Many have adopted the Web, and YouTube in particular, as a relatively safe
medium through which to “come out” or defend themselves in terms of gender (e.g.,
for transgender see: Burgess and Green 2009, p. 80). There is a risk of abuse but
also the potential for support and encouragement. For example, one video author
thanked 15 people for their “sweet and nice comments” (URL withheld). The
coming out YouTube video is even a recognized genre (Alexander and Losh 2010).