June 13th, 2011

The identity of the Syrian lesbian blogger that went by the anonymous “Gay Girl in Damascus” title has been revealed. The young writer who was apparently kidnapped in Syria last week is, it turns out, not a lesbian feminist after all, but Tom MacMaster, a middle aged scholar and Middle East activist living in Scotland. His wife confirmed his identity in a email to the British paper the Guardian:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/13/syrian-lesbian-blogger-tom-macmaster?mobile-redirect=false

This story says a lot about how easily one can invent a completely different persona in today’s media age. For all you know, I could be a Texas housewife! Of course, the  story begets the more important matter of how this revelation impacts the blog’s message. Is it really that big a deal that MacMaster lied about his identity? Does his message about queer awareness still come across? Let us know what you think!

POSTED IN: News
TAGS: blog, international, Lesbian, Media, news, syria