This presentation considers the use of Instagram as a resource for LGBTQI+ individuals from a Singaporean Muslim background. It considers the impact of religion, culture and background on their identity. Further, it explores how they can use this platform to find others, feel supported, and find a sense of belonging.
Hi Jayne,
Thank you for your presentation! It is clear you have great knowledge and interest in this topic which is really so lovely to see. It is evident in the way you speak so respectfully and sincerely. I think it is beautiful that you mention your friend and how you decided to conduct your own further research.
When queer-identifying Singaporean Muslims find community and acceptance online, do you think it is worth considering who this serves more? Does it benefit the individual themself, who are able to gain a safe space evoking feelings of belonging (Eickers, 2024, p.618) that would be otherwise non-existent in their offline lives, or does the existence of these digital safe spaces, in a way ‘relieve’, the Singaporean and the Islamic state of potentially having to reform and having to address the conditions that force these digital refuges to be necessary in the first place?
My second question I would like to pose to you is which specific affordances of Instagram do you think enable queer-identifying Singaporean Muslims to control or manage their visibility and maintain a concealed identity from other users and other citizens and conversely, which affordances do you think pose the most potential risk to this community who are forced to have to rely on a privately owned digital platform for community and acceptance?
It is sad to think that there might not be any real process or change in this issue for Singaporean Muslims living in their own home country and that Instagram is someone’s only way of living their truths. It feels that the @quasasg instagram account is a real stepping stone but as you mentioned, Instagram is not a solution. What would be your next steps in helping make change happen? More specifically, If you were tasked with creating a plan involving the next steps amidst the harsh government and societal regimes, what would it look like?
I look forward to chatting with you!
Reference: Gen Eickers. (2024). Social Media Experiences of LGBTQ+ People: Enabling Feelings of Belonging. Topoi-an International Review of Philosophy, 43. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11245-023-09994-3
Thank you so much Aliyah! You ask some really good questions and I very much look forward to responding to them during the conference 🙂
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