Narratives of Online Dating in Queer Women
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“THAT’S HOW I FOUND QUEER CULTURE IN SO MANY WAYS”: NARRATIVES OF ONLINE DATING IN QUEER WOMEN by Madeline Naomi Hannan-Leith B.A., The University of British Columbia, 2012 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (Counselling Psychology) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) May 2017 © Madeline Naomi Hannan-Leith, 2017 Abstract The past few decades have seen a rise in the visibility and legal rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people, yet persistent stigmatization has left many searching for alternate ways of seeking connection. An increasingly popular means for LGBTQ individuals to find relationships is through online dating. While the Internet has been prolific in connecting LGBTQ communities, existing research on the use of Internet-dating sites in sexual minorities has focused primarily on gay men’s dating practices, overlooking queer women. The present study used a narrative approach to address the primary research question: What are queer women’s experiences of using online dating websites to find partnership? Qualitative, open- ended interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of five women who identified as queer and had used dating websites. Interviews were then transcribed and analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six-step thematic content analysis method, resulting in the creation of three themes and 13 subthemes. These themes represent a significant and unique aspect of participants’ experiences of online dating, including their reasons for going online, how they navigated those spaces and the issues that they faced. The research findings aligned with previous literature on the subjects of online dating and queer women’s communities, and also highlighted new ideas for consideration and further exploration. Investigating these narratives may ultimately be used to inform clinical practice for sexual minority clients by contributing to our understanding of queer lived experiences and adapting counselling approaches based on this knowledge. This may improve LGBTQ client satisfaction with counselling and increase the potential for beneficial therapeutic outcomes. ii Lay Summary The legal rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people have greatly increased over the past few decades; however, continued discrimination has left many searching for alternate ways of finding social connection. We know that the Internet has provided a popular way for LGBTQ people to meet friends and partners, but there is very little information available about queer women’s online dating practices more specifically. Therefore, the present study used a qualitative narrative approach to explore queer women’s stories of their experiences with using online dating websites to find relationships. Interviews were conducted with five queer women online dating users. Participants revealed their reasons for using dating websites, how they went about using them, and the issues that they faced. Studying these experiences may be used to help counselling psychologists better understand queer women, which may in turn improve LGBTQ clients’ satisfaction with therapy. iii Preface This thesis is original, independent and unpublished work by the author, M. N. Hannan-Leith, and was conducted in accordance with the protocol approved by the University of British Columbia Behavioural Research Ethics Board (BREB). Ethics Certificate number H16-02617 was issued by BREB on November 10, 2016. iv Table of Contents Abstract .............................................................................................................................. ii Lay Summary ................................................................................................................... iii Preface ............................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents .............................................................................................................. v Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................ viii Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................... 1 Overview ......................................................................................................................... 1 Statement of the Problem .............................................................................................. 2 Purpose of the Study and Research Questions ........................................................... 3 Significance of the Study ............................................................................................... 4 Chapter 2: Literature Review .......................................................................................... 6 LGBTQ Rights in North America ................................................................................ 6 Meeting Potential Partners ........................................................................................... 8 Who are “Queer Women”? .......................................................................................... 8 Lesbians and queers and dykes, oh my! ....................................................................... 8 Courtship and “cruising” in queer women ................................................................. 10 Queer women’s relationship dimensions ................................................................... 12 Beyond “butch” and “femme” ................................................................................... 14 What is Online Dating? ............................................................................................... 15 Online dating in heterosexual populations ................................................................. 16 Online dating in gay and bisexual men ...................................................................... 17 Queer women’s use of the Internet ............................................................................ 19 A Call for Research ..................................................................................................... 21 Chapter 3: Method .......................................................................................................... 23 Rationale for Research Approach .............................................................................. 23 Procedures .................................................................................................................... 24 Sample and Selection ................................................................................................. 24 Recruitment ................................................................................................................ 26 Setting ........................................................................................................................ 27 Methods of Data Collection ........................................................................................ 28 Interview .................................................................................................................... 28 Field Notes ................................................................................................................. 29 Data Analysis ................................................................................................................ 30 Transcription .............................................................................................................. 30 Creation of Narrative Summaries ............................................................................... 30 Thematic Content Analysis Method ........................................................................... 31 v Researcher Subjectivity .............................................................................................. 34 Ethical Considerations ................................................................................................ 36 Criteria for Assessing the Credibility and Worth of the Study ............................... 37 Limitations ................................................................................................................... 40 Chapter 4: Results ........................................................................................................... 42 Theme 1: The “How” of Online Dating ..................................................................... 42 Constructing a profile ................................................................................................. 43 Conversing online ...................................................................................................... 44 Meeting offline ........................................................................................................... 45 Across platforms ........................................................................................................ 47 Theme 2: The “Why” of Online Dating ..................................................................... 52 Popular and familiar medium ..................................................................................... 53 Preference for written communication ....................................................................... 53 Accessibility for shy or introverted ...........................................................................