Social media has helped many people come out and become confident in their sexuality.
Tik Tok trends, music, groups and Instagram posts have all brought many people in the LGBTQ+ communities together.
It is amazingly positive that this current generation are growing up seeing people being able to express who they are through social media and also through events such as Pride.
Tik tok has always revolved around trends. People create addictive sounds, dances or actions that other people then also use. The LBGTQ+ community have used trends to spread across messages and to help inspire other people or those who are struggling with their sexuality.
Drag, coming-out videos, music, artwork, makeup and much more are the most trending LGBTQ+ popular TikTok's. Music from artists such as Lady GAGA, Doja Cat and even the new West End/ Broadway musical Hamilton has inspired many TikToks. According to https://www.statista.com/topics/6077/tiktok/ TikTok has had over 672 million downloads worldwide. The ability and the amazing change this app has brought to people is phenomenal. We are now seeing a real change in attitude across the globe. We still have a lot of work to do but we are heading in the right direction and social media is a great help.
Using Social Media to support LBGTQ+
With Globalisation becoming a worldwide phenomenon, we are seeing connections being made quicker because the world has connected through social media. Facebook allows you to post updates with photos. Use the feature that allows you to say how you are feeling.
Instagram helps you build up a portfolio and an identity. You can express exactly who you are and if you choose to let people, everyone can see your profile and grid. An influencer is able to create reels that are similar to tiktok videos. These can become viral and cause many people to see important messages portrayed in these videos. During pride month, many people choose to paint their face, dress up in the pride flag colours and make new viral dance videos, to really spread the important message of pride.
https://lordslibrary.parliament.uk/pride-in-the-uk-50-years/ Lords Parliament UK have stated that 'Since 2010, large cities across the UK have regularly held Pride events, which have become an established part of the calendar.' The estimated amount of pride attendees in London 2022 was 1 to 1.5 million people. This is an amazing amount of people and pride is growing and becoming much more known to others every single year.
LGBTQ+ and YouTube
Globally and nationally, LGBTQ+ is celebrated. We are seeing so many more people open up about being their true selves and we are breaking down barriers that were unfortunately put up around this. YouTube, has opened up doors for many people. You can make money for producing content and YouTube is now one of the biggest platforms due to being able to download it not just on a mobile device and also on a smart TV too.
YouTube has content such as quizzes to help you find out your sexuality or to just explore it. Playlists of pride month music to listen to, Coming out stories that inspire others and connect people across the globe. The Dance Moms star Jo Jo Siwa came out as Gay in 2021 through Instagram and YouTube. The amount of support she got is endless. Many people have taken this opportunity to also come out due to the amount of love Jo Jo received. It is amazing that we now live in a world where so many people can use platforms such as YouTube to come out to others, support others and feel like they can be their true selves.
According to https://www.ranker.com/list/inspiring-lgbt-YouTube-channels/YouTube
The top YouTube channels regarding sexuality are:
1.) Rose and Rosie
2.) MarkE Miller
3.) ConnorFranta
4.) Tyler Oakley
5.) Bria and Chrissy
What can we do to help spread positive messages about sexuality:
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