May 18 is Global Accessibility Awareness Day. To celebrate, Twitch is bringing back an annual tradition. The Amazon-owned platform is providing visibility for disabled creators while also encouraging its community to make their streams as inclusive as possible.
Twitch is shining its spotlight on creators who share their experiences and call out ableism while also entertaining their respective audiences. That group includes Cooking Without Looking, whose host describes herself as “Twitch’s first 100% blind cooking streamer.” By learning to cook, she has improved her health and wellbeing — and she now shares that journey with her community.
Other creators highlighted by Twitch include TiffanyWitcher (pictured above) and CocoConfession, both of whom have leveraged their streaming careers to raise money for Lupus awareness. TiffanyWitcher also uses her platform to discuss the ways that VTuber characters can provide new opportunities for the disability community.
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“Being a VTuber on Twitch has saved me as a disabled content creator,” TiffanyWitcher said in a statement. “Being a VTuber now allowed me to speak about how accessible it can be as an accessibility advocate and help others as it did for me. It’s constantly evolving in the community and I’m looking forward to seeing what’s new around the corner and beyond!”
Twitch is doing its part to champion accessability across its platform. It is encouraging all creators to turn on closed captions for both their streams and the games they play. As part of its Creator Camp initiative, Twitch has published an article to advise creators who wish to make their channels more accessibile. Disabled streamers who contributed to that guide include BlindGamerSteve, Nikatine, and NoHandsNZ.
There’s one more step the streaming community can take to support disabled creators. As part of its Global Accessibility Awareness Day push, Twitch is encouraging its users to cut ableist language out of their vocabulary. That step may seem small, but in a world where 15% of the population lives with a disability, every bit of progress can make a big difference.
