New media, and specifically the growing popularity of social networking sites which put the control of media into the hands of individuals, is a potentially powerful tool for social movements. As individuals gain the ability to promote their own ideas, they can lose the reliance on ideas created and promoted by groups in control of the media. For example, I believe that there have been very few truly positive and beneficial representations of LGBT people in television, but the internet has given individuals the tools to express themselves, and promote tolerance and understanding of LGBT individuals. The ability to individualize this type of new media makes it possible to give a more realistic, and less generalized/stereotyped perspective on this group of people.
My research will explore the effects of new media on perception of the LGBT community. I expect to find that as media becomes more personal, and is controlled more by individuals, the representation of LGBT people in media becomes more positive. To study this, I will research representations of the LGBT community prior to widespread use of the internet, and I will also study the ways in which that community has used the internet, (blogs, twitter, Facebook) to promote understanding and tolerance, for example, the "Fckh8" campaign or the It Get's Better Project. I believe that those messages coming from individuals through the internet will have a more profound impact on understanding.
I believe this is an important topic to study, because we as a people need to push to become more tolerant of all minorities. Representations of LGBT people have been traditionally stereotyped and unrealistic. New media may provide a tool to fight against those stereotypes and misconceptions to promote a more realistic understanding of individuals who identify as LGBT. In The Limitations of the Discourse of Norms: Gay Visibility and the Degrees of Transgression, Jay Clarkson writes about the promotion through the media of one type of gay norm. The stereotypes lead people to believe that there is a specific way to identify as gay. The promotion of individual perspectives online may be a way to counteract the trend Clarkson writes about.
My research will consist of a literature review of previous writing on this subject. I have found many articles which discuss the ability of social networking to provide a safe space for LGBT people online, specifically in providing support to teens who are coming out. I will also do a content analysis of projects online working for this cause. I will study the message of these campaigns, and analyze the comments and responses they are receiving online. The final part of my research will be a survey, asking subjects to react to the content I analyze.
The scope of this research is controlled, to an extent, because this type of media is relatively new. I will focus on widespread trends, rather than individual experiences, and spend the most time on movements which have gained widespread attention. I am most interested in focusing on how these representations affect teens, who are at a critical age, and are increasingly connected to and reliant on the internet.
References:
Bond, B. J. (2009). Out Online: The Content of Gay Teen Chat Rooms. Ohio Communication Journal, 47233-245.
Clarkson, J. (2008). The Limitations of the Discourse of Norms: Gay Visibility and Degrees of Transgression. Journal Of Communication Inquiry, 32(4), 368-382.
Fraser, V. (2007). Lesbigay Youth Experiences Online. Metro, (155), 124-127.
Hou, C. (2005). Fighting for a mission impossible: A study on media relations strategies of gay and lesbian movement in Taiwan. Conference Papers
