Slacktivists or Activists?: Identity Work in the Virtual Disability March Hanlin Li 1, 2 , Disha Bora 1 , Sagar Salvi 1 , Erin Brady 1 1 IUPUI, Indianapolis, USA, 2 Northwestern University, Evanston, USA
[email protected], {dishbora, salvis, brady}@iupui.edu ABSTRACT Protests are important social forms of activism, but can be inaccessible to people with disabilities. Online activism, like the 2017 Disability March, has provided alternative venues for involvement in accessible protesting and social movements. In this study, we use identity theory as a lens to understand why and how disabled activists engaged in an online movement, and its impact on their self-concepts. We interviewed 18 disabled activists about their experiences with online protesting during the Disability March. Respondents’ identities (as both disabled individuals and as activists) led them to organize or join the March, evolved alongside the group’s actions, and were reprioritized or Figure 1: A poster held at an in-person march recognizing strained as a result of their involvement. Our findings people with disabilities who could not attend. Posted on describe the values and limitations of this activism to our Facebook; used with permission. respondents, highlight the tensions they perceived about discrimination against people with disabilities when they their activist identities, and present opportunities to support apply for or use federal services. further accessibility and identity changes by integrating technology into their activist experiences. However, in-person activism remains inaccessible for many people with disabilities. Activities such as marches, rallies, Author Keywords and town hall meetings often introduce environmental, Social media; activism; accessibility; identity theory.