When you are a queer person growing up without ‘networks’ of support in your immediate physical environment, experiences of isolation and self-doubt aren’t uncommon.  As despondent as your immediate public (or even private) space may seem, the Internet offers you the safety and freedom you crave, allowing for exploration, conversations, and so much more. Afrah Shafiq’s illustrated story, Searching for Network (based on true stories from a dissertation by Smita Vanniyar), poignantly captures this very phenomenon.

[slideshow_deploy id=’16811′]

This illustration was first published on Deep Dives,  as part of the series Sexing the Interwebs

We curate videos and images based on our monthly theme, and credit and link back to their original source.