Queer Migration and Digital Media

Abstract

Migration—whether international or internal, forced or voluntary—intertwines with digital media, especially for sexual minorities and trans people who seek out platforms catering to lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer (LGBTQ) people. Online networks foster transnational flows of ideas and information, which can enable international travel. The ways that queer people interact on digital media in the 21st century have emerged not only from decades of online subcultures—such as 1990s chatrooms and profile sites—but also from predigital media cultures, such as printed personal ads in gay and lesbian journals. The internet accelerated the growth of media platforms and queer international networks, both of which continued to develop with the advent of mobile phone apps and the proliferation of social media. Online media—from blogs to hashtags to “hook-up” apps—can relate to all aspects of the migration process. Before, during, and after a move, queer migrants access online media for information about LGBTQ laws and norms or for help with the logistics of migration. When in a new country, queer migrants use online media to try to connect with locals. During these interactions, migrants might encounter forms of xenophobia, racism, and exclusion. In spite or because of these experiences, queer migrants utilize digital media to build new networks, such as queer diasporic communities aimed at social or political activities.

“Being Diverse and Being Included, Don’t Go Together in Policing”—Diversity, Inclusion, and Australian Constables

“…They did not mention any of the different sexualities that officers could have within their workplaces such as being bisexual, asexual, pansexual, etc. Though using 'Gay' as a broad generalization to describe people with non-heterosexual sexualities is accepted by many LGBTIQ people when referring to romantic or sexual attraction between people of the same sex or gender, the term is more often used to describe men who are attracted to other men, and previous research suggests that the use of 'Gay' as an umbrella term by hyper-masculine organizations such as the police, is typically underpinned by negative bias and homophobia [34,36]. Given that in Australia, police organizations are strategically employing people who people from diverse groups such as LGBTIQ self-identified people identify as well as people from culturally diverse communities such as members of Asian, Sudanese, or Muslim communities, this finding was unexpected [34,37].…”