A Sociolinguistic Study Of Identity Construction From Lesbian Youth On TikTok

With an aim to recontextualise interactionist approaches in relation to the rise in collective digital engagement from LGBTQ+ youth, this project examines how group affiliation interacts with identity practices, asking to what extent the shared sociolinguistic identity practices of self-identified lesbian youth aid the active and passive digital participation with '#lesbiantiktok' spaces. This project takes a multidisciplinary approach to multimodal discourse analysis (MDA) through the examination of the interplay between linguistic and extralinguistic features presented by lesbian youth through their retelling of experience-based narratives on the under-researched digital space, TikTok.

Through a close analysis of short-video content available on the TikTok platform, a multimodal transcription framework is employed and continuously refined for data exploration in the language analysis software: ELAN. Utilising this software helps to account for the differing levels of analysis required for examining discourse (monologue and commentary), imagery (video and static), audio (music, speech, sound-bites), and built-in platform effects (filters and visual effects) presented and manipulated by users in their identity construction and presentation. Digital logs that detail platform-specific technicalities such as time stamps, camera angles, lighting, background noise, and user interactions akin to 'quoting' fellow TikTok users or inserting user content into new submissions are documented in the transcription parameters. Through using a multitude of digital resources such as multimodal frameworks and traditional inspections of digital logs, this project is formed through a series of computational steps which help the researcher delve into the complexity of the TikTok platform and build a stronger contextual element to the observed sociolinguistic identity construction.

Theoretical considerations such as the influence of Queer Theory within the analysis of TikTok are explored to explain the social and digital context of the everchanging platform dynamics, including its cultural and timely significance to current interactionist approaches. The use of influential theory relating to sexuality and gender expression is key to the project as the documentation of user identity and interaction draws from traditional understandings of heteronormative binaries present in societies, highlighting how '#LesbianTikTok' spaces are uniquely defined as non-normative in relation to heteronormative expectations.

To account for the complexity of user experience, narrative display, and personal affiliation to the TikTok interface, self-identified lesbians are invited for interviews, helping to clarify data interpretation of experience-based narratives and strengthen understandings of user interaction with shared digital spaces. Case studies are formed in line with the extensive multimodal transcription and as a result of the complimentary interview data to give in-depth accounts of user experiences and their interactions with the digital interface. Ultimately, through multimodal analyse of the social platform and its users, the project showcases the identity construction of self-identified lesbian youth via an array of linguistic and extralinguistic means, developing an understanding of nuanced performances of lesbian youth experience and digital interaction.