“My existence is resistance!”

Abstract

Scholars of social movements have been critical of social media activism. Taking a dialogic stance, where I examine narratives as tensional interactional dynamics within Big-C conversations, or discourses, I argue that traditional resistance tactics (such as in-person demonstrations and protests, like marching, rallies, pickets, sit-ins, riots, boycotts, some actions of civil disobedience) are not often available for those who experience intersectional invisibility as speakers who perform the identity strategies of activist spaces. As such, those who are disenfranchised and wish to engage in activism must reconceptualize traditional notions of resistance to better participate. This paper examines a group of queer disabled activists who reject traditional notions of activism as ableist, heterosexist, and racist. I analyze how they utilize the social media platform Tumblr as a site of engagement through disability centered dialogue as a form of accessible resistance.