The Power of a Profile: Gender Norms and Stereotypes in LGBTQIA+ People's Online Partner Search

Abstract

This thesis is an online ethnographic study conducted on the lived experience of Dutch LGBTQIA+ people’s partner search. While we lay out in- and exclusion mechanisms to explain the role of gender norms and stereotypes in online dating environments, we argue that the Dutch heteronormative society impacts the lives of Dutch LGBTQIA+ individuals differently, dependent on their gender and sexual identity. As we have performed a comparative study, we indicate that the similarities and differences between the experiences of our participants come forth from both structural and individual origins. Our participants showed that gender and sexual identity have an everchanging complexity and subtility, but also that the (online) performativity of these social constructs offer them possibilities in being themselves, as well as finding a suitable partner.