A sense of (dis)connectedness: LGBTQ+ online othering on Thai Facebook comments

Abstract

This paper considers how online practices can reinforce inequality and constrain wellbeing, resilience, and self-esteem for Thai LGBTQ+ identifying individuals. Based on an inductive, exploratory analysis, our study focuses on the specific language use that facilitated the creation and perpetuation of LGBTQ+ “othering”. Our data were drawn on a purposive sample of posted comments on Facebook that made explicit and active forms of criticism of LGBTQ+ related to diversity, equality, and inclusion. Our readings of normalizing discourses on Thai social media have questioned the mythopoesis of LGBTQ+ inclusiveness on social media platforms and how pejorative online postings can contribute to the everyday reproduction of structural injustices of the wider queer community in a Thai context.