In Search of Lesbian Community in an Electronic World

Studies have shown that friendship groups and a sense of community are important in the creation of positive lesbian identities. Sometimes it is difficult, however, for lesbians to meet other lesbians. The Internet has become an important source for many lesbians to connect with each other to find potential partners and create community ties. Giddens' idea of the creation of self-identity through continually revised self-narratives and choices among lifestyle options are used to suggest that lesbian personals ads are not just inventories of personal attributes for sale or exchange, but deliberate creations of self-definitions. As such, writing personals ads illustrates "reflexively organized life-planning." In this study of lesbian Internet personals ads, both qualitative and quantitative analyses were done. Qualitatively, the ads were placed in a conceptual hierarchy of types of interactions sought by the advertisers. The analyses reveal that two-thirds of advertisers were looking for types of meaningful relationships ranging from friendships to life-partnerships. The remainder of the advertisers were seeking non-meaningful interactions, from information to tour guides to casual sexual encounters. Many advertisers wanted to connect with lesbian communities in their own geographic regions or in places where they were planning to relocate or visit. Quantitative analysis was then done to compare contents of online ads to previously studied print ads. Results suggest that online ads are generally longer and more narrative than print ads as a result of fewer space restrictions and other factors.