Changing Spaces: Exploring the Role of the Internet in Supporting Non- Heterosexual Youth Aged 18-25 In
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Changing Spaces: Exploring the Role of the Internet in Supporting Non- Heterosexual Youth aged 18-25 in Ireland Kirsty Park BA, MSc Thesis submitted for the Award of Doctor of Philosophy School of Communications Dublin City University Supervisor: Dr. Debbie Ging September 2018 DECLARATION I hereby certify that this material, which I now submit for assessment on the programme of study leading to the award of PhD is entirely my own work, and that I have exercised reasonable care to ensure that the work is original, and does not to the best of my knowledge breach any law of copyright, and has not been taken from the work of others save and to the extent that such work has been cited and acknowledged within the text of my work. Signed: ID No.: 13210057 Date: i ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to extend my gratitude to the Irish Research Council and to the School of Communications at Dublin City University for their financial support. I am very grateful to the Creative Media department at Dundalk Institute of Technology for providing an undergraduate education which gave me a new perspective and inspired me. I would also like to thank Dr Caroline O’Sullivan for being a role model and going above and beyond the duties of a lecturer in her continued support and guidance. Thank you to my supervisor, Dr Debbie Ging, for providing reassurance, trust and direction and for never doubting me even when I doubted myself. Thank you to Jean- Philippe Imbert for his input and supervision in the early stages. Additionally, thank you to Dr Christopher Pullen and Dr Eugenia Siapera for their time and constructive input during the viva. I am particularly grateful to my research participants for giving up their time and for choosing to trust me as they shared their experiences. This work would not be possible without their contributions. Many thanks and appreciation to my family and friends who helped me to keep my chin up and keep on going, and particularly to my parents for their constant support and for always believing in me. Most of all, thank you to my wife Réaltín. I can’t imagine how I would have completed this without you by my side offering your seemingly endless amounts of patience, support, encouragement, and cups of tea. As always, you’re my favourite. iii iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Declaration ………………………………………………………………………...…………..i Acknowledgements ………………………………………………………………....……....iii Table of Contents ……………………...….………………………………………....……….v List of Tables ……………………………………………………………………….…...….viii List of Figures …………………………………………………………………….…....…….ix List of Appendices …………………………………………………………………………….x Abstract ………………………………………………………………………………..………xi 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 1 1.1 RESEARCH AIMS ..................................................................................................3 1.2 DEFINITIONS OF KEY TERMS ...............................................................................4 1.3 EXCLUSION OF GENDER IDENTITY ......................................................................4 1.4 METHODOLOGY ...................................................................................................5 1.5 CHAPTER OUTLINES ............................................................................................6 2 IDENTITY, NARRATIVE AND MENTAL HEALTH ........................................ 9 2.1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................9 2.2 UNDERSTANDING ORIENTATION, BEHAVIOUR AND IDENTITY ............................ 10 2.3 ESSENTIALISM AND POPULAR CULTURE ...........................................................13 2.4 STAGE BASED THEORIES OF IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT .....................................16 2.5 SEXUAL IDENTITY AND ONLINE POSSIBILITIES .................................................18 2.6 MENTAL HEALTH ..............................................................................................21 2.7 INTERSECTIONALITY .........................................................................................28 2.8 IRISH CONTEXT ................................................................................................. 30 2.9 CONCLUSION .....................................................................................................32 3 SPACE, PLACE AND THE INTERNET ........................................................... 34 3.1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................. 34 3.2 SPACE AND PLACE IN HUMAN GEOGRAPHY – BEING HUMAN ........................... 35 3.3 THE INTERNET AND SOCIAL SPACE – IS CYBERSPACE A PLACE? ....................... 38 3.4 CONCLUSION .....................................................................................................43 4 NON-HETEROSEXUAL INTERNET USAGE ................................................. 45 4.1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................45 4.2 DYSTOPIAN AND UTOPIAN PERSPECTIVES .........................................................46 4.3 TYPES OF SUPPORT FOUND ONLINE ...................................................................47 4.4 INTEGRATIONS OF OFFLINE AND ONLINE CONTEXT ...........................................51 4.5 KEY CONTRIBUTIONS ........................................................................................53 4.6 CONCLUSION .....................................................................................................56 5 METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................ 58 5.1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................58 5.2 RESEARCH DESIGN ............................................................................................ 58 5.3 SEQUENTIAL QUALITATIVE DESIGN ..................................................................62 5.4 CONSIDERATIONS AND DECISIONS ....................................................................64 5.4.1 Non-heterosexual: Determining the recruitment and description terms used for participants ...................................................................................................64 5.4.2 Researcher Credibility ...............................................................................67 5.4.3 Criteria for participation ...........................................................................68 5.4.4 Ethical Considerations ..............................................................................69 5.4.5 Software .....................................................................................................69 v 5.4.6 Coding Decisions and Structure ............................................................... 70 5.5 STAGE ONE – QUESTIONNAIRE ......................................................................... 71 5.5.1 Questionnaire Design .................................................................................... 71 5.5.2 Quantitative analysis ..................................................................................... 73 5.5.3 Questionnaire sample ..................................................................................... 74 5.5.4 Qualitative analysis ....................................................................................... 81 5.6 STAGE TWO – INTERVIEWS ............................................................................... 81 5.6.1 Interview Design ........................................................................................... 81 5.6.2 Data Collection ............................................................................................. 83 5.6.3 Analysis ....................................................................................................... 84 5.7 LIMITATIONS ..................................................................................................... 86 5.8 CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................... 87 6 A NUANCED PERSPECTIVE ON MINORITY STRESS: ENRICHMENT, STIGMA AND SUPPORT. ..................................................................................... 88 6.1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................. 88 6.2 THE COMPLEXITY OF EXPERIENCE: NOT A POSITIVE/NEGATIVE DICHOTOMY ... 90 6.3 ENRICHMENT .................................................................................................... 92 6.3.1 Personal Enrichment: “Once I accepted it everything was fine” ............... 93 6.3.2 Life Enrichment: Diverse Friendship and Community ............................ 99 6.3.3 Emancipation and False Dichotomies .................................................... 102 6.4 STIGMA ........................................................................................................... 104 6.4.1 Internalised Stigma ................................................................................ 106 6.4.2 Externalised Stigma ............................................................................... 113 6.5 SUPPORT NEEDS ............................................................................................. 115 6.5.1 Reasons for Not Needing Support ........................................................... 117 6.5.2 Support Services ....................................................................................