Midlife Sapphic Revelation in the Digital Age - How Digital Media Support Coming Out Later

This book documents the lived experiences of women and nonbinary people who came out as queer in middle age, often after long heterosexual marriages. Using a survey and in-depth interviews, it documents the experiences of way-later-in-life sapphics as they come out, navigate dating apps, and join LGBTQIA+ communities on social media. The author complements this analysis by exploring their own experience coming out as queer and nonbinary in my 50s after a 22-year relationship with their ex-husband. They explore the role digital media social media, online communities, and dating apps played in supporting and complicating the process of self-discovery and coming out. This volume stands as a subversive statement We re here, we re queer, get used to it against the threats on LGBTQIA+ rights in the United States.
 

List of contents

Chapter 01: Introduction: Coming out Way Later in Life.- Chapter 02: Digital Media and Coming Out.- Chapter 03: Google, Am I Gay?.- Chapter 04: Wow, I m Not The Only One.- Chapter 05: Guess What! I m Queer.- Chapter 06: Dating and Finding Togetherness.- Chapter 07: Do I Look Gay Enough?.- Chapter 08: Intersecting Identities.- Chapter 09: Conclusion.

Product details

• Authors: Gina Masullo
• Publisher: Springer, Berlin
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Release: 02.08.2025
• EAN: 9783031962578
• ISBN: 978-3-0-3196257-8
• No. of pages: 179
• Illustrations: VIII, 179 p. 6 illus.
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Media, communication > Media science; Instagram, Gender Studies, Social Media, Medienwissenschaften, Facebook, Queer Studies, Gender Studies: Gruppen, TikTok, dating apps, Digital and New Media, Media and Gender, online communities