted by boys, because abled people always assume disabled people don’t experience normal things like that,” Novakowski says.

One of the queens of clapbacks in the community is disabled icon Imani Barbarin, aka @crutches_and_spice, who has cerebral palsy. Since joining the platform, Barbarin has seen TikTok as a window into other people’s lives during a time when, due to COVID-19, being near other people was not a possibility for her. Barbarin is known for her tireless advocacy work, incredible sense of humor, and her ability to educate on the disabled community unapologetically.

“We’re not going to act like this is okay because you give us the bare minimum of attention and inclusion and stuff like that. No,” says Barbarin, explaining her attitude towards society’s subtle moves towards inclusivity. “We demand more because we are worth more than what you deem to give us.”

Barbarin’s content encourages people to not look at disability as one simple definition, but as a multifaceted identity. Her videos consist of topics like “put a finger down, disabled edition,” where she is able to share experiences and educate an able-bodied audience while connecting directly with her disabled viewers and encouraging them to share their truths. Barbarin asserts, “Keep an open mind with disability — disability is not one dimensional, it’s not a one-dimensional identity. We are all multidimensional.”

This newfound community didn’t come about entirely without issue. In late 2019, leaked TikTok documents obtained by German news site Netzpolitik appeared to show a practice called shadow banning, where a user’s posts may not be viewable to those other than the user. According to Netzpolitik, the guidelines in these documents said these TikTok users were “susceptible to bullying or harassment based on their physical or mental condition,” and were trying to reduce exposure to potential cyberbullying by instructing moderators to look for disabled people, people with facial disfigurements, and more.”