Different online and offline identities, learning about LGBT identities, and disclosing

As discussed in detail in Section 2, previous research has shown that people who are LGBT seek out fellow LGBT people and their help online and decide to come out online before they do it in other contexts (Cooper, 2010: 83). The online support from fellow LGBT people can eventually help LGBT individuals disclose their identity offline (Cooper, 2010: 76). This information suggests that the LGBT members of a femslash fandom might have different online and offline identities. They were hence asked if their online and offline LGBT identities differed from one another.

Despite the fact that there is previous research (Cooper, 2010) that has dealt with lesbians who are completely closeted in their offline life and can be their true selves only online, most respondents of this study did not live a complete double-life on the internet. Even though only five respondents (9,43%) were just as “out” offline as they were online, as many as 44 respondents (83,02%) were at least partly open about their LGBT identity in offline contexts. The most popular option was the most neutral option (35,85%, 19 respondents), which implies that it was most common for the respondents to be open about their sexuality and/or gender in some situations, but it was just as common for them to keep that part of themselves hidden. Most thus seem to be selective about who they display their authentic identity to. In the open-ended part of the question, the respondents explained that it was easier to be open online and that their offline communities would not have accepted them, had they come out. For some, it was simply a private matter, which did not seem to have much to do with their offline communities as such. The responses to this question still imply that for most participants, one’s social communities and communities’ attitudes were the main reason for not displaying one’s LGBT identity in offline contexts. At the same time, we should remember that the reasons and especially the nuances regarding social communities varied quite a bit between respondents and we should not assume that there is only one reason for keeping one’s authentic identity hidden. The fact that people even need to “come out” in the first place is due to the cis-heteronormativity of our society.

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It should also be noted that the percentage of people who always kept their identity a secret offline (16,98%, nine respondents) might have been higher if there had been more younger respondents.

Teens who are interested in femslash often enter a fandom when they are about to form their LGBT identity. Having teens among the respondents could thus have meant more people who might not have disclosed their LGBT identity offline yet, because they were only forming it and trying it out online. However, having respondents in their early- and mid-teens was not possible because, as stated in Section 3.2, minors could not participate in this survey study for ethical reasons. Having people from more countries could have given a different answer, too, since being LGBT is considered far more negative in some places than others²⁵. This, once again, brings us to why it would have been important to have a quota for participants who came from over-presented groups.

Most respondents (n= 38; 71,7%) felt like their fandom had had an influence on their ability to disclose their LGBT identity offline. 33 respondents (62,26%) had found their fandom

participation useful when disclosing their identity to offline friends, 26 respondents (49,06%) when disclosing it to their family, and 18 respondents (33,96%) when disclosing it to co-workers or fellow students. These percentages imply that it might have been the easiest for the respondents to disclose their sexuality to their friends, most likely even to friends who do not participate in fandoms. It should also be noted that in the open-ended answers of the same section, the

respondents stated that their family was in their thoughts often when they thought about displaying their authentic identity. These numbers might thus suggest that even in different contexts, friends and family are the people that LGBT individuals think about the most when coming to terms with their identity and it might be easier for them to disclose their identity to friends instead of family or other people in their lives.

25 On the institutional level, this means for example legislation. Different countries have different laws considering LGBT issues. For example, same-sex marriage and adoption for same-sex couples can be legal in some countries whereas having sex with a person of the same sex can be punishable by death or incarceration in others. Another example of LGBT legislation is the possibility to legally live as one’s true gender, being able to change one’s legal documents to support it and having access to e.g. hormones. It should be noted here that the institutional level and legislation affect the opinions of the general public and vice versa.

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In addition to offering social support nets, the interwebs work as a place in which LGBT

individuals can seek information on LGBT issues (Cooper, 2010: 83). The findings of this thesis coincide with this claim and suggest that most femslash fans gain at least some information on LGBT issues thanks to their fandom participation. 34 participants (64,15%) thought they had gained a great deal of new information on LGBT issues while in fandom, and only 2 respondents (3,77%) thought they had not learned anything new thanks to their fandom participation. In the open-ended answers, the respondents claimed that they had learned more about sexuality and gender, stereotypes, compulsory heterosexuality, and transgender issues. For some, their fandom also provided them with LGBT news and taught them LGBT history. Some other important issues that the respondents had gained a better knowledge of were media representations and

intersectionality.

This implies that femslash fandoms also work as learning environments where their members acquire information about different issues and norms that affect their and other marginalized people’s lives. It is important that these LGBT individuals learn about the kind of nuances of identity that help them understand themselves and others better, as well as what kind of effects for example stereotypes, compulsory heterosexuality, and negative media representations have on them. Learning and thinking about these issues can help them become happier with who they are and become better-informed on issues that affect those who are less privileged than them.

Femslash fandoms generally seem to be full of political discourse as many learn about LGBT history and social justice, and many fans get their news intake via platforms that they primarily use for fandom purposes. Some of these people might not have learned about any of these issues without their fandom involvement and without meeting people whose marginalized identity differed from theirs online. What can be said for certain is that femslash fandom participation makes people more conscious about the socio-political issues around them, and this should not be overlooked when femslash fandoms are discussed.

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