Abstract
Disability in people is often perceived as a deficit with respect to work, leading to exclusion and vulnerability. This study explores how visually impaired body workers in the hospitality and tourism industry achieve emancipation and create meaningful work. Interviews were conducted with trainers, trainees, and trained masseuses in Vietnam. Guided by emancipation theory, sociomateriality, and performativity, the analysis reveals how participants perceived to have gained employment independence through autonomy and authorship. Assistive technologies played a key role in this process. Rejecting disability performance expectations and societal norms, participants used sociomaterial practices to empower themselves. However, a question remains as to whether they were emancipated as perceived or turned into commodities in the gig economy.