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Exploring Facebook Groups As a Space for Identity Construction and Social Justice Among the LGBTQ Community in India

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Exploring Facebook Groups As a Space for Identity Construction and Social Justice Among the LGBTQ Community in India Syracuse University SURFACE Dissertations - ALL SURFACE June 2019 Queering Virtual Groups: Exploring Facebook Groups as a space for identity construction and social justice among the LGBTQ community in India Sreyoshi Dey Syracuse University Follow this and additional works at: https://surface.syr.edu/etd Part of the Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons Recommended Citation Dey, Sreyoshi, "Queering Virtual Groups: Exploring Facebook Groups as a space for identity construction and social justice among the LGBTQ community in India" (2019). Dissertations - ALL. 1088. https://surface.syr.edu/etd/1088 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the SURFACE at SURFACE. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations - ALL by an authorized administrator of SURFACE. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Abstract India has emerged as one of the top users of the Internet. However, the question is how the rise of the Internet influences a society like India, which is still struggling with issues like poverty, literacy, employment, religion, and gender. This research endeavors to explore one aspect of that question by studying the role of the social media platform – Facebook Groups, for the LGBTQ community in India against the backdrop of the societal taboos and lack of legal support for the queer community, coupled with the existing infrastructural loopholes like education and technology. Over the past couple of decades, India has been witnessing a wave of change as conversations surrounding non-normative gender and sexuality is on the rise. Following from the social identity theory, social identity model of de-individuation effects (SIDE), and the theory of counterpublics, this sequential mixed methods research analyzes and presents an understanding of the relationship that exists between social media, identity, LGBTQ community, and the Indian social context. It is hoped that it will add to the conversation surrounding social media and identity, particularly queer identity, and enable an understanding into how social media can be used for identity construction for a minority population like the queer community, in a socio-cultural context like India. Queering Virtual Groups: Exploring Facebook Groups as a space for identity construction and social justice among the LGBTQ community in India by Sreyoshi Dey B.A., Presidency College, University of Calcutta, India, 2009 M.A., Jadavpur University, India, 2011 Dissertation Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Mass Communications Syracuse University June 2019 Copyright © Sreyoshi Dey 2019 All Rights Reserved Acknowledgments Pursuing a doctorate in Mass Communication at Syracuse University has been an amazing journey: not only in terms of learning about the field, but also for realizing the incredible network of people who came together to support my progress, help me identify my weaknesses, and transform them into strengths. My sincerest gratitude goes first to my doctoral advisor, Carol Liebler. If it was not for her incredible patience, faith in my work, and continuous encouragement to be better, this dissertation would never have materialized. She inspired me to come up with innovative ideas, pursue difficult problems, and think outside the box, which has taught me to strive for the best, even in the most challenging of circumstances. Under her tutelage, I enjoyed the freedom of selecting my research path, and learn to be the best at what I do. I could not have asked for a better guide during this doctoral process and I am incredibly grateful to Prof. Liebler for taking me under her wings. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank my committee members and wonderful professors Bradley Gorham, Jennifer Grygiel, and Susan Wadley, for kindly agreeing to serve on my dissertation committee. It was with Prof. Gorham’s seminar that I first eased into the doctoral program back in 2014, and I have forever been grateful for his frank and honest advice about coping with academia. As a dissertation committee member, he posed some of the most thought- provoking questions and ideas that helped to make this mixed methods dissertation better. I am obliged to Prof. Wadley for initiating me to the area of South Asian academic research. She provided with a robust introduction to gender and sexuality studies in South Asia, particularly India. It is that knowledge which helped me not only ground this research but ask further questions about the process of queer identity construction. I am also thankful to Prof. Grygiel for introducing me to the practical applications of social media, providing with healthy critiques, and iv always being available whenever I had pressing questions regarding my dissertation, such as navigating the sensitive subject of social media, privacy, and queer identity. I am also thankful to Professor Bob Thompson, for joining the committee as the Reader, and Professor John Western, for agreeing to be the Chair for the oral examination committee. I would be remiss without acknowledging the support, encouragement, and invaluable guidance I have received from various Newhouse and SU professors during the process of this doctorate program: Dennis Kinsey, Anne Osborne, Makana Chock, Hub Brown, (Doc) Lawrence Mason, Barbara Fought, Tula Goenka, Larry Elin, Harriet Brown, Dona Hayes, Mel White, Frank Biocca, Carol Babiracki, Himika Bhattacharya, and Erin Rand. I would also like to thank Paula Banerjee, Prasanta Ray, Atig Ghosh, Bipul Kumar Bhadra, and Lee Durrell, for being incredible teachers and supporting me in my endeavor to pursue a doctorate degree. I would like to acknowledge all my friends who identify as queer and have been an instrumental part of this dissertation. I thank those who opened their hearts and minds to me as I pursued my research. I am indebted to all the participants and everyone in the Indian LGBTQ community for their kindness, friendship, honesty, and invaluable insights. I hope, together we can make a difference. If I had to dedicate this dissertation to anyone, it will have to be my parents: my mother, Sanghamitra Dey, and my father, Subir Dey, who have been pillars of support throughout my life. They encouraged me to pursue my dreams – dance, music, art, journalism, and a doctoral in mass communication. They would voice their thoughts, sometimes their objections, but never curbed my freedom to experiment. And for that, I am forever grateful. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank my life partner, Sudipta Ghorai, for being by my side through the good, the bad, and the ugly phases of the dissertation researching and writing process. I am indebted to v him for supporting me in every possible way, so that I may achieve my dreams. I laud him for his warmth, intelligence, maturity, sensibility, and invaluable counsel. I also appreciate my siblings, Sumit, Siddharth, Indrani, and Subarna, and my parents-in-law, Subrata and Subhra Ghorai, for always checking in on me and constantly cheering me on to be my best. This dissertation wouldn’t have been possible without everyone’s blessings, love, sacrifices, and emotional support. Last but not the least, I am indebted by all the affection, care, and support bestowed on me by all my friends and family, who ensured that Ph.D. is not a lonely process: Dan Amernick, Arijit Adhikari, Madhurilata Basu, Subhrajit Banerjee, Shovik Gupta Bhaya, Susmita Brahma, Swastik Brahma, Srilekha Chakraborty, Li Chen, Srimoyee Das, Ranita De, C. R. Dey, Kit Dey, Samir Dey, Swati Dey, Sudeshna Dutta, Debasish Dutta, Soumyashree Gangopadhyay, Pallavi Gosavi, Raghu Iyer, Flaviyan Jerome, Sooyoung Jung, Jiwon Kim, Peta Long, Sucheta Mandal, Sayak Manna, Asish Mukherjee, Konkona Mukherjee, Srabani Mukherjee, Lina Nandi, Sanchari Naskar, Dipmoy Nath, Disharee Nath, Narmada Paul, Subin Paul, Sungyoon Ri, Soojin Roh, Angela Rulffes, Abhijit Sarkar, Priyanko Sarkar, Nandini Sarkar, Jordan Stalker, Steve Warren. There might be names that fail my memory, and names that I cannot mention, but each person who has touched my life has contributed in a significant manner to my growth as an individual, and thereby this dissertation. Thank you. vi Table of Contents Chapter 1: LGBTQ Facebook Groups in India and Identity Construction ..................................... 1 Context ........................................................................................................................................ 6 Social Media Development in India. ..................................................................................... 10 Why Facebook? ................................................................................................................. 12 Chapter 2: Communication in the Social Media Environment ..................................................... 16 What is Social Media?............................................................................................................... 16 Facebook ................................................................................................................................... 19 Facebook and Self-presentation............................................................................................. 20 Facebook and Anonymity. ..................................................................................................... 23 Socializing on Facebook Groups............................................................................................... 27 Facebook Groups
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