I am who I am’
Sri Lankan queer community using TikTok as a space to ‘come out’
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12255164 |
|---|---|
| Authors | H Unnathi S Samaraweera (0000-0001-8795-9879, University of Colombo, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Pages | 1-18 |
| Publication date | 2026-01-02 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Gender Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0958-9236 • E-ISSN: 1465-3869 |
| Publisher | Routledge (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/09589236.2025.2611973 |
| OpenAlex | W7117969720 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 19 |
In postcolonial South Asian societies, there is a growing tendency of many queer individuals using social media, particularly TikTok, as a means to increase visibility. This study explores how queer individuals in Sri Lanka present themselves on TikTok, focusing on their gender identity and sexual orientation. Through a qualitative research approach, the study examines 20 TikTok accounts of Sri Lankan queer users from December 2022 to April 2024 and conducts 5 in-depth interviews with them, utilizing interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). The research explores how these individuals utilize TikTok as a platform for expressing their identities, highlighting the liberating aspects of the platform for queer expression. However, the study findings do not undermine the exploitation of their labour within neoliberal and consumerist frameworks, including homocapitalist ideologies. Grounded in phenomenological theories of subjectivity and gender performativity, the study underscores the significance of acknowledging the lived experiences of these individuals within their socio-cultural contexts, considering the impact of colonial legacies on perceptions of non-heteronormative identities and emphasizing the fluidity of queerness. It also discusses how TikTok functions as a space for queer visibility, expression, and popularity in Sri Lanka.
Ethnography · Government (linguistics · Qualitative research · Queer · Space (punctuation) · African Sexualities and LGBTQ+ Issues · LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy · South Asian Cinema and Culture
Essentials of interpretative phenomenological analysis.
The Subject and Power
Out of Time
Undoing Gender
Between visibility and elsewhere
You out-gayed the gays”
Brown girls can’t be gay”
Introduction
Making space
The Normative Idea of Queer is a White Person”
Everyday Decolonization
Coming out and going abroad
Legitimating Violences
Rethinking Homonationalism
Bodies with New Organs
Revisiting Bodies and Pleasures
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |