View source for The Link That Bind Us- A Cultural Approach in the Study of the Social Networking Site Downelink.com

ABSTRACT

The study examines the role of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual and questioning (LGBTQ) community, social networking site Downelink.com both as a representation of the shared beliefs of selected gays in Metro Manila and as a representation that shapes these shared beliefs. As a social networking site, Downelink.com assumes the role of two agencies of socialization—peer groups and mass media. 

Textual analysis and online interviews, therefore, were used as methods of the study to provide a thick description on they make use of the website to perform their rituals which intend to celebrate their culture. 

More importantly, James Carey’s ritual view of communication was used as a lens to understand how these cultural patterns contribute in the creation, maintenance, and transformation of their culture while J.Neil Garcia’s Gay theory was used as a guide to identify which aspects of this culture had been repaired by their participation in the website. The data gathered presented various views of homosexuality existing in online community that supported the argument that their cultural landscape had already been transformed. Furthermore, the study provided insights about Philippine gay culture that intends to break the dichotomy of overt/covert that was posed by Garcia more than a decade ago.

De Luna, John Paul, L. (2011). The Link that Bind Us: Cultural Approach in the Study of the LGBT Social Networking Site, Downelink.com. Unpublished Undergraduate Thesis, University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication.

[http://iskwiki.upd.edu.ph/flipbooks/Downelink View Thesis]


[[Category:CMC Thesis]][[Category:Department of Broadcast Communication Thesis]][[Category:Theses]]