Homosexualities in digital media: intersections between gender and genre

Abstract

Studies on digital media as spaces where dissident desires are socialized have been conducted as important instruments in terms of understanding possible modes of gay male subjectivities in virtual environments, especially when such subjectivities are textualized. When it comes to gay men, which is the case, building a sense for gender issues involves some other intricacies, and it requires an analysis on how masculinities and femininities, for example, have been being approached by these speaking subjects. Therefore, we aim to discuss briefly about normativeness, gender (as well as genre), and performativities in gay dating apps and websites, taking ManHunt, Grindr and Hornet profiles as our samples. This paper is based on our previous research (ALMEIDA, 2016 and ALENCAR, 2017), also on theoretical contributions by gender and sexuality scholars, as Halperin (2012) and Butler (1990, 1992), along with Charaudeau (1996, 2004, 2000) with regard to Discourse Analysis. In this way, we should be able to understand how the ideas of normativity, heteronormativity, gender, and culture can be articulated in our analyzed-subject’s speakings, and the relation they have with the hegemonic culture in a context marked by the communicational situations of the genre in which they perform. Besides, we aim to gather some reflections about gay male representations in a historic perspective, from the pre-Stonewall era to the contemporaneity. Finally, it will be possible to approach some aspects which have not been deeply discussed yet, and also to promote and encourage further observations on the relations between genre and gender.