Findings and Thank You
Hello all!!
I can't thank everyone enough for their participation in this study and their aid in the completion of my undergraduate honors project. This was a labor of love as well as a labor of necessity, and I couldn't be more proud of how it turned out.
I wanted to give tumblr a rundown of my findings that's a little less intense than my 50 page thesis, not just to explain the actual results of the study, but also to show what you all contributed to and how it all came together.
(This is a long one so I'm adding a read more)
This research was based on the question "How does the design of tumblr as a safe space impact interactions and experiences queer users have?" This site is often considered a place of LGBTQ+ community and acceptance, but is that what users actually find when they log on? The aim of this study was to explore the effects of tumblr interaction and exploration on young LGBTQ+ community members.
Before I get into actual results, I would like to note that I will be using the word queer as terminology for people in the LGBTQ+ community throughout my write-up, and I did in my full thesis as well. The use of "queer" is hotly debated both inside and outside of anthropology and both on and off of tumblr. Many feel comfortable using it as an umbrella term for the community or as an ambiguous label for their own identity, but many are hesitant to adopt it due to its long history as a slur against the LGBTQ+ community. It has been reclaimed in recent history, but that does not erase the damage it did in the past. I personally am a person who uses "queer" as a label for myself, as it feels like the most flexible term for whatever it is I've got going on. However the reason I chose to use it as terminology in this study is because of the argument that it brings "people of non-normative genders and sexual practices and identities together" and it "challenges the status quo" in a way that labels like "gay" do not (Walks 2014).
Below is a poster created for a research conference that summarizes the study.
As shown, through the analysis of my data, I found five prominent trends.
Tumblr as a place of education and the availability of resources - many respondents indicated that tumblr was a place for them to engage with queer theory and history for the first time as well as learn about identities and orientations they were not previously aware of
Differing presentations of the self online and offline - multiple respondents indicated that they present differently online than they do offline, with several identifying this as the result of their identity not being accepted offline. Respondents highlighted tumblr as a space where they feel safe in self-expression.
Tumblr as a place of self discovery - half of my respondents identifying tumblr as playing a large part in the discovery of their role in the LGBTQ+ community, with multiple people noting they would not have found the labels they feel best suit them without the platform.
The prevalence of discourse and exclusionary behavior - despite the constant reinforcement of these communities as "safe spaces," there is a tendency for users to fall into debates about the validity of certain opinions and identities. Multiple respondents detailed their experiences being involved in discourse and how it has impacted their time on tumblr.
Tumblr as a place of validation and acceptance - this was the largest overarching theme between respondents, with almost every one detailing the importance of the validation they received on the site, especially since many did not have the same support offline. Tumblr gave them the community and connection they wanted.
Though these themes indicate a mostly positive view of tumblr among respondents, it must be noted that while only one trend was objectively negative, that does not lessen the severity of the negative experiences or render them unimportant. The nature of the discourse that so often happens on this platform is often intense and incredibly detrimental to those it targets, as it is most often a direct attack on identity and existence. The discourse detailed by respondents were acts of xenophobia and racism, along with exclusionary behavior towards asexual/aromantic, pansexual, and nonbinary users. These are not heated shipping conversations, but deliberate, prejudiced acts towards users based on their identity, and the implications of that should not be downplayed or sugarcoated.
I would also like to emphasize that while tumblr has become a space for LGBTQ+ youth to congregate and create community, that does not mean the platform is inherently LGBTQ+ friendly. In the past, tumblr was a platform transgender people would flock to in order to build community and document their transition process freely. This was especially monumental online, as transgender content has long "occupied a precarious position due to its [perceived] proximity to the "adult" " (Haimson et. al. 2021). Trans people's bodies have long been marked by society as explicit, so the fact tumblr allowed them to log their experiences and celebrate their transitions was monumental. Unfortunately, as the website has grown and changed, user guidelines have as well, with "adult" content becoming less and less tolerated by the algorithm and higher-ups. One of tumblr's main attractants at the start of its life was its allowance of "adult" content, but with the well-remembered "porn ban" in 2018, all content seen as inappropriate was immediately blocked and removed. This was incredibly detrimental to trans users, as suddenly they were algorithmically targeted by the platform and their once safe space was gone. Despite this though, tumblr is still designed to foster connection with its tagging, reblogging, and replying functions. Although the website was not designed as an LGBTQ+ haven, queer users have taken its tendency to kickstart human interaction and used it to their advantage in finding and creating community.
All that said, I was honestly surprised to find that the majority of my trends were positive. As I've said, I practically grew up on this website, I joined at 13 and I am now 23, so I've seen my fair share of wild occurrences, arguments, and bone stealing. I've also been aware of my identity as queer for around the same amount of time, and I've been involved in a good amount of toxic "safe spaces." Maybe it was pessimism, but I fully expected a much harsher critique of tumblr. However, I cant deny that I've had countless positive experiences here, from finding friends and interests I still engage with to exploring my own identity and becoming more comfortable with myself. Though the negative outcome is incredibly important and must not be overlooked, the positive outcomes show tumblr truly as a place where users can learn about themselves, their community, and make supportive connections that they would not otherwise have.
I'm infinitely proud of this work and infinitely grateful to those of you who assisted me with it. Thank you for trusting me and taking the time to tell me about how our hellsite (affectionate) has shaped you and your identity. Though this study has concluded and I have graduated, this blog will stay up as long as there is a tumblr for it to exist on, and I'll be keeping my askbox open in case anyone ever has further questions!
Thank you forever and ever!
Renée