|
Logging On: How Technology Has Impacted the Identity Development of Gay Males
Douglas A. Burleson
Graduate Student
University of Massachusetts Amherst
dburleso@educ.umass.edu
Posted: November 2005 Student Affairs Online, vol. 6 no. 4 - Summer 2005
When I was a sophomore in college I would go on Gay.com. They were like
the first gay people I had ever talked to. It really meant a lot to me,
because prior to that, when I was really young, the only gay person I
ever knew of was my mom's hairstylist, and he died of AIDS. So I would
associate those two things as one, instead of two independent things.
- Rob, Manhunt contestant, as quoted on gay.com1
As I read the existing body of literature on identity development theory
( e.g. Cass, 1979; D'Augelli, 1994; Cross, 1995) I cannot help but feel that many of
the theorists, even when updating their works, are ignoring the
influence that technology may have on certain forms of identity
development. Specifically, I am thinking of homosexual identity
development and the influence that technology has had on the coming-out
processes of many young gay males. While I am willing to concede that
other forms of development, such as racial, cognitive, or moral
development, may not be as impacted by technology, I feel that
homosexual identity development may now be inextricably tied to it. The
opening quote from this paper points to the poignancy that the online
gay community has come to have in the lives of many gay men.
Previous research has found that the gay male culture has embraced the
technological revolution to a greater extent than any other cultural
group (Gamson, 2003). The popular website, PlanetOut.com boasts over 585,000 profiles (personal ads). Further, one can log onto Gay.com, the partner to
to PlanetOut.com, at almost any hour, of any day and find at least
30,000 people logged into the chat rooms. It is my belief that the
evolution and predominant use of this technology is a direct result of
the existing culture of homophobia prevalent in the United States and
the rest of the world. As young gay men grow up in our society and come
to realize that they may be different from the heterosexual norm, they
also must come to terms with the fact that their particular form of
difference is widely considered to be morally wrong. Unlike other
differences, homosexuality is criticized and demonized by members of
nearly every religious, racial, and cultural group (Dilley, 2002;
Rhoads, 1994). This places an extra added pressure on people who want to
begin to explore their sexuality, forcing many to do so secretively and
privately.
It is this societal pressure that I believe has led to the proliferation
of gay and gay-themed websites available on the World Wide Web. If the
fear of public exploration of sexuality is too great, the Internet
allows for a safer way for those dealing with their sexual identity to
speak with others like themselves who have already gone through the
coming out process or who are experiencing similar issues (Gauntlett, 2000; Woodland, 2000).
Based on my personal experiences with Internet exploration of gay life,
I have outlined a model of Gay Male Identity Development that
specifically takes into account the effect and influence of the
Internet. The purpose of this paper is to show how influential the
Internet has been on the coming out process of many gay men.
Furthermore, this paper seeks to update and enhance the currently
existing body of homosexual identity development theory. Finally, this
paper aims to propose certain steps that colleges and universities may
take in order to utilize Internet resources to better serve gay male
students.
Theoretical Foundations
In developing my theory I was influenced by the work of the two major
homosexual identity theorists, Vivienne Cass (1979) and Anthony
D'Augelli (1991, 1994). It would be impossible to consider any new
theory without examining the work of these two theorists and how their
theories have affected the idea of homosexual identity development. In
fact, my theory is less a brand new theory and more an adaptation and
modernization of the existing theories.
I do not believe that my stages have to occur at a
given point in a person's life nor do they have to occur by a given
time. In that respect my theory is like that of D'Augelli: a life-span
model. What I have taken from D'Augelli (1994) is the belief that
"[homosexuals] are not passive recipients of social history, but shape
circumstances and contexts as well" (p. 318). It is within this context
that I believe gay men have developed their own online communities, even
in the face of the prevailing views of homosexuality as immoral.
In my model, I do define and prioritize stages and claim that a person
must progress through my stages linearly. This is far more in line with
the stage model presented by Vivienne Cass. While Cass begins her
stages at a later point than I do (First Awareness), she does take her
theory one step beyond mine. Cass' final stage encompasses a total
acceptance of self separate from your sexual identity, however I do not
include such a stage as I feel this stage is not one that might be
enhanced or influenced by the online community (Cass, 1979). So, on the
whole, I feel that my model is a middle ground between the theories
presented by Cass and D'Augelli.
My theory's stages are also very similar in title and description to
those of William Cross' (1995) in his Model of Psychological
Nigrescence. Cross' model especially coincides well with my proposed
stages in that he begins from a point of an unawareness of difference or
racial identity and moves through stages of first awareness, acceptance,
and reintegration into society. I find that this correlation is
valuable as it shows commonality between different types of identity
development that have very different meanings and manifestations.
The Model
My model, outlined below, consists of six stages through which people
may progress as they develop a sexual identity. These stages are linear
in that each stage must be at least partially completed prior to moving to the next.
People do not skip stages though they may be in coinciding
stages at the same time, especially at Stages 5 and 6. I have resisted the urge to predict at which age people will be in each stage as I believe that sexual identity, for
the reasons explained above, is something that people may deal with at
various ages though I do hold that a majority of men will deal with these issues between the ages of 17 and 24. As I have experienced, one could progress through all
stages in less than a year or may never complete all of them.
Stage 1: Pre-Encounter
In this stage people are not yet aware of their sexuality.
They have had no exposure to alternative lifestyles or have not made the
connection between themselves and the homosexual men and women they have
encountered. They still consider themselves heterosexual and possibly
are active in the pursuit of members of the opposite sex.
Stage 2: Initial Awareness
This stage represents the moment of first awareness of
sexuality. At this point the person has begun to question his
heterosexual identity. He may withdraw from his heterosexual
relationships, but may still have stigma surrounding what it means to be
homosexual. He begins to think of himself in terms of his homosexual
identity and begins to passively explore this identity. Fear, shame,
and uncertainty are very common of individuals in this stage.
Stage 3: Logging On
At this stage the person is not yet comfortable enough to
explore his identity in a public setting. Instead he seeks out a safer,
more anonymous outlet for exploration: the online gay community. In
doing so he is seeking reassurance and validation of his sexual
identity. At this stage, exploration is done through chat rooms and
online magazines. He may also explore pornographic websites as a way of
confirming physical attraction. The person uses non-verbal online
conversation as a way to meet people and ask questions about being
homosexual. The online environment is seen as safe and free from the
stresses of interpersonal contact. It is used as a testing ground prior
to making the move to in-person contact.
Stage 4: Initial Contact
As the individual becomes more comfortable with online
interactions they become more emboldened to begin face-to-face
interactions with other homosexual males. At this stage, equal amounts
of time will be spent continuing to build relationships online and
beginning to move those same relationships from cyberspace to reality.
The individual will begin to make plans to meet those with whom he has
developed online relationships. However, such plans will not always be
shared openly with friends or family members. This is more of a private
confirmation for the individual. He is not yet ready to share his
sexuality with others around him.
Stage 5: Personal Acceptance
It is in this stage that the individual finally comes to
terms internally with their sexual identity. After exploring their
sexuality both online and through personal contact, they are ready to
accept themselves to be homosexual. They embrace the homosexual culture
and begin to be more open to experiences. They continue to date and may
develop their first relationship of substance, while also continuing to
frequent online chat rooms as a way to continue to meet new people and
potentially serve as a resource to other men dealing with coming out.
Being homosexual becomes a source of pride for the person.
Stage 6: Identity Pride
This final stage could also be referred to as coming out.
It is at this point that the individual has become comfortable enough
with himself to begin sharing his sexual identity with those closest to
him. Any past fear or shame of being gay has dissipated and the
individual feels perfectly comfortable to openly discuss and display his
sexuality. This does not mean that all people will be accepting of his
identity, but that he no longer fears this possibility.
Limitations
Just as with any theory, mine certainly has limitations. The first and
most glaring is that my theory is limited in its applicability to men
who while exploring their sexual identity have access to online
technology. However, such access, especially personal and private
access, is limited by social and economic status. Even many students in
college may not be able to afford to provide their own computer for
private Internet access. This would make it nearly impossible for them
to participate in the online gay community unless they do so from a
shared computer source which would eliminate the safety that I feel is
so important in this exploration. My theory also would not be
applicable throughout the world, because many nations are far behind the
United States and other industrialized nations in access to technology.
Additionally, my theory may be found to be geographically sensitive
regarding urban/rural environments. Though this would require more in
depth study, I hypothesize that gay men and women in urban settings may
find more acceptance than those in rural and suburban settings and
therefore may seek out the online community less frequently. Finally,
my theory does not account for bisexual males. Bisexual men's
experiences are very unique and would potentially follow a far different
developmental model, especially if the bisexual man is active in a
heterosexual relationship.
Application
Traditional methods employed by college administrators in helping to
provide an open and welcoming environment for students to question their
sexual identities are certainly valuable. The use of posters, safe
space/zone stickers, and other such passive, yet visible materials are a
great way to inform students that they can feel comfortable discussing
sexuality issues with administrators. Student group meetings and open
houses hosted by GLBT offices also are great methods for creating a
positive environment on a college campus. However, these materials and
activities may only be of value to students in the later stages of their
development (stages 4 or 5). I believe there are other ways that a
university can also reach out to those students who may not yet be ready
for such open discussion or exploration of their identity: those in the
middle stages of their development. If we agree that students are
increasingly using the Internet to explore their sexuality, then there
is no reason that universities should not be offering these students
web-based services to help them through their process.
For those students in earlier stages, and even those in the later stages
of my theory, I think it is important for the university to make many
resources available through the campus web page. As students seek out
materials related to their sexual identity, they may explore what other
gay people at their own institution are doing. By having easy to find
links to gay student group pages and gay student services offices, these
students will have readily available to them information on students
dealing with, or who have dealt with, similar coming-out issues. A
listing of faculty and staff who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual,
transgender, or ally would also be of great help to these students so
that if they decide that they want to speak to someone they have a list
to reference. With such resources available, students may choose to
become involved in these groups instead of continuing their sexuality
development through online sources. The sites also have the potential
to normalize homosexuality for these students.
I also would propose, though it may be met with resistance on many
campuses, that administrators provide some form of chat function through
their web sites as well. This could be as formal as a chat with the
head of the gay student services office or as informal as a free chat
room. Room offerings would not only have to be limited to gay students,
as many students dealing with myriad issues could benefit from similar
chat rooms. I envision rooms for students dealing with racial issues,
religious issues, and issues with general university practices among
many others. The possibilities for this are great and would potentially
lead to better community involvement by keeping students "in-house" as
opposed to having them seek off-campus outlets for their questions.
Think of the impact that such resources may have had on Rob, whose quote
opened this article.
Conclusion
As technology continues to advance and the current political climate for
homosexuals in the United States continues to deteriorate, I feel that
we will continue to see high participation in online communities by gay
men. The online community will continue to be the only outlet that some
people may have to explore their sexuality without fear of persecution.
With this in mind, it is important for student affairs professionals to
be aware of the unique situations that our gay students encounter on a
daily basis. We must strive to make our universities and colleges
accepting and inclusive of the views of gay students. We must advocate
for change to policies that continue to marginalize these students and
be an active voice within the administration for the concerns of these
students. If we hope to continue to diversify our institutions, we must
be willing to take on these challenges so that our institutions will
come to value all types of difference including sexual orientation.
Notes
1. The above quote was taken from an interview given by reality show
contestant Rob to Gay.com interviewer Jenny Stewart. The interview was
conducted after Rob was runner-up on the Bravo Network's male model
search show, Manhunt. (See An interview with Manhunt's Rob. Retrieved
November 30, 2004 from
http://www.gay.com/entertainment/interview.html?sernum=924
References
Cass, V.C. (1979). Homosexual identity formation: Testing a theoretical
model. Journal of Homosexuality, 4(3), 219-235.
Cross, W. E., Jr. (1995). The psychology of nigrescence: Revising the
Cross model. In J. G. Ponterotto, J. M. Casas, L. A. Suzuki, & C. M.
Alexander (Eds.), Handbook of multicultural counseling (pp. 93-122).
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
D'Augelli, A.R. (1991). Gay men in college: Identity processes and
adaptations. Journal of College Student Development, 32, 140-146.
D'Augelli, A.R. (1994). Identity development and sexual orientation:
Toward a model of lesbian, gay and bisexual development. In
E.J. Trickett, R.J. Watts, & D. Birman (Eds.), Human Diversity:
Perspectives on People in Context (pp. 312-333). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Dilley, P. (2002). Queer man on campus: A history of non-heterosexual
college men, 1945-2000. New York: RoutledgeFalmer.
Gamson, J. (2003). Gay media, inc.: Media structures, the new gay conglomerates, and collective sexual identities. In McCaughey, M. & Ayers, M. (Eds.), Cyberactivism: Online activism in theory and practice (pp. 255-278). New York: Routledge.
Gaunlett, D. (Ed.) (2000). Web.studies: Rewiring media studies for the digital age. New York: Oxford University Press.
Rhoads, R. (1994). Coming out in college: The struggle for a queer
identity. Westport, CT: Bergin & Garvey.
Woodland, R. (2000). Queer spaces, modem boys, and Pagan statues. In Bell, D. & Kennedy, B.M. (Eds.) The cybercultures reader (pp. 416-431). London: Routledge.
Click here for printable version
|
