Narrative Identity, Visibility, and Community: Theorising “QueerTok” as a Digital Consciousness Raising Space

Abstract

This dissertation explores “QueerTok” as a site for identity formation, LGBTQIA+ visibility, and raising of digital consciousness. This dissertation examines TikTok as an avenue for communication, information sharing, and political organising both online and offline, and examines how its unique affordances such as the For You algorithm, comment sections, duet, and stitch functions are utilised to share personal narratives, facilitate identity formation, negotiate Queer visibility, and build digital communities. LGBTQIA+ users on TikTok make use of information to discover and understand sexuality and gender. The ‘Am I a Lesbian’ Masterdoc became a tool for analysis on TikTok and it represents queer counterpublics and domains of cultural intelligibility. The platform's accessibility and the bounds of user generated content expand the dissemination of information and the multimodal tools enable this information to be shared in personable and interesting ways. Through an interpretative video content analysis of a sample of 400 TikTok videos collected between June 2021 and March 2022, the dissertation investigates how these digital practices facilitate identity exploration and community formation while mitigating risks such as context collapse. Employing an intersectional lens, this dissertation examines intersectional discourse present within QueerTok, emphasising the lived experiences of queer individuals and the interplay of race, gender, and sexuality. Despite the challenges of censorship, especially of Black queer users, TikTok provides a crucial space for exploring and embracing diverse identities within a postcolonial framework. This dissertation asserts that as well as being a site for entertainment, QueerTok is a rich locus of political and social engagement, illustrating how the personal is political and offering a real-world exploration of theoretical concepts related to identity, intersectionality, and community.