I want everyone to know that there are queers in the hollers of Appalachia, in the bayous and marshland of the Deep South, in Southwestern deserts, through the Ozark mountains and up to the Rockies. There are queers in the Great Plains, there are queers in rural America, in trailer parks of the Osage foothills. In the places you least expect us to live, we are here, carving out community and fighting for liberation with pride despite it all. Stop forgetting about us. Stop overlooking our experiences and our impact just because we don’t live in a Big Gay City. And for the love of God, stop looking at us with pity.
Also, there are ALLIES out here.
I live in a no-stoplight town in the south. There are three tractor stores and two animal supply stores within 25 minutes of my house, and we finally got a grocery store, apparently some time this year. We have no McDonald's or any other kind of chain restaurant.
I saw a redneck at the country store face down a guy whining about the trans menace and tell him to act like he had fuckin' southern manners, or move up north.
And that redneck was a better ally than most people online
queer existence is part of the human condition. queer people exist everywhere, in every community. queer people are part of LGBTQ history. and it's way too easy to overlook the experiences of queer folks who live in regions where, for one reason another, other people think they can't exist or don't belong. i fully think that everyone should read about the lived experiences of people outside of their origins. so. i have (America-focused) memoir and nonfiction recommendations!!!
Memoirs Another Appalachia: Coming Up Queer and Indian in a Mountain Place by Neema Avashia
Honor Girl by Maggie Thrash
Prairie Silence by Melanie Hoffert
Like Me: Confessions of a Heartland Country Singer by Chely White
Saving Alex: When I Was Fifteen I Told My Mormon Parents I Was Gay, and That's When My Nightmare Began by Alex Cooper
How We Fight for Our Lives by Saaed Jones
Punch Me Up to the Gods by Brian Broome
¡Hola Papi!: How to Come Out in a Walmart Parking Lot and Other Life Lessons by John Paul Brammer
Mama's Boy: A Story from Our Americas by Dustin Lance Black
Boys and Oil: Growing up Gay in a Fractured Land by Taylor Brorby
Diary of a Misfit by Casey Parks
General
Real Queer America: LGBT Stories from Red States
Sweeter Voices Still: An LGBTQ Anthology from Middle America
Queering the Redneck Riviera: Sexuality and the Rise of Florida Tourism
Men Like That: A Southern Queer History
A Night at the Sweet Gum Head: Drag, Drugs, Disco, and Atlanta's Gay Revolution
Y'All Means All: The Emerging Voices Queering Appalachia
Y’ALL MEANS ALL
I…I love it. The title alone is moving me to tears. Be still my little Appalachian heart 😭
