Gay men's digital cultures beyond Gaydar and Grindr: LINE use in the gay Chinese diaspora of Australia

Cassidy, Elija; Wang, Wilfred Yang

doi:10.1080/1369118x.2018.1437201

Cited by 19 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 28 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The roles played by social apps such as LINE and WeChat, and gay dating apps in gay male diasporas’ placemaking practices, have been largely studied. For example, these apps helped the gay diaspora community in establishing local social networks, relocating to the new environment, and navigating the local sociocultural life (Cassidy and Wang, 2018; Yu and Blain, 2019). Unlike the heterosexual Chinese diaspora, who prefer to maintain close connections with their homeland networks (Zhou et al, 2017), Haiqing Yu and Hayden Blain (2019) found that Chinese gay men in Australia tend to develop relatively weak ties to their home society, as they perceive the homeland as ‘a place of no return’ while trying to make home in Australia.…”

Section: Chinese Diaspora Queer Diaspora and Digital Ties To The Homentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Additionally, the internet offers queer people opportunities to connect to other queers and build relationships, which can help alleviate feelings of loneliness, and in achieving a sense of overall belonging (Dhoest and Szulc, 2016). Studies suggest that social media function as an important tool in queer diasporas’ practices for placemaking and navigating local life in the host society (Cassidy and Wang, 2018; Yu and Blain, 2019), and managing connections with their countries of origin (Dhoest, 2016). However, scholars have largely focused on the digital practices of connecting to both the homeland and host society of gay male diasporas, while overlooking queer women diasporas.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Transnational togetherness through Rela: Chinese queer women’s practices for maintaining ties with the homeland

2020

International Journal of Cultural Studies

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In the context of global migration, diaspora’s use of digital media to maintain transnational connections has become a focus of intense research. By deploying the walkthrough method and semi-structured in-depth interviews, this study explores the transnational practices of Chinese queer women living in Australia for maintaining digital connections with queer women communities in China through Rela, a Chinese lesbian social app. Rela live streaming is innovatively used by Chinese queer women in Australia to maintain diverse transnational relationships, including friendships with streamers and viewers, and romantic relationships with their partners. Rela groups have also become vital spaces through which diasporic Chinese queer women connect with the Rela queer women community. Nevertheless, although the use of Rela diversifies Chinese queer women’s diasporic life and helps them gain a sense of belonging, it reduces their participation in local queer activities and limits their interactions with queer women communities in Australia.

show abstract

Section: Chinese Diaspora Queer Diaspora and Digital Ties To The Homentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transnational togetherness through Rela: Chinese queer women’s practices for maintaining ties with the homeland

2020

International Journal of Cultural Studies

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…For instance, McPhail and Fisher (2015) discuss the importance of social media for acculturation, but they focus on privileged, ‘expat’ LGBTQs. Boston (2015) does include a wider range of Polish migrants to the United Kingdom in his study on the use of dating apps by gay men, as do Cassidy and Wang (2018) in their study on the importance of social media for Chinese gay men in Australia, but none of their participants are refugees. Only Shield (2017), in his study on the use of dating apps among gay migrants in Denmark, does include two asylum seekers, but it is fair to say that refugees are largely absent from the literature on LGBTQ Internet and social media uses.…”

Section: Lgbtq Refugees and Social Media Usesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Digital (dis)connectivity in fraught contexts: The case of gay refugees in Belgium

Dhoest

2019

European Journal of Cultural Studies

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The key role of digital and mobile media for refugees is increasingly acknowledged, but while the literature on the topic tends to celebrate the advantages of digital media, it is important to also acknowledge limitations. Thus, the focus on the creation and maintenance of connections through digital media may obscure experiences and practices of disconnection. This is certainly the case for forced migrants with non-normative sexual orientations, for whom experiences of homophobia within the family and ethno-cultural community in the country of origin may extend to fraught situations in the country of residence. As with digital media in general, it is important to consider the ‘offline’ social and cultural conditions determining online media uses. This article focuses on the specific challenges for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer refugees, both in general and in Belgium, drawing on desk research and expert interviews, as well as nine in-depth interviews with gay-identifying male refugees. While the refugees are relatively positive about the Belgian situation, they do identify a number of challenges. They use digital media to stay connected to family and other people in the country of origin, but often this connection has become difficult. Social media and dating sites also offer a way to connect to other gay men, but these connections can be equally fraught, particularly in the country of origin for danger of exposure but also in Belgium as social media transcend national boundaries. For this reason, some participants created new or parallel profiles, to keep their gay lives disconnected from their family lives. Overall, then, digital media are a tool not only of connection but also of strategic disconnection for gay refugees.

show abstract

“…Queer geographies have gone beyond mapping lesbian and gay spaces parallel to recognition that maps rarely reflect diversity within queer lives (Browne et al 2017). Place-centred approaches with specific spatial media continue offering a productive means of illuminating plurality in queer experience, be this the lived realities those on the margins of urban sexualised spaces, those outside metropolitan centres, queers in non-western settings, and/or those of rural areas (see, e.g., Cassidy & Wang, 2018). Even during the first iteration of the internet, however, Binnie (2004, pp.…”

Section: Sexuality and The Intersections Of Classmentioning

confidence: 99%

Queer geographies of spatial media

Mearns

2019

Geography Compass

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Digital media scholarship is burgeoning. However, there remains a paucity of queer geographies accounting for hybridity and multi‐directionality of coexisting, variegated and embodied spaces produced through spatial media nor the technologies that enable these media (smartphones, tablet computers, and self‐tracking devices). Bringing together literatures on sexuality and the first and second iterations of the internet, this article extends debate about the uneven and paradoxical queer geographies of location‐aware applications (Tinder and Grindr) and other spatial media now often taken as “composite” of queer cultures globally. The article encourages those with interest in the interrelationships between sexualities and space to emphasise further the historical, cultural, and political specificities of the places in which these diverse media are designed, developed, and consumed. The purpose of doing so, I contend, is to deepen knowledge of heightened commercialisation whilst unravelling complex questions of data ownership, privacy and cultural norms that could exacerbate disparities in sexual citizenship.

show abstract

Gay men's digital cultures beyond Gaydar and Grindr: LINE use in the gay Chinese diaspora of Australia

Cited by 19 publications

References 28 publications

Transnational togetherness through Rela: Chinese queer women’s practices for maintaining ties with the homeland

Transnational togetherness through Rela: Chinese queer women’s practices for maintaining ties with the homeland

Digital (dis)connectivity in fraught contexts: The case of gay refugees in Belgium

Queer geographies of spatial media

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About