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Psych2Go
24
LGBTQA:
The Online Community
By: Aubrey Bryan
Artwork by: Fieni Aprilia
LGBTQ+ Psychology
The internet is wide with all kinds
of diversity from silly baby-burp videos
to middle-aged house-dwellers trying to
find the cure for the common cold. To add
some background, I was always more the
animated cat video kind-of person growing
up. It wasn’t until I came across my
first social website that I realized there
was a real community on the internet.
With community however comes conflict,
opposing sides, and people with their
own individual stories feeding into these
opinions. The greatest example of this is
the *LGBTQA community! There is a consensus
that people with different romantic
and sexual preferences aside from the
“norm” are just as important and need
recognition within society. With today’s
internet culture, the LGBTQA community
has more room to grow, spread information,
and even discuss issues within the
group itself to allow positive change. But,
because we are dealing with the internet,
there’s going to be those that take refuge
behind their screens to hurt, belittle or
put down others for self-righteous gain—
and I’m still talking about the same community.
It’s too often we see on social media
what awful things people can do to make
themselves feel in the right position or
believe they’re doing justice by hurting
or, in extreme cases, destroying the lives
of those with one (or a few) terrible opinion(s).
Those who’ve been on the internet
long enough can already think of multiple
examples, though they may not exactly
be the same examples. From one end, an
example would be the overbearing social
activist bloggers that find it their job to
come down on anyone for any small slipup
comment or joke. On the other end,
there are the less educated members of
the LGBTQA community spreading false
information or making a bad example
of the community as a whole. As
surprising as it is that such well-intentioned
people could also drag in so many
opposing perspectives to the foundation
of these beliefs, it is also not that surprising
at all.
Since we’re all from different areas of
the world and our countries, we’re all
bound to have different views on what
makes sense in the LGBTQA community.
Some less populated places, like the
country-side in Mississippi of the United
States, may hold the reservation that
love is between two individuals; and if
a girl likes a girl she’s gay and if a girl
likes a boy she’s straight. In places like
these, it may just seem a little weird to
begin talking about all the in-betweens
and gray areas. However, a more populous
area with wider variation between
culture, person and belief may be more
accepting to the idea that there’s a neighbor
next door claiming to be demi-sexual.
Not only location, but also upbringing
can affect the way we understand what
LGBTQA supports. Bisexuality, for example,
in some households is the, “I’m
confused about my sexuality” sexuality.
While that certainly isn’t the case, it is
a fermented stereotype attached to the
identity. It’s taught through several different
mediums and not just in the household.
Social groups, media and even our
culture have a bit of an input into this
belief. We have a natural tendency to feel
like we need to “pick a side”, like it’s a
football team or our favorite brand.
I think a lot of people tend to forget about
all the different perspectives and experiences
others may have when they hop
online. For every trans woman that’s
praised and told to be proud of her identity
there’s another just like her being near