BETWEEN VISIBILITY AND VULNERABILITY: GENDER STIGMA ONLINE, LGBTQ+ MENTAL HEALTH, AND THE DUAL ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Description

This article examines the complex relationship between online gender stigma, LGBTQ+ mental health, and the dual role of social media in contemporary digital environments, with particular attention to the Indian context. Drawing on interdisciplinary scholarship in digital sociology, psychology, public health, gender studies, and intersectionality, the paper explores how social media simultaneously functions as a space for identity expression, community formation, information access, and collective support, while also exposing marginalized populations to harassment, discrimination, surveillance, algorithmic bias, and harmful content. Particular attention is given to three high-risk groups: LGBTQ+ individuals, women in sex-work communities and red-light areas, and children who may accidentally encounter adult content through shared or inadequately protected devices. The analysis highlights the mental health consequences of online stigma, including depression, anxiety, internalized stigma, suicidal ideation, and psychological distress, while also examining the protective effects of online communities, identity affirmation, peer support, and digital activism. The paper further develops the *Dual Affordance Model (DAM)*, which conceptualizes social media through four dimensions—visibility, community, information, and permanence—and explains how the same digital affordances can produce either harmful or protective outcomes depending on social, cultural, technological, and intersectional conditions. The article concludes that effective digital safety requires stronger platform accountability, child-centred safety mechanisms, culturally responsive mental health services, inclusive education, and policies that centre the experiences and agency of affected communities.