The Closet as a Locus of Transition and the Digital Performativity of Masculinity

Abstract

This article analyzes the LGBTI+ closet as a device for regulating visibility, proposing that it be understood as a locus of transition, in contrast to approaches that organize it around fixed positions of being inside or outside the closet. The guiding question investigates how the digital performativity of masculinity allows the closet to be understood not as an identity dwelling, but as a relational and provisional configuration for negotiating concealment, exposure, and recognition. This is an exploratory bibliographic study grounded in Queer Theory and the Epistemology of the Closet, articulating the notions of performativity, heteronormativity, and hegemonic masculinity with an analysis of the forms of self-presentation adopted by gay men in cyberspace. It argues that the digital closet operates through regimes of selective visibility, in which body, face, name, language, and desire are differentially managed according to the conditions and risks of recognition present in each interaction. The analysis suggests that visibility and concealment are not necessarily mutually exclusive positions, but may coexist in the production of a managed presence. It concludes that understanding the closet as a locus of transition shifts the analysis from the opposition between secrecy and disclosure toward the social conditions of recognizability, making it possible to investigate under what circumstances, before which audiences, and through which signs dissident subjects may become visible and recognizable.