Exploring the Experiences of Non-Heterosexual Men’s Sexual Identity Construction Considering the Effects of Social Media

sisson-curbishley, noah

Abstract

People who self-identify as non-heterosexual have been amongst some of the most marginalised groups throughout millennia. Much scholarly literature aimed to understand the process and interactions that occurred for these marginalised individuals in forming sexual identities against cultural expectations of normative sexual behaviour, which preference different-sex attraction – however none consider the effects of social media on the construction of minority identities, a contemporary communication and source of (mis)information sharing. This study recruited six (n=6) non-heterosexual men through online recruitment and conducted semi-structured interviews analysed using interpretive phenomenological analysis to explore a contemporary approach to sexual identity construction considering the effects of social media engagement. Findings revealed a complex interaction of social, minority and intra-community stresses resulting in poor mental health outcomes. Superordinate themes of Awareness of Difference and Challenging Interactions with the World; Gaining Knowledge of Identity; The Performances; A Journey to Acceptance all interacting and creating varying degrees of Empowerment fuelling social change and positive mental health outcomes linked to non-heterosexual identity. Findings reveal social media does not create non-heterosexual identities but provides individuals with connections to other non-heterosexual people, education and support. A model of this process is presented for visualisation with conclusions, and future research identified.

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Online Publication Date: Apr 24, 2025
• Deposit Date: Apr 3, 2025
• Publicly Available Date: May 25, 2025
• Award Date: Apr 24, 2025