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May 23, 2025
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Abstract
This study examined the associations between queer media engagement, demographic factors, and social identity formation among Filipino lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) undergraduate students (N = 52, aged 18-24) using correlational analysis. Spearman's rank correlation coefficient (ρ) revealed a significant positive association between monthly family income and queer media engagement (ρ= 0.28, p < .05), suggesting socioeconomic factors influence access to identity-affirming media resources. Weekly hours of media consumption demonstrated the strongest relationship with overall engagement level (ρ = 0.43, p < .01), validating the multidimensional nature of queer media engagement. Contrary to prevalent assumptions, findings showed a non-significant negative correlation between queer media engagement and identity formation (ρ = -0.16, p >.05), suggesting a more complex relationship than previously theorized. Analysis of identity formation components revealed stronger development in cognitive aspects (median = 4.0) than behavioral components (median = 2.0-2.5), aligning with established models of LGBTQIA+ identity development where internal affirmation typically precedes external expression. These findings challenge simplistic assumptions about media influence and suggest a nuanced dynamic where socioeconomic factors, developmental stages, and cultural context significantly shape how Filipino LGB youth engage with queer media and integrate these experiences into their identity formation processes. This underscores the importance of addressing potential digital access disparities and developing critical media literacy alongside increased representation.
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
How to Cite
Espina, R. M. I., Cai, K. B., Ke, S. W. Q. P., Marco, D. A., & Arcinas, M. M. (2025). Beyond the Binary: Queer Media Engagement’s Role in Shaping LGB Youth Identity Formation. International Journal of Multidisciplinary: Applied Business and Education Research, 6(5), 2480-2495. https://doi.org/10.11594/ijmaber.06.05.28
References
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Connelly, P. J., Azizi, Z., Alipour, P., Delles, C., Pilote, L., & Raparelli, V. (2021). The importance of gender in understanding sex differences in cardiovascular disease. Canadian Journal of Cardiology, 37(5), 699-710. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cjca.2021.02.005
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Dela Cruz, E. (2022). Raikantopinoy: Glocalization of the Boys' Love Genre in the Philippines. Southeast Asian Media Studies Journal, 4(1). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/367499766_Raikantopinoy_Glocalization_of_the_Boys'_Love_Genre_in_the_Philippines
Griffin, E. (2019). Queer Television. In Oxford Bibliographies in Cinema and Media Studies. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/obo/9780199791286-0314
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Hayman, K. (2024). A discourse of hate: A content analysis of responses to queer representation in online social media. Canadian Journal of Family and Youth, 16(1), 109–116. https://doi.org/10.29173/cjfy30026
Holtz, B., Mitchell, K., Adams, R., Grier, C., & Wright, J. (2024). Enhancing comprehension of online informed consent: The impact of interactive elements and presentation formats. Ethics & Behavior, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/10508422.2024.2318546
Huang, Q. (2024). Analyzing the impact of differences in the portrayal of homosexual
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Jamwal, U. S. & Pandey, S. P. (2024). The influence of queer representation in modern fiction. Educational Administration: Theory and Practice, 30(4), 6568–6570. https://doi.org/10.53555/kuey.v30i4.2432
Javier, D., & Jubay, R. (2021). Gameboys the Series: The Rise of Pinoy Boys' Love Series in Times of Lockdown. David Publishing Company, 19(12), 377-379. https://www.davidpublisher.com/index.php/Home/Article/index?id=46586.html
Kemer, G., Demirtaş, E. T., Pope, A. L., & Ummak, E. (2016). Psychometric Properties of the Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Identity Scale–Turkish (LGBIS-TR). Journal of Homosexuality, 64(12), 1632-1649. https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2016.1249741
Krejcie, R. V., & Morgan, D. W. (1970). Determining sample size for research activities. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 30(3), 607–610. https://doi.org/10.1177/001316447003000308
Li, Q., Liu, Z., Yan, S., & Yin, R. (2023). The influence of homosexual media portrayals on the identity of homosexual young adults. Journal of Education, Humanities, and Social Sciences, 8. https://drpress.org/ojs/index.php/EHSS/article/download/4719/4570
Nerlich, E. (2022). The influence of social media on self-acceptance in queer youth [Bachelor's thesis, University of Twente]. http://essay.utwente.nl/91329/1/nerlich_BA_bms.pdf
Ng, E. (2021). Queer Production Studies. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Communication. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228613.013.1162
Realgo, B., Prado, V., & Guzman, J. (2023). Portrayal of love and social issues of LGBTQIA+ in Pinoy Boys' Love (BL) series. Journal of Humanities, Music and Dance, 3(4), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.55529/jhmd.34.1.11
Riggs, D. W. & Trehane, G. J. (2017). Queer Theory. In B. Gough (Ed.), The Palgrave Handbook of Critical Social Psychology (pp. 101–121). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-51018-1_6
Rumens, N. (2016). Sexualities and accounting: A queer theory perspective. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 35, 111–120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpa.2015.05.003
Schaefer, I. (2023). Children's television and its effects on LGBTQ youths' identity milestones, acceptance, and comfort in identity. Journal of Student Research, 12(4). https://doi.org/10.47611/jsrhs.v12i4.5212
Thomson, K. (2021). An analysis of LGBTQIA+ representation in television and film. Bridges: An Undergraduate Journal of Contemporary Connections, 5(7). https://scholars.wlu.ca/bridges_contemporary_connections/vol5/iss1/7/
Townsend, M., Deerwater, R., Adams, N., Hurwitz, A., Trasandes, M., González, G., & Usher, D. (2022). Where are we on TV? GLAAD Media Institute. https://assets.glaad.org/m/49c8b636b1ee99eb/orIginal/GLAAD-2021-22-Where-We-Are-onTV.pdf
Troiden, R. R. (1989). The formation of homosexual identities. Journal of Homosexuality, 17(1-2), 43-73. https://doi.org/10.1300/J082v17n01_02
University of the Philippines. (2021). 2021 Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality Study. https://www.uppi.upd.edu.ph/research/yafs5
Uy, C. E. (2021). Analyzing the depictions of queer struggles in selected Asian BL series [Conference paper]. Animo Repository. https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/conf_shsrescon/1702/
Vinney, C. (2024a). What Is Cultivation Theory in Media Psychology? Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/cultivation-theory-5214376
Vinney, C. (2024b). What Is Uses and Gratifications Theory? Definition and Examples. ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/uses-and-gratifications-theory-4628333
Zsila, A., & Demetrovics Z. (2017). The boys' love phenomenon: A literature review. Journal of Popular Romance Studies, 6, 1-16. https://www.jprstudies.org/2017/04/the-boys-love-phenomenon-a-literature-reviewby-agnes-zsila-and-zsolt-demetrovics/
Beltz, A. M., Loviska, A. M., & Weigard, A. (2021). Daily gender expression is associated with psychological adjustment for some people, mainly men. Scientific Reports, 11, Article 9493. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-88279-4
Berger, M. N., Taba, M., Marino, J. L., Lim, M. S. C., & Skinner, S. R. (2022). Social media use and health and well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer youth: Systematic review. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 24(9), Article e38449. https://doi.org/10.2196/38449
Brooks, R. B. (2022, January 25). The importance of queer studies. Best Colleges. https://www.bestcolleges.com/blog/what-is-queer-studies/
Cass, V. C. (1979). Homosexual identity formation: A theoretical model. Journal of Homosexuality, 4(3), 219-235. https://doi.org/10.1300/J082v04n03_01
Connelly, P. J., Azizi, Z., Alipour, P., Delles, C., Pilote, L., & Raparelli, V. (2021). The importance of gender in understanding sex differences in cardiovascular disease. Canadian Journal of Cardiology, 37(5), 699-710. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cjca.2021.02.005
Cook, C. (2018). A content analysis of LGBT representation on broadcast and streaming television [Honors thesis, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga]. UTC Scholar. https://scholar.utc.edu/honors-theses/133
Cook, C. C. H. (2020). The causes of human sexual orientation. Theology & Sexuality, 27(1), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/13558358.2020.1818541
Craig, S. L., McInroy, L., McCready, L. T., & Alaggia, R. (2015). Media: A catalyst for resilience in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer youth. Journal of LGBT Youth, 12(3), 254–275. https://doi.org/10.1080/19361653.2015.1040193
Craig, S. L., Eaton, A. D., McInroy, L. B., Leung, V. W. Y., & Krishnan, S. (2021). Can social media participation enhance LGBTQ+ youth's well-being? Development of the social media benefits scale. Social Media + Society, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305121988931
De Jesus, A., Dorado, J., Biag, E., & Durante, J. V. (2022). Queer literature and gender sensitivity of senior high school students. International Journal of Arts, Sciences and Education, 3(July Special Issue), 1-7. https://ijase.org/index.php/ijase/article/view/149
Dela Cruz, E. (2022). Raikantopinoy: Glocalization of the Boys' Love Genre in the Philippines. Southeast Asian Media Studies Journal, 4(1). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/367499766_Raikantopinoy_Glocalization_of_the_Boys'_Love_Genre_in_the_Philippines
Griffin, E. (2019). Queer Television. In Oxford Bibliographies in Cinema and Media Studies. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/obo/9780199791286-0314
Grouchka, M. D. (2021). Does representation matter? Exploring the effects of positively perceived media representation on the identity and sense of self of LGBTQ women [Master's thesis, Webster University]. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5acf9e85ec4eb7b5e1665d4b/t/63dce82ddeed262d6124d1ac/1675421745316/Grouchka+Master+thesis+final+edited.pdf
Hayman, K. (2024). A discourse of hate: A content analysis of responses to queer representation in online social media. Canadian Journal of Family and Youth, 16(1), 109–116. https://doi.org/10.29173/cjfy30026
Holtz, B., Mitchell, K., Adams, R., Grier, C., & Wright, J. (2024). Enhancing comprehension of online informed consent: The impact of interactive elements and presentation formats. Ethics & Behavior, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/10508422.2024.2318546
Huang, Q. (2024). Analyzing the impact of differences in the portrayal of homosexual
situations in LGBTQ movies on the social acceptance of homosexuality. In Addressing Global Challenges - Exploring Socio-Cultural Dynamics and Sustainable Solutions in a Changing World (Vol. 1, pp. 1–7). https://doi.org/10.1201/9781032676043-111
Jamwal, U. S. & Pandey, S. P. (2024). The influence of queer representation in modern fiction. Educational Administration: Theory and Practice, 30(4), 6568–6570. https://doi.org/10.53555/kuey.v30i4.2432
Javier, D., & Jubay, R. (2021). Gameboys the Series: The Rise of Pinoy Boys' Love Series in Times of Lockdown. David Publishing Company, 19(12), 377-379. https://www.davidpublisher.com/index.php/Home/Article/index?id=46586.html
Kemer, G., Demirtaş, E. T., Pope, A. L., & Ummak, E. (2016). Psychometric Properties of the Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Identity Scale–Turkish (LGBIS-TR). Journal of Homosexuality, 64(12), 1632-1649. https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2016.1249741
Krejcie, R. V., & Morgan, D. W. (1970). Determining sample size for research activities. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 30(3), 607–610. https://doi.org/10.1177/001316447003000308
Li, Q., Liu, Z., Yan, S., & Yin, R. (2023). The influence of homosexual media portrayals on the identity of homosexual young adults. Journal of Education, Humanities, and Social Sciences, 8. https://drpress.org/ojs/index.php/EHSS/article/download/4719/4570
Nerlich, E. (2022). The influence of social media on self-acceptance in queer youth [Bachelor's thesis, University of Twente]. http://essay.utwente.nl/91329/1/nerlich_BA_bms.pdf
Ng, E. (2021). Queer Production Studies. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Communication. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228613.013.1162
Realgo, B., Prado, V., & Guzman, J. (2023). Portrayal of love and social issues of LGBTQIA+ in Pinoy Boys' Love (BL) series. Journal of Humanities, Music and Dance, 3(4), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.55529/jhmd.34.1.11
Riggs, D. W. & Trehane, G. J. (2017). Queer Theory. In B. Gough (Ed.), The Palgrave Handbook of Critical Social Psychology (pp. 101–121). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-51018-1_6
Rumens, N. (2016). Sexualities and accounting: A queer theory perspective. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 35, 111–120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpa.2015.05.003
Schaefer, I. (2023). Children's television and its effects on LGBTQ youths' identity milestones, acceptance, and comfort in identity. Journal of Student Research, 12(4). https://doi.org/10.47611/jsrhs.v12i4.5212
Thomson, K. (2021). An analysis of LGBTQIA+ representation in television and film. Bridges: An Undergraduate Journal of Contemporary Connections, 5(7). https://scholars.wlu.ca/bridges_contemporary_connections/vol5/iss1/7/
Townsend, M., Deerwater, R., Adams, N., Hurwitz, A., Trasandes, M., González, G., & Usher, D. (2022). Where are we on TV? GLAAD Media Institute. https://assets.glaad.org/m/49c8b636b1ee99eb/orIginal/GLAAD-2021-22-Where-We-Are-onTV.pdf
Troiden, R. R. (1989). The formation of homosexual identities. Journal of Homosexuality, 17(1-2), 43-73. https://doi.org/10.1300/J082v17n01_02
University of the Philippines. (2021). 2021 Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality Study. https://www.uppi.upd.edu.ph/research/yafs5
Uy, C. E. (2021). Analyzing the depictions of queer struggles in selected Asian BL series [Conference paper]. Animo Repository. https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/conf_shsrescon/1702/
Vinney, C. (2024a). What Is Cultivation Theory in Media Psychology? Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/cultivation-theory-5214376
Vinney, C. (2024b). What Is Uses and Gratifications Theory? Definition and Examples. ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/uses-and-gratifications-theory-4628333
Zsila, A., & Demetrovics Z. (2017). The boys' love phenomenon: A literature review. Journal of Popular Romance Studies, 6, 1-16. https://www.jprstudies.org/2017/04/the-boys-love-phenomenon-a-literature-reviewby-agnes-zsila-and-zsolt-demetrovics/