PRESENTING NEED AND CONTESTING ONLINE BEGGING: IDENTITY-RELEVANT EVALUATIONS ON TIKTOK LIVE

Abstract

Public requests for support on TikTok LIVE generate competing judgments concerning the legitimacy of such activities and the identities of those performing them, raising questions about how creators present themselves and respond to potentially stigmatizing evaluations. This study examines identity presentation, viewer responses, and the evidentiary basis for identifying stigma-management practices in TikTok LIVE interactions. Employing qualitative document analysis informed by Goffman’s concept of spoiled identity, the study analyzes 13 account-specific observation forms documenting creators’ recorded presentations, selected viewer comments, and explicit references to hostility. The findings reveal that creators construct their identities through narratives of need, work, care, and authenticity, while viewers variously interpret their activities as begging, entertainment, or potential livelihood, question their credibility, impose conditions for acceptance, or express support. One creator reframes insults through religious interpretation, although the available documentation does not establish a direct connection to any specific viewer comment. These findings demonstrate that competing evaluations shape the relevance of identity without establishing a unified audience judgment, persistent stigmatization, or consistently effective stigma-management strategies. The study contributes a source-sensitive analytical framework for distinguishing identity presentation from empirically documented responses to discredit