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Samantha Amirkhizi
Professor Jennifer Rodrick
QS 115 MW2:00
26 September 2016

Query to Queer: Sexuality in Cyberspace

Like a newborn animal, hopping around on wobbly legs, the struggles to mediate a new
environment is daunting for sure. That is especially true for those who identify with the LGBT
community, finding safe places to express the internal struggles becomes increasingly difficult.
For many, however, social media has been an advocate for those exploring their sexual identity.
But not everything is unicorns and rainbows, there is definite a dark side to the virtual world.
Cyberbullying is a real danger to the fragile psyches that are trying to find their legs in an often
confusing time, usually resulting in harmful conclusions. These social networking sites not only
provide freedom of expression but also present information, awareness, support, chat forums,
and a space where these individuals can feel safe and welcome. Courage, confidence, and
acceptance of identity are real benefits that are harvested from the virtual to the practical world.
The continued use of social networking sites has helped to spread awareness of
homophobia, transphobia and other forms of discrimination or hate against the LGBT
community. Activist groups started to help spread this awareness by switching over to social
networking sites. One of the first social media campaigns was the It Gets Better Project, which
targeted, not only gay teens, but straight ones as well. The onset for the movement was derived
from the teen suicides of Justin Aaberg and Billy Lucas. These two boys committed suicide
because of the intense bullying they received for being gay. The campaign was a success and
reached out to a large number of teens that contemplated the idea. Another online activist

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organization was the Human Rights Campaign, which used their large online presence to gain
support of Facebook users for the Supreme Courts ruling to end marriage discrimination for the
LGBT. The Human Rights Campaign also united Facebook users a month prior to the ruling,
with ...more than 2.7 million more people changed their profile pictures on Tuesday, March
26th (Kleinman 1) in hopes to persuade the ruling. On June 26, 2015, a date that will forever
be remembered in the LGBT community, the large support from Facebook and Twitter users paid
off to the ruling to finally end marriage discrimination for all LGBT.
People often have a hard time relating to a someones story or background unless it is
personalized. With the help of social media and the internet, access to thousands upon thousands
of stories are available to anyone and to everyone. Social networking and blog sites not only
allow people to share their experiences but for others to learn and gain insight from these shared
experiences. This is especially apparent with members of the LGBT community, who are more
likely to seek help or guidance online rather than in real life. Thankfully, there are sites solely
dedicated to stories ranging from self-discovery to the process of coming out. On October 15,
2015, just 4 days after National Coming Out Day, Facebook published research they did on their
users utilizing their site as a platform to come out. ...more than 6 million Americans have
come out on Facebook (Walgrove 2). Facebook, along with other social networking sites,
allow a safe space for users to express their true identities. The freedom that is offered with these
social networking sites allow individuals to truly find their identities and what their interests are.
Social networking sites have allowed a large array of support for those who are a part of
or identity with the LGBT community. Even with the large amount of support online, there are
also online groups that do not approve of the lifestyles of the members of the community. A
study in 2013 found that LGBT youth face far more bullying on the Internet than non-LGBT

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kids (Clark-Flory and Cuen 1). From the same study, it states that 1 in 4 LGBT youth (26%)
said they had been bullied specifically because of their sexual orientation or gender
expression (Marra 1). Cyberbullying has pushed many teens to committing suicide, with
about 4400 deaths a year and about 100 attempts. Among the suicides, six cases have been
deemed unforgettable by NoBullying.com. The cases of Ryan Halligan, Megan Meier, Jessica
Logan, Hope Witsell, Tyler Clementi, and Amanda Todd. These horror stories are just the few
that have had major news coverage or online popularity. Cyberbullies destroyed the lives of
these teens, and so many of them choose to commit suicide because of it. According to the
Trevor Projects research The rate of suicide attempts is 4 times greater for LGB youth and 2
times greater for questioning youth than that of straight youth (1). Even so, LGBT youth still
have more supportive peers online than in real life. So the question still arises whether the
support online is greater than the hate that is present. In the many articles that I have read and
through my own experiences, there is more support than hate. As awareness grows of the
devastation cyberbullying causes, advocates for the LGBT community are exacting responses
with greater force and more serious consequences.
There is no doubt social networking sites have allowed us to access more media. Social
networking sites have also allowed for individuals to create their own forums to speak on
important and pressing issues. This allows for more open conversations and debates on the queer
identity without having a backdoor agenda, like most media sources have. Social networking
sites can be accessed by anyone and utilized as a free space to discuss identification issues within
the LGBT community and those outside of the community. With this access millions of people
can be reached with everyone voicing their opinions instead of being force-fed the ones from
secluded media outlets. The oppressed can finally have a place for their voice to be heard, and

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their pain to be recognized. These sites allow the viewers, the confused, and the members of the
community to see the experience through the minds eye of the author. Which personalizes the
experience and communicates in the unique form of the written word.
The LGBT community has been through the lot of it, on and offline from discrimination
to cyber bullying . With the help of social media and media outlets, these traumas can be voiced,
defined and placed into context that were previously lacking in the world before computers.
Individuals can reveal their true identities, without the usual fear of reprisal from family and
friends.. There are places where help can be found and hope regained. However, to every
positive charge there is an equal negative one. The only issue with the freedom that comes along
with these social networking sites is the ability to push negative or hateful views on the members
of the LGBT community. That does not stop the thoughtful and continuing support those same
members are receiving from the other side of those sites. More and more people are flocking to
social networking sites to understand themselves as well as others. These sites have become
armor, they have become safe zones in the war of discrimination and oppression of the LGBT
community. These sites provide guidance to those who are lost and alone, that feel they have no
one to ask about what they are feeling or how to deal with their identity issues. Activist groups
are helping them to identify themselves, to help provide the right literature or guidance to get
them their freedom from self inflicted chains. Members of the community that have found
themselves, help those with the same struggles they fell victim to. Chat forums open up for
discussion, and allow stories to be shared. Social networking sites provide a home for those that
have been rejected from theirs. These sites have become the ground zero for the revolution that
is queer identification and acceptance. Alex Sanchez sums up the challenges for those in the
community, The pressures on gay teens can be overwhelming - - to keep your secrets, tell lies,

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deny who you are, and try to be who youre not. Remember: you are special and worth being
cared about, loved, and accepted just as you are. Never, ever let anyone convince you otherwise.
Those that struggle to find their legs in an uncertain world, will eventually find balance and
gain their strength to move forward. There is a home for those that need it, and it can be found
online.

Works Cited
Kleinman, Alexis. "How That Red Equal Sign Took Over Facebook". The Huffington Post. N.p.,
2013. Web. 24 Sept. 2016.
Ramanathan, Kumar. "STUDY: LGBT Youth Face High Levels Of Cyberbullying".
ThinkProgress. N.p., 2013. Web. 25 Sept. 2016.
Clark-Flory, Tracy and Leigh Cuen. "Kids Are Coming Out Online Before They Do IRL".
Vocativ. N.p., 2015. Web. 25 Sept. 2016.

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Marra, Andy. "Out Online: The Experiences Of LGBT Youth On The Internet". GLSEN. N.p.,
2016. Web. 26 Sept. 2016.
"Facts About Suicide". Thetrevorproject.org. N.p., 2016. Web. 25 Sept. 2016.
"Social Media And The LGBT Community". Salzburg.umd.edu. N.p., 2016. Web. 19 Sept. 2016.
Walgrove, Amanda. "How Facebook Changed LGBT Culture, In 3 Charts". The Content
Strategist. N.p., 2015. Web. 19 Sept. 2016.
Roy, Debjani. "Social Media And Gender Identity". N.p., 2014. Web. 19 Sept. 2016.
"The Top Six Unforgettable Cyberbullying Cases Ever | Nobullying - Bullying & Cyberbullying
Resources". Nobullying.com. N.p., 2013. Web. 26 Sept. 2016.
Sanchez, Alex. "Quotes About Gay Rights (65 Quotes)". Goodreads.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 26
Sept. 2016.