“People Aren’t Afraid Anymore, But It’s Hard to Find Books": Reading Practices That Inform the Personal and Social Identities of Self-Identified Lesbian and Queer Young Women

Abstract

INTRODUCTIONThe quote embedded in the title of this paper, "People aren't afraid anymore, but it's hard to find books," comes from one the participants in my dissertation study which was designed to explore the practices associated with voluntary reading in the lives of young women who claimed alternative sexual identities and sexual orientations. Nicky was 18 years old and self-identified as lesbian and queer. She was in her final year at a Catholic secondary school in southern Ontario where she proudly and openly declared her alternative sexuality, despite incidences of harassment and ridicule. Like the other young women who participated in this research, Nicky talked about reading as an everyday activity that encompassed both an escape from and an engagement with the world that was very much bound by the specific context of her public and personal expressions of sexual identity. The central theme of my study comprises finding, borrowing, buying, reading, sharing and talking about texts, especially those that fall into the genre of lesbian and literature. I sought to explore the place of reading in the lives of lesbian or queer young women, not as an examination of the construction or composition of postmodern lesbian, queer or bisexual identities or subjectivities, but rather, as an investigation into the power of reading, the act of reading itself, to change lives. However, underlying assumptions about sexuality in this study are defined by an indeterminate view of identity drawn from

“That looks like me or something i can do”: Affordances and constraints in the online identity work of US LGBTQ+ millennials

“…Subsequent research supports the salience of sociocultural context in shaping information practices and behavior among other LGBTQ+ populations. Rothbauer (, ) described the use of gray literature by Canadian lesbian and queer women for recreational reading on queer topics due to their inadequate representation in libraries and among online booksellers. Pohjanen and Kortelainen () identified the crucial role of serendipity and information sharing in combatting the sociocultural invisibility of transgender identities among Finnish transgender people.…”

Identity in Information Behaviour Research: A Conceptual Analysis

“…Conceptually, identity as personal project shared much in common with identity as self-presentation; however, while the information behaviours associated with personal identity were largely focused on learning more about, or seeking a reflection of, the self, information behaviours associated with self-presentation were largely focused on using information as a way to display one's identity to others (AL Omar & Cox 2016;Bronstein 2013). When identity was connected to social groups the focus was on how information behaviours supported one's self-definition in relation to others (Cox 2012;Sundin 2002) or how information behaviours acted as a tool for community building and boundary setting (Lingel & boyd 2013;Rothbauer 2004). The remaining two conceptualizations of identity (discursive and intersectional) were often acknowledged by the authors as potentially influencing information behaviours; however, they were rarely the focus of study.…”

The Reading Habits and Preferences of LGBTIQ+ Youth

“…The few studies that do exist of reading habits and preferences of LGBTIQ+ populations often include readers from all age groups (Abrams, 2013;Creelman, 1990;Freely, 2013;Goldthorp, 2007;Joyce & Schrader, 1997;Norman, 1999;Pruitt, 2016;Rothbauer, 2004;Wexelbaum, 2015b). These studies originate from English-speaking countries where most study participants identify as white and have access to libraries that have LGBTIQ+ collections and unfiltered, ubiquitous broadband Internet (Goldthorp, 2007;Pruitt, 2016;Rothbauer, 2004a;Rothbauer, 2004b;Rothbauer, 2004c;Wexelbaum, 2015a;Wexelbaum, 2015b;Wexelbaum, 2017). Most studies of LGBTIQ+ youth reading habits focus on small populations who may not accurately represent "the average" LGBTIQ+ youth (Bittner, 2017;Goldthorp, 2007;Kievel & Kleiber, 2000;Pruitt, 2016;Rothbauer, 2004a;Rothbauer, 2004b;Rothbauer, 2004c).…”

“…These studies originate from English-speaking countries where most study participants identify as white and have access to libraries that have LGBTIQ+ collections and unfiltered, ubiquitous broadband Internet (Goldthorp, 2007;Pruitt, 2016;Rothbauer, 2004a;Rothbauer, 2004b;Rothbauer, 2004c;Wexelbaum, 2015a;Wexelbaum, 2015b;Wexelbaum, 2017). Most studies of LGBTIQ+ youth reading habits focus on small populations who may not accurately represent "the average" LGBTIQ+ youth (Bittner, 2017;Goldthorp, 2007;Kievel & Kleiber, 2000;Pruitt, 2016;Rothbauer, 2004a;Rothbauer, 2004b;Rothbauer, 2004c). Finally, not all researchers who collect data on reading habits include social media consumption within their definition of reading.…”

“…To this day, youth may feel uncomfortable asking library employees for assistance in locating or checking out materials, or will assume that they do not have any (Drake & Bielefield, 2017;Naidoo, 2014;Rothbauer, 2004b). For that reason, they may leave the library without attempting to search, or will search the Internet for materials that may not be part of the library collection (Drake & Bielefield, 2017;Rothbauer, 2004b;Rothbauer, 2004c). According to library literature, some LGBTIQ+ youth want a standalone LGBTIQ+ collection to make LGBTIQ+ books easy to find, although such a section would make other LGBTIQ+ youth feel "ghettoized" and at risk for harm (Chapman, 2013).…”