"What we call 'the closet' springs from the idea that identities are waiting to be discovered and unfold from the inside out. Authenticity hinges on erasing the traces of others from our work to become who we 'really' are. To leave the traces of social interaction visible is to compromise our claims to authenticity and self-determination" (Gray 2780-2796).
Chapter 5, "Online Profiles: Remediating the Coming-Out Story," of Gray's Out in the Country speaks to how media, particularly the internet, plays a role in LGBT identity. The above quote, for me, pretty much sums up the chapter. Identities don't just suddenly unfold from the inside out. Identities are socially constructed. Rural LGBT youth are aware of their sexual desires but finding "realness" for these identities and desires can be difficult.
Therefore, many turn to the internet and to sites like Gay.com to read real coming out stories and to give voice and meaning to their desires and feelings. They often do not know the terminologies used to express what they are feeling until they search the internet for sources to help them understand. So rather than the internet being a place that "turns them" or puts ideas into their heads, it is a place that helps them understand and come to terms with who they are. It is a social place that helps make it all real.
I've often wondered if having a resource like the internet would have helped me come to terms with and embrace my identity much sooner than I did. I fought against my own feelings for years and refused to knowingly place myself in social circumstances that would bring those feelings to the forefront. Perhaps if I would have had the internet, a place where I could have researched and learned in private, things would have been different.
Bottom line is that media is a positive resource for many rural LGBT youth, helping them to learn and understand who they are, making their identities real!
Chapter 5, "Online Profiles: Remediating the Coming-Out Story," of Gray's Out in the Country speaks to how media, particularly the internet, plays a role in LGBT identity. The above quote, for me, pretty much sums up the chapter. Identities don't just suddenly unfold from the inside out. Identities are socially constructed. Rural LGBT youth are aware of their sexual desires but finding "realness" for these identities and desires can be difficult.
Therefore, many turn to the internet and to sites like Gay.com to read real coming out stories and to give voice and meaning to their desires and feelings. They often do not know the terminologies used to express what they are feeling until they search the internet for sources to help them understand. So rather than the internet being a place that "turns them" or puts ideas into their heads, it is a place that helps them understand and come to terms with who they are. It is a social place that helps make it all real.
I've often wondered if having a resource like the internet would have helped me come to terms with and embrace my identity much sooner than I did. I fought against my own feelings for years and refused to knowingly place myself in social circumstances that would bring those feelings to the forefront. Perhaps if I would have had the internet, a place where I could have researched and learned in private, things would have been different.
Bottom line is that media is a positive resource for many rural LGBT youth, helping them to learn and understand who they are, making their identities real!
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