IGLYO on SOCIAL MEDIA

ISSUE 18 summer 2012 WWW.IGLYO.COM 2 INTRODUCTION Despina Michaelidou Jordan Long

Dear Members, Friends, and Partners of IGLYO,

in 2011, IGLYO held an event at Roma EuroPride titled ‘Friend Me, Don’t Tag Me, Poke Me: LGBTQ Young People and Social Media. With give panelists from across , we discussed the themes that arise for young people in a world increasingly connected by social media. Many topics were brought to light, and while no conclusions were made, all of the panelists agreed: the internet is not going anywhere, and it should be used deliberately and constructively for LGBTQ young people.

this issue of IGLYO On… continues to explore the topic of social me- dia and the internet. The world of social media is constantly changing, but these contributors offer some insight into the situation right now—and how the online world intersects with the world of LGBTQ young people. Our contributors come from all over the world, and each person dives into a different aspect of the interconnected world of online media and its influence on the LGBTQ community.

our first two contributors explore the impact of the internet and social media on community development. From , Micah Scott discusses how online social platforms have helped young LGBTQ people in his country to access community no matter where they are, leading to fighting homophobia in online forums that spill into ‘real life’. Gavyn Dean Sims tells us how discovering YouTube channels that documented the transition process gave him strength – and the idea to produce his own transitioning story on YouTube. contents

MICAH GAVYN YIORGOS 4 SCOTT 6 SIMS 9KAKOURIS The Impact of This TransGuy’s Seeds of Commu- Social Media on Dance With Internet nity – LGBT Rights and LGBTQI young people Based Social Networking Social Media in IGLYO on social media 3

the next two contributors highlight the impact of social media on LGBTQ advocacy in their respective countries. Yiorgos Kakouris tells us how social media has enabled Cypriot queer people to transcend the social boundaries that usually exist in the culture—including the boundaries between Greek and . Tatevik Khachatryan discussed how social media has mobilized the community in Armenia, providing a platform for information gathering that empowers civil society to put pressure on the government. finally, our final two contributors untangle the impact of social media from a theoretical vantage point. Rohit Dasgupta in India talks about how the internet has provided an alternate public forum for young LGBTQ people to come out in the absence of a supportive social climate. Finally, our contributor Lena looks at the ways the internet has not only become a source for community development and support, but also a source for accurate information on sexual and emotional health—particularly in the absence of comprehensive education systems. the iglyo editorial team has greatly enjoyed reading these per- spectives, and we hope that you do too!

In solidarity, Despina Michaelidou and Jordan Long

TATEVIK ROHIT LENA 12 KHACHATRYAN 14DASGUPTA 17 CHEN Meeting New Some Initial Queer Youth and Challenges Through Reflection on Identity Formation in Social Media in Armenia New Queer Media the Age of the Internet

4 MICAH SCOTT Australia THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON LGBTQI YOUNG PEOPLE

my first social media remember standing at my locker profile was on Myspace. Don’t during lunch, and watching hun- laugh; we’ve all had one. dreds of people race past me. Not Whether your first profile is on a single one of them knew I was Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, or gay; likewise, I couldn’t tell if any something else, it doesn’t take of them were like me either. long to realise how easily you can For an LGBTQI young person MICAH SCOTT connect with other people all over to go online and have these fears Australia the world from the privacy of vanish is an incredibly empow- your bedroom. Being gay, it didn’t ering thing. In Australia, 85% Micah Scott, 23, take me long to search for other of same sex attracted young is heading up the LGBTQI people either. people have had the confidence webWise Cyber More than 69%1 of all LGBT- to disclose their sexuality online Safety as part of Rainbow Network QI young people in Australia will – not uncommonly to people they Victoria at Gay and experience some form of homo- haven’t met before. Lesbian Health phobic abuse, most commonly at Yet, when this online-confi- Victoria, as part school, at home, or on the street. dence doesn’t manifest itself in of the Australian It’s little wonder then why 76% of ‘real life’, it can lead to what some Research Centre us go online to seek refuge, and young people describe as “living in Sex, Health and find out about the things that are double lives.” Society at La Trobe a little too awkward to ask Dad. Brad, 18 years old, describes University. When trying to figure out it. “When I was younger I used who you are and what you like, the internet to compartmentalise it can feel as though gender and my sexuality, as the ‘gay me’ only sexual identity are completely existed online. This left the real invisible during everyday life. I me often at a loss without the IGLYO ON social media 5 internet and without any ‘real’ gay to your views isn’t just becoming friends, I felt quite lonely.”2 common place, it’s becoming an Curiously, while Facebook expectation. and Google+ have taken steps to It’s opened the platform for push for a deeper reconciliation a level of activism and market- between “real life” and “online ing that, until now, really hasn’t life” (even going as far as to force been seen. Videos of presidents, you to use your real name), sites musicians, and celebrities telling like Tumblr have made their mark LGBTQI young people that “it by offering online spaces where gets better” have been seen tens you can remain anonymous, or of millions of times worldwide, reinvent yourself entirely – and and for a young person watching this has resulted in a pretty high them, it’s pretty awesome stuff. uptake amongst LGBTQI young There’s certainly something people. inspiring about a university stu- dent designing an anti-homopho- as more and more people bia poster as a class assignment go online from their phone, the that gets reblogged and makes references alter egos that some people metic- international news. 1 Hillier, L., et al. ulously invent are no longer just (2010) Writing for online. Whether safe or not, not everything is positive Themselves in 3, Melbourne, exploring sexuality anonymously though. For every message sup- Australia: ARC- is as easy as logging into Grindr/ porting young people, a negative SHS (La Trobe Qrushr and going to someone’s one seems to exist. You can’t University) hotel room (or in some cases, watch a clip on YouTube without 2 Hillier, L., et al. firing up your webcam and never being spammed by poorly spelt, (2010) Writing leaving the house). The negative homophobic abuse, and websites Themselves in stigma behind making “real life” exist solely as a platform for small 3, Melbourne, Australia: ARC- friends (or hook-ups) from online groups to have a go at diversity SHS (La Trobe is really a thing of the past. and equal rights. University) The positive side is of course But this doesn’t seem to be that like-minded people from all fazing us too much. There’s a over the world are able to con- growing trend that while we’ll nect, and share their thoughts, most likely experience homo- ideas and attitudes with each phobia at some stage in our life, other. In a world where 100,000 we’re more likely to do something views on YouTube isn’t very about it – online or otherwise. many, and 20,000 notes on a And hey – there’s a pretty pic of your junk isn’t out of the good chance that when we speak ordinary, having the world listen up our voices going to be heard. 6 GAVYN DEAN SIMS USA THIS TRANSGUY’S DANCE WITH INTERNET BASED SOCIAL NETWORKING

in my days as a youth of the question. She was either incredibly LGBT community​ very few of us brave, or very ignorant about the had heard of cell phones and even propensity for queer violence people fewer of us actually had one. Social that lived in this town had. media as it is known today did n­ot ​ We told her about the only gay ­exist. There was no Facebook, no club in town, a very hole in the Myspace and definitely no YouTube. wall hush hush establishment. She We were fortunate if we could get seemed very relieved and excited our grubby little hands on a queer that we could provide an answer to focused magazine. That in itself was her question. I managed to ask her a supremely exciting occurrence if it before she ran back to her vehicle did happen. We had books mostly why she had come up to us and and that was about it. asked us this question of all people. It was next to impossible to find Her answer was short and to the others within the LGBT community point, she chuckled and said, “Be- without coming right out and asking cause ya’ll have short hair silly.” and potentially placing yourself in So, back in my day, that appar- danger. I remember one day getting ently was another way to tell if a into my older friend’s car in the mall woman was playing on our side of parking lot to leave and this girl ran the fence – if they had short hair. I up to the car window and asked us share this story with you to illustrate if we knew of any gay clubs in our just how little we had to work with town. My friend and I were equally back in the early 90’s. It was nothing horrified and amazed that this girl like it is today. Nowadays, you can had the audacity to just come up to type in gay club or gay business into us, perfect strangers, and ask such a Google and for pretty much any IGLYO ON social media 7 town you’re in a selection pops up which by the way still amazes me ranging from gay restaurants to gay to this day. There was a reality show pet parlors. It has certainly been an running called TransAmerican Love amazing experience to witness the Story. The premise of the show evolution of social media and the was basically like that of the better many ways that it has impacted the known show The Bachelorette. A LGBT community. group of seven men were all vying I came out as a lesbian at the for the affection and love of a Trans tender age of 14 and lived that life woman named Calpernia Addams. until the age of 28, where upon I It just so happened that one of came out as transgender. If my first those seven men turned out to coming out was rough, it was put to be transgender as well. This was shame by my second coming out. the first time I had gotten to see I was born biologically female, but a transman. Until he came out to had always felt as though I should one of his housemates as Trans, I GAVYN have been born a male. I lived as a would have never guessed that he GAVYN DEAN DEAN SIMS male for almost three years before had been born anything other than SIMS USA finally taking the plunge to begin male. He looked like a man, had a Gavyn Sims resides hormones to start my medical deep voice like a man, he even had in the and has been a transition. I have now been on facial hair, like a man! I was in awe. nurse for almost hormones for one year and four In one scene on the show the men nine years. He’s months. Even with all the social had to take their shirts off for a been transgender for almost 32 years media in existence in 2008, when I competition to win a date with Miss and identifies as came out as Trans, I knew very little Addams. a fairy femme if not nothing about what the whole When I saw the Trans man’s sporadically butch concept of transgender was. I had chest I wept. He’d obviously had top all around fabulous FTM. He has been always known there was something surgery but regardless of the scars on hormone re- different about me. Something it was absolutely beautiful to me. placement therapy that never quite felt right. I could Then that’s when it hit me, I too for almost a year and a half and feels never really put my finger on it or am transgender. All the things that more and more define it. I just knew that what was never felt right, the hatred I felt for comfortable in his reflected back at me in the mirror my female form, the disgust I had own skin with each passing day. He every day of my life was an image I towards my reflection in the mirror, loves his partner absolutely detested. it all made sense now. I was born in of two years and It started to fall into place for the wrong body. I thought to myself, adores their dogs. me one night while I was watching if this guy can do it, then why, why TV. I was enjoying a quiet night can’t I? I could finally breathe for the in and watching some shows on first time. the LOGO Network, an entire TV So, I did what any self-respect- channel for the LGBT community, ing person with a computer does. 8 GAVYN DEAN SIMS USA

I googled it. I researched and re- Trans kid who was just coming to searched. I was like a kid in a candy terms with being transgender saying store. I finally had a name to put to that I had helped him in some little what I had been struggling with my way, it made it all worth it. entire life. And then, that’s when I I as a Trans person, am very found it. The goldmine of all things open and very public about being transgender. YouTube. transgender and about my transi- There are thousands of people tion. I am this way for one reason on YouTube, like myself, that have and one reason only, the sake of documented their medical transi- education. I wake up every day with tion. FTM’s (female to males), the goal of enlightening the world MTF’s (male to females), gender about what it’s like to be a transgen- queer, bi gendered, anything you der person. I want to help people see could ever imagine and everything that we are simply in between. YouTube was and still is regular every “I was like a kid in a a huge resource for the Trans com- day people who munity. Any question you could just want to love, candy store. I finally ever think to ask about being trans- laugh, work hard had a name to put to gender or transitioning or the re- and live our lives lated surgeries is all right there in like everyone else. what I had been someone’s Vlog about being YouTube has been struggling with my transgender. an invaluable tool Because I live in such a small in my proverbial entire life.” town, the Trans community on You- tool belt during Tube has been my only link to any my quest to make sort of community for my people a difference and educate the world for a very long time. I’ve made close about my transgender experience. friends on there, I’ve made some en- If you’ve ever been curious emies who are mostly just ignorant about the Trans world, I recom- bigots, and I’ve made a difference mend you look into YouTube. There in other people’s lives. As soon as I are thousands of videos on that discovered the Trans community on very topic right there at your finger YouTube I immediately made my tips. And if you should even be so own channel and began document- inclined, take a peek at my personal ing my transition. Sometimes, it’s channel, FreeingGavyn. Just type quite challenging to put my life out that in the search bar and there I there for the world to see. It’s a feel- will be. Waiting to share with you ing of vulnerability I have yet to ad- what it’s been like for me to live my equately describe. But the first time life as a transgender man. Hope to I received a message from a young see you soon! YIORGOS KAKOURIS Cyprus 9 SEEDS OF COMMUNITY – LGBT rights and social media in Cyprus

the rise of the popularity of ern Cypriot society and for that social media in Cyprus came at the reason they should be legislated. ideal time for the LGBT commu- Themistocleous’ answer was nity of the country. The increase in the kind of ignorant generalisation the use of social media coincided that used to go unchallenged in with the first widely publicised everyday interactions in a society controversy regarding LGBT rights as largely conservative as Cyprus: and discrimination. At around “Does that mean that because the same time came the creation paedophiles, zoophiles, necrophiles of the new queer rights organ- and criminals are a reality in our isation Accept that was the first society, the state should give their to achieve a large exposure in actions legal consequence?” YIORGOS mainstream traditional media, as KAKOURISGAVYN well as the first that reached out even though the discussion Cyprus and included members from the continued in the mainstream Yiorgos Kakouris occupied side of the island. media, with some merely report- is mainly a jour- In May 2010, a conservative ing the controversy, some attack- nalist. He edits member of the Republic of Cyprus ing Themistocleous (prompting the international parliament, Andreas Themistocle- angry replies from the MP) and news section for the progressive ous of the Democratic Rally (Δη- some asking his party as well the daily Πολίτης μοκρατικός Συναγερμός, DHSY) other major parties to take a stance (Politis), where went on record in the media more in the issue (prompting mostly he also occasion- or less equating homosexuality uncomfortable silences), the main ally reports on with bestiality, paedophilia and action was elsewhere. Before long, cultural news and a too broad other noxious notions. What had the few Greek Cypriot blogs by range of other happened was this: during a public LGBT writers or dealing with LGBT issues. He tweets discussion regarding the right to subjects, as well as many others, a bit too much, in marry for homosexual couples, had picked up the issue and were Cypriot, Greek prompted by the complaint of a lampooning Themistocleous. Jour- and English, as @nekatomenos gay man, the Ombudswoman of nalists and politicians might have and blogs at the Republic, Eliana Nikolaou, been indifferent or unwilling to nekatomenos. argued that homosexual long term address the issue, but technologi- blogspot.com relationships are a reality in mod- cally literate young Cypriots went 10 SOME LGBT BLOGS & FACEBOOK GROUPS FOR CYPRUS ARE: Support LGBT rights in Cyprus http://www.facebook.com/groups/114543661908111/members/ LGBT Cyprus Youth Group http://www.facebook.com/groups/314341295273875/ Accept - Cyprus LGBT the mem- http://www.facebook.com/acceptLGBTCyprus bership of Killa Flava and Her Marmite the group climbed http://marmitekilla.blogspot.com/ rapidly, to the point Blogskepseon where today the number http://blogskepseon.blogspot.com/ approaches 2000 (with close Ermis Eleutheriou to 90 joining in only in the past http://ermiseleutheriou.blogspot.com/ two weeks). Soon the group evolved into a forum where people posted right on ahead and took a rather LGBT news from Cyprus and be- strong stance on their blogs or on yond, shared music and videos and Facebook, the most popular social promoted their new blogs. The first network in the country. Cypriot blogs had appeared to-wards The most impressive develop- the middle of the previous decade. ment however was the creation By 2010, LGBT blogs were few and and the rapid growth of a group on far between, a lot if not most by Facebook called “Στήριξη ΛΟΑΤ Cypriots living abroad and writing in Δικαιωμάτων στην Κύπρο – English. What emerged through the Support LGBT rights in Cyprus” Facebook group as well as through which, initially, came simply as Accept, was a com-munity that most a reaction to the statements, a LGBT Cypriots were unaware they forum to vent and complain, but had. That prom-pted the creation of also to articulate the response of new LGBT blogs, including the first the LGBT community. This was by run by openly lesbian women. no means the first queer group on Facebook, but it was perhaps the cypriot society in general, first that attracted a large amount and Greek Cypriot society specifi- of straight members, as well as cally, is one that is full of dividing queer Cypriots that would usually lines, lines between political parties not be activists or even openly out that permeate social life and the in such a public way. What was main ubiquitous line between the more interesting was that a lot of two main ethnic communities of the the members didn’t feel the need country. Social media (blogs, social to identify their sexuality and networks - mostly Facebook, and whether it was the driving force micro-blogging – mostly Twitter) behind their involvement and provided for the first time in Cyprus protesting or not. an environment without institu- IGLYO ON social media 11 tionalized censorship and without is has not been often enforced on geographical restrictions. either side. Supporters of LGBT rights from The comments and posts on the all over the political spectrum now issue from both sides addressed and had the opportunity to interact debunked both the initial misinfor- and come together as a community mation that had initially circula-ted without the mediating influence through the traditional media (ac- of a party, in a country where until cording to which Sarris had been recently the major parties con- buying sexual services from under- trolled civil society through politi- aged men) in the context of an cally tinged youth groups, women’s inter-communal power struggle organizations et cetera. unrelated to gay rights as such. While, however, political Perhaps for the first time, a divisions­ had gradually started Turkish Cypriot organization pro- disappearing in the country because tested outside the court during the of the development of an independ- trial of a Greek Cypriot. Homo- ent civil society, the dividing line fobiye Karşı İnisiyatif (Initiative between North and South, occupied against homophobia) along with and free areas, remains much other Turkish Cypriot organiza- stronger and far more present. tions took action in coordination Social media expedited the contact with civil society in the South, even between members of the LGBT though Greek Cypriot organizations community from the two sides of couldn’t overtly participate due to the divide, from the simple meeting the legislation in the North. At the space of international dating sites same time, this was one of the few used by Cypriots to participation in instances where civil society from organizations such as Accept. both sides cooperated on a common cause beyond the usual division. the seeds of a common LGBT Even this small level of coopera- activist front for the entire island tion would not have been possible are more than sown- in November without the tool of the internet and 2010, the news on both sides of the the lubricant of social media. The divide were dominated by the short- impact of social networks and blog- lived arrest in the North of a Greek ging has been instrumental in cha- Cypriot former minister, Michalis nging opinions and raising aware- Sarris, under the anti-. ness about issues that had been ma- The law is a colonial leftover that rginalized to that day – but these is still in effect in the North and are just the seeds for the creation of which was abolished in the South a multi-ethnic LGBT society in the as late as the 1990s, even though it future. 12 TATEVIK KHACHATRYAN Armenia MEETING NEW CHALLENGES THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA IN ARMENIA

not only has social or cover them in an extremely media triggered “Arab spring” unfriendly manner. That is why in many countries of the Middle social media, being exempt from East, but it also influences our any censorship or surveillance, life and world perception on is the most appropriate forum day-to-day basis. It helps to for free flow of information on GAVYNTATEVIK get first-hand, non-censored LGBTQ topics. It provides an KHACHATRYANDEAN SIMS information from all parts of the open public discourse on many Armenia world. By virtue of this novel topics that people need free Tatevik Khachatry- way of communication, the social interaction and commu- an is from Armenia, whole international community nication. Yerevan. For the time being she has become more intertwined works as Minorities and interdependent, which wfce, as a member-organiza- Programs Officer at means that every person’s voice tion of IGLYO, has been using We For Civil Equal- can be heard in the ocean of social media for mobilization of ity (WFCE) NGO. Being a prominent ideas. LGBTQ youth both in Armenia activist for human Social media has large im- and abroad by sustaining its rights protection pact on the life of LGBTQ people relations with our stakeholders. and promotion in Armenia, she is en- in Armenia, like in other parts Our experience has proved that gaged in many you- of the world. Due to homo/bi/ social media it is the best way th initiatives in Ar- transphobia, which are typical for documenting human rights menia and outside its borders. Tatevik for many post-Soviet countries, violations, hate speeches against holds a MA in Inter- including Armenia, conven- the community and responding national Relations, tional means of media are either to the illegalities. Any post, com- and currently is a silent about the problems and ment or action in social media candidate for Masters in Law. issues of young LGBTQ people, has a “domino effect” here. IGLYO ON social media 13

The mechanism works the the community. Personal interest following way. Once there is and reputation occur to be the violation or any encroachment most important things for every- on the rights of LGBTQ people, one. From this perspective, nam- social media is brought into ing and shaming is one of the action. most powerful ways for forming Usually, there is a “whistles- public opinion and combating blower” in the community, who homo/bi/transphobia. No one puts the preliminary informa- wants to be the object of naming tion about any incident with our and shaming of the whole com- community members on our munity of young people. Facebook page or lets us know in private. Then, that person is “Naming and shaming is one of consistent and very careful in providing more and more details the most powerful ways for on the incident. The role of the others in the community lies in forming public opinion and disseminationof the informa- tion into larger cycles. Once we combating homo/bi/transphobia.” have a whole group of support- ers mobilized around the issue, our organization strives, on one Apart from responding to hand, to provide legal and moral the human rights violations, support to the victim of the social media helps our organiza- incident, and on the other hand, tion to keep the whole commu- to submit a complaint to the nity updated on different events, law-enforcement bodies to find which we regularly organize. a legal solution to the problem. Through this interactive commu- While the state authorities are nication, all the youngsters take investigating the case, the whole active part in the community life community is doing its best to and contribute to the solution of provide moral and psychological many problems. help and support to the victims. every era brings new means whatever the out- of communication with it. Look- come of the state bodies’ ing forward to the innovations investigation, the long-term of the next generation, the most effect of all this process is public important thing, much like the advocacy to promote LGBTQ social media, is to use it wisely rights and raise their visibility in for the well-being of LGBTQ 14 ROHIT DASGUPTA India SOME INITIAL REFLECTION ON NEW QUEER MEDIA

circa 2006 circa 2012 B was sitting at home, logged in G had just logged off twitter. to his gaydar account. He was Their online signature campaign talking to an attractive S, who had managed to overturn the was logged in from his college government’s brutal decision to computer, on the other side of imprison two women for simply the country. A quick exchange being gay. of stats and pictures lead to ROHIT exchange of phone numbers. A few introduction KGAVYN DASGUPTA texts later B was hopping on to a The emergence of the internet DEAN SIMSIndia plane to meet S. has had profound impact on hu- Rohit K Dasgupta man life. By destabilising is a South Asian circa 2010 the boundaries between the Activist. He is R was sitting in a crowded gay private and the public it has currently coedit- bar in Soho. However instead opened up new spaces for ing the volume, Perceptions of of looking around or making social interaction and commu- Masculinity: eye contact with any of the men nity formation. The idea Challenges to in the bar, he was glued on to of a virtual community was the Indian Male, the grindr application on his first advocated in the early for McFarland smartphone. He had just been nineties when the internet Publications (Jefferson,NC). informed, a certain T was twenty was characterised as this metres away (probably in the safe utopic space for inte- same venue). Two minutes later gration and social communica- they had found each other, shared tion. a drink and were hopping onto a Scholars such as Nina Wak- night bus. eford state that the queer com- IGLYO ON social media 15 munity were amongst the earli- for queer people to engage est to embrace cyber resources. with their identity and make This is hardly surprising when connections that were previ- comparing what the internet ously unimagined. has to offer as a space to the Social networking as we physical social space being in- know it today (facebook, mys- habited by the queer individual. pace, youtube, gaydar etc) has The internet offers a myriad a rich tradition beginning with of opportunities for queer Internet relay chats and virtual indentified men and women, bulletin boards. Communities including but not limited to of users of social networking opportunities for coming out, sites are constantly growing; pornography, queer activism a 2007 survey showed that through mobilisation of com- munity support and dating. The internet does not just al- “The internet offers low the browser to be a passive participant but an active one. a myriad of opportunities The participation can be in variety of ways. There are web- for queer indentified sites which feature coming out stories, which invite the reader men and women.” to add their own. There are websites such as planetromeo, the users of these sites had guys4men and gaydar which are increased by 43% of users who focused on cruising or dating. are 13 and above. The con- Finally, there are websites which temporary emergence of social have a political or health related networking sites has not just output. been limited to forging new connections and friends; it has online/offline also been used very widely and One of the things that make successfully in taking political the cyber queer category inter- actions, engaging with the gen- esting is its constant play with eral public and taking collective the virtual and real world. In decisions. Examples of these the snippets I started off with, range from student led youth the online and the offline protest marches, more recently experience seep into each against the EDL supported East other. The internet and cyber- London Pride March, support culture offer a new pathway ​ for the political insurgencies 16 ROHIT DASGUPTA India

against queer people in Russia, when discourses around Iran and notably sharing the sexuality are so intrinsically ongoing news of the ‘decrimi- linked to ethnic, gender and nalisation of homosexuality racial identities. This iden- saga’ from India. tificatory experience not only empowers the youth to make coming out online their sexual choices public but The internet is entering a to also use it as a celebratory phase remarkably linked to narrative. Once, what was the concept of identification. seen as a mode of maintaining With the proliferation of sites ‘queer privacy’ has now such as facebook and twitter, been rapidly replaced by the garb of anonymity which open acknowledgement of dominated the internet in the queerness. last decade is slowly lifting, when users were translated conclusion as stock information which The cyber experience, far was hidden by a username from offering an alternative and information that is en- to the physical space, contrib- dorsed through their registra- utes to a reflective and self tion. For many, especially aware youth and holds up an those who are away from ideal for the reconstruction of urban areas, the ability to our everyday physical space and access online groups and develops a larger, active and po- communities is often the litically aware queer community. first step towards making contact with other queer men and women. The emergence of the coming out video, more references recently through the ‘It Gets ▶ Wakeford Nina (1997). ‘Cyberqueer’ in Better Campaign’ offers an S Munt and A Medhurst (eds). Lesbian and Gay unique aspect to consider Studies: A Critical Introduction. London: Cassell. how queer youths are negotiat- ▶ Pullen, C and Cooper, M (eds) (2010). LGBT ing the boundaries between Identitiy and Online New Media. London: Rout- ledge. the public and their personal desires. It offers a personal narrative and establishes the potential of harnessing it as a political power especially LENA CHEN USA 17 QUEER YOUTH AND IDENTITY FORMATION IN THE AGE OF THE INTERNET the ubiquitous, yet anony- the outcomes for which they are mous, nature of social media and at greater risk. Those further mar- online communities has allowed ginalized by socioeconomic status, contemporary LGBTQI youth the disability, geographic residence, unprecedented opportunity to ob- or religion tend to also face the tain sexual health information and greatest repercussions for leaving emotional support, while building the closet. And though those living interpersonal relationships and es- in metropolitan areas or attending tablishing a sense of self. While the university may encounter signifi- “coming out” process and the pub- cantly higher rates of sexual diver- lic exhibition of “pride” has been sity, the threat of bias, bullying, the primary focus of the contem- or even violence is ever-present. porary gay rights movement, less Whether they are hesitant to upset attention has been paid to young their family or concerned about people who are unable or unwilling reprisals from their community, to explore their sexuality. As the young people deserve the privacy LGBTQI community is fragmented to explore their sexuality on their across racial, geographic, economic, own terms and the right to come generational, and national lines, out on their own time. the social acceptability of queer- ness varies accordingly. Youth increasing numbers of are particularly vulnerable to the queer and questioning youth consequences of prejudice. Accord- have turned to social media for ing to the statistics, emotional and anonymous sources of support physical harassment, homeless- and knowledge. They seek out ness, and suicide are just a few of blogs, message forums, and 18 LENA CHEN USA

online hotlines to find answers youth themselves. For many, the to the questions left unaddressed information and interactions by parents and teachers, who they find in online communities may assume that heterosexual can be literal lifesavers. partnerships are the norm. Teens who do not feel safe or comfort- further, the ability to create able talking about their sexual online personas and to build LENAGAVYN CHEN identity and preferences with relationships with like-minded DEAN SIMSUSA peers or family can turn to advice peers allows teens to establish Lena Chen, 24, is a websites like “Being Gay is Okay” and become more comfortable writer and media (http://www.bgiok.org.uk) with their identity. Though commentator­ who and “Everyone Is Gay” fostered through the less has been involved (http://everyoneisgay.com), traditional means of handles in queer and feminist­ advocacy which offer guidance on a and avatars,these relationships since her under- myriad of topics from ex­­ploring should not be discounted, as graduate ye­ars at one’s and interpersonal support is one Harvard University, to navigating of the most effective ways of where she studied queer relationships and the reducing self harm and suicidal Sociology with a focus on Women,­ coming out process. Resourc- thoughts among gay youth, Gender & Sexuality. es such as AnonyMouse particularly among those who In 2010, she (http://anonymou.se), which are geographically isolated, founded Feminist allows members to chat with disabled, or otherwise unable Pride Day, which mentors representing a spec- to meet like-minded friends. has since become a trum of personal and profession- Online communities and social popular campaign on the Feminist al experiences, are all the more media offer them companion- Majority Founda- important for those without ship and emotional support, as tion’s partner exposure to positive depictions well as the opportunity for self- campuses and at of LGBTQI people or role mod- expression. other colleges els. With a few keystrokes, through-out North America. teens can submit health queries as scholars like Mary L. to expert clinicians from the Gray have discovered, resources Lesbian Health & Research Cen- such as those above have filled ter who respond within 48 hours the gaps left by mainstream (http://www.lesbianhealthinfo. culture and major LGBTQI org/you/ask_us.html) or seek organizations. Rural youth in a response from the peer the States, for example, have educators at YouthResource used social media as a method (http://www.amplifyyourvoice. to “combat the marginaliza- org/youthresource), which was tion they contend with in their created and is run by LGBTQI own communities as well as IGLYO ON social media 19 the erasure they face in popular media about gay and lesbian life and the agendas of national gay and lesbian advocacy groups”. While the mainstream face of gay rights targets a very specific © 2012 IGLYO. Reproduction permitted, provided that and privileged demographic, appropriate reference is made to the source. social media turns teens into content producers and empow- IGLYO ers them to craft narratives that 17 Rue de la Charité diverge from the mainstream. 1210, Brussels For instance, the popular queer Belgium women’s website Autostraddle juxtaposes recaps of The L Word WWW.IGLYO.COM with guides to flirting with girls – a combination of practical CONTRIBUTORS Micah Scott, advice and entertainment that Gavyn Sims, Yiorgos Kakouris, Tatevik has led to its growing user base. Khachatryan, Rohit Dasgupta, Lena Chen Grassroots support for simi- Hilda Forss lar online spaces is constantly DESIGN expanding, signaling that even if major media corporations and non-profits fail to adequately represent LGBTQI youth, they will find alternative means of sharing their stories. as more and more young people turn to the World Wide Web to learn about themselves and share their experiences, it is important that educators, This publication is published with support of the health providers, and advo- European Community Programme for Employment and cates acknowledge the value of Social Solidarity PROGRESS (2007-2013), the Council of Europe European Youth Foundation and the Govern- social media and online interac- ment of the . tions and learn how to use these tools to ensure the psychologi- The information contained in this publication does cal, emotional, and sexual well- not necessarily reflect the position or opinion of the being of the LGBTQI youth they , Council of Europe or the Government of the Netherlands. serve. 20 AUTHOR country