
LGBTQ INFORMATION NETWORK │ RAINBOW OF RESOURCES
RURAL
NBC News Report: Gay in Rural America
LGBTQ Community is
Transforming the South
GLAAD Stories: LGBTQ Life
in the South
MAP Report: LGBTQ People
in Rural America
Being Queer in the Country

All American Boy: Country Song by Steve Grand
Rednecks for Black Lives:
Southerners Fight for Racial Justice
Finding LGBTQ Community in
the Rural South
LGBTQ Nation: Rural Pride Events
Pride Source: Rural Americans Are LGBTQ Too
Being LGBTQ in the Deep
South
Country Queers: Joy and Pain of Rural LGBTQ Life
Leslie Jordan: Southern Gay
Matt and Blue: Gay Family Living in a Small Town
Small Town Gay Pride Parade
Not As Bad You You Think:
LGBTQ People in Rural America
Better This Way: Country Song by Doug Strahm
Wild West: Much Gayer Than You Think
Small Town in South Dakota: Champion for Its LGBTQ
Neighbors
Building a More LGBTQ Inclusive South
Pride Source: Real Gay Cowboys
Dancing in the Living Room: Country Song by Cameron Hawthorn
Small
Town LGBTQ Pride
What
does LGBTQ pride look like in places
like South Carolina or Georgia? How does
it feel to be gay in Mississippi or
Louisiana? What is life like for an
LGBTQ person in Alabama or Tennessee?
How is LGBTQ pride different in Texas or
Florida?
You should attend a rural gay pride
event this year. Why? Because, you just
might learn a little something about LGBTQ
country folks. You probably do not
realize that LGBTQ people actually live
in small towns. You very likely do not
know that there are LGBTQ farmers,
ranchers, cowboys, and cowgirls. They
go fly fishing, mudding, hunting, and
square dancing. You may not be aware that there are gay
rodeos and gay chili cook-offs and gay
country music singers.

Look
up a rural pride event this summer. Go
to it. And lend your support to the
LGBTQ folks who live in the country.
Clap at the little parade, consume large
quantities of barbeque, dance in a
barn, make out with a hot
cowboy or cowgirl, encourage a teen, hug a
drag queen, listen to an elder, give
money to a PFLAG chapter.
LGBTQ people live in rural America, in
little towns all across Appalachia. They
work there, go to school, own property,
pay taxes, raise families, attend
churches, shop and donate to charity.
They don’t have a lot of gay bars, LGBTQ
sports clubs, drag shows or
neighborhoods where they can hold hands
with their partners. Nonetheless, they
live in these rural settings. They have
friends and families there. They are
part of the community. And sometimes,
depending on the attitudes of the
locals, they do it under a great
deal of stress.
Oftentimes, rural mindsets do not take
well to LGBTQ issues. People who live in
small southern towns tend to be more
traditional, more conservative in their
perspectives. Their worldview is
typically not affected by outside
influences and often colored by their religious
upbringing and conventional mores. So, a
gay country boy is a contradiction in
terms.
On the other hand, it may be surprising
for you to learn that there is
some degree (and in some cases, a great
degree) of openness and acceptance for
the LGBTQ community in the larger
metropolitan areas in the south, like
Atlanta, Nashville, Birmingham, Houston,
Orlando, and New Orleans. While they are located in
the conservative south, these are not
small towns or rural areas by any
definition. Many of these urban centers
host a thriving LGBTQ community.
Gay Rodeo: Hall of Fame
LGBTQ Pride in Rural Missouri
Invisible Histories
Project: Gay Southern History
Pride Source: Rural Americans Are LGBTQ Too
Country Queers: Joy and Pain of Rural LGBTQ Life
International Gay Rodeo Association: John King Interview
PFLAG: Experiences of
LGBTQ Students in Small Rural Towns
In the Face of Discrimination: LGBTQ Farmers are Hopeful
Advocate: What is a
Cottagecore Lesbian?
Leslie Jordan: Southern Gay
Time: Country Song by Steve Grand
Matt and Blue: Southern
Boys
LGBTQ Nation: Lesbian and
Trans Hillbillies Taking Over Rural America
Being LGBTQ in the Deep
South
Gay Rodeo History
LGBTQ Institute: Southern
Survey
Research on Rural LGBTQ
People of Color

Finding the LGBTQ
Community in the Rural South
Redneck Lesbo by Jennifer
Corday
Country Queers: Oral Histories
Being Gay in Tennessee
Wasn't Always Easy
International Gay Rodeo
Association
Building a More LGBTQ Inclusive South
Tyler and Todd: Living Off
the Grid
LGBTQ People: Fundamental
Part of the Fabric of Rural Communities
Interview: Married Mountain Men of West Virginia
Hometown: Country Song by Brandon
Stansell
Josh Burford: Chronicler of Southern
LGBTQ History
GLAAD
Stories: LGBTQ Life in the South
Advocate:
Champions of Pride from the South
South
Florida Gay News: Queering the Redneck
Riviera
Huff Post:
Lesbian Farmers: Growing Rural America
Being Gay
and Lesbian in Appalachia
Point of
Pride: How to Be Queer in a Small Town
Gay Farmers: Bilkurra Homestead
Conversation with Gay Fly Fisherman
Growing Up Gay in the Christian South
Pride Source: Real Gay Cowboys
Farming is
Tough: Being LGBTQ Makes it Tougher
Queer in
Rural America
Black and
Gay in Birmingham
Son of a
Preacher Man: Country Song by Tom Goss
Fabulous
Beekman Boys: Gay Green Acres
LGBTQ
Community is Transforming the South
Growing Up
Gay in Appalachia
Gay Prom in Birmingham
Finding
LGBTQ Community in the Rural South
Lesbian
Farmers: Redefining Rural America
Clearly
Gay in Small Town Alabama
LGBTQ Pride Festivals in Rural Canada
Country
Teens
Growing Up Gay in the Country
Slow Down: Country Song by Brandon Stansell and Ty
Herndon

Gay
Life in Rural America
Millions of lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender, and queer people live in
rural areas of the United States —
largely by choice, according to a report
released earlier this month by the LGBTQ
think tank Movement Advancement Project.
MAP’s report estimates between 2.9
million and 3.8 million lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgender, and queer people
live in rural America, comprising
approximately 3 to 5 percent of the
estimated 62 million people who live in
rural areas.
“We so often overlook that LGBTQ people
live in rural communities,” Logan Casey,
a MAP policy researcher and one of the
report’s lead authors, said. “But being
LGBTQ doesn’t mean you want to go live
in a coastal city.” The report notes
that LGBTQ people are drawn to rural
areas for many of the same reasons as
their heterosexual counterparts —
proximity to family, a tight-knit
community and a connection to the land.
However, the report also found rural
LGBTQ communities are uniquely affected
by the “structural challenges and other
aspects of rural life,” which it notes
could “amplify the impacts of both
rejection and acceptance.”

The report found the social and
political landscape of rural areas makes
LGBTQ people “more vulnerable to
discrimination. Public opinion in rural
areas is generally less supportive of
LGBTQ people and policies, and rural
states are significantly less likely to
have vital nondiscrimination laws and
more likely to have harmful,
discriminatory laws,” the report states.
Simple, everyday actions can also be
fraught, especially for transgender
people. According to the report, 34
percent of trans people report
discrimination on public transportation
and 18 percent report harassment at a
gym or health club. These numbers apply
to rural and urban residents, but
Casey’s research indicates that lack of
alternative options and the importance
of public spaces in small, tight-knit
communities can make harassment harder
to bear in rural areas.
The report also notes the geographic
distance and isolation of rural areas
can present challenges for LGBTQ people.
“If someone experiences discrimination
at a doctor’s office, school or job,
it’s less likely there’s another option
close by,” Casey explained.
The report also found those in rural
areas have less access to LGBTQ-specific
resources. Fifty-seven percent of LGBTQ
adults in urban areas have access to an
LGBTQ health center, while only 11
percent of those in rural areas do. And
when it comes to senior services, almost
half of LGBTQ adults have access to
LGBTQ senior services, compared to just
10 percent of their rural counterparts.

There was also an urban-rural divide
when it comes to the school climate for
LGBTQ youth. Almost 60 percent of LGBTQ
youth in urban areas reported having a
gay-straight alliance club in their
school, compared to just 36 percent of
LGBTQ youth in rural areas.
The smaller populations of rural areas
can also complicate matters for LGBTQ
people, because they are more likely to
stand out. This can make them more
vulnerable to discrimination but also
keep problems they face under the radar.
One of the biggest challenges the report
identifies is health care. Fifty six
percent of gay, lesbian and bisexual
people across the country reported at
least one instance of discrimination or
patient profiling in a health care
setting. According to statistics cited
in the report, more than 40 percent of
non-metropolitan LGBTQ people said if
they were turned away by their local
hospital, it would be “very difficult”
or “not possible” for them to find an
alternative, compared to 18 percent of
the general LGBTQ population, according
to a statistic cited in the report.

Transgender people often struggle to
find health care providers knowledgeable
about gender-affirming care and are more
likely to have such care denied by their
insurance provider. Trans people of
color often face the added burden of
providers with a lack of cultural
competency for their community. Trans
people are also 15 percent more likely
to have transition-related surgery
denied by their insurance if they live
in a rural area.
While challenges for LGBTQ people can be
“amplified” in rural areas, the report
also found bright spots for lesbian,
gay, bisexual, transgender and queer
people living in nonmetropolitan
communities. Same-sex couples and LGBTQ
individuals are raising children in
rural areas at higher rates than urban
areas. Some LGBTQ people feel safer in
rural areas than urban areas.
While
social conditions in the area are
changing, there are still legal and
policy hurdles. “LGBTQ people in rural
areas are disproportionately harmed by
the lack of protections and the presence
of discriminatory laws,” the report
states. “The current policy landscape
demonstrates the clear and urgent need
for federal and state nondiscrimination
protections for LGBTQ people.”
[Source: Avichai Scher, NBC News, April
2019]
Pride Source: Rural Americans Are LGBTQ Too
Country Queers: Joy and Pain of Rural LGBTQ Life
PFLAG: Experiences of
LGBTQ Students in Small Rural Towns
In the Face of Discrimination: LGBTQ Farmers are Hopeful
Advocate: What is a
Cottagecore Lesbian?
Ride Me Cowboy by Paisley Fields
Research on Rural LGBTQ
People of Color
Queering the Redneck
Riviera
Advocate: Champions of
Pride from the South
LGBTQ Nation: Lesbian and
Trans Hillbillies Taking Over Rural America
Not As Bad You You Think:
LGBTQ People in Rural America
Being LGBTQ in the Deep
South
Finding the LGBTQ
Community in the Rural South
Country Queers: Oral Histories
Being Gay
in Tennessee Wasn't Always Easy
GLAAD
Stories: LGBTQ Life in the South
I'm Queer
and I'm Country

Huff Post:
Lesbian Farmers: Growing Rural America
Building a More LGBTQ Inclusive South
Being Gay
and Lesbian in Appalachia
Invisible
Histories Project: Gay Southern History
Matt and
Blue: Southern Boys
Wishing
Well by Jamie Wyatt
LGBTQ
People: Fundamental Part of the Fabric
of Rural Communities
Point of
Pride: How to Be Queer in a Small Town
Farming is
Tough: Being LGBTQ Makes it Tougher
Queer in
Rural America
Fabulous
Beekman Boys: Gay Green Acres
LGBTQ
Community is Transforming the South
Redneck
Lesbo by Jennifer Corday
Growing Up
Gay in Appalachia
Finding
LGBTQ Community in the Rural South
Lesbian
Farmers: Redefining Rural America
I'm Not in
Love With You by Justin Hiltner and Jon
Weisberger
Clearly
Gay in Small Town Alabama
Southern LGBTQ Voters
According
to a recent study, a huge number of
Southern LGBTQ people registered to vote
in the 2020 presidential election. Queer
voters in this conservative region
appear very motivated to vote, according
to findings.
Recent findings indicate Southern LGBTQ
voters could make a significant impact
on the 2020 election, with states like
Georgia, North Carolina, and Texas in
play. The Campaign for Southern Equality
and Western North Carolina Community
Health Services released a report this
week about LGBTQ Southerners’ voting
behaviors and beliefs. The survey
queried over 5,600 participants across
the South last year.
There are about 9 million LGBTQ voters
in the US, according to the Williams
Institute. Southern states hold about 37
percent of the US population. One of the
key findings involved voter
participation and enthusiasm. Nearly 92
percent of those who participated in the
study were registered to vote. Those
numbers are significantly higher than
that of the general U.S. population,
with about 79 percent registered.
Researchers also asked participants
about their experience with physical or
emotional abuse and found that those
with a history of such trauma were less
likely to be registered than those who
did not. Transgender people and those
with lower incomes were also less likely
to be registered than cisgender people
and those with more money.
[Source: Neal Broverman, Advocate, Nov
2020]

Cottagecore Lesbians
Longing to escape to
the countryside with your queer girlfriend? You're not
alone. If you're on social media platforms like TikTok,
Tumblr and Pinterest, you've likely noticed the "cottagecore"
trend that's getting popular with queer women and
femmes. All at once, everyone seems to want to quit
their jobs and run off to upstate Vermont to pick
apples, raise chickens, and live their best
woman-loving-woman life.
It's caught on so much that the The New York Times
published a feature about it in March 2020. "Take modern
escapist fantasies like tiny homes, voluntary
simplicity, forest bathing and screen-free childhoods,
then place them inside a delicate, moss-filled
terrarium, and the result will look a lot like
cottagecore," says writer Isabel Slone.
The cottagecore aesthetic, however, is rooted in
real-world issues like climate change, the global
pandemic, and safe spaces for LGBTQ people.

Essentially, the cottagecore aesthetic is images of
idealized life on a Western farm — cozy little houses
surrounded by gardens, fields of wildflowers, forest
glades, and cute farm animals. Occasionally you'll find
fantasy elements like fairies and goblins thrown in. If
you're into nostalgia, books, baking, teacups, prairie
dresses, flower crowns, picnic baskets, knitting,
embroidery, Hozier, ceramic frogs for some reason, and
strolling through farmers' markets, cottagecore might be
the movement for you.
Writer Katherine Gillespie of Paper Magazine puts it
this way: "The politics of cottagecore are thoughtfully
prelapsarian: what if we could go back to a time before
the planet was ravaged by industry, except with added
protections for marginalized queer communities? What if
we all lived like tradwives, minus the husbands?"
And, if you really identify with this idea, you can even
fly your own Pride flag (presumably in a very small
Pride parade through your imaginary rustic village),
with soft, natural, earth-tone shades.
Much of the cottagecore movement is actually a response
to people being dissatistfied with their hectic, crowded
lives in cities or suburbs, and the feelings of burnout
that come with it. Tired of the minimalist aesthetic
that's dominated interior design in the last ten years,
they're decorating their apartments with potted plants
and porcelain teacups, and taking comfort in
old-fashioned hobbies like arts & crafts and baking. The
NY Times calls it "an aspirational form of nostalgia
that praises the benefits of living a slow life."
[Source:
Christine Linnell, Advocate Magazine]

Queering Country
Music
Queer Country Music Artists Fans Should Know About
All American Boy by Steve Grand
Time by Steve Grand
Jennifer Corday: Lesbian
Country Rocker
Redneck Lesbo by Jennifer
Corday
Heartbeat by Jennifer
Corday
Dancing in the Living Room by Cameron Hawthorn
Take the Journey by Molly
Tuttle
Chely Wright: Return to the Grand Ole Opry
So
Small by Ty Herndon
Slow Down by Brandon Stansell and Ty Herndon
Hometown by Brandon Stansell
Fink and Marxer: Queer
Bluegrass
Darling Cora by Amythyst
Kiah
Cowboys Are Frequently
Secretly Fond of Each Other by Ned Sublette

Follow Your Arrow by Kasey Musgraves
I'm Not in Love With You
by Justin Hiltner and Jon Weisberger
Son of a Preacher Man by
Tom Goss
Neon Cross by Jamie Wyatt
Wishing Well by Jamie
Wyatt
Cryin' These Cocksucking
Tears by Lavender Country
Justin Hiltner: Subversive
Twist on a Familiar Motif
Limp Wrist and a Steady Hand by My Gay Banjo
Country Boys in the City
by My Gay Banjo
Porch Pride: LGBTQ
Bluegrass and Roots Music
Better This Way by Doug Strahm
Old Town Road by Lil Nas X
Ride Me Cowboy by Paisley Fields
If
She Ever Leaves Me by Highwomen
Ty
Herndon: What Mattered Most (Alternative Version)
Ty
Herndon: What Mattered Most (Original Version)
Country Queers Project
When Rae
Garringer was growing up on a farm in
southeastern West Virginia in the 1980s
and 1990s, LGBTQ people (both real or
fictional) were nowhere to be found. “I
grew up without TV, and it was mostly
pre-internet, so I just didn’t know any
queer people,” Garringer, 35. “I never
met queer people my age, and I wasn’t
seeing queer representation in the place
that I existed; I just think I didn’t
even realize that it was kind of an
option.”

It wasn’t until Garringer, who uses
nonbinary they/them pronouns, moved away
to Massachusetts for college in 2003
that they met other LGBTQ people and
embraced their sexual orientation and
gender identity. After living away for
several years, first at university and
then in liberal Austin, Texas, Garringer
questioned whether they could live
openly and find a queer community of
friends back home. Then in 2011, after
eight years away, Garringer headed back
to the farm for a job opportunity and to
be closer to family.
Garringer,
who now lives in neighboring Kentucky,
said their move back to West Virginia
was “healing” and filled with “joy.” But
while queerness was not as hidden as it
had been, it was still far from easily
visible. “I was just really frustrated
that it was so hard to find rural queer
stories and histories, and it was also
very hard to find each other in
small-town spaces,” Garringer said.
So in 2013, feeling a need to find a
sense of community, Garringer had an
idea. They carried a tape recorder and
set out to document the diverse
experiences of LGBTQ individuals living
in rural towns across the United States.
Those interviews turned into Country
Queers, a multimedia, oral-history
project. The stories collected by
Garringer over the years have been
shared on the Country Queers website and
Instagram page, and starting June 30,
the new Country Queers podcast
will debut on Apple Podcasts, Spotify
and Stitcher.

For the
past seven years, Garringer has
interviewed 65 people from 15 states
(from Arizona to Vermont )and has
collaborated with queer organizations
including the Two Spirit National
Cultural Exchange, the Kansas Queer
Youth Network and the International Gay
Rodeo Association. With the help of a
Kickstarter campaign, Garringer was able
to buy a camera and take a long road
trip to six states in the summer of
2014, driving a total of 7,000 miles to
interview 30 people in 30 days. In a
piece Garringer wrote for Scalawag,
a Southern storytelling website, they
said their aim is to share stories that
portray “the full contradictory glory
that is human life. I believe in the
power of those of us living an
experience daily sharing stories of the
messy complicated joy, pain, monotony
and fabulosity of rural and small town
queer life."
Early on in the project, it was clear to
Garringer that rural queer experiences
are not monolithic, which is why
Country Queers aims to document
rural, queer people of different races,
ages, religions, socioeconomic
backgrounds and occupations.
[Source: Gabriela Martinez, NBC News,
June 2020]
Country Queers:
Podcast
Country Queers: Joy and Pain of Rural LGBTQ Life
Gay Rodeo: Hall of Fame
Building a More LGBTQ Inclusive South
Growing Up Gay in
Appalachia
LGBTQ Pride in Rural Missouri
International Gay Rodeo Association: John King Interview
Conversation with Gay Fly
Fisherman
Hometown:
Country Song
by Brandon Stansell
GLAAD Stories: LGBTQ Life
in the South
Not As Bad You You Think:
LGBTQ People in Rural America
Queer in Rural America

Being Gay in Tennessee
Wasn't Always Easy
LGBTQ People: Fundamental
Part of the Fabric of Rural Communities
Growing Up Gay in a Small
Conservative Texas Town
Research on Rural LGBTQ
People of Color
Queering the Redneck
Riviera
Advocate: What is a
Cottagecore Lesbian?
Josh Burford: Chronicler of Southern LGBTQ History
Clearly Gay in Small Town
Alabama
TED Talk: The LGBTQ
Community Could Save Small Towns
MAP Report: LGBTQ People
in Rural America
Wild West: Much Gayer Than You Think
Invisible Histories
Project: Gay Southern History
Lesbian Farmers:
Redefining Rural America
Being Queer in the Country
PFLAG: Experiences of
LGBTQ Students in Small Rural Towns
LGBTQ Nation: Lesbian and
Trans Hillbillies Taking Over Rural America
Matt and Blue: Southern
Boys

Black and Gay in
Birmingham
Farming is Tough: Being
LGBTQ Makes it Tougher
Leslie Jordan: Southern Gay
Point of Pride: How to Be
Queer in a Small Town
Gay Farmer Breaking Down
LGBTQ Stereotypes
Todd and Tyler: Isolating
in the Woods
Finding LGBTQ Community in
the Rural South
Son of a Preacher Man: Country
Song
by Tom Goss
Huff Post: Lesbian
Farmers: Growing Rural America
Living in the South as a
Gay Person
Advocate: Champions of
Pride from the South
LGBTQ Institute: Southern
Survey
Country Teens
Small Town in South Dakota: Champion for Its LGBTQ
Neighbors
In the Face of Discrimination: LGBTQ Farmers are Hopeful
Gay Rodeo History
Farming While Gay
"I
grew up on the family farm, but there’s
no place for me on the farm. The
future’s not there for a gay farmer."
-Ryan
Reed, Now Working as Gay Rodeo Cowboy
"I
never thought that I would get the
opportunity to combine my personal life
and farming. I thought to myself,
well you can’t be gay if you’re a farmer.
The two did not go together. I initially
thought that I had to hide my sexuality
to be a farmer and then I thought that I
had to hide being a farmer to be gay.
However, through awareness, inclusion
and shifting attitudes, I am now living
the normal life. Normal is living
with the person you love and doing the
things you’re passionate about. Life is
too short not to."
-Ben
Lewis, Gay Farmer
"One of
my customers did not renew my contract
after two years because of who I am."
-Ari
Rosenberg, Lesbian, Now Working as Urban
Farmer in Philadelphia
"Farming in general is rural. And in a
rural environment, LGBTQ does not fly."
-Nathan
Looney, Trans, Now Working as Urban
Farmer in Los Angeles

Although being an urban farmer,
especially in an area that is much more
welcoming of those in the LGBTQ
community, feels like a lighter lift, it
still comes with challenges, says Nate
Looney, a transgender farmer in Los
Angeles. “I live in a bit of a bubble
because of where I live, but I’m also
aware that I present as a cis, straight
black man,” he says. “Even living here,
I never talked about being transgender
when I started farming, as a measure of
self preservation, given the
predominantly conservative nature of
agriculture.”
He adds that since he’s also a military
veteran, that was one more factor
allowing him to “fly under the radar,”
but at a 2018 Farmer Veterans Coalition
talk, he officially outed himself, as a
way to bring more awareness to that fact
that, yes, there are transgender
farmers. “It’s definitely easier to not
call attention to yourself as an LGBTQ
farmer, but I came to the point where I
felt like people in the agricultural
community need to understand that we’re
here, and that we’re just as passionate
about farming as any other farmers,” he
said.
There is still, obviously, a long way to
go. Rural LGBTQ people are less likely
to have explicit nondiscrimination
protections, more likely to live where
there are religious exemption laws
allowing service providers to
discriminate, and tend to have fewer
alternatives when facing discrimination.
And, as Looney shares, even urban
farmers can feel challenged by the
dominant conservatism of the agriculture
industry.
But there are some signs of hope. For
example, Looney says, at a recent
farming conference, the biggest caucus
group was the LGBTQ table, and that gave
him hope. Also, he points out that some
large agricultural companies, like
Bayer, either have LGBTQ groups already
or have been talking about starting
them.

NBC News Report: Gay in Rural America
LGBTQ Community is
Transforming the South
GLAAD Stories: LGBTQ Life
in the South
All American Boy: Country Song by Steve Grand
LGBTQ Nation: Rural Pride Events
Invisible Histories
Project: Gay Southern History
MAP Report: LGBTQ People
in Rural America
Pride Source: Rural Americans Are LGBTQ Too
Being LGBTQ in the Deep
South
Country Queers: Joy and Pain of Rural LGBTQ Life
Leslie Jordan: Southern Gay
Matt and Blue: Gay Family Living in a Small Town
Building a More LGBTQ Inclusive South
Being LGBTQ in Rural
Spaces
Small Town Gay Pride Parade
Better This Way: Country Song by Doug Strahm
Advocate: What is a
Cottagecore Lesbian?
Wild West: Much Gayer Than You Think
Redneck Lesbo by Jennifer
Corday
Being Queer in the Country
Small Town in South Dakota: Champion for Its LGBTQ
Neighbors
Queering the Redneck
Riviera
Pride Source: Real Gay Cowboys
Dancing in the Living Room: Country Song by Cameron Hawthorn

LGBTQ
Folks in Rural Settings
"As
time went on, my sexuality became known
across the school. No one ever outwardly
gave me a problem aside from whispers
and stares in the hallway and cafeteria.
I learned that the small minds in my
town were generally accepted as the
status quo."
-Alex
Yates, Trans Teacher
"Most
queer people I know from my small town
in Idaho have left by now. At a certain
point, when you’re walking down the
street and hear the daily, casual
homophobia dribbling out of the mouths
of camo-decked hicks spitting chew onto
the sidewalk, you say enough. You
don’t say it to them, because they’ll
hit you or shoot you. But you become
convinced that there is no place for
you, that there will never be a place
for you there, and you leave."
-K., Queer Librarian from Idaho
Though urban areas are often considered
huge draws for those in the LGBTQ
community (a 2015 Gallup poll found that
San Francisco, Portland and Austin all
ranked highest in the country for the
largest LGBTQ population), little is
written about those LGBTQ people who
choose to call rural communities home.
However, a recent study finds that of
the 62 million Americans who live in
rural areas, between 2.9 and 3.8 or 15
to 20 percent of that number identify as
LGBTQ and call rural America home.
“General societal stereotypes and pop
culture portrayals of LGBTQ people
suggest that LGBTQ people live solely in
urban settings, while stereotypes and
portrayals of rural communities rarely,
if ever, include LGBTQ people — except
as targets of anti-LGBTQ violence, or as
people yearning to leave their rural
home to migrate to ‘more accepting’
urban areas,” says the study.

The
study’s authors go on to say that those
stereotypes falsely create “singular
understandings” of how and where one can
“be” LGBTQ in the US, unfairly excluding
those who do not adhere to the urban
“expectations” of the LGBTQ community.
“In reality, not only do LGBTQ people
live in rural America, but many of them
want to and enjoy living in rural
America,” the study says.
The study makes clear at the outset that
to find a singular example of the “LGBTQ
experience” would be impossible, but it
does show that those members of the
community who live in rural America and
responded to inquiries by the authors
described their communities similarly:
“built around family and close-knit
community; centered around strong social
institutions such as churches, schools
and local businesses; deeply connected
to place and the environment; and based
in a sense of efficacy and self-reliance
to make change in their own
communities.”
In rural settings, there is increased
visibility for members of the LGBTQ
community. The study found that lower
population calls more attention to
anyone “different,” and that being open
about one part of their identity puts
people in the LGBTQ community at risk of
having that information spread among
people more quickly than in urban areas.
Due to the interconnectedness of rural
life, both positive and negative
impressions about a person may spread
throughout the community more quickly.
“For
example, if a person is excluded from
their faith community for being gay,
they may have a difficult time at work
or finding a job, because their church
members may also be their coworkers or
potential employers,” the study said.
“This effect may also work in a positive
way: if a rural church community or
employer takes a supportive stand for
local LGBTQ residents, that support can
also ripple outward to other areas of
life.”
Rural LGBTQ folks are vulnerable to
discrimination. On average, the report
states that public opinion tends to be
less favorable regarding LGBTQ issues,
“but it is far more diverse than might
be assumed.” Still, rural areas are less
likely to have non-discrimination
policies for the LGBTQ community living
there, fewer LGBTQ elected politicians
and less of a sociopolitical
infrastructure available to advance an
understanding of the community. The
study pinpointed three ways in which
these factors can come together to
expose LGBTQ people to more
discrimination.
[Source:
Eve Kucharski, Michigan News, May 2019]
Being LGBTQ in the Deep
South
Building a More LGBTQ Inclusive South
Country Queers: Oral Histories
Finding
the LGBTQ Community in the Rural South
LGBTQ
Nation: Lesbian and Trans Hillbillies
Taking Over Rural America
Queering
the Redneck Riviera
Leslie Jordan: Southern Gay
Gay Farmers: Bilkurra Homestead
Not As Bad You You Think:
LGBTQ People in Rural America
Advocate: Champions of
Pride from the South
Growing Up Gay in Small
Town America
Time:
Country Song
by Steve Grand
MAP Report: LGBTQ People
in Rural America
International Gay Rodeo
Association
Growing Up Gay in
Appalachia

LGBTQ People: Fundamental
Part of the Fabric of Rural Communities
Clearly Gay in Small Town
Alabama
Being Gay in Tennessee
Wasn't Always Easy
Being LGBTQ in Rural
Spaces
Queer in Rural America
Fabulous Beekman Boys: Gay
Green Acres
Living in the South as a
Gay Person
Gay Farmer Breaking Down
LGBTQ Stereotypes
Huff Post: Lesbian
Farmers: Growing Rural America
Lesbian
Farmers: Redefining Rural America
Slow Down: Country Song by Brandon
Stansell and Ty Herndon
Interview: Married Mountain Men of West
Virginia
Invisible
Histories Project: Gay Southern History
Growing Up Gay in the Christian South
LGBTQ Pride Festivals in Rural Canada
Growing Up Gay in the Country
Gay
Country Boys
According to Urban Dictionary, a country
boy is a guy born and raised in the
country, usually the American South. A
true country boy has rather short hair,
and no piercings. They dress in nice,
clean-looking clothes, and only wear
ripped jeans to work in. The definition
goes on to describe country boys as
strong, hard-working, and very
masculine. Chances are, he drives a
truck. In a relationship, a country boy
is usually an old-fashioned gentleman.
But can they be gay? Well, it turns out,
there are quite a few gay country boys
living our in rural America. And here
are some shout-outs from those gay
country boys:

--Gay redneck farm boy here. Born and
raised in the middle of nowhere. So,
yup, we exist.
--Gay country boy checking in from Iowa.
Grew up on a hog farm, horseback riding,
hunting, fishing, mudding. I’ll always
be a country boy at heart.
--I'm queer and I spent the first
18 years of my life living and
working on a family ranch in east Texas.
Got my degree in Agricultural Science,
and I’m employed in the livestock
industry. I’ve just contentedly resigned
myself to the fact that it’s my lot in
life to work with cattle.
--I'm a gay guy living in Oklahoma, and three quarters
of the Grindr profiles here are for guys
with pickup trucks looking for someone
to go hunting, fishing, and mudding
with.
--I always think gay country boys are
hot, like in Brokeback Mountain,
right? That’s very country.
--My gay boyfriend is a country boy. He grew
up in the bible belt of Alabama.
--I’d love to meet some gay country
boys. I am exhausted by these uppity
city gays I’ve been dealing with. I am assuming that gay
country boy have more productive,
meaningful things to do besides throwing
shade and spilling tea.
[Source: Graham Gremore, October 2016]

Gay Rodeo: Hall of Fame
LGBTQ Pride in Rural Missouri
International Gay Rodeo Association: John King Interview
GLAAD Stories: LGBTQ Life
in the South
Black and Gay in
Birmingham
Hometown:
Country Song
by Brandon Stansell
Advocate: What is a
Cottagecore Lesbian?
Not As Bad You You Think:
LGBTQ People in Rural America
Point of Pride: How to Be
Queer in a Small Town
Finding LGBTQ Community in
the Rural South
Growing Up Gay in
Appalachia
Wild West: Much Gayer Than You Think
Lesbian Farmers:
Redefining Rural America
Being Queer in the Country
LGBTQ Nation: Lesbian and
Trans Hillbillies Taking Over Rural America
Huff Post: Lesbian
Farmers: Growing Rural America
Queering the Redneck
Riviera
Leslie Jordan: Southern Gay
Son of a Preacher Man: Country
Song
by Tom Goss
LGBTQ Institute: Southern
Survey
Small Town in South Dakota: Champion for Its LGBTQ
Neighbors
Gay Rodeo History
LGBTQ
Institute: Southern Survey
What
do LGBTQ people in the south say life is
really like for them? The LGBTQ
Institute’s inaugural Southern Survey
gives an insight into the lives of
people living in places where government
policies are often hostile toward them.
A huge proportion of the country’s LGBTQ
adults live in the South. So do lots and
lots of hate groups. That sad irony
isn’t lost on Ryan Roemerman, the
executive director of the LGBTQ
Institute at the National Center for
Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta. “We
have some of the most LGBTQ populated
areas, yet we’re under attack most
often,” he says. As Roemerman sees it,
such attacks happen two ways: through
discriminatory anti–LGBTQ state
legislation preventing marriage and
workplace equality, and also through
physical intimidation and assault.

Part of
the issue is that there’s been little
research about who is being affected,
how, and the ways they’d like people,
companies, and legislators to better
support them. But, recently the LGBTQ
Institute released its inaugural
Southern Survey of more than 6,500
residents across 14 states. The data was
collected in partnership with
researchers at Georgia State University,
who coordinated with 146 nonprofits
throughout the region. “Our mission is
to connect academics and advocates to
advance LGBTQ equity through research
and education focused on the American
South,” Roemerman says. The effort works
a lot like a highly detailed census for
gay Southern life. It will inform, and
hopefully inspire, more funding for
three main areas of concern: education
and employment, public health and
wellness, and criminal justice and
safety.
As the report notes, there’s been at
least one large generational shift:
Younger respondents appear more
self-aware and open about their sexual
orientation and gender identity at an
earlier age than older folks have been
in the past. At the same time,
discrimination remains rampant: More
than 25% of all respondents report
having been the target of jokes and
slurs within the last years. Other forms
of bigotry include being rejected by a
friend or family member (17%), feeling
unwelcome at a place of worship (14%),
and receiving poor service at a
restaurant or other kind of business
because of their sexual orientation
(13%). In many cases, those rates are
nearly twice as high among transgender
people.

Another troubling trend is the role that
sexuality and race continue to play in
many communities. For instance, 77% of
black lesbian, gay, or bisexual
respondents report having been
threatened or physically attacked at
some point in their life, the report
notes. “There’s a disproportion amount
of folks who are being harassed because
of their gender identity and also the
interplay between your race and
ethnicity as well as your gender
identity,” adds Roemerman. Equally
disturbing: 33% of transgender people
report some discrimination when trying
to access health care, with nearly half
of those just deciding to avoid
treatment.
According to the survey, LGBTQ people
living in the south overwhelmingly want
to see companies stay in their states
and continue fighting for rights and
equity while providing jobs, instead of
avoiding the area or relocating. “I
mentioned earlier, we are under attack
most often,” he adds. “We are on the
receiving end of a lot of these, these
anti–LGBTQ pieces of legislation. We
definitely want to make sure that the
companies that are in the South are
willing to stay and support us, not flee
and leave. For the folks who are
creating these kinds of campaigns, you
wonder whether or not they really talked
to people in the South.”
Either way, Southern companies can’t
really afford not to take a stand
anymore: More than 70% or respondents
are willing to support companies with
values that support the LGBTQ community,
while about 75% will boycott those
opposed.
[Source: Ben Paynter, Senior Writer,
Fast Company, Wired, Bloomberg
Businessweek, New York Times]

Advocate: Champions of
Pride from the South
Queering the Redneck
Riviera
Being LGBTQ in Rural
Spaces
Pride Source: Rural Americans Are LGBTQ Too
Country Queers: Joy and Pain of Rural LGBTQ Life
Being Gay and Lesbian in
Appalachia
Matt and Blue: Gay Family Living in a Small Town
Invisible Histories
Project: Gay Southern History
Building a More LGBTQ Inclusive South
Small Town Gay Pride Parade
Being LGBTQ in the Deep
South
Conversation with Gay Fly
Fisherman
Better This Way: Country Song by Doug Strahm
Josh Burford: Chronicler of Southern LGBTQ History
In the Face of Discrimination: LGBTQ Farmers are Hopeful
Wild West: Much Gayer Than You Think
Being Queer in the Country
Small Town in South Dakota: Champion for Its LGBTQ
Neighbors
Pride Source: Real Gay Cowboys
Dancing in the Living Room: Country Song by Cameron Hawthorn
Trials and Triumph: LGBTQ Raised in Rural Settings
Researchers at the
Psychology Department of Ferrum College, in Virginia
interviewed Kelly, Brian, Kyle, Mark, Zeus, Erica and
Steve about their personal experiences as LGBTQ youth
being raised in a rural, Appalachian context.
Rural
Context
Brian, who identified as homosexual and having been
raised in a town of less than 2500 people, described the
area in which he was raised as a “very isolated place
not around a lot of other people” with “a lot of farms,
older people, and mostly white” individuals. Similarly,
Mark, a gay man who identified being raised in a town of
less than 4000 individuals, described his context as
“mostly white” and a “hub for the Ku Klux Klan.” Kyle, a
gay man who was raised in a small town of less than 6000
individuals, described his town as one where “everyone
knew everyone” and “did all activities together”. Zeus,
a gay man who identified as having been raised in a
small town of less than 4000 people, described his town
“cows outnumbered people in some areas, fairly small
town, not a lot of major development, one stop light in
the entire city.” Both Erica, a cisgender lesbian raised
in a town of less than 3000 individuals and Steve, a
self-identified homosexual man raised in a town of less
than 10,000 people, described their rural contexts as
politically and religiously conservative. Erica shared
“it was a small town, everybody knew everybody, and
everybody was in everybody’s business. If you weren’t in
this religion you were wrong, and if you didn’t feel
this way and marry this person you were wrong. It was
really the size of the small town that effected the way
I felt and how I felt safe.” Finally, Kelly spent much
of her developmental years living in the rural
countryside. However, during late adolescence she moved
to an urban context, and provided reflections on the
disparity between the rural and urban context and the
impact on her development.
Religious Context |
Trials
A major conflict
emerged as participants described their own struggles
coming out in the rural context involved the trials they
experienced religiously. Many rural contexts have
strong, religious values; many religious groups have
historically condemned or disapproved of same-sex
attractions and/or sexual behavior. Erica described the
relationship between the rural context and religious
context saying, “religion is for a lot of people,
especially in this small town where I grew up, it’s
their moral zone. Everything they did was governed by
what the Bible said.” Similarly, Kyle shared, “you know,
in the South, religion is a big deal. If you aren’t a
member of the church then you are an outcast, especially
in a small town.” Six of the participants shared
negative experiences within the religious community in
relation to their lesbian or gay identity. Due to the
pervasiveness of the religious culture within the rural
context, the participants described the religious
influences as synonymous with the rural culture.
One participant, Mark, a gay man whose family members
were devoutly Baptist, recalled, “to my religion and
family values, being gay, you would be frowned upon, so
for most of the time, I grew to force myself not to
believe that identifying as gay could possibly be true
for myself.” Steve, who grew up in a very traditional
Christian household stated, “I was raised in a church
that had sermons where they just talked about how
homosexuality was a sin and how awful it was.” Several
participants noted that many religious community members
held traditional, and occasionally ignorant ideas
regarding sexual minority identities, including the idea
that being lesbian or gay is a “choice” and can be
“fixed” with prayer and repression of feelings. Steve
recalled his coming out to his family, “I remember my
dad was sitting on the couch with like a Bible on his
lap, and I guess he was expecting to use that somehow,
to make me straight.” Four participants described their
experience was consistent with the old adage of “praying
the gay away”. Kyle shared, “people knew something was
different about me…and I think those people thought that
they could change that over time if I stayed in the
church.”

Interpersonal Relationships | Trials
Another conflict that
emerged involved the trials faced by the participants
within their relationships with friends and family. The
reactions by friends and family members to the
participants’ self-disclosure while varied, was often
negative. Kyle stated, “the community I was raised in as
a whole never really accepted me, and still hasn’t
really accepted me to this day.” Each of the
participants described the reactions of those to whom
they were close to as being disappointed, rejecting,
unsupportive and in an overall state of denial. In
addition, many of the participants feared peer rejection
upon disclosure of their sexual identity due to the
stigma surrounding LGBTQ identities in their rural
context. One participant, Erica, who first labeled
herself as a lesbian in high school, stated, “at my high
school people started commenting about it and trying to
taunt me about it. I just kind of ignored it but, after
coming out, I definitely learned that I can fight back
with words, and not put up with peoples struggles, with
their issues.”
Erica coped with the harassment by taking a direct
approach, though not all participants were able to do
so. Mark recalled his high school experience, “when it
came to students, they definitely frowned upon publicly
identifying as gay. Those who were seen, and seemed to
be out, acted in stereotypical manners, they were
bullied pretty harshly.” Zeus described his context by
saying, “it wasn’t necessarily the blatantly homophobic
atmosphere but there was subtle intolerance. There were
maybe one or two openly gay individuals in the school
and they were pretty much ostracized. They got pushed
around, the typical rural reaction.” Peer rejection was
quite common among the participants throughout their
high school years.

Participants also shared their struggles coming out to
their families. Nearly each participant that had
self-disclosed to their parents faced some initial level
of disapproval. Steve shared he first came out as gay
online before coming out to a friend as a way of
increasing his self-confidence before telling his
family. He began the process of disclosing to his family
with his sister. He recalled her reaction, “She is
crying her eyes out and the first words she says are
‘how could you do this to our family?’” Many of the
participants, when describing their coming out to family
members, shared their fathers had more negative
reactions. Kyle recalled his coming out to his father,
“my dad especially was not happy with me, and he thought
that he could change the way I was by sending me to
therapy (family counselor) to de-homosexualize me and
needless to say, that didn’t work out very well.” Denial
from family members was a common reaction experienced by
the participants; participants described their parents
as questioning the truth of their feelings. When Erica
told her mother she was a lesbian her mother responded,
“are you sure you’re gay? Like are you covering for
somebody? Is this how you really feel? Um, are you
sure?” Erica recalled her mother asking several times a
day for weeks if she was “sure” she was a lesbian. Up to
the point of the interview, Erica shared she felt her
mother never really accepted her identity as a lesbian.
While Zeus’ parents were more accepting of his sexual
identity, his mom was concerned for his safety given the
rural, conservative context in which Zeus resided, “they
were on the brink of passing legislation fueled by
religious dogmatism and right-winged conservatism. She
was more concerned, not so much about her son not being
straight, but being an identified minority that has a
history of violence against them.”

Information
and Structural Support | Trials
Another trial that emerged was the lack of information
and structural support regarding LGBTQ identities
available due in part to the rural context. Mark
described this, saying “I can’t recall ever knowing
anyone who was gay until I was in college and met
people. It wasn’t a topic very widely discussed there
especially with influences such as the KKK still
active.” Kyle shared that being gay “was not talked
about in my community at all. I mean, I didn’t know
there was such a thing as a gay person. I didn’t know
you could have an attraction towards someone of the same
sex. It wasn’t ever discussed.” Erica shared that her
peers tried to start a gay-straight alliance to increase
information about sexual minority issues in her high
school; their group was ultimately unsuccessful and they
were told “no by the principal because he didn’t want to
deal with the phone calls or the paper work, or the
outcry from the Christian club on campus who found out
about it and pitched a royal fit”.
While 5 of the 7
participants turned to the Internet for support given
the lack of information in their communities, Zeus
stated that even access to the Internet was difficult,
“I grew up with dial-up which basically means that the
Internet is inaccessible because you can’t upload
anything.” As a result, Zeus shared that the relied on
television shows such as “Will and Grace” for
information on what it means to be gay since there was a
dearth of information in his rural community. Kelly,
reflecting on being raised in a rural countryside noted
the disparity between the rural area she spent most of
her childhood and early adolescence, compared to the
urban context she moved to during late adolescence. She
shared by seeing a larger number of people who
self-labeled as gay or lesbian in the urban context she
gained information LGBTQ identities. As such, she stated
she was able to “admit” to herself that she was lesbian
and ultimately accept her emerging sense of identity,
attesting to the power of both role models and
information.
Intrapersonal
Processes | Trials
Finally, yet another
trial that emerged when examining the trials faced,
occurred internally, as the participants dealt with a
variety of intrapersonal reactions while coming out. The
participants described feeling a strong sense of
internalized homophobia, turning a sense of disgust and
hatred upon themselves in relation to their sexual
minority identity. Steve shared, “gay was this alien
creature. You didn’t want to talk about it. It wasn’t
okay.” Zeus labeled his feelings as “inappropriate and
not normative” as a result of the stigma he experienced
in his context. When discussing this, Steve shared, “it
was scary, because growing up through middle school, I
felt like something wasn’t right. Something wasn’t
fitting together. I was fearful of saying anything that
might even remotely point me out as being different or
odd. I didn’t want to draw attention to myself.” Brian
recalled his feelings of attraction as a child towards a
famous male actor and associated feelings of shame.
Specifically he stated, “my greatest fear was this is
not right, something is really wrong. I had a big
struggle dealing with it all.” He shared his internal
reaction was directly related to the conservative, rural
context which he believed drove him to doubt, and even
dread his own thoughts and feelings. This interpersonal
process of coming to terms with their emerging sense of
self was perhaps the most difficult trial participants
described.
Trials and Triumphs: LGBTQ Youth Raised in a Rural
Context
Small Town Gay Pride Parade
Not As Bad You You Think:
LGBTQ People in Rural America
Better This Way: Country Song by Doug Strahm
Wild West: Much Gayer Than You Think
Small Town in South Dakota: Champion for Its LGBTQ
Neighbors
Pride Source: Real Gay Cowboys
Dancing in the Living Room: Country Song by Cameron Hawthorn

Interpersonal Relationships | Triumphs
A major positive theme emerged as participants described
their coming out in the rural context involved the
triumph related to their interpersonal relationships,
occurring both in-person and over the Internet.
Participants described feeling accepted and supported by
some of their friends and acquaintances when coming out.
Five of the seven participants used the Internet to
first come out and explore their emerging sense of
sexual identity; it felt relatively safe in contrast to
their rural contexts. Brian shared it also increased his
understanding of what it means to have same-sex
attractions, “I found out I wasn’t the only gay person
alive because through the Internet I found I wasn’t
obviously the only one alive.” After using the internet
as an initial “stage” to come out, Steve came out to one
of his close friends, “the first person I told in person
is the person I’m with now, the guy I’m with now. I told
him. He didn’t push me out at all, but he gave me
confidence in being more comfortable with it I guess,
comfortable with it for myself.”
Likewise, several
participants found their initial disclosure to a person
who also identified as a sexual minority to be helpful.
Zeus first disclosed to an openly gay classmate by first
asking questions of his classmate regarding his own
process of self-identifying as gay. Zeus gradually came
out to this classmate after realizing he felt similar to
his classmate. Other peers, though not LGBTQ themselves,
were unconditionally supportive. Brian shared he
experienced “nothing but support from my peers”.
Notably, each participant found peer support after
graduating high school and leaving their hometowns.
Erica recalled her first interaction with a college
peer, “one of the first things my RA ever told me was
that we didn’t discriminate here, based on gender or
sexual orientation or anything like that and that she
wouldn’t tolerate any kind of bullying.” Mark stated at
college, “there were so many new ideas that were
introduced, so I felt like I was less ignorant, and more
willing to accept myself as gay because I learned I
wasn’t quite as sinful or morally wrong as I had
previously believed without research.” Though the
majority of participants in the research study stated
that their parents were somewhat ignorant of their
sexual identity, one participant, Kyle, said that his
parents have gradually grown to realize that his sexual
identity is simply one facet of his identity. When
talking about his parents’ current attitude he stated,
“they’ve gotten over it, and they’ve realized that being
gay is only a small part of who I am as a person, and
that all the other good parts of me are still there;
they haven’t gone anywhere because I’m gay, that’s just
a small piece of the puzzle.” Kelly, an openly lesbian
woman, struggled to reveal her sexual identity to her
parents because her siblings had both self-identified as
bisexual and her parents did not approve. However, when
Kelly finally disclosed her sexual orientation to her
parents she stated “it turned out my parents were okay
with being gay, they weren’t okay with bi, and that was
the issue with my siblings.”

Intrapersonal Processes | Triumphs
Another major triumph that emerged was related to the
intrapersonal processes of the participants.
Participants described an awareness of their “true”
sense of self, and process by which through reflection,
they reached a point of self-acceptance, overcoming some
of the pressures and stigma they experienced. After
initial conflict within the self, several of the
participants felt more at ease with themselves after
self-identifying. Mark stated, “I feel like I’ve been
able to identify myself better as a person. I just know
myself more than I ever did before. I feel like a lot of
things in life became more clear afterwards and it
definitely got rid of a piece of the puzzle that was
perplexing me for quite a few years.” Similarly, Zeus,
when asked about the positive experiences when coming
out stated, “I mean, being open in general is a level of
self-acceptance. You call yourself a gay man and it’s a
kind of final acceptance of who you are. And it’s not a
resistance against it, or a denial of it. So in that
sense you are finally at peace with who you are. It’s
almost like the acknowledgment that you can be proud of
who you are and not have to hide it or be fearful of
it.”
Similarly, Kelly stated, “I struggled with same sex
attraction. Now, I don’t really necessarily think it’s
something to struggle with. I don’t think there’s
anything wrong with it." Each of the seven participants
described similar processes of self-acceptance. The
resiliency of these LGBTQ young adults was evident in
their ability to accept their emerging sense of self
amidst the stigma of their rural context.
[Source: Angie L. Dahl,
Rachel K. Scott, Zachalee Peace, Psychology Department,
Ferrum College, Ferrum, VA, 2015, Participants: Kelly,
Brian, Kyle, Mark, Zeus, Erica, Steve]
Trials and Triumphs: LGBTQ Youth Raised in a Rural
Context
Invisible Histories
Project: Gay Southern History
Pride Source: Rural Americans Are LGBTQ Too
Country Queers: Joy and Pain of Rural LGBTQ Life
PFLAG: Experiences of
LGBTQ Students in Small Rural Towns
Time: Country Song by Steve Grand
Being LGBTQ in the Deep
South
Gay Rodeo History
LGBTQ Institute: Southern
Survey
Research on Rural LGBTQ
People of Color

Fancy
Book Learnin'
Queering the Countryside: New Frontiers
in Rural Queer Studies
by Mary L. Gray, Colin R.
Johnson, Brian J. Gilley
(Editors)
Out in the Country: Youth, Media, and
Queer Visibility in Rural America
by Mary L. Gray (Author)
Lesbian Land
By Joyce Cheney (Editor)
Just Queer Folks: Gender and Sexuality
in Rural America
by Colin R. Johnson (Author)
Real Queer America
by Samantha Allen (Author)
Wild Mares: My Lesbian Back-to-the-Land
Life
by Dianna Hunter (Author)
The Lesbian South: Southern Feminists
and the Queer Literary Canon
by Jamie Harker (Author)
Rednecks, Queers, and Country Music
by Nadine Hubbs (Author)
Coming Out of the Magnolia Closet: Same
Sex Couples in Mississippi
by John Marszalek (Author)
Another Country: Queer Anti-Urbanism
by Scott Herring (Author)
Gay Faulkner
by Pip Gordon (Author)
Men Like That: A Southern Queer History
by John Howard (Author)
Queering the Redneck Riviera: Sexuality
and the Rise of Florida Tourism
by Jerry Watkins III (Author)
Queer, Rural, American
by Sarah Anne Strickley (Author)

Top Ten
Queer Rural Books
Redneck Lesbo by Jennifer
Corday
NBC News Report: Gay in Rural America
Matt and Blue: Southern
Boys
LGBTQ Community is
Transforming the South
Huff Post: Lesbian
Farmers: Growing Rural America
Leslie Jordan: Southern Gay
Pridefest: Birmingham Alabama
GLAAD Stories: LGBTQ Life
in the South
LGBTQ Nation: Rural Pride Events
All American Boy: Country Song by Steve Grand
MAP Report: LGBTQ People
in Rural America
Gay Prom in Birmingham
Not As Bad You You Think:
LGBTQ People in Rural America
PFLAG: Experiences of
LGBTQ Students in Small Rural Towns
Fabulous Beekman Boys: Gay
Green Acres
Black and Gay in
Birmingham
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