Bisexual Safe Space(s) on the Internet: Analysis of an Online Forum for Bisexuals

Abstract

Discussions on bisexual safe space(s) and online bisexual spaces are limited. This paper explores the potential of an online forum for bisexuals, their partners, and people who are interested in bisexuality to function as an online safe space. To understand whether the analysed forum is successful as a bisexual safe space, as conceptualised by Jo Eadie, I focus on the practices, as manifold of doings and sayings, that create the forum as well as on the embodied experiences of the participants. I conclude that oppressive regimes that are rooted in offline practices, that is, mononormative ideals, value, and orthodoxies, are repeatedly introduced by participants in their stories, questions, and replies. At the same time, sharing experiences and empowerment are core practices and have an impact beyond the forum itself. Finally, by focusing on emotions, moods, and ends we can understand why people take part in the practices that constitute the forum.

Spaces with a bisexual appearance: re-conceptualizing bisexual space(s) through a study of bisexual practices in the Netherlands

“…In a recent analysis of an online forum for bisexual people and their allies I show how practices impact the coding of spaces (Maliepaard, 2017a). This study, informed by Schatzki's theory of practice, reveals a focus on the doings and, more importantly in this case, sayings that together make up the online forum.…”

Understanding attitudes towards social media segregation: spatial metaphors in the discussion of Twitter blocklists

“…Although underexplored in the literature, blocklists may fit in with this 'walled' infrastructure, especially given the tools' association with avoiding harassment (Geiger, 2016;Jhaver et al, 2018), resonating with narratives around the desire for safe spaces more generally (Clark-Parsons, 2018;Maliepaard, 2017; The Roestone Collective, 2014), or even 'sane spaces' to help preserve mental health (Wheatley & Vatnoey 2020). Arora highlights the shift from open social networks like MySpace towards the quasi-public social grounds of Facebook, and suggests that social media sites are becoming increasingly compartmentalised through users' choices and behaviours, through which a 'systematic erosion of spontaneous social encounters and interactions' is apparent; we become more 'architecturally cocooned' as people seek security, trust and intimacy (Arora, 2014, p. 75).…”

‘It’s Twitter, a bear pit, not a debating society’: A qualitative analysis of contrasting attitudes towards social media blocklists

“…Yet, elsewhere, so-called digital ‘safe spaces’ have also provided havens for those fearful of participating in certain public arenas (Clark-Parsons, 2018; Maliepaard, 2017). The term has evolved over the past two decades, particularly through association with feminist movements and minority groups, related to physical spaces of safety, free expression and psychological freedom (Djohari et al, 2018).…”