Owens Zachary D
a Department of Sociology , University of Colorado at Boulder , Boulder , Colorado , USA.
J Homosex. 2017;64(4):431-449. doi: 10.1080/00918369.2016.1194112. Epub 2016 May 26.
The rapid proliferation of social media, mobile applications, and Internet technologies has shifted a wide variety of social interaction from physical spaces to an online environment. Drawing from 42 semistructured, in-depth interviews with gay college-aged men between the ages of 18 and 27, this article explores these changing patterns of social interaction among gay men. I discuss three strategies of identity management college-aged gay men use to disclose or conceal their sexual identity to others. The first group of men, "Out and Proud," uses Facebook as a way to celebrate and reaffirm their sexual identity, in addition to actively coming out to others on the social media Web site. The second group, "Out and Discreet," uses Facebook to indirectly come out to some of their friends while hiding this information from others. The men in the last group I identify, "Facebook Closeted," actively manage their online profiles to ensure their sexual identity is not exposed. Facebook is both transformative and risky for college-aged gay men, as it represents a new platform for them to come out as gay to friends and family, as well as other areas of their lives where they must actively manage the presentation of their sexual identity.
社交媒体、移动应用程序和互联网技术的迅速普及，已使各种各样的社交互动从现实空间转移到了网络环境中。本文通过对42名年龄在18至27岁之间的男同性恋大学生进行半结构化深度访谈，探讨了男同性恋者社交互动模式的这些变化。我讨论了男同性恋大学生用来向他人披露或隐瞒其性取向的三种身份管理策略。第一组男性，即“出柜且自豪者”，除了在社交媒体网站上积极向他人出柜之外，还利用脸书来颂扬和重申他们的性取向。第二组，即“出柜且谨慎者”，利用脸书向一些朋友间接出柜，同时对其他人隐瞒这一信息。我所确定的最后一组男性，即“在脸书上隐瞒者”，积极管理他们的在线资料，以确保其性取向不被暴露。脸书对男同性恋大学生来说既具有变革性又存在风险，因为它为他们向朋友、家人以及生活中的其他方面出柜成为同性恋者提供了一个新平台，在这些方面他们必须积极管理其性取向的呈现。
