Doing identity with desire: online masculinities among men who have sex with men

本研究旨在探讨男男性行为者（MSM）的自我建构与性认同。以日本为例，我调查了MSM如何在网络空间中表现他们的主体性，以及在这个空间中，其他人如何感知他们的主体性。这使我能够考虑更广泛的社会文化话语如何影响在线身份的构建。由于对MSM的研究是缺乏的，无论是在线还是离线，该项目填补了一个主要的经验空白。此外，日本的性和性别认同不断波动，并在一种抵制这种变化的文化中重新谈判。因此，日本的案例为MSM身份的复杂性以及这些在线主体性相对于离线社会现实的定位提供了新的批判性见解。8/13背景以前关于语言中同性恋/酷儿男性特征的构建的研究在很大程度上假设了自我-表示和归属身份（例如，Ascencio 2011; Podesva等人2002）。然而，在数字空间中，许多男性希望对其他男性表现出性吸引力，同时也拒绝通常与同性吸引力相关的身份类别（Birnholtz et al. 2014;Blackwell et al. 2015; Gudelunas 2012）。在线空间是独一无二的，因为用户必须单独使用图像和语言来表达自己和他们的愿望。因此，他们提供了大量的数据，这些数据可能会困扰我们对性身份如何与欲望话语联系在一起的理解（Ward 2007，2008; VanderStouwe 2017）。然而，在线空间并不一定存在于与用户生活的离线环境分离的真空中。过去关于MSM在线自我表现的研究表明，例如，种族刻板印象通常是感知男性气质和性角色的基础（Plummer，2008; Tenuis 2007）。另一项研究比较了美国和中国在MSM约会应用程序Jack'd上的个人资料，表明中国社会对同性恋的恐惧程度较高，促使更多的中国用户将自己描绘成以关系为导向，对随意性行为不感兴趣，这带来了更高的耻辱（Chan 2016）。同样，生活在同性恋是非法的新加坡的男性，他们在网上构建自己的身份，而不是围绕同性欲望，更多的是围绕男性友谊的话语，可能会在被捕时保护自己（米勒2015）。日本酷儿研究是一个不断发展的领域，但日本男男性接触者的网上行为仍然没有得到研究。日本--以及它对性别和性身份的独特社会态度--为我们提供了一个非常不同的社会文化背景来探索和增强我们对话语、身份和欲望的理解。在日本公开同性恋身份仍然不利于一个人的社会地位和就业前景，尽管有一个电视名人（一个在英语圈没有真正对应的性别酷儿男艺人角色）是受欢迎的名人，代言从牙膏到厨房搅拌器的消费品。在这种背景下研究MSM的在线行为将大大提高我们对在线酷儿身份如何被离线社会现实所介导的理解。

This project examines the construction of self and sexualidentity among men who have sex with men (MSM). TakingJapan as a case study, I investigate how MSM represent theirsubjectivities in online spaces and how this is perceived byothers in that space. This allows me to consider how broadersociocultural discourses influence the construction of onlineidentities. As research on MSM is lacking, both on- andoffline, the project fills a major empirical gap. Moreover,sexual and gender identity in Japan continually fluctuate andare renegotiated in a culture that is resistant to this change.Thus, the Japanese case provides new critical insight into thecomplexities of MSM identities and the positioning of theseonline subjectivities relative to offline social realities.8 / 13BackgroundPrevious research on the construction of gay/queermasculinities in language have largely assumed a correlationbetween self-representation and ascriptive identity (e.g.,Ascencio 2011; Podesva et al. 2002). Yet many men presentin digital spaces wish to appear sexually appealing to othermen while also rejecting identity categories typicallyassociated with same-sex attraction (Birnholtz et al. 2014;Blackwell et al. 2015; Gudelunas 2012). Online spaces areunique as users must represent themselves and theirdesires using images and language alone. They thus providea wealth of data which may trouble our understanding of howsexual identity is linked to discourses of desire (Ward 2007,2008; VanderStouwe 2017).Yet, it is not necessarily the case that online spaces exist in avacuum separated from the offline context in which usersotherwise live. Past work on MSM self-representation onlinehas shown that, for example, racial stereotyping is often thebasis of perceived masculinity and sexual role (Plummer,2008; Tenuis 2007). Another study comparing profiles fromthe USA and China on the MSM dating app Jack'ddemonstrated that higher levels of societal homophobia inChina motivated more Chinese users to portray themselvesas relationship-oriented and less interested in casual sex,which carries higher stigma (Chan 2016). Similarly, menliving in Singapore, where homosexuality is illegal, constructtheir online identities much less around same-sex desire andmore around discourses of male friendship, likely to protectthemselves in the event of arrest (Miller 2015).Japanese queer studies is a growing field, yet the onlinebehaviour of Japanese MSM remains unstudied. Japan - andits unique societal attitudes to gender and sexual identity -offer us a very different sociocultural context to explore andenhance our understanding of discourse, identity and desire.Being openly LGBT in Japan is still detrimental to one's socialstanding and job prospects, despite the fact that onee TVpersonalities (a genderqueer-male entertainer character withno true equivalent in the Anglosphere) are feted celebritiesendorsing consumer products from toothpaste to kitchenblenders. Studying MSM online behaviour within this uniquecontext will greatly improve our understanding of how queeridentities online are mediated by offline social realities.