"I'm Constantly Getting Comments Like, 'Oh, You're Blind. You're Like the Only Woman That I Stand a Chance With.'": A Study of Blind TikTokers' Intersectional Experiences of Gender and Sexuality

Paper Title

"I'm Constantly Getting Comments Like, 'Oh, You're Blind. You're Like the Only Woman That I Stand a Chance With.'': A Study of Blind TikTokers' Intersectional Experiences of Gender and Sexuality"

Publication Info

• Topic area: Intersectional experiences of marginalized groups on social media platforms, with a focus on blind women and LGBTQ+ users on TikTok.
• Keywords: BlindTokers, TikTok, intersectionality, gender, LGBTQ+, disability, social media, algorithmic bias, accessibility, platform design.

Background and Problem

• Problem / challenge: Existing research on social media marginalization often focuses on single-axis identities (e.g., gender, sexuality, or disability) and lacks exploration of how these intersect. TikTok’s algorithmic systems and platform design exacerbate intersectional marginalization, misclassifying identities and amplifying harassment.
• Significance: Understanding these intersectional experiences is critical for designing inclusive social media platforms that support identity expression and reduce harm for marginalized groups.
• Motivation and related work: Prior studies have documented challenges faced by blind users and LGBTQ+ individuals on social media, but few have examined the intersection of these identities. This paper addresses this gap by focusing on blind women and LGBTQ+ TikTokers, analyzing how platform design and moderation systems shape their experiences.

Solution

• Proposed approach: The study uses an infrastructure perspective to analyze the intersectional experiences of blind women and LGBTQ+ TikTokers, highlighting the systemic and platform-level factors that contribute to their marginalization.
• Novelty:
  1. Empirical documentation of how blind women and LGBTQ+ TikTokers experience intersectional marginalization shaped by platform design and algorithmic management.
  2. Application of infrastructure theory to explain how TikTok’s classification systems and moderation workflows produce and sustain these harms.
  3. Design implications for creating more inclusive and accessible social media platforms.
• Procedure and key techniques:
  • Conducted 41 semi-structured interviews with blind TikTok creators who are women and/or LGBTQ+.
  • Used reflexive thematic analysis to identify themes related to intersectional marginalization and coping strategies.
  • Framed findings using infrastructure theory to conceptualize the systemic nature of these experiences.

Results

• Concrete findings:
  • Participants faced identity denial (e.g., claims that one cannot be both blind and LGBTQ+), competence questioning (e.g., doubts about parenting abilities), and amplified harassment (e.g., sexualized comments).
  • TikTok’s design (e.g., binary pronoun menus, inaccessible editing tools) and moderation systems (e.g., keyword filtering, visual heuristics) suppressed intersectional identity expression.
  • Participants adopted self-disciplining behaviors (e.g., modifying clothing, using euphemisms) and relied on community support (e.g., mutual aid groups, practical tips) to navigate these challenges.
• Advantage over baselines: The study extends prior research by focusing on the intersection of disability, gender, and sexuality, providing a nuanced understanding of how platform infrastructures exacerbate marginalization.
• Experiments / evaluation:
  • Thematic analysis of interview data revealed three main themes: re-encountering offline marginalization, encountering platform-induced marginalization, and coping through self-discipline and community support.
  • Participants’ experiences were analyzed through the lens of infrastructure theory, highlighting systemic patterns of harm.
• Limitations and future work:
  • The research team’s lack of lived experience as blind or LGBTQ+ individuals may limit the depth of interpretation.
  • Sampling was limited to TikTokers who explicitly identified as blind, potentially excluding others.
  • Design implications focus primarily on TikTok’s smartphone application and screen-reader users, leaving gaps for other accessibility tools.

Summary

This study investigates the intersectional experiences of blind women and LGBTQ+ TikTokers, revealing how TikTok’s platform design and algorithmic systems exacerbate marginalization. Participants reported identity denial, amplified harassment, and suppression of self-expression due to platform constraints. They coped through self-discipline and community support, but these strategies highlight systemic failures in platform design. Using infrastructure theory, the study frames these experiences as infrastructural harms and proposes design solutions, such as inclusive identity fields, context-aware moderation, and accessible creator tools, to reduce burdens and support marginalized creators. These findings contribute to HCI scholarship and inform the development of more inclusive social media platforms.