#Boycottautismspeaks: communicating a counternarrative through cyberactivism and connective action

ABSTRACT

A growing body of research is examining the role of cyberactivism in facilitating social movements. Yet, few have considered the interplay between cyberactivism and disability advocacy. Through a case study of the #boycottautismspeaks movement, this study finds that cyberactivism may provide platforms for self-advocates to connect through bridging and bonding in unique ways that draw together and give voice to individuals who otherwise may not have means for such dynamic engagement. Drawing on a sample of approximately 10,000 tweets that circulated with the #boycottautismspeaks hashtag, this research applies thematic analysis and the Social Identity Model of Deindividuation Effects to reveal how counternarratives of disability are developed and circulated via cyberactivism. Findings reveal that #boycottautismspeaks contributors communicated to enhance bonding through (a) (dis)identification, (b) collaboration, and (c) creative resistance. In addition, they communicated to facilitate bridging by (a) demonstrating morality, (b) appealing to humanity, and (c) aligning with other causes. The #boycottautismspeaks movement melded the logic of collective and connective action, provided opportunities for both coordinated and self-directed activity, developing a network of networks through various stitching mechanisms, and cultivating an affective public. Implications for cyberactivism research and practice as well as disability advocacy are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Autism
• connective action
• counternarratives
• cyberactivism
• SIDE model

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Sarah M. Parsloe is currently a doctoral candidate in the School of Communication Studies at Ohio University. She will become an Assistant Professor of Health Communication in the Department of Communication at Rollins College in Fall, 2017. Her scholarship focuses on how individuals and collectives communicate to rebuild a sense of agency in response to identity threats, particularly in the contexts of disability and chronic illness. She considers the intersecting communicative labor of selfadvocacy, collective advocacy, and allyship. Her work explores how biosocial communities select the goals for their advocacy work and organize to engage in collective/connective action. She received her M.A. in Communication Studies from San Diego State University [email: [email protected]].

Avery E. Holton is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Utah wherehe serves as the Journalism Sequence Coordinator and Student Media Advisor. His research engages the intersections of emerging and social media, health, and disabilities, and has been featured in more than 50 journal articles and book chapters. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy for his work on social media and health communication as well as a Doctoral Certification for his work on disabilities studies [email: [email protected]].

Notes

1 Many self-advocates and their supporters have similarly pushed for a move toward disability-first language (Armstrong, 2010; Harmon, 2004). Without engaging the debate between people-first and disability-first language, this study instead relies on the aforementioned and uses the latter as it stresses disabilities less as appendages and more as parts of individual being.

2 See http://www.crimsonhexagon.com/.