Your picture is your bait: use and meaning of cyberspace among gay men

The Internet is seen by many as a form of cyberspace or environment in which to interact and socialise. This research project drew from the data of a quantitative and qualitative study of gay men in Perth, Western Australia. We examined gay men's usage patterns of chat rooms and other social as...

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Main Authors: Brown, Graham, Maycock, Bruce, Burns, Sharyn
Format: Journal Article
Published: The Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality 2005
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/17929
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author Brown, Graham
Maycock, Bruce
Burns, Sharyn
author_facet Brown, Graham
Maycock, Bruce
Burns, Sharyn
author_sort Brown, Graham
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description The Internet is seen by many as a form of cyberspace or environment in which to interact and socialise. This research project drew from the data of a quantitative and qualitative study of gay men in Perth, Western Australia. We examined gay men's usage patterns of chat rooms and other social aspects of the Internet to meet sexual partners. We then reviewed in detail the meanings gay men have for the various Internet environments, and the range of friendship, relationship, casual, or esoteric sex-seeking goals. We argue that gay men view and engage with the Internet differently from how they view and engage with other more traditional gay spaces. This different approach influences how interaction between the men, either online or face-to-face, progresses and how assumptions and expectations are built. This has implications for how sexual health promotion interventions determine the appropriate role and relationship they have with these online social spaces.
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publishDate 2005
publisher The Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-179292017-09-13T15:45:16Z Your picture is your bait: use and meaning of cyberspace among gay men Brown, Graham Maycock, Bruce Burns, Sharyn The Internet is seen by many as a form of cyberspace or environment in which to interact and socialise. This research project drew from the data of a quantitative and qualitative study of gay men in Perth, Western Australia. We examined gay men's usage patterns of chat rooms and other social aspects of the Internet to meet sexual partners. We then reviewed in detail the meanings gay men have for the various Internet environments, and the range of friendship, relationship, casual, or esoteric sex-seeking goals. We argue that gay men view and engage with the Internet differently from how they view and engage with other more traditional gay spaces. This different approach influences how interaction between the men, either online or face-to-face, progresses and how assumptions and expectations are built. This has implications for how sexual health promotion interventions determine the appropriate role and relationship they have with these online social spaces. 2005 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/17929 10.1080/00224490509552258 The Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality restricted
spellingShingle Brown, Graham
Maycock, Bruce
Burns, Sharyn
Your picture is your bait: use and meaning of cyberspace among gay men
title Your picture is your bait: use and meaning of cyberspace among gay men
title_full Your picture is your bait: use and meaning of cyberspace among gay men
title_fullStr Your picture is your bait: use and meaning of cyberspace among gay men
title_full_unstemmed Your picture is your bait: use and meaning of cyberspace among gay men
title_short Your picture is your bait: use and meaning of cyberspace among gay men
title_sort your picture is your bait: use and meaning of cyberspace among gay men
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/17929