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Digital Battlegrounds: the growing struggle to contest LGBT online spaces

Participation, Power and Social Change Research at IDS

Stephen WoodStephen_Wood200

The meteoric rise in the use of smart phones and the internet over the last ten years, both within the West and in increasing numbers in regions such as South-East Asia and Africa, has brought fresh opportunities by which we can make sense of ourselves as individuals and participate in our communities. There is now recognition amongst politicians and policy actors that these technological advances are shaping public debate in unexpected and interconnected ways.

Nowhere has this transformation been so noticeable and relevant than amongst those sexual minorities building lives in societies whose harsh cultural and legal barriers prevent open expression of non-normative sexualities. For many, lives lived online have become richer, offering resilience and strength in ways impossible on the streets or even within their home.

Opportunities for online growth

The possibilities of social media have facilitated the establishment of discreet and anonymous methods of connecting and…

View original post 864 more words

By African Rainbow Family

African Rainbow Family is a grassroots registered Charity (Reg Number: 1185902) that supports LGBTIQ people of African heritage including refugees, LGBTIQ people seeking asylum and the wider BAME in the UK. Responding especially, in the wake of the growing toxic anti-gay persecutions they face for their sexual orientation and gender identity.

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