Xu Tongwen, Zhang Yansong
College of Literature and News Communication, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang, Guangdong, China.
School of Journalism and Communication, Minzu University of China, Beijing, China.
Front Psychol. 2024 Jun 27;15:1413725. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1413725. eCollection 2024.
As a locative media, Blued articulates physical and digital space in the form of localization, giving a mediated visibility to its users who are not visible in physical space, thus making the city a queering code/space. This can transform social accessibility and the ways that gays come together and interact in local spaces. Taking mainland China, dominated by heteronomativity, as a field, this paper focuses on the visibility negotiation and social accessibility practices in Blued-based queering code/space. Using the digital anthropology method, this study found that Blued-based visibility is essential for non-closeted gay men to gain a sense of local belonging and community inclusion. Offline accessibility is a crucial demand for Blued users, but until then they have negotiated visibility through selective disclosure of social cues. At the same time, Blued users face visibility asymmetries and risks in the pursuit of accessibility. This study then argues that in the Blued-based queering code/space, the gay men constantly reconcile accessibility with others by managing visibility in a heteronormative urban space. In addition, this paper highlights the value of the hybrid of new media and physical space for the public interaction of marginalized groups in the city.
作为一种定位媒介，Blued以本地化的形式连接了物理空间和数字空间，使那些在现实空间中不可见的用户获得了一种媒介化的可见性，从而使城市成为一个酷儿化的代码/空间。这可以改变社会可达性以及同性恋者在当地空间中聚集和互动的方式。以中国大陆这个以异性恋规范为主导的地区为研究领域，本文聚焦于基于Blued的酷儿化代码/空间中的可见性协商和社会可达性实践。运用数字人类学方法，本研究发现基于Blued的可见性对于出柜的男同性恋者获得地方归属感和社区融入感至关重要。线下可达性是Blued用户的一项关键需求，但在此之前他们通过有选择地披露社会线索来协商可见性。同时，Blued用户在追求可达性的过程中面临可见性不对称和风险。本研究进而认为，在基于Blued的酷儿化代码/空间中，男同性恋者通过在异性恋规范的城市空间中管理可见性，不断地与他人协调可达性。此外，本文强调了新媒体与物理空间的融合对于城市中边缘化群体公共互动的价值。
