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People of, relating to or having a sexual orientation to persons of the same sex; using the internet, chat rooms and online dating sites to meet each other.
Gay and lesbian web sites have become increasingly popular in recent years. Due to a changing society peoples believes towards ‘different’ people; gays and lesbians, has become more accepting of gay and lesbian people and their way of life. This social mind shift has seen more facilities for gays and lesbians, such as online dating, which has a range of different functions and reasons for people visiting the sites. Such as GayCrawler.com, an online directory for gay and lesbian people, there are also websites just dedicated to gay men, [1] and just too lesbian women, [2] [3] is another site linking gay and lesbian people together.
A disproportionate number of Web surfers are comprised of gays and lesbians. Some of these people comprise of people “unable to pick up at the local newspaper or national gay glossy magazine and are unwilling or unable to pay for high fees to participate in a telepersonal or video dating service, from the comfort of their home, browse personal ads from around the world anonymously and cheaply.�? This is a major factor of why gay and lesbian people have flooded the internet dating scene.
Internet new-groups, IRC channels, Web sites and e-mail discussion lists were not surprisingly some of the first and most popular with gays and lesbians. Woodland (2000) notes that “Computer mediated communication has had a particularly dramatic effect on the gay and lesbian community, whose members may live in geographic or psychological isolation.�? The internet has not only opened the transgression of geographical and temporal boundaries but has also allowed opportunities for political mobilisation, identity play, increased anonymity and the meeting of other gays and lesbians within the safety and confines of cyberspace.
The internet and online dating services have reduced the isolation and fear of gays and lesbians which has distressed them for several years now, which accounts for them become early adopters of the internet. Allowing them to build communities and be safe.
Gay and lesbian online users are able to build their own communities without feeling harassed, isolated or fearful from the outside world; it allows them to explore new areas, meet new people, and have freedom to do what they want with the same kind of people and ultimately be happier. Jessica O'Connor 18:09, 26 Oct 2005 (EST)
Online Dating - Virtual Identities
Online Dating - Subculture in Online Dating
Online Dating - Evolution/history
Online Dating - Cultural Trends
Online Dating - Stigma of Online Dating
Greenspan, Robyn. 2003, Advertisers May Find Gay Dollars Online, ClickZ Network, http://www.clickz.com/stats/sectors/demographics/article.php/5901_2241881#table2 (accessed October 3, 2005).
Tanaka, Wendy. (2002) More Singles Are Finding Dates Online, Washington, America: Knight Ridder Tribune Business News.
Jessica O'Connor 18:11, 26 Oct 2005 (EST)
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