**4. Discussion**

Results of this study are subject to several limitations worth noting. For example, focus groups were conducted with a small sub-set of the population and all useful information may not have been captured. Socially desirable responses may have been provided and these responses may differ from those that may be gathered through a different format. As participants were volunteers with an interest in the focus group topic selection bias may have occurred. Moreover, the majority of study participants

Subtheme 1: Community Easy to Find P6: In Philly I did not have to find anything, it was just there. P9: There's really only community in major cities I feel like. P3: I found community without even really looking for it.

#### Subtheme 2: Community Hard to Find

P4: So it's still hard to pull women together and try to form a community. I think you are right, because men do it all the time. You can be (..) and there will be a gay men mecca. Because they have money, they have the same interests, they all work out, they are concerned with their bodies, they are concerned with health. P3: For some reason they (gay guys) all come to the clubs and stuff and the women do not.

P5: When I lived in New Orleans there was a huge community of women. And there was one lesbian bar. And the rest were gay men bars. There was one lesbian bar!

P7: It was a lot harder to find the lesbian community. I was co-chair for City Network. I'd like to say I put my time in there. It's mainly guys, but, I met a handful of women. I found different circles of women but it just seems like the guys will all get together somewhere but the women are just little satellites in various places.

P3: I've moved a lot so I've had many experiences. So thinking about growing up, small little town, I knew two gay people. And I wasn't out. Big cities I find easier or when I was in college and had that rugby culture. But the small towns I definitely feel a struggle of less community there.

#### Subtheme 3: Community as Physical Space

P1: I asked someone why there are more gay bars. And they said most of the artistic kids go to all of them. And the bars are owned by the gay people. So they just feel they are comfortable wherever they are. And is not that wonderful? And exactly what we wanted? Inclusion. I do kinda like having a bar though. Maybe it's my age. P10: I remember living in Hattiesburg, Mississippi and the only reason there was gay people was because of the liberal school there. The university, research school. They bring a lot of people in. There wasn't really adult gay people, they were all college aged gay people. And as a young professional working at a university, and I could not hang out with my student athletes because that's wrong. The only adult gay people, I did not really hang out with, because it was people that did not really have purpose in life and they were never community oriented so they were all kind of sporadic and did not really care about education or well-being. Or not being stereotypical I guess. So that was very interesting. We would drive an hour and a half just to go to a gay bar. And XXXX's been to this gay bar. And it was literally as big as this table in the middle of nowhere and you had to bring your own alcohol. And every time I went to this gay bar there was a road block a mile down the road. So they were like, trying to get the gay people I guess. They knew. I mean we would drive and hour and a half to get to the gay bar and it would just be like, all these people who came out of the woods into a shack, and you were frightened because you were like, oh my god. This is a wrong turn—the hills have eyes! You were here and it's just like well we are all gay so its fine. Its okay, we all have the same purpose right now so its cool. And then you would leave and you would not see another gay person for like 3 weeks and then you'd be like, alright load up, we are going to the gay bar. We need to hang out with the gay people. And that's how you would meet other gay people because they lived 2 hours in the other direction cause they drove 2 hours to get to the gay bar. And I remember when I lived in Hattiesburg, right before I moved, that they opened a gay bar. And were all like, what?! Oh my gosh! I'm telling you there were cops outside that gay bar every night. And it was like, they wanted to catch everybody so they could shut that place down. So that was always very interesting. We would always find a DD and be like, come pick us up because there is police. Find a straight person to pick us up.

#### Subtheme 4: Community as Social Network Spaces

P2: I remember when XXXX and I started this we met randomly online and became such good friends. I went on tinder, plenty of fish, all of it and sent a generalized message saying hey this is who I am we are starting a lesbian community please join and I gave them the name of the site and we went from 1 to 200 in a year.

P5: I moved here from New York City to here in February. But I put myself on Match. February will be 2 years since Gabby's gone. And I knew I was moving here last year (time is moving by so fast, I'm trying to keep up) Um.. So I put myself on Match cause I knew I was moving here and I wanted to meet people. So I wasn't on there to date, I was on there to meet like people.

P8: I was happy to find that (community) recently because of awesome people like XXXX. It was so drastic of a difference between Effingham and Savannah even though they are only 30 minutes apart because there's nothing in Effingham. There's no LGBT community what-so-ever. So social media kind of saved me in that respect in moving to Pooler. When I turned 21 and I could go and find community.

#### **Table 1.**

*Community subtheme direct quotes.*

were under 40 years old, predominantly Caucasian, thus results may not be applicable to all ages, racial and ethnic groups or geographic locations. Lastly, items such as rural vs. city or political background were not collected to offer a further dissection into how "place" and "politics" affects ones shared experience within the data collection.

Since 1969 the concepts of community have evolved and sometimes regressed among the LGBTQ population, as recent studies suggest a united LGBTQ community is often misleading [7]. Such examples of differences in perception between diverse groups under the LGBTQ+ umbrella point to the need to examine specific experiences of WSW community [14].

MacQueen et al. [15] state that community can be seen "as a group of people with diverse characteristics who are linked by social ties, share common perspectives, and engage in joint action in geographical locations or settings" (p. 1929). Block [16] proposes the idea that community is about the experience of belonging. Community is not as a place, but the citizens in the community each time that they discover a place where they feel that they belong. In a simpler sense Block suggest that community is not defined by physical space, but rather the relationships that are formed within the space shared. Community as a sense of belonging is somewhat similar to Anderson [17] who states that "communities are to be distinguished, not by their fallacy or genuineness, but by the style in which they are imagined" (p. 6).

The term "community" takes on a different meaning for many people including WSW. According to Easterbrook et al. [7], a "gay community" is often hypothesized or termed as a "melting pot" in which all LGBT persons are united and integrated into one sexual minority community. For the purpose of the study we identified community as "safe physical space and virtual space that leads to a physical reality" for those who identify as WSW.

The value community provides translates to the term "social capital." According to Putnam [18], social capital is "connections among individuals –social networks and the norms of reciprocity and trustworthiness that arise from them (pg. XX)." It is clear we, as humans, derive benefits from our relationships with others. As simple as finding a reliable plumber, which can save you money and frustration, or borrowing a ladder from a neighbor, which can save you time.

Yet, the value of social capital can go far beyond just time and money benefits. Coleman [19] coined this concept "social capital" and suggested that it had the ability to take social ties and common norms and values and increase economic efficiency in variety of ways like better education, job access, raising better socialized children, and even launching long term careers for people [20]. Social capital is critical to a community as it gives citizens the ability to dissect problems more easily, lessens our tendency to be aggressive towards others, and also widens our awareness to many more resources and opportunities [21]. Moreover, our social networks have the ability to not only keep us healthy and happy, but to also assist us in identifying other resources or opportunities that might have not otherwise been made available [22]. McIntosh [23] states that the initial interaction of finding a healthy "community" is of most importance as once it is found the benefits begin to "spill-over" into many different lifeworlds and thus create a positivity train.

There is a great need for locating supportive networks and for connecting with others with similar experiences in order to combat rejection of our perceived differences [24]. In the opposing view, does the presence of such non-heterosexual places alienate the ruling majority? Is this even a valid proposition considering mainstream or "regular" bars/places are more common and accessible in the United States? According to PBS NewsHour [25] there are only 21 lesbian bars remaining in the

*Perspective Chapter: Is Inclusion Safe? The Importance of Community Among Women Who... DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.110361*

United States. Therefore, the need for the relationships we find in community seem to be of even greater importance for populations like WSW struggling due to their identity. But how do you find community if inclusion's goal is to diminish a separation of differences, in physical spaces and virtual spaces of community?

Identified places of safety are extremely important to those others living in rural communities away from progressive cities. Thus, it is important to determine the balance of inclusion. Does inclusion leave behind those still struggling with their identity and seeking a place to come home to and belong? While there is a new wave of virtual communities within the internet, there are still barriers for older populations who come out later in life.

Heavy emphasis on the importance of virtual community exists. Thus far, research further dissecting the new growth and uses of social networking websites which have been designed for non-heterosexual users is limited. A study by Hillier and Harrison's [26] in Australia discovered that commonly online platforms are used by non-heterosexual youth and young adults to practice what might be their new sexual identities, same-sex friendships and intimate relationships that they have been slowly uncovering. Likewise, Addison and Comstock [27] maintain that LGBT-positioned social networking websites are indeed virtual spaces of safety, where youth and young adults can rehearse critical moments in their lives, such as sexual disclosure before "coming out" to their friends and family.

Per a new policy by Social Platform Tumblr, adult content will no longer be allowed to be shared within the platform. While the underlying purpose of this new policy is to keep Tumblr a safe space, these new regulations are blocking posts with LGBT themes that are not considered inappropriate [28]. This means searchable tags like #gay or #bisexual are being banned due to possible association with inappropriate content. LGBTQ people have found Tumblr to be a powerful space for selfrepresentation. Through keyword or hash tagging practices, transgender stories, art, and dialog are often shared. This space allows LGBTQ youth to engage in Tumblr's fan communities and learn about queer culture [28]. This content is not just hidden from youth, but all users. This means that LGBTQ+ persons seeking out positive stories, experiencing conflicting feelings, or facing formative life challenges will not have access to media that may help them learn more about their identity and feel supported and not alone or excluded [28].

As collected in the data, WSW expressed both strain and effortlessness in finding physical spaces as community. Participants also suggested that it was easier to locate community as a physical space near more urban cities or city centers, while others expressed the ease of finding a network through social platforms (apps) which then guided them into a "physical community" space.

The data proposes that access to community is both difficult and easy pending on a person's location, the energy they put into outreach, and access and skills related to technology or social media. Direct correlation between the prevalence of data that suggest community is hard in reference to location (rural), and if community is easy when accessing social networks was not explored further. The research does suggest a need to further explore how to provide a more physical space to those seeking out those connections in more rural areas and also how to access community when relocating to such places. So what might contribute to a more holistic lifestyle for WSW in order to improve both the connection of social and emotional safety? Future efforts might focus on acquiring funding for the training and use of social media platforms for older nontraditional others, the creation of WSW specific applications or national community groups (like gayforgood.org which is only available in 16 cities currently)

or perhaps the creation of pop up LGBTQIA+ events in rural spaces. Creating a community of emotional and physical safety ultimately provides WSW with the ability to "belong". As noted by author and research Brene Brown [29], true belonging only happens when we present our authentic selves to the world without sacrificing who we are, a sacrifice WSW often take when they do not feel safe.

Identifying small things that will contribute to larger scale impact is definitely a start---but the fight is long and requires more attention, research, and funding. Small versions of how individuals can be change makers in creating community have surfaced through grassroots efforts. Community happens without space. How can experiences of all WSW be changed, and not just those in certain locations?

How do practitioners build community without space, or create places where ones once stood? Finding those small items of disorder within the WSW community, could provide an alternative ending and reduce the occurrences of the macro negative perceptions within one's life and offer the chance of a place to ultimately "belong".
