Online Coming-Out Communications Between Gay Men and Their Religious Family Allies: A Family of Choice and Origin Perspective

Abstract

Gay men use social networking sites and blogs more than heterosexual men (Harris, 2010). However, little is known about how they communicate online while coming out. Yet, coming out often results in a loss of social support for gay youths from religious backgrounds, suggesting that alternative supports such as families of choice and online networks may be particularly beneficial (Saltzburg, 2007). The present study addresses this gap by focusing on how gay emerging adults (N = 23) and their religious family allies (N = 15) utilize Facebook to make sense of their experiences by communicating with families of choice and origin. Narrative analysis suggests that gay participants primarily make sense of familial and religious challenges by developing online peer supports (i.e., families of choice) in contrast to their family allies' focus on strengthening existing family-of-origin relationships via online information exchanges. Participants' reported online sociorelational benefits largely contradict recent research indicating that Internet use may lead to negative mental health outcomes (Kross et al. 2013;Krämer & Winter, 2008). The present study therefore highlights the need for further research to assess the generalizability of online sense-making benefits to other cultural, religious, and sexual minority groups that may be confronting coming-out challenges.

Gay men's experiences coming out online: A qualitative study

“…For instance, participants reported a number of benefits to coming out online (e.g., increased authenticity), and generally described their experiences as positive and socially supportive. These findings contribute to a growing body of literature that suggests that gay men may experience social and mental health benefits as a result of their online experiences with others (Etengoff & Daiute, 2014).…”

“…For example, Etengoff and Daiute (2014) found that 7 out of 15 gay Facebook users used the website as a tool to come out. Another study (Anderson, 2011) found that gay college athletes utilized Facebook as a means to disclose their sexual identity.…”

Transvlogs: online communication tools for transformative agency and development

“…For example, transgender individuals living in rural communities with limited-to-no access to transgender support groups, counseling, and clinics may be using transvlogs as a social support and educational resource. Transgender individuals without biological familial support may find it to be helpful to use transvlogs to create a non-biological, family of choice community (for more information on family of choice models see Etengoff & Daiute, 2015).…”

“…LGBTQ online communication Technological systems such as YouTube enable people to collaboratively co-create sociotechnical tools-in-practice (Engeström, 2013;Etengoff, 2011;Etengoff & Daiute, 2015). Online communication networks are comprised of people with shared interests who utilize a virtual platform to create accessible, user-generated resources that facilitate companionship and bonding, social activity and interaction, and/or collective efficacy (Rotman & Preece, 2010).…”

Towards an Agenda for Research for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered and/or Intersexed People with an Autism Spectrum Diagnosis

“…Studies have explored the coming out experiences of LGBTI individuals without ASDs in novels (Beck 2013), sports (Billings et al 2015;Kian et al 2015), television shows (Mitchell 2015), and families (Etengoff and Daiute 2015;Jadwin-Cakmak et al 2015). In terms of people with disabilities, there is literature on LGBTI people with intellectual disabilities coming out (Noonan and Gomez 2011).…”