Media, visibility and sexual identity among gay men with a migration background

While media are generally acknowledged to play an important role in processes of sexual identity formation among sexual minorities, little is known about migrant audiences. This article explores the roles of mass and online media for a group of men with a migration background living in Belgium. Based on in-depth interviews, their sexual self-identification is discussed, as is their use and assessment of media as a source of representations, information and connections. The participants in this project turn out to primarily identify as gay, and they predominantly rely on western representations and information in their quest for identity models.