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Cited by 17LGBTQ Health, Identity, and PolicyGender, Feminism, and MediaGender and Feminist Studies

Social media affordances of LGBTQIA+ expression and community formation

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Are, Carolina, Talbot, Catherine, Briggs, Pam·2025·Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies
DOI 10.1177/13548565241296628
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Abstract

Faced with offline discrimination, LGBTQIA+ users frequently turn to social media to find role models, build social networks and test out new forms of self-expression. Each platform has its own affordances and governance processes which can, in turn, facilitate or impede self-expression and community growth. Through a survey of 120 LGBTQIA+ participants, this paper considers which social media affordances facilitate the creation and development of LGBTQIA+ identities, support online and offline community formation and peer-to-peer learning, whilst limiting opportunities for online abuse. While previous research has so far largely focused on younger LGBTQIA+ users' experiences on SM, we found that broadening our sample to include older participants can lead to novel reflections on platforms' potential and/or challenges towards expressing one’s queerness online. For example, while users young and old found the visibility of other LGBTQIA+ accounts inspiring, entertaining and reassuring, particularly within previously stigmatised expressions of bisexuality, we found that older participants preferred to be selective about their outness, or sometimes to not be out at all, not simply for fear of harassment or context collapse, but also because of historical factors around family and friend relationships or because their identity experimentation had already happened offline. We also identified contrasting views about outness and the use and visibility of pronouns, reminding us that the online LGBTQIA+ community is not a monolith in its beliefs and practices, particularly when different life stages are considered.

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  • Character.AI and similar platforms can offer safe arenas for identity experimentation.

    “First, Character.AI and similar platforms can offer safe arenas for identity experimentation.”

    From Toward an Ethic of Synthetic Relationality: Identity, Intimacy, and Risk in AI-Mediated Roleplay Environments (2025) · cites this paper as Are, Talbot, and Briggs 2024

    The Anonymity and self-labelling section (p. 13) says that privacy and anonymity on social media let participants explore LGBTQIA+ identities and try out different personae. The Conclusions (p. 17) likewise describe identity experimentation without judgement. The paper does not establish that Character.AI, specifically, offers such an arena. (LLM, conf=0.85)

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Are, C., Talbot, C., & Briggs, P.
Affiliations
  • Northumbria University (GB)
  • Bournemouth University (GB)
Corresponding author
Are, Carolina
ORCID
Venue
Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
2024-10-31
Volume
31
Issue
4
Pages
1401-1422
ISSN
  • 1354-8565 (ISSN-L)
  • 1748-7382
DOI
10.1177/13548565241296628
OpenAlex
W4403930435
Cited by
17
References
2
Citations by year
2026: 8 · 2025: 9
FWCI
8.11
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Convergence The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Bournemouth University Research Online (Bournemouth University) (acceptedVersion)
  • Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • Northumbria Research Link (Northumbria University) (cc-by)
Funders
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/T022582/1)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy
  • Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Gender, Feminism, and Media
  • Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Gender and Feminist Studies
Keywords
LGBTQIA+ identity, social media affordances, online community formation, self-expression, outness, bisexuality, pronouns, online harassment, context collapse, peer learning, platform governance

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