Date of Award

2019

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Cottrell, Catherine

Area of Concentration

Psychology

Abstract

GSMs (Gender and Sexual Minorities) continue to come out of the closet in droves, largely spearheaded by the young adult population, yet are still heavily discriminated against. For this reason, it is important to explore different avenues in which the GSM identity formation process can be aided through interpersonal and community support. The anime community is observed as a potential haven for GSMs in which they might receive social support from fellow anime fans and have access to more positive media representations of GSMs. Two studies were conducted to investigate the interaction between anime fan identity and queer identity. Study 1 was a survey that explored the perceptions and beliefs of anime fans and GSMs in various ways. Results showed: (1) anime identity is not a predictor of GSM identity, (2) queer anime fans falsely believe that there are more GSMs in the anime community than in the general public, and (3) higher rates of identifying with other anime fans (Anime Fandom scores) correlated with lower implicit queer prejudice. Study 2 explored the impact that anime media and communities had on seven GSM anime fan interviewees using an ethnographic, open ended approach. Interviewees found the anime community face to face to be an integral source of interpersonal support and positive representation, while the anime community online was found to exhibit mixed experiences of both transphobia and acceptance.

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