The history of the LGBTQ community is steeped in silence. For a long time, laws criminalizing homosexuality and sheer lack of communication and information kept gay individuals apart from each other.
Following the Stonewall Riots and into the AIDS crisis of the 1980s and ’90s, LGBTQ individuals organized through traditional means requiring in-person contact: posters and flyers, word of mouth, phone calls and the occasional community publication.
Though these methods were effective for their time, they seem almost foreign to young LGBTQ people today, who grew up alongside the Internet. That is not to suggest either channel of communication is inherently better than the other, but rather to celebrate the vital nature of communication for the LGBTQ community in general.
The accelerated progress the world has seen for LGBTQ rights is due not in small part to the technology most of us now use every day. The Internet — and social media in particular — has provided new possibilities for LGBTQ individuals in the United States and around the world. Here’s how.
Online Presence
The Internet, at least in its current incarnation, supports social connection. With geographical barriers practically lifted, online spaces allow individuals of diverse backgrounds to interact with one another in ways that would be otherwise impossible. For the LGBTQ community, these online spaces have provided much-needed room for building social connections.
The benefits of online socialization for the LGBTQ community are twofold. First, the open discussion of LGBTQ identity issues allows users to come into their identities with less internal struggle and uncertainty. Second, the online presence of prominent individuals on social media, such as celebrities and activists, encourages more users to come out online, which grows the community and allows everyone to hear more diverse perspectives.
Online LGBTQ communities serve as both support groups and public forums. For young LGBTQ people, online social circles supply role models and guidance. For those already established in their identities, they provide a place to discuss social issues, media and culture, history and other topics.
In this way, these communities aren’t too different from those that have developed across other corners of the social Internet. However, they are especially useful for people who have been systemically isolated for so many years.
Because social media sites erase geographical limitations, they allow for more participation by individuals from rural communities and who are unable to be out publicly. Being able to find like-minded, compassionate people by opening up one’s laptop is hugely empowering for obvious reasons. It provides a sense of belonging, comfort and, yes — pride.
Getting Word Out
In addition to building community, the social Internet has also provided new opportunities for sharing public health messages with the LGBTQ community and other populations at risk for specific health issues.
Youth suicide is one public health concern LGBTQ activists and organizations have worked hard to address. Organizations like The Trevor Project and campaigns like It Gets Better have used social media to support LGBTQ youth who may be subject to bullying and mental health struggles. By allowing for campaigns to specifically target LGBTQ people, social media makes organizations better able to contact and serve their target populations.
Social media has also helped organizations educate the public about sexual health issues. Social media campaigns like #ImPositive and HIV Equal have aimed to erase the stigma associated with HIV and encourage early HIV testing and prevention. Furthermore, health organizations have been able to provide LGBTQ people with information about same-sex safe sex practices that often get left out of public sex education.
Through social media, public health organizations can reach populations who might otherwise never receive the information they need to stay safe and healthy. Though social media cannot serve as the only means of successful public health communication, it is undoubtedly a helpful addition to traditional communication strategies.
Technology Impacting Equality
Perhaps the most significant impact technology has had on the LGBTQ community is its use in political organizing. No other means of communication has been quite so effective in garnering support for LGBTQ equality across nations than social media.
In places where LGBTQ activists may face physical danger, the Internet provides a place to organize anonymously, without having to put one’s safety at risk. In countries where public protest is safer, the possibility of quick communication allows for efficient political organizing, resulting in more action and a higher turnout. All this is in addition to the vital role the Internet plays in aiding the spread of information.
Though politics online are by no means perfect, the political possibilities of social media have had an enormous positive impact on the LGBTQ community overall. More exposure means more public support, and because activists online don’t need to rely as much on mainstream media outlets, they are better able to control their message.
The political impact of social media on LGBTQ rights may have played a significant role in the acceleration of change society has seen in recent years, from reversing Prop 8 to winning nationwide marriage equality. As the fight for large-scale equality continues, social media and other emerging technology will no doubt continue to be influential.
Like technology, LGBTQ rights have been progressing rapidly in recent years. Though there is still a lot of work to do, social media and the Internet have allowed for easier communication, education and political organization, and they continue to have a positive impact today. As society continues to progress, LGBTQ individuals will surely be looking for new ways technology can help the community.
Kate is a health and political journalist. You can subscribe to her blog, So Well, So Woman, to read more of her work and receive a free subscriber gift! https://sowellsowoman.com/about/subscribe/