đź“Ł Autistic Creators Speak Out

CREATOR ECONOMY NEWSLETTER


Many neurodivergent creators use social media platforms to combat stigma and spread awareness around their lives. Hashtags like #autism, #autistic, and #neurodiversity gained billions of views on platforms like TikTok in recent years.

However, while TikTok has been a place of great representation and community for neurodivergent creators, it’s been a double-edged sword. As Passionfruit contributor Charlotte Colombo explains this week, oftentimes autistic creators’ comments sections are flooded with viewers babying them and gushing about how “adorable” they are.

Colombo also explores how this infantilizing gaze applies to the significant number of accounts that are dedicated to an autistic person’s life but are controlled by a parent, partner, or caregiver. She shares why she thinks these portrayals are problematic and also shares the perspectives of many creators and social media users fed up with infantilization on the platform.


THE HIGHLIGHT

The infantilization of autistic people on TikTok needs to stop


ONE GREAT TIP


TIPS AND TRICKS

​​TikTok star Evan the Card Guy shares how he hooked 16 million followers

“I started doing what I like to call interactive magic or interactive content.”

By Grace Stanley, Newsletter Editor


TOOLS REVIEW

woman holding chips up to microphone in front of pink background ASMR

How to make tingly brain-massaging ASMR videos

There’s never been a better time to get started making your own.

By Rachel Kiley, Passionfruit Contributor


IN THE BIZ


TIKTOK MADE ME DO IT

Content for Creators.

News, tips, and tricks delivered to your inbox twice a week.

Newsletter Signup

Latest Newsletters

  • The TikTok Feminism Leaving Fox News’ Body in the Elephant Graveyard of Cable Television

    The TikTok Feminism Leaving Fox News’ Body in the Elephant Graveyard of Cable Television

    CREATOR NEWSLETTER Issue #202 | January 11, 2024 Show of hands: How many of us still have, like, television? I don’t mean the physical object, because this isn’t a poll about whether you own a tv (though that was a fun thing to be mad about in 2014!). Owning a 67″ Samsung OLED 4K flatscreen…

  • YouTube’s Union Battle With Contractors

    YouTube’s Union Battle With Contractors

    CREATOR NEWSLETTER Issue #201 | January 9, 2024 Last week, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) announced a decision that Google, YouTube’s owner, is pretty unhappy about, according to an appeal filed this week. The NLRB is the federal agency that protects the rights of employees to collectively bargain for things like better working conditions…

  • Career-Killer Robots

    Career-Killer Robots

    CREATOR NEWSLETTER Issue #200 | January 4, 2024 I’ve been watching this dystopian anime murder mystery Netflix miniseries called “Pluto,” which is basically about a world where artificial intelligence has become so advanced that robots have accumulated similar rights to humans. It’s based on a 2003 manga by Takashi Nagasaki and Naoki Urasawa, whom “Parasite”…