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Domonique Villalobos
Jennifer Rodrick
Queer Studies 115
September 23,2017
Queer Identity

The media of todays time has a very influential means to our society. The media focuses
on
all parts of our society such as politics, entertainment, and other mediums. However the media
tends
to crawl away when it comes to the Queer community. There are less representations and
awareness, which brings in our question, What is queer identity?
When it comes to the subject of identity, where does it come from?, how is shaped and
form? I believe that it comes from multiple places, such as your background, where you grew up,
religious beliefs and so on. Its the environment around you that does this for you. Yet when you
become aware of this phenomenon you can choose to make up your own decisions. Which then
leads how you want to be perceived. On the internet, in person and even on paper. But, there are
factors for why we become who we are or how we are perceived. Social media is a prime factor
in
this case. The queer community is a large group of people that are part of the LGBTQ
community.
There needs to be an awareness of this community the media is a heavy instigator among the
general public. It constantly has our attention and rarely does any good for anybody. Much
people
believe that the media is right and is reliable. This builds up tensions and many people become

upset. Technology has progressed and so have we. The vast communication options lead us
everywhere. However, there are dangerous to such technology, such as internet use. It can hide
and
manipulate your thinking. Its also has its purpose of becoming an outlet as well. It is private and
can
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become a safe place for anyone who is feeling as outsider.

According to Elizabeth Mcconnels and etc. study, that primarily focused on the way how
social media, in this case, Facebook, has become such a communicative platform to express
ones
self identity. However there are some problems. Yet , they have options on how they want to be
identified, and can be entirely public or private They used statistics consisting on demographics,
race and social variables .in which, had results of Furthermore, Mcconnel and her colleagues go
on
to compile sources for the correlations between online networking and mental health. Because of
the constant victimization and cyberbullying, mental health becomes an issue, such LGBTQ
youth
are faced with challenges. Fortunately, the existence of support groups play into effect. They
werent that useful until there was a need. Cyberbullying has a strong influence over the youth
and
that leads to distress. .. in sum, Facebook has it downsides, but it also an important outlet to
connect
and become part of an online community.
In reading the article Toward the transformative media organizing: LGBTQ and Two-Spirit
media work in the United States by Sasha Constanza-Chock and Chris Schweidler, they
express,
through their research that social media is a neglected factor in organizations that need assistance
in
order to achieve efficient media practices. This is an important part of identity because media is
the
evil genius in making up the publics mind especially towards the queer and LGBT communities.
Many of these communities rely on organizations to assist and support them. However, they are
often faced with little acknowledgment and funding. Such organizations are defunded, much of
the
money goes to other aspects and the media outlet is highly disregarded. In order to be heard or
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listened to, organizations have to become effective in attempting to present their voices. Among
this
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nationwide survey of 231 respondents with 19 expert interviews, Constanza-Chock and

Schwiedler
come to terms of realization that oppression still exists to organizations like LGBTQ and
TwoSpirit.
According to their findings, LGBTQ and Two-Spirit people suffer high rates of violence,
youth suicide (two to seven times the rate of straight youth) This ties into the other factors of
injustices such as the low funding when it comes to trans, homeless , POC and etc. Intersectional
work is hardly funded with limit resources which in essence get the cold shoulder since theres
no
effort. Organizations are not only confined to their cause but to others as well. They want to
make a
stand and work with others in order to achieve awareness. Media needs to be more accessible
and
diverse to all communities. Its the glue that keeps people together. Media is a big platform that
helps, informs and gets people to come together. If this continues, the organizations will have to
struggle even harder in all parts because of low funding.
In reading The Live Act of Coming Out- Queer Identity, Social Media, and Conversation
Analysis by Matthew Barbee, it is clear that finding acceptance is a trending matter. Not only
that
but expressing your identity is becoming more prominent. To do this, strategies have to be made.
In making such a choice, LGBT individuals consider the positive and negative repercussions of
revealing their sexuality social media has become a platform that people use in order to come
out.
They can either just post it or even make a video about it. YouTube for example has been known
for
their coming out videos. Since that time, it encouraged many more people to come out. To add
on,
this trend even made the celebrities come out as well. However, there are still worries, people
who
come out dont want to lose anybody such as friends and family for their identity. This plays in
effect when coming out.
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Social media can shape our identity, in many factors. Such as, in How Social Media Shapes
Identity a TEDxSMU video by Ulrike Schultze an Associate Professor, Schultze discusses
scenarios in order to get to her question of, How technology and media take over our lifes.
Entanglement with technology has become relevant in our society. Technology is something we
constantly rely on. Its definitely important when it comes to topic of discussing who we are .Our
physical form is a part of our identity. From her research, Schultze states that three dominant
discourses are embedded or materialized in technology. Discoursers create ideas and are part of
logic. People construct identity based on discourses. Its a way that people identify others. Media
is
part of exploring, discourses want to connect reality and media is an outlet. Money is part of this.
Although this video doesnt touch the subject of queer identity. It explains how we as people can
manipulate and change our identity. In essence, obtaining an identity is a process we all go
through
regardless of our sexuality. The media has a big responsibility when it comes to your identity.
You
can choose whether you want it to do something or just simply influence. The internet is the
main
source for this influence. It opens many doors in which you can step in. For example, the virtual
reality. Its an embodiment of who you are. It presents who you are and essentially your identity.
Social media is a big influence and curator to the queer identity. It either lives below or
above. It has the power to create change but is often neglected. Organizations have shined light
on
this subject because they impose for more budget funding in order to promote the queer identity.
Identity is a force that can easily be manipulate by outside sources with dominant force.
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Works Cited