Public challenge and endorsement of sex category ambiguity in online debate: 'The sooner people stop thinking that gender is a matter of choice the better'.

Despite academic feminist debate over several decades, the binary nature of sex as a (perhaps the) primary social classification is often taken for granted, as is the assumption that individuals can be unproblematically assigned a biological sex at birth. This article presents analysis of online debate on the BBC news website in November 2013, comprising 864 readers' responses to an article entitled 'Germany allows 'indeterminate' gender at birth'. It explores how discourse reflecting Western essentialist beliefs about people having one sex or 'the other' is maintained in debates conducted in this online public space. Comments were coded thematically and are presented under five sub-headings: overall evaluation of the German law; discussing and disputing statistics and 'facts'; binary categorisations; religion and politics; and 'conversations' and threads. Although for many the mapping of binary sex onto gender was unquestionable, this view was strongly disputed by commentators who questioned the meanings of 'natural' and 'normal', raised the possibility of removing societal binary male-female distinctions or saw maleness-femaleness as a continuum. While recognising that online commentators are anonymous and can control their self-presentation, this animated discussion suggests that social classifications as male or female, even if questioned, remain fundamental in public debate in the early 21st century.

Social inclusion and the Fatosphere: the role of an online weblogging community in fostering social inclusion.

Overweight and obesity are one of the most salient issues within society today, and the stigmatisation of overweight individuals is prevalent and widespread. Utilising interviews with 44 individuals who blog within an online fat acceptance community known as the Fatosphere, participants' perceptions of inclusion and exclusion were examined within their offline and online environments. Additionally, the effect this had on their offline lives was examined. Participants described a profound sense of exclusion within their offline lives through three agencies: the medicalisation of 'fatness', the weight loss industry and the media, which echoed descriptions of moral judgement. Furthermore, a sense of inclusion was described within the Fatosphere through the protection and support that they found within this 'safe space'. The effects of the Fatosphere influenced their lives in both negative and positive ways, allowing them to better deal with stigma and discrimination, but sometimes effecting their offline relationships in a negative manner. The Fatosphere provides a unique opportunity for corpulent individuals to engage in a community that is removed from the prominent weight-related discourse within modern society.

Recruiting Black Men Who Have Sex with Men and Women (BMSMW) in an Urban Setting for HIV Prevention Research.

OBJECTIVES: Concerns related to stigma and confidentiality limit HIV-related study recruitment and retention of Black men who have sex with men and women (MSMW). This paper examines lessons learned from recruitment strategies utilized in enrolling 437 participants between 2007 and 2011 for a randomized controlled trial to test a culturally specific HIV risk-reduction intervention for Black MSMW. METHODS: Interested respondents completed a brief screener and participants completed surveys at baseline and at post, 3 and 6 months follow-up. Recruitment patterns were assessed by examining the source of study information reported when respondents were asked how they learned about the study. Chi-square tests were then conducted to examine differences in the distribution of participants by self-reported HIV status, age group and socio-economic status (SES) for each type of study information source. RESULTS: Regardless of HIV or SES, study respondents were more likely to have received information about the study through a service agency than from other sources. Participants ages 30-49 and 50+ years were most likely to have learned about the study from an agency (34.9% and 27.0%, respectively) or another participant/friend (20.1%, 23.1%) and least likely to have found out from bus (0.8%, 0.0%) or radio (1.3%, 0.0%) advertisements; whereas younger participants were more likely to have heard about the study through a friend/participant (23.4%) than an agency (15.4%). Although, 14.1% of participants' ages less than 30 years reported the Internet as their source of study information, this compared to just 2.7% and 4.8% for participants in the 30-49 and 50-plus age groups. CONCLUSIONS: While agencies and referrals from personal networks appear to be the most significant recruitment source for potential HIV research participants, there is evidence that Internet based tools may enhance recruitment, particularly among younger Black MSMW.