Epilepsy Postings on YouTube: Exercising Individuals' and Organizations' Right to Appear

Philosopher Hannah Arendt maintains that everyone has the right to appear in public as an embodied, singular individual. Because of the stigma attached to epilepsy, many with this condition are denied this right. Using grounded theory techniques, the author analyzes uploads of epilepsy on YouTube. The author argues that personal uploads on YouTube are the only mass media examples in which those with epilepsy can exercise their right to appear without the interpretation of intermediaries. Emerging themes relating to "the right to appear" allow social workers to deepen understanding of this and other devastating, often invisible and sometimes life-threatening illnesses.