Social Media Romance: Gay- and Lesbian-Identified Immigrants in Denmark

This study focuses on potential transnational migrants, recent immigrants, as well as children of immigrants living in Denmark, who identify as—or who seek relationship with those who identify as—lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT). For these “immigrants” who seek intimate relationships with members of the same sex, social media facilitates a space where users can participate anonymously (Carnevale and Prost, 1997; McKenna and Bragh, 2000). By investigating dating sites and mobile apps that target LGBT individuals (e.g. gayromeo.com), this paper highlights how intimate romantic practices enable transnational migration. Additionally, the paper examines social media use among LGBT-immigrants in Denmark (boyfriend.dk, girlfriend.dk, grindr), and shows how these dating sites/apps create an intimate public sphere, produce affective senses of belonging, and add nuance to how sexual, racial, and national intimate identities develop meaning. Data was collected from netnographic observations (Kozinets, 2010) and semi-structured interviews in English, Danish, and Arabic.