2026-10-12T03:02:14Z https://api.figshare.com/v2/oai

oai:figshare.com:article/34030866 2026-09-30T09:18:42Z portal_403 item_type_8 month_year_09_2026

Examining the affordances of visibility and association on the social media of Lebanese LGBTQI non-profit organisations Antoine Badaoui (25142732) LGBTQI Communities Activism Social Media Lebanon Pan-Arab Activism Thesis <p dir="ltr">The affordances of social media shape the use of said platforms. They are crucial to understand LGBTQI behaviour online. In Lebanon, LGBTQI individuals use social media to network with like-minded people and acquire knowledge away from offline LGBTQI-phobia. This research examines how Lebanese LGBTQI non-profits leverage the affordances of visibility and association to foreground sexual minorities’ rights in a LGBTQI-phobic society. It investigates whether the organisations’ online strategies meet the needs of LGBTQI individuals. To explore these issues, I employ content and thematic analysis to study 12 videos from four Lebanese organisations. I also conduct semi-structured interviews with a leader from each organisation to delve into their social media practices. Then, I interview 14 LGBTQI individuals in Lebanon and four Lebanese LGBTQI people abroad. These interviews provide insights into the individuals’ social media behaviour and their perception of the organisations’ online strategies. I found that engaging with the affordance of visibility evokes LGBTQIphobia. Consequently, the Lebanese non-profits adopt the strategy of LGBTQI collective visibility and individual invisibility to mitigate the effect of LGBTQI-phobia without forsaking the fight for the LGBTQI cause. They utilise online counterinvisibility and counter-surveillance against LGBTQI-phobic people. As for association, the organisations partake in transnational and Pan-Arab LGBTQI activisms. Pan-Arab activism is nuanced for the Arab region and relies on Arabic sexual minorities terms to make knowledge accessible to Arab sexual minorities and combat pan-Arab LGBTQI-phobia. Navigating these activisms, the organisations employ linguistic strategies to be intelligible to both international and Arab audiences. LGBTQI individuals in Lebanon engage in these linguistic dynamics and sit at a crossroads between local and transnational activisms. They navigate online visibility and association, adopting strategies for their safety. These strategies align with the organisations’ endeavours and, at times, diverge.</p> 2026-09-30T09:18:42Z Text Thesis 10.25392/leicester.data.34030866.v1 https://figshare.com/articles/thesis/Examining_the_affordances_of_visibility_and_association_on_the_social_media_of_Lebanese_LGBTQI_non-profit_organisations/34030866 All Rights Reserved