Navigating Digital Geographies and Trauma Contexts: Conceptions of Online Communities and Experiences Among LGBTQ+ People During COVID-19

The coronavirus pandemic shaped challenges for marginalized groups. Specifically, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or queer (LGBTQ+) people experienced community-building constraints, notably in predominantly rural regions. People are also navigating digital geographies, or online social environments, in novel ways to develop virtual communities in the face of prejudice, discrimination, and potential trauma. Through a minority coping approach, the present study explored LGBTQ+ people's experiences navigating the dynamics of digital geographies during the pandemic while residing in socially conservative, highly rural physical spaces where they may be exposed to vicarious trauma. Using qualitative semi-structured interviews, data were gathered from 43 LGBTQ+ identifying individuals between 19 and 59 years old (M/SD = 27.7/9.2) between October 2020 and January 2021. Nearly 14% identified as transgender, nonbinary, or queer individuals, 35% as bisexual individuals, and 21% as people of color including Hispanic/Latina/o. Thematic analysis of the narratives described participants' exposures to online discrimination and stigmatization of minority groups (racial and/or sexual/gender minority groups) during the COVID-19 pandemic, institutional constraints to identity expression, utilizing social technologies to manage their identities, and negotiating digital strategies to promote social ties. Findings emphasize improving marginalized people's experiences with digital geographies through identity affirmation and community relationship-building to offset potentially traumatic experiences. Furthermore, service providers can utilize the findings to tailor effective virtual LGBTQ+ community programming to support underserved, marginalized populations.