Coming Out Strategies on Social Media among Young Gay Men in Malaysia
Social media have afforded many young gay men the opportunity to explore their identities and practice coming out. The ease of use and the anonymity that can be assumed online has enabled young gay men to come up with different strategies of self-disclosure in social media. The present study seek...
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| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI)
2022
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/37939/1/Coming%20Out%20Strategies%20on%20Social%20Media.pdf http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/37939/ https://www.mdpi.com/ https://doi.org/10.3390/youth2010004 |
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| Institution: | Universiti Malaysia Sarawak |
| Language: | English |
| Summary: | Social media have afforded many young gay men the opportunity to explore their identities
and practice coming out. The ease of use and the anonymity that can be assumed online has enabled
young gay men to come up with different strategies of self-disclosure in social media. The present
study seeks to examine these strategies among young gay men in Malaysia, given the limited data
on the social media experiences of gay men in the country. In-depth interviews were conducted
with six young, gay-identified men to find out the strategies they employed in disclosing their
sexual identity online. The analysis of the interview data revealed that the coming-out strategies
among the participants mostly resembled those employed by gay men in Western societies, including
being out and proud, being out and discreet, and being closeted on social media. The analysis also
revealed that the participants held different views regarding the role of social media in the coming
out process for gay men in Malaysia. These findings have implications that are relevant to the issues
of identity formation among gay men in contexts where homosexuality is still subject to social, legal,
and religious condemnation. |
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