Lesbian and gay male identity development and online communities

Abstract

The aim of this study is to broaden the understanding of how online resources including blogs, chats, websites, and social networking can help support identity formation in lesbian and gay people. More specifically, my focus is on personal narrative journeys from awareness or questioning of sexual orientation to coming out as a lesbian or gay person while using online mediums as a source for guidance and support as one discovers their own path towards a lesbian or gay identity. Although it is important to discover how the Internet is used for support, guidance, information and as a social networking tool for all sexual minorities including lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgendered, two-spirited, and/or queer people, I chose to focus on lesbian and gay identity development. I did this in order to establish a more focused and indepth examination of sexuality identity development and to critique identity development models that focus only on lesbians and gay men.