The Sexual Use of a Social Networking Site

The Case of Pup Twitter

Dados Bibliográficos

ID2391897
AutoresLiam Wignall (0000-0002-3456-5777, University of Sunderland, autor correspondente)
Ano2017
Volume22
Fascículo3
Páginas21-37
Data de publicação2017-09-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoSociological Research Online (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1360-7804 • E-ISSN: 1360-7804
EditoraSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/1360780417724066
OpenAlexW2754310930
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas19
Referências citadas43

This article examines how Twitter has been adopted and used by a sexual subculture in distinct ways. Drawing on interviews with 26 gay and bisexual men based in the UK who identify as 'pups', it demonstrates how a kinky sexual subculture exists on a social networking site in new and innovative ways, adapting various elements of Twitter to form a unique subculture that I call 'Pup Twitter'. Engaging with debates about social trends related to sexuality, as well as contemporary understandings of social networking sites, the study documents how this subcultural sexual community, while predating Twitter, has adopted online methods to enhance communication, engagement, and even visibility. The intersection of sexuality and social networking sites is an area ripe for further study, and this article develops empirical and conceptual ways to examine this issue in the future

Human sexuality · Media studies · Sociology · Visibility · Gender Studies · Gender, Feminism, and Media · Psychology · Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology · Social Media and Politics · Social Psychology