Two people from different generations sharing their thoughts on the same topic, trying to find common ground

How do you think the internet has impacted the LGBT movement?

by Ivy Bottini

The primary mode of communication within the LGBT movement is electronic — texting, emails, blogging and social networking such as Facebook. I feel it is a double-edged sword. On the plus side, our movement has been put on the fast track, with communication being almost instantaneous between people. That allows for quickly organizing the grassroots for protests, marches and rallies. It is obviously much faster than the old mode of communication, the telephone.

”Telephone trees” where one person starts “the tree” moving by calling several people who each then call several people, and so on, worked. I once started a telephone tree about 2 p.m. calling for a demonstration to take place in Hollywood at 6 p.m. Over 1,000 people showed up. While making those calls, real live people talked to real live people. I believe a different kind of connection and commitment is made when humans talk to humans instead of writing and reading, as in email or texting.

Has the internet been positive for our movement? Yes, if speed and numbers are of primary importance. However, I think we have relinquished the quality of human interaction to the electronic age.

Communicating by electronic means automatically leaves many people out of the loop. Not everyone can afford a computer or the monthly fees, some are visually impaired and some are physically challenged and cannot operate a keyboard. How does the movement reach and involve those people? They are considerable! It is classist and reflects lack of understanding of whole segments of our community.

There is inherent danger built into relying so heavily on communicating electronically. People can avoid revealing who they really are when they send messages, unlike what happens when you get to know each other through personal interaction. Leadership in our movement should evolve out of how people interact with others face to face—working side by side, discussing strategy, debating issues, coming to collective agreement. A leader should be a person who has the best knowledge of the issues and the solutions—how to win and take our movement forward and gain our rights. I fear leaders could be chosen based on who has the best electronic skills.

The electronic age has not only taken over how we organize but also how we live our personal lives. People devote much of their time sending and receiving emails, worrying that they haven’t checked the latest email, or two people sit in a restaurant each talking on their own cell phone to someone else, talking on their cell phone in their vehicle incessantly or texting someone. God forbid someone forgets their cell phone—their psyche seems to implode, fearful they might miss something!

In today’s world, there does not seem to be any resting places for minds to relax, for people to have nothing to do. Are we so insecure or fearful that we cannot be alone with our thoughts? Must we always be in contact with someone to prove we exist?

by Brian Novak

I have never known a homosexual world without the internet, so I don’t think I have enough years under my belt to compare the expansion of the LGBT movement next to the growth of the World Wide Web. I can, however, discuss what a weird and wonderful asset the internet has been in the definition of today’s homosexual. The appeal behind the internet that may seem so obvious, but is nevertheless striking, is its ability to turn the individual into a community. In the case of the gay community this quality can be a gift or a curse.

From the early days of AOL’s “Gay Chat,” there has been an outlet for men to put aside their inhibitions and discuss whatever they wanted in a comfortable yet anonymous environment. In theory, this seems like a good idea and a great way for people to ease themselves into the community, but this convenience has spawned into something a little more detrimental. Just take a look at the “men seeking men” personals section on Craigslist and you will see a never-ending list of men looking for instantaneous hook-ups all for the quick exchange of a nude picture and a few stats. This wouldn’t be so unnerving if most of the site’s users weren’t men way too old to be keeping up the “discreet” act. On the mobile front is an iPhone app called “Grindr,” a virtual gaydar that lets you social network with other gay users in a close radius. Making new gay friends in my neighborhood was fun, but all too quickly after signing up, I received a bunch of messages suggesting something “no strings attached.” In this respect, I think the internet has just become a really huge and harmful closet that does no good in strengthening our community, but rather promotes a sort of unhealthy alienation.

The internet is not totally a dark place, as it has brought light to the diversity within the gay community. Granted there are internet celebs, such as Perez Hilton, that have only fulfilled the media’s stereotype of the homosexual male, but there are communities sprouting up all over the place to counterbalance. Websites, like thenewgay.net, are covering all aspects of gay life in ways that might even appeal to the straight community. I’ve recently joined tumblr.com, a micro-blogging social networking site that has maintained my interest way beyond the likes of Twitter. Tumblr has become the go-to site for young “alt-gays” to post anything from political news to forgotten pop culture to pictures of cute boys. Strong and fun online networks like this are making the role of the homosexual a relevant, varied and open one.

The internet can’t force anyone to action yet, but it definitely has provided a much needed forum to widen the LGBT perspective. Whether or not we choose to use this tool for secrecy or for awareness, one thing that can be said for sure—the internet has proven that there are a ton of us out there.

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