Contextualizing Internet Use Practices of the Cyber-Queer: Empowering Information Realities in Everyday Life Donna Braquet Assistant Professor, University Libraries, 152 John C. Hodges Library, 1015 Volunteer Blvd., University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996
[email protected]
Bharat Mehra Assistant Professor, School of Information Science, 449 Communications Building, 1345 Circle Park Dr., University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996
[email protected] Based on empirical research with queer students, staff, and faculty at a typical southern university in the United States, this paper reports qualitative feedback gathered from 21 gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and questioning individuals about the use of the Internet in their everyday lives. The study shares interview data and presents participant perceptions in the form of scenarios representing their typical Internet use-related experiences. Scenarios map intersections between participants" cyberspace practices and queer identity formation and help recognize participant Internet use experiences as significant to their individual, social, and community empowerment. Findings help to uncover multidimensional and complex realities in the everyday lives of queer people in terms of their personal growth, social networking, and political and community engagement, achieved via the use of the Internet, in ways that are meaningful to them. Introduction
Groups marginalized owing to their income, physical condition, gender, race, age or sexual orientation, use the Internet in unique ways to overcome limitations imposed upon them as a result of their marginalizing situations (Mehra , Merkel & Bishop, 2002). A stark consequence of being a member of a marginalized minori ty, especially an invisible minority, is that the voice of the individual and the minority group is silenced in
the “real-life public sphere” (Mitra, 2004, p. 492). In a stud y with children who are often disadvantaged as a result of being voiceless in a world controlled by adults, Valaitis (2005) found that the Internet “reduced their anxiety concerni ng communication with adults, increased their control when dealing with adults, rais ed their perception of their social status, increased participation within the community, s upported reflective thought, increased efficiency, and improved their access to resources” (p. 51). Additionally, research with disenfranchised minorities and mar ginalized groups show that individuals belonging to these populations encounter sign ificant stress when discovering or coping with their difference (Mehra & Braquet, 2006). According to Lazarus and Folkman's transactional model of stress and coping , the most commonly identified way of coping with little information about a stres sful event was through information seeking activities (Davison, Degner, & Morgan, 1995). Similar information needs and coping mechanisms are observed between queer individuals coming to terms with their sexual orientation and cancer patients when dealing with their newly discovered illness. For instance, LaCoursiere (2005) found tha t like the information seeking behaviors of queer individuals struggling with acceptance of their sexual orientation during the coming out process (Carter, 2005), canc er patients were “interested in the experiences of other patients and benefited by their direct and indirect interactions with them” and “felt that they coped better with their illness and experienced less uncertainty and anxiety as a result of their online experiences” (p. 22). Owing to unique aspects suited to various disenfranchised popu lations, the Internet is allowing individuals and groups from different invisible minorities ways to empower themselves in the following manner: finding others like themselves; discovering support groups to overcome social and psychological isolation; seeking information that assists them with coping or coming to terms with their reality; and offering mechanisms and choices to establish their own virtual presence and provide information to help others in their struggles. Davidson (1995) states that “information is c onsidered a form of cognitive control because it allows an individual to interpret the aversive event and take action (e.g., participate in decision making)” (p. 1401). In t he following sections, we discuss how queer participants involved in our study used the Internet to empower themselves and overcome individual, social, and community-wide marginalization by nurturing their personal growth, building their social network s, and promoting political and community engagement as elements integral to their everyda y lives. Personal Growth
Individuals questioning or coming to terms with their sexual orientation or gender identity face unique obstacles to their personal development, such as: 1) family and friends may
disown them if they disclose these feelings (MacDonald, 1983) 2) unlike most other minorities, queer individuals cannot rely on information from relatives about their culture and ways to cope with societal prejudice 3) finding others wit h whom to discuss these feelings is difficult and possibly dangerous. Turkle (1995) de scribed the Internet as a “social laboratory” where instead of hiding from taboo or soci ally unaccepted parts of their lives, individuals can use the Internet to test out their identities before embracing them (Bargh & McKenna, 2002; Egan, 2000). The Internet allows queer individuals to pursue and gather information on topics they would not otherwi se be able to access publicly (Durkin & Bryant, 1995; Lamb, 1998). Queers also use the Internet to find other people similar to themselves, and in return they can disclose feelings of being different, share their own experiences and learn from others (Derlega et al., 1993), which ultimately enables them to build their self-esteem (Jordan and Deluty, 1998), gain emotional and motivational support, and decrease feelings of i solation (Archer, 1987). In this study, it was discovered that use of the Internet for exploring the realities of sexual orientation or gender identity issues (and what that me ant in regards to one’s personal identity) was most often during the initial phases of coming out when individuals began to recognize and accept their same-sex feelings and attractions (Mehra & Braquet, in press). For example, one participant reported:
“I did an Internet search and that was my first interaction with other queer people… I would ask them, “What is it like to be gay?” and “How do you know if you are gay?”…I was able to interact with them as a questioning person, and eventually a queer person.”
During the later phases of the coming out process when individ uals focused on creating a positive self image, queer participants recalled the desire to share the information and experiences that they had gained with others via the Internet. The explanation reported for this behavior was that several participants wanted to make it easier for others during struggles while possibly coping with the same issue that they themselves had faced. For example, one participant responded:
“I’ve used the Internet for a support system…I have a journal that documents everything from way back. It started out for just me, as far as my transition goes [Female- to-Male; FTM], all the crap I had to go through. It’s on LiveJournal…I left it up so that others could learn from what I went through.”
During the final stages of the coming out process (labeled as identity integration and identity pride) (Cass, 1979), participants used the Internet t o find information on topics that would allow them to fully integrate their sexual orientation and gender identity with all other parts and dimensions of their lives. This resulted in their search for new kinds of information (broader than just related to queer issues) percei ved as important in their everyday experiences, practices, and situations that included health information (HIV/AIDS testing, counseling); legal information (employee rights, insurance, finances); and cultural information (literature & films, history, travel). For example, one participant said:
“Now I am looking for information on legal matters, rights…what is it going to be like when I finally meet the woman of my dreams and we want to have a life together, what sort of things do I have to worry about, you know, wills, insurance, and stuff like that.” Social Networking
Individuals need to feel connections with others and feel as i f they are part of a group (Brewer, 1991), but for many individuals who find themselves outside of what society defines as “normal”, this sense of belonging is elusive. Being members of an invisible minority, especially one which continues to experience such bl atant prejudice and violence, queer individuals often find great difficulties in making these connections with others like themselves. Social networks are extremely important in the lives of queer people, often serving in place of their family when their biological family is unable or unwilling to provide positive support (Nardi & Sherrod, 1994; Berger & Mallon, 1993; Levy, 1989; Dorrell, 1991). Friendships within the queer community provide an individual with a sense of solidarity to a group of others who are also e xcluded by mainstream society (Egan, 2000). Those that are socially connected are mo re likely to know about queer-related organizations, functions, events, and safe haven s, all of which have been found to combat the negative effects of homophobia (Robinson, 1994; Levy, 1989; D’Augelli & Hart, 1987). Correll (1995) suggests that community ties are important for meeting friends, lovers, and life partners, as well as offering retreat from hostility. In this research, we found that while participants used the Internet f or various activities related to queer social networking (i.e. scheduling meetings, making p lans with friends, making others aware of events), they were more often looking for real-world friendships and gatherings. Gauthier and Chaudoir (2004) described the Interne t as a virtual community center, a gathering place for exchange about medical, social, legal and economic
issues, aspects that when understood and optimized, lead to gr eater positive personal growth. To queer participants from this research, it seemed th at the Internet was a means to an end, in that the Internet was used as a tool to di scover venues, events, and organizations that would enable them to meet and connect with people in face-to-face situations. For example, one participant reported:
“I think I have started using the Internet less and less for social networking. I am still a member of TD [Technodyke.com] and I go there now and then, but they are spread all over the globe, literally. It’s not that I value their opinion or their information any less, it is just that I am now looking for people that I can go and have a coffee with. So, it’s changed from Internet to physical, in real life kind of activities, you know, going to the bars, or checking out some of the social groups that are listed.”
Much of past research on online activities of queer individuals has focused on the use and overuse of the Internet by gay men for the purposes of onl ine dating or “hooking up” for online or offline sexual encounters (Chaney & Dew, 2003; Monteagudo, 2004; Parsons et al, 2001; Putnam, 2000). Several participants in this study acknowledged meeting individuals who had become addicted to online chatrooms and private instant messaging as a way to overcome perceived social isolation. Participants spoke about how these individuals lost the ability to relate in real world relationships, and at times, engaged in dangerous and anonymous sexual encounters. Particip ants in this research discussed their awareness of the prevalence of this behavior within the queer community and how they made a conscious effort to limit their use of chatrooms and other online social communities, and instead focused on cultiv ating offline relationships. For example, as one participant noted:
“I don’t use the Internet very much, just because I know so many people who are addicted to chat rooms. There is gay.com and they are just totally absorbed at their computer all of the time and they just talk to other gay people, and then they usually hook up and have sex. There is just not much substance to it. And it is either that or porn that pops up on the Internet, so I don’t use it very much.” Political and Community Engagement
Weinrich (1997) suggests that queer people turn to the Interne t to fulfill their political needs. In the context of the coming out process, use of the In ternet for political and
community engagement occurred in the later phases of the proce ss-positive self-identification and integration phases (Cass, 1979). Inter net political activism by participants utilized both push technologies and pull technolo gies (Kendall & Kendall, 1999). For instance, push technologies allowed participants to subscribe to alerting services that send e-mail notifications about various gay related political issues. Along with the alerts, participants used automated features that ena bled them to sign and send petitions and/or letters to government officials. Pull technologies, such as search engines, were used to locate specific information on a known t opic or to browse by keyword in order to discover new web sites that focused on pol itical issues. For example, one participant observed:
“I am member of the Human Rights Campaign, HRC, and I am on their action alert. I get a notice when I need to contact my congressmen or senators about a certain piece of legislation that is coming up before congress. And if it would hurt the gay, lesbian, homosexual cause or be discriminatory against homosexuals, I e-mail them. I e-mail them quite a bit.”
The Internet offers a way for people with different family, personal, cultural, and economic backgrounds to interact (Flanagan & Van Horn, 2001). Likewise, the Internet allows queer individuals to discuss queer issues and political matters with others from different cities, regions, and counties. With a network that e xtends beyond geographic location, one can learn about the everyday lives of queer peop le who live in different geographic areas of the world, under different social and poli tical climates. For instance, one participant reported:
“I make friends over the Internet, but not relationships… I do have gay pen pals in the United States, Australia, England, and Ireland. The reason why I do that is that culturally, I want to know how it is and how the gay community factors in, in different countries and stuff. I have a friend in Canada right now, and you know, his friend is getting married. I am so jealous. I asked him if they have any room for us up there.” Implications for Information Science
There are several implications of this research for information professionals when it comes to provision of information sources and design of inform ation systems to meet the needs of people belonging to marginalized groups. Informat ion professionals have taken on the responsibility and role to design, implement, and promote information
resources that provide concrete knowledge and address experien tial gaps in people’s everyday lives. Such systems and information source avenues are not only a supplement to disenfranchised users’ informational needs, but rather, are an entwined and crucial part of their life journeys, helping them discover themselves, connect with others, and bring about progressive changes in their marginali zing experiences. The Internet and other information sources allow queer individuals to transform the realities for themselves, for the queer community, as well as for society as a whole, all for the better in terms of fairness, equity and justice, dimensions th at are the founding principles in a democratic and free society. As information pr ofessionals, we should listen before designing what we think are appropriate systems and services, seek regular feedback during implementation, and lastly, reach out to all communities and individuals when promoting information use and building systems that enable information discovery. Thinking beyond our lifeblood, our rese arch agendas, and departmental meetings, information is a true commodity in the lives of real people who use it to make life-altering decisions everyday; this is a mus t lesson for us to always remember, for it will stand in good stead and make us more eff ective as information professionals to recognize information realities of the margin alized and provide them appropriate services that they can use to empower themselves and better their everyday realities. References Archer, R. (1987) Commentary: Self-disclosure, a very useful behavior In V. L. Derlega & J. H. Berg (Eds.) Self-disclosure: Theory, research, and therapy pp. 329-342. New York: Plenum Bargh, J., McKenna, K., & Fitzsimons, G. (2002) Can you see the real me? Activation and expression of the “true self” on the Internet Journal of Social Issues 58(1), 33-48 Berger, R., & Mallon, D. (1993)
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