Affective Claims to Digital Space: An Analysis of Queering the Map

Abstract

Queeringthemap.com aims to expand and reclaim queer spaces through the creation of a shared archive. Users of the website can pin text submissions of queer experiences to specific locations on a Google Maps interface. In February 2018, Queering the Map went viral on Facebook, and less than a month later pro-Trump messages populated the website. The site administrator enlisted a group of volunteers to secure the site and remove the unwanted messages. However, the censorship of the site raises questions about what users and content are welcome to participate. This thesis explores the ways in which Queering the Map affords and encourages certain types of participation by design. It also looks at its users’ efforts to subvert the design systems present on the site. Queering the Map is just one vision of how we might manifest queer spaces online. Future visionaries and creators of queer spaces may reflect on these findings when making design choices and investigating unintended outcomes.