CHANNEL: Jurnal Komunikasi
Vol. 14 No. 1 (2026): CHANNEL: Jurnal Komunikasi 28th Edition

Base Account as Safe Spaces: A Virtual Ethnographic Study of Boys Love Fans Interactions on the X Account @fessthaii

Putri, Kanaya Mulia (Unknown)
Sukmono, Filosa Gita (Unknown)



Article Info

Publish Date
15 Apr 2026

Abstract

This study examines how the Twitter/X base account @fessthaii functions as a safe space for Thai Boys Love (BL) fans in Indonesia, where BL consumption often encounters stigma within a heteronormative social context. While anonymity on digital platforms is commonly assumed to create safe spaces, limited research has explored how safety is socially constructed within anonymous fandom communities. This research adopts a constructivist paradigm and employs virtual ethnography. Data were collected through participant observation, online interviews with five active followers, and documentation of menfess posts, comment threads, and moderation practices. Data were analyzed using Analisis Media Siber (AMS) across four levels: media space, media document, media object, and media experience. The findings show that @fessthaii operates as a safe space not merely through anonymity but through continuous social negotiation involving moderation practices, community rules, peer support, and affective labour from administrators. Safety is therefore produced relationally through interaction, shared norms, and power relations rather than as a technical feature of the platform. This study contributes to digital media and fandom studies by demonstrating that safe spaces in stigmatized online communities are actively constructed through governance and collective participation.

Copyrights © 2026






Journal Info

Abbrev

channel

Publisher

Subject

Arts Humanities Languange, Linguistic, Communication & Media Social Sciences

Description

CHANNEL: Jurnal Komunikasi aims to provide a National Indonesian forum for academics, researchers, and professionals to share their ideas to discuss, explore, and disseminate the latest issues and development of communication. The scope of this journal is particularly those related to media studies ...