The Geography of LGBTQ Internet Studies
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) Internet studies have grown exponentially during the last 10 or 15 years. Apart from original book-length contributions by single authors (Campbell, 2004; Enteen, 2010; Fox, 2012; Gray, 2009; Kuntsman, 2009; Mowlabocus, 2010), a number of special journal issues (Alexander, 2002; Comella & Sender, 2013; Fotopoulou & O’Riordan, 2014; Kuntsman & Al-Qasimi, 2012), and edited books (Berry, Martin, & Yue, 2003; O’Riordan & Phillips, 2007; Pullen & Cooper, 2010) have all contributed to the advancement of our knowledge of this diversifying field. In this short article, I offer a review of three edited books, recognizing their important collective contributions to LGBTQ Internet studies. The three volumes are surely not the very latest publications in the field and they have already been reviewed by a number of scholars (e.g., de Ridder, 2012; Erni, 2009; Hamming, 2008; Scott, 2008). However, in this review I would like to take one more look at the articles published in those books with a particular focus on what contexts they are anchored in and to what extent they acknowledge the importance of the contexts. In doing so, I aim to critically reflect on the geography of LGBTQ Internet studies.