Tumblr

Revision as of 00:42, 23 October 2024 by Zopilote (talk | contribs)

Tumblr is a social media platform that gained popularity in the 2010s. Users maintain blogs (potentially multiple per account) that allow them to publish original posts as well as "reblogging" others' posts. Reblogs function similarly to Twitter's "retweet" function but allow optional additions to the post body (which are displayed under the original posts) or to tags (displayed only on the reblogger's blog). This allows multiple discussions to branch off from an original post.

Culturally, Tumblr is extremely popular with LGBTQ people and hosts a wide range of content related to non-binary issues. Many pieces of non-binary language and iconography originated on Tumblr, and there are a large number of single-issue blogs that center on non-binary issues. It is also common for Tumblr users to list their pronouns and gender identities on their blogs.

Gender terms originating on Tumblr

Iconography originating on Tumblr

Single-issue blogs

There are multiple genres of nonbinary-centric blog on Tumblr, both general and focused on specific identities. In addition to blogs that focus on coining and sharing non-binary terminology and iconography like flags, many users maintain blogs related to activism, education, and "discourse", as well as blogs that rely heavily on user-submitted content such as confessions/secrets, selfies, and introduction posts.

Many blogs post content from a mix of genres. For example, genderqueer.tumblr.com (active 2009-2013) identified itself as a place to share images of "gender-bending, trans, and queer people of all sorts"; in addition to reblogging photography and allowing users to submit their own selfies, the blog frequently hosted written content, including quotes about gender variance and analysis of trans issues from other Tumblr users.[1]

Education-related blogs include Genderqueer ID (active 2011-2019) and neutrois.tumblr.com (active 2011-2021).

Works Cited

  1. genderqueer: beyond the binaries. https://genderqueer.tumblr.com/