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Virtual Friction: Networking Sexuality and HIV Prevention in the Digital Age

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Virtual Friction: Networking Sexuality and HIV Prevention in the Digital Age by Margaret Ann MacAulay B.A., University of Winnipeg, 2008 M.A., Carleton University, 2010 Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the School of Communication Faculty of Communication, Arts, and Technology Margaret Ann MacAulay 2018 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Spring 2018 Approval Name: Margaret Ann MacAulay Degree: Doctor of Philosophy (Communication) Title: Virtual Friction: Networking Sexuality and HIV Prevention in the Digital Age Examining Committee: Chair: Ellen Balka Professor Peter Chow-White Senior Supervisor Associate Professor Andrew Feenberg Supervisor Professor Kitty Corbett Supervisor Professor School of Public Health and Health Systems University of Waterloo Anne-Marie Nicol Internal Examiner Associate Professor Faculty of Health Sciences Kane Race External Examiner Associate Professor Department of Gender and Cultural Studies University of Sydney Date Defended/Approved: December 6, 2017 ii Ethics Statement iii Abstract From advances in HIV prevention science bringing us pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to the proliferation of hook-up apps like Grindr, the late 20th/early 21st centuries have introduced intense socio-technical transformations in gay men’s intimate lives. In particular, the networked decentralization and privatization of sexuality has generated a corresponding set of discourses within gay men’s communities and in the social world of HIV prevention. Community narratives either construct the Internet as a virtual community where acceptance, solidarity, friendship, romance, and sex become easily accessible in a largely hetero-normative world, or a virtual bathhouse accelerating the depoliticization and commodification of gay life (Kapp, 2011; Ward & Arsenault, 2012). In public health, accounts oscillate between exploring the Internet’s potential to revitalize HIV prevention efforts (Chiasson et al., 2009; Rhodes et al., 2011; Rosser et al., 2010), and debating its possible role in facilitating HIV risk and transmission (Berry et al., 2008; Bull & McFarlane, 2000; Wohlfeiler & Potterat, 2005). Intersecting perspectives from communication, Internet studies, and public health, this dissertation traces the erotic and epidemiological contours of a “network society” (Castells, 1996) where the Internet plays an ambivalent role in social life. Based on archival research, personal experience, and 31 interviews with gay men, public health actors, and Internet entrepreneurs in San Francisco and Vancouver, this project uses the concept of virtual friction to think through the tensions, contradictions, and paradoxes that characterize the networking of sexuality and HIV prevention in the digital age. Broadly speaking, I ask whether and how the Internet has transformed sexuality and HIV prevention by examining the discourses, subjectivities, and practices that have emerged, as well as the subsequent set of opportunities and challenges they generate for the various social worlds involved (Strauss, 1978). I argue that virtual friction is not only an inevitable but necessary part of the process because it renders visible the limits of imagining social problems and solutions in purely technological terms. Friction challenges us to acknowledge the competing epistemologies, interests, and perspectives that underpin life in the digital age, taking us out of our comfort zones by asking how we know and believe what we do about science, technology and society. Keywords: HIV prevention; sexuality; network society; Internet; LGBT; friction iv Dedication To gay men and the women who love them. v Acknowledgements A dissertation is not an individual achievement but rather a product of the contributions of a number of kind-hearted people. I’d like to begin by thanking my informants for their time and generosity as they shared important stories that helped me learn more about their experiences as gay men, HIV prevention actors, and Internet entrepreneurs. In offices, during breaks, over afternoons, and after work, my informants made this research possible. I’d also like to acknowledge and thank the gay men’s health community in Vancouver for giving me the opportunity to learn and participate as a researcher. In particular, I am indebted to Olivier Ferlatte, Sarah Chown, Terry Trussler, Rick Marchand, Travis Salway Hottes, Mark Gilbert and many other fantastic people from CBRC’s gay men’s health reading group, BCCfE, HIM, Positive Living, AIDS Vancouver, Mpowerment, Totally Outright, and the Investigaytors. Special thanks to archivists Marjorie Bryer (GLBT Society), Margaret Hughes (UCSF), and Tess McCarthy (Center for Sex and Culture) for their assistance with the historical research portion, and to Josh Robbins, Grindr, Hornet, Priape, Buzzfeed, and the AIDS Healthcare Foundation for generously permitting the use of their images in this dissertation. I’d also like to acknowledge my dissertation committee for all of their support: Dr. Peter Chow-White was my senior supervisor and offered an endless source of positive energy and enthusiasm for this project from its early days. Professor Andrew Feenberg introduced me to science and technology studies and gave me a home in the ACT lab for many years. Professor Kitty Corbett kindly helped me navigate through the world of public health and provided vital connections for me in San Francisco that I am eternally grateful for. My internal examiner, Dr. Anne-Marie Nicol, asked me some provocative questions that will have me thinking more about the heat of virtual friction for years to come. My external examiner, Dr. Kane Race, offered thoughtful and kind feedback that encouraged me to delve deeper into the nuance and complexity that follows the digitization of sexuality and HIV prevention. My chair, Professor Ellen Balka, did a wonderful job keeping all of us on track. What a pleasure it was to have this group of people there with me as I crossed the finish line. vi I also wish to thank my friends and colleagues I have met during grad school. My San Francisco sister Klaudia Kristina has always been my #1 fan, letting me stay with her for an entire summer while I began this project. In Vancouver, Helena Krobath, Milan Singh, Milena Droumeva, Ashleigh Rich, Jo Shin, Rebecca Yoshizawa, Julie Frizzo-Barker, Shivaun Corry, Ayumi Mathur, Itrath Syed, Pippa Adams, Heidi Jasper, Graeme Webb, Bob Neubauer, Matthew Greaves, Graham Mackenzie, Joey Commisso, and especially David Murphy were all vital sources of food, laughs, and support. Dave has taught me everything I know about pedagogy and is inspirational in so many ways. To Rugged Fox, Kevin, Ducky, Marcos, Tyler, Joshun, Lief, Carven, Jacob & Matthew—thank you so much for your friendship and love. I am so lucky to have you all in my life! I also must acknowledge my long-time friends Nyree O’Shaughnessy, Eliana Dell’Acqua, Adelina Pepe, and Kendra Magnus-Johnston who all knew me way back when and have cheered me on endlessly via texts and FaceTime. I’d also like to thank my family: My mother, Teresa Zolyniak and father Brian MacAulay for supporting their daughter’s never-ending pursuit of learning, and my terrific aunt Danielle MacAulay-Williams and cousin Mati. My academic “mom” Dr. Jacqueline McLeod-Rogers from the University of Winnipeg has been a true mentor to me from my beginnings as an undergrad keener. My Italian in-laws are truly magnificent people: Thank you Nonna (RIP), Mary, Pino, Vito, Sandra, Ethan, Niko, Auntie Loo, Zia Maria, Zia Pina, Uncle Tony and the other 300+ relatives I have met at weddings and other family events. Having come from a small family, it is such a pleasure to be welcomed in by such a wonderful group of people. And finally, a heartfelt thanks to my better half Vincent Andrisani. Vincent has been there every step of the way—from comps to fieldwork to the endless writing (and rewriting). Completing a dissertation is tough work and I am so cosmically lucky to have this person in my life as both a colleague and partner. We did it, v! This dissertation was supported by a SSHRC Joseph-Armand Bombardier CGS Doctoral Scholarship, a CIHR Institute for Community Support Travel Award, a BC Egg Marketing Board Scholarship, and SFU’s Emergency Preparedness Scholarship in Emergency Communications, as well as a President’s PhD Research Stipend, a Provost Prize of Distinction, Graduate Fellowships & Travel & Minor Research Awards. vii Table of Contents Ethics Statement ............................................................................................................ iii Abstract .......................................................................................................................... iv Dedication ....................................................................................................................... v Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................ vi Table of Contents .......................................................................................................... viii List of Figures................................................................................................................. xi List of Acronyms ............................................................................................................ xii Glossary ........................................................................................................................ xiii Chapter
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