Queering the Countryside Instructor’S Guide

QUEERING THE COUNTRYSIDE INSTRUCTOR’S GUIDE

Rural queer experience is often hidden or ignored, and presumed to be alienating, lacking, and incomplete without connections to a gay culture that exists in an urban elsewhere. Queering the Countryside offers the first comprehensive look at queer- de sires found in rural America from a genuinely multi-disciplinary perspective. This collection of original essays confronts the assumption that queer desires depend upon urban life for meaning.

By considering rural queer life, the contribu- tors challenge readers to explore queer expe- riences in ways that give greater context and texture to modern practices of identity forma- tion. The book’s focus on understudied rural spaces throws into relief the overemphasis of urban locations and structures in the current political and theoretical work on queer sexualities and genders. Queering the Countryside highlights the need to rethink notions of “the closet” and “coming out” and the characteri- zations of non-urban sexualities and genders as “isolated” and in need of “outreach.” Con- tributors focus on a range of topics—some obvious, some delightfully unexpected—from the legacy of Matthew Shepard, to how heterosexuality is reproduced at the 4-H Club, to a look at sexual encounters at a truck stop, to a queer reading of The Wizard of Oz.

A journey into an unexplored slice of life in rural America, Queering the Countryside offers a unique perspective on queer experience in the modern United States and Canada. 416 PAGES PAPER • 978-1-4798-8058-4 w w w . n y u p r e s s . o r g NYU PRESS 2 INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION narrative? ➥ current LGBTfield?Ifso,where doesitmanifest? ➥ theevolutionofqueercommunity? LGBT studies,andinturn ➥ QUESTIONS FORDISCUSSION community oughttolive. such strictlimitsonwhatitmeanstobequeer, andhowamemberoftheLGBT the gayimaginaryinadifferent, more opendirection. Onethatdoesnotenforce style, Through aseriesofessays,eachexploringdifferent facetoftheruralLGBTlife LGBT community, aswellLGBTstudies. and second,howthelimitationsforced bymetronormativityenduplimitingthe First, howitcameaboutthatcitiesare considered themeccasofqueerculture, ity”, anditisthistendencythat knownas“metronormativ exists atendencytovalorizetheurbancenters,term garding theLBGTcountrysideculture hasbeenhijackedbyurbancenters.There The argument putforthin across theruralUnitedStates. Howcanthatbe? the countrysideisvilified.Andyetthere are massivequeercommunitiesall This narrativeindicatesthatthecitiesare welcometoall,andasaconsequence just haveto“toughitout”untiltheyfinishhighschoolandheadthebigcities. indicate thatLGBTyouthliveinruralareas are consistentlyoppressed, and that itisimpossibleforthemtodoso.Thegeneralurbanconsensusseems ty, andthewaysinwhichitsmembersthrivethere, despitethepopularnarrative by theurbancentersfordecades.Inparticular, itfocusesontheLBGTcommuni Countryside SUMMARY ➥ ➥ ➥ At whatpointdoesthe“gayimaginary”create astrict,ifnotlimiting Is there aswitchbetweenvanguardism andtheconservatismevidentin In whatwaysdoestheconceptofmetronormativityeffect thedevelopmentof Queering theCountryside explores themisconceptions ofrurallifethathavebeenpropagated

Queering theCountryside establishesadifferent narrative,onethattakes Queering theCountryside NYU PRESSINSTRUCTOR’S GUIDE , claimsthatthenarrativere seekstounderstand. - - - - 3 PART I: CHAPTER 1 - - - - -

g. There seemed to seemed to posit their sexuality as the most important facet of their being. There be an expectation that if one is not visible enough (visibility politics), then one is not truly queer. by the urban center. As was said above, there was an expectation as to what a to what a was an expectation as As was said above, there by the urban center. multiple subjects who simply are metronormative queer ought to be. But there did not fit. Not because their sexuality was lacking, but because they did not prone to sexual violence on many occasions. to prone imposed A second, equally important facet is the limitation of the queer identity is drug abuse, and sexual violence. Young LGBT men and women (especially LGBT men and women (especially is drug abuse, and sexual violence. Young sucked into a lifestyle of excess that they were men) who arrive in the city are deals of them enter a drug fueled lifestyle, one great never used to. As a result In addition, there are several dangers of the so called “safe” city that are not not “safe” city that are several dangers of the so called are In addition, there of the cities. Primary among these dangers often thought about the general myth tendencies, but due to class, age, and racial differences. As if the metronorma and racial differences. tendencies, but due to class, age, they have no subjects, and as a result was not met by some of the tive standard place in the community. aligned with their expectations and fell short. There exists a very large commu exists a very large fell short. There aligned with their expectations and necessarily accepting. Not due to any homophobic but it is not nity in the city, But when speaking about adulthood, several patterns present themselves. The several patterns themselves. The But when speaking about adulthood, present to Halifax. Many who did the Nova Scotia one being movement from prominent and what they found both youth moved there, not feel like the belonged in their When talking about growing up in rural areas and urban areas, all participants all participants urban areas, and up in rural areas When talking about growing Especially during high school. that they faced homophobic comments. remark dominantly middle/working class and white. All of them identify as part of the and white. All of them identify as part of the dominantly middle/working class they make with the focus becomes the connection As a result, LGBT community. LGBT community. one another and the greater Having given this background, this chapter examines testimonies gathered from from examines testimonies gathered this chapter Having given this background, pre via snowball sampling, and are all found 14 subjects. These subjects were and agricultural. In addition to the loss of jobs, an incident from the 2008 pride the 2008 pride incident from In addition to the loss of jobs, an and agricultural. the raise the pride flag citing mayor refused the up, where parade is brought reasons. religious tia and urban Halifax. The basic conflict that was presented in the introduction is is in the introduction presented The basic conflict that was tia and urban Halifax. The general the status of Nova Scotia is explained. First, here. further elucidated with the dwindling of the fishing is correlated that region deterioration of the rural Nova Sco of LGBT communities in the definition around This essay revolves SUMMARY QUEERING THE COUNTRYSIDE Kelly Baker OUR BACK HOME: An Exploration of Exploration An HOME: BACK OUR Identi LGBT Canada Scotia, Nova in Rural and Community ties 4 PART I: CHAPTER 1 Kelly Baker Kelly ties andCommunity inRural Nova Scotia, Canada LGBT Identi OUR BACK HOME:AnExploration of rural queercommunities? ➥ ment ofruralqueercommunities? ➥ queer communitiesinurbancenters? ➥ QUESTIONS FORDISCUSSION different levelthantheurbanqueercommunities. tions, theyprovide abastion ofacceptancethatfunctionsonafundamentally inorderbelief. Theythrive.Usingtheinternet toestablishandmaintainconnec In fact,manyofthesecommunitiesdosomethingthatgoesagainstpopular the ruralcommunities. In additionanyurbanlimitationsuponthedefinitionofbeingqueerare liftedin there are small,andattimesisolated,butneverthelesstheyare verycloseknit. manyreturn,orsimplyneverleavethecountryside.ThecommunitiesIn turn, ➥ ➥ ➥ At whatwaydoestheurbanqueerdefinitionaffect thedevelopmentof andsocialmediachangedthedevelop How hastheadventofinternet How doestheconflictbetweenidealand real manifestitselfinthe NYU PRESSINSTRUCTOR’S GUIDE

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QUEERING THE COUNTRYSIDE that Alger posits the future of his protagonists. In this way Alger both rejects the the In this way Alger both rejects of his protagonists. that Alger posits the future urban in favor of the rural, yet necessitates its existence. the purifying west, all that he has learned and earned is only of meaning in the east. Despite belittling their importance, it is the in the urban centers of the east work. As the boy becomes a man, Alger’s stories usually conclude with him re work. As the boy becomes a man, Alger’s wealth to establish himself. Here he uses he newfound turning east. Once there man had to go to work shows itself. While the young the dichotomy of Alger’s frontier. This chapter concludes with a combination of the two main themes of Alger’s all the negative traits of manhood. The effeminate, deceitful, and homosexual deceitful, and homosexual all the negative traits of manhood. The effeminate, stories, as an inverted reflection Chinaman is a character used often in Alger’s idealized vision of the queer entire and by extension Alger’s of the protagonist, frowned upon. frowned to embody of the Chinaman in order the deviant character Instead, Alger creates themselves into men. It is important to note that while these relationships are are to note that while these relationships themselves into men. It is important between the men and boys is actual sexual relations quite homosocial in nature, The second major theme is the relationship that allows a young boy to be The second major theme is the relationship yet non-sexual, these boys flourish under a homoerotic, come a man. Through and form they grow closeness extreme the tutelage of their mentors. Through paints the rural west is a place of exploration of growth, where a young boy can a young boy can where exploration of growth, paints the rural west is a place of become a man. hat the boys on two themes. First, that the boys The exploration of this chapter focuses weak. Soft in the way of boys; and up in the eastern are growing urban centers This characterization labor out west. them by hard from that softness is removed turn them into men. All under the tutelage of their benefactors. other times in mines, but always in what might be considered at the time proper at the time proper what might be considered other times in mines, but always in and kind, would as good natured these boys, usually characterized There labor. work, and would in them values of hard be put to work. This work would instill A poor young of his novels. A poor young used a similar template for many When writing he he would There leave home and head out west. the urban east would boy from Sometimes for farm work, wing of a wiser older benefactor. be taken under the and began writing novels. These novels were considered homoerotic, focusing focusing homoerotic, considered novels. These novels were and began writing mentors. between young boys and their older on the queer relationships In 1864, Horatio Alger was accused of sexual molesting boys while actor as a boys while actor as a Alger was accused of sexual molesting In 1864, Horatio these allegations he left the church Massachusetts. Following pastor in Brewster, SUMMARY HORATIO ALGER’S QUEER FRONTIER QUEER ALGER’S HORATIO W. Bateman Geoffrey 6 PART I: CHAPTER 2 Geoffrey Geoffrey W. Bateman HORATIO ALGER’S QUEER FRONTIER nature ruralcommunities? ofmodern ➥ between menandwomen? how doesAlgerpositthatrelationship inconjunctionwithasexualrelationship ➥ the frontier? ➥ QUESTIONS FORDISCUSSION ➥ ➥ ➥ How doesAlger’s frontier compare andcontrastwiththe“definitionfree” In lightoftherelationships betweenyoungmenandtheirolderbenefactors, How dothenovelsofHoratioAlgerchartprogress ofqueersexualityin NYU PRESSINSTRUCTOR’S GUIDE

7 PART I: CHAPTER 3

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. The novel . The novel Poor White , the protagonist leaves his rundown hometown and rundown hometown and leaves his , the protagonist Poor White al, bound between urban and rural, displays a particular balance. One How doe the definitions of masculinity contrast with Hugh’s queer nature? In In queer nature? How doe the definitions of masculinity contrast with Hugh’s How does the shadowy and ambiguous nature of Bidwell reflect the general the general of Bidwell reflect How does the shadowy and ambiguous nature Is there a place in a modern society for the community? Or does this time a place in a modern time Is there society for the community? Or does this ➥ ➥ ➥ QUEERING THE COUNTRYSIDE what way do they push past him, and in turn, how do they lead to his failure? state of rural life? ➥ belong to the individual? ➥ QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION ➥ behind its nostalgic trappings and embracing the modern chaos. sequence, failing. And it is this failure to adapt that is evident throughout this this to adapt that is evident throughout sequence, failing. And it is this failure to adapt or the countryside not leaving reluctance is Hugh’s Whether it chapter. community. In In succeeds alone, without his community. as the individual succeeds, but he A state in present. Hugh attempts to achieve what is called a usable this way, as a con which one adapts continually instead of staying stuck in the past, and This in a way represents a failure of the rural life, because when he fails and his of the rural life, because when he fails and his a failure This in a way represents begins to focus on himself. Thus, Hugh community cannot support him, Hugh for himself, marries, and becomes an inventor. He seeks to make life better for to make life better for He seeks an inventor. for himself, marries, and becomes resorts to he when he fails financially, but the town as a whole with his creations, city capitalists. taking money from becomes the novel’s main setting. When Hugh arrives in the city, he quickly finds finds he quickly in the city, main setting. When Hugh arrives becomes the novel’s than the one finding a town larger is not for him, and he leaves, that life there In this town he starts making a name and yet distinctly rural. that he came from, Poor White It is best shown in the small town that and the individual and the communal. countryside that this chapter focuses on, because despite his queer nature, Hugh Hugh on, because despite his queer nature, countryside that this chapter focuses linked with all of which are productivity; and future competition, mobility, desires masculinity in the novel. the start, that Hugh is something of a queer man. He is not thought of mascu the start, that Hugh is something is crucial for the exploration of the ambiguous and that perception line, or manly, At the start of to become men.” This desire intending to be “a man among sets out to the city is stated from exploration, because it paramount to Anderson’s something else is eneral ambiguity definition and general ambiguity And it is the defiance of ting, defies definition. of rural life that form the backbone of this chapter. This chapter concerns itself Sherwood Anderson’s novel This chapter concerns itself Sherwood Anderson’s central set who, like the book’s of Hugh McCvey, the character focuses around Andy Oler Andy SUMMARY SHERWOOD ANDERSON’S “SHADOWY FIGURE” “SHADOWY ANDERSON’S SHERWOOD Modernizing in the Masculinity Midwest Rural 8 PART I: CHAPTER 4 Gabriel N. Rosenberg Reproducing Heterosexuality inInterwar American 4-H A CLASSROOM INTHEBARNYARD: behavior ofitscitizens? ➥ communities inthecountryside? ➥ QUESTIONS FORDISCUSSION foster thehealthiest,mostmoral,andallaround bestcitizens. of itspracticeswere rationalized,bythebeliefthatstatehadamoralrightto Allprecededit. that one the than better even generation new a helping be would mothering skills. By keeping each gender within a defined role, 4-H believed that it howtobehardwould learn workingandmasculine,whilewomenwouldbetaught The program would imbue what it considered proper values in boys and girls. Boys production, there wasnoplacewithsuchunnaturalrelationships. re on focus their With relationships. queer against much very was movement 4-H that inadditiontonotallowinganypeopleofcolorjointhesecompetitions,the each chapter would nominate their most impressive subjects. It is important to say, where competitions, nationally,with practiced was practice This couple. to aged encour be would attractive most the and looks, their on based scored constantly Americans. In order to this, it practiced eugenic practices. Boys and girls would be ment wasfocusedonproducing anewgenerationofruralhealthy, wholesome Its methods and its resistance to urban life will the focus of this chapter. The move countryside. In response to this decline, the 4-H movement started as a way to reinvigorate the century.th 20 early the of decline rural the to back traced be can of movement the conception The Health. and Hands, Heart, Head, for stood H’s 4 and This 1930s 1940s. the during arose that movement 4-H rural the explores chapter This SUMMARY ➥ ➥ What istheplaceofstateinregulating thesexualdevelopmentand How dothesexualstandards of4-Heffect thedevelopmentofqueer NYU PRESSINSTRUCTOR’S GUIDE

- - - THE WAITING ARMS OF GOLD STREET: PART II: CHAPTER 5 Manuel Munoz’s Faith Healer of Olive Avenue and the Problem of the Scaffold Imaginary Mary Pat Brady

SUMMARY

This chapter attempts to answer the following question: “What does it mean for sexuality to be lived as oriented?” It first states that there are two defining factors that impact our view on gender, race, and sexuality. Those factors being scale and time.

The two intertwine in order to create what generally considered a scaffold imaginary. We tend to view something in a specific order, as levels of a scaffold. But that tends isolate each level from the next. When applied to sexuality, this tendency makes our exploration limited. We want to define queer, rural, urban as distinctly separate things. The danger of scale as shown in this chapter, is that it can lead to a “flattened” view of things which are quite three dimensional.

The second factor of time is related in the same fashion. By determining that sexuality or race are just one thing, we limit what they are. Time effects them, whether it be the changing definition of sexuality, or an individual’s sexual identity, nothing is fixed. Everything is in flux, and should be viewed as such.

The alternative posed in this chapter is the notion that our exploration should not focus on the terms, but the connections between them. By suggesting this interconnectivity, this chapter does away with the scaffold theory. In addition it calls for a shelving of the popular notions of the closet and visibility politics, claiming that the two limit queer studies and development. Instead, it claims that the connections between concepts and individuals should be what we study in order to better understand the queer community and its terminology.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

➥➥How does the tension between nostalgia and modernity contribute to the development of queer studies?

➥➥What are other ways in which scale and time limit the studies of queer rural communities?

➥➥In what ways will the study of connections be different than one of distinct two dimensional terms?

QUEERING THE COUNTRYSIDE 9 SNORTING THE POWDER OF LIFE: Transgender Migration in the Land of Oz Lucas Crawford

SUMMARY

In The Marvelous Land of Oz, Frank L. Baum, returns to the land of Oz. There he introduces the character of Tip, a young boy who has been banished from the city of Oz to the rural countryside of the magical land. Tip’s journey is one that leads him to the city itself, where he is magically restored back into his original female form. This “restoration” becomes the focal point of this chapter and its examination of gender politics in Oz and the nature of transgender growth in the both the city and the countryside.

In the land of Oz, the concept of sexuality is far more fluid. One only needs to look at the many patchwork characters that permeate the series to know this. The parts that constitute these characters are secondary to the characters themselves. They are not defined by their parts. This approach to gender is evident throughout the series, but in The Marvelous Land of Oz, the tension between the urban emerald city and the countryside gives a unique spin to the relationship.

Because it is in the city that Tip becomes his true self. As he had to come to the city to become his true self. A sentiment echoed often in the modern metronormative narrative. Once Tip becomes Ozma, she becomes the rightful ruler of Oz and the people rejoice. And yet, the twist lies both in Tip’s initial rejection of his PART II: CHAPTER 6 PART transformation, and the character of Jinjur.

Jinjur leads an all-female rebellion against the patriarchy of Oz. She is defeated at the end, and there lies a unique conflict in the novel. Jinjur wants power and equality and freedom. Tip escapes the countryside for the same reason. And yet Jinjur’s defeat is celebrated and she vilified, while Tip’s restoration into Ozma is celebrated. This chapter raises the question if that lacking thing is her gender, and if so is Tip’s transformation meant to offset that?

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

➥➥How is Tip’s journey influenced by his background in the countryside?

➥➥Are the green spectacles forced upon the citizens of the Emerald City representative of metronormativity?

➥➥What is the place of wizards in the countryside? Is their magic of transformation different from that of the city? Is the change in gender different in rural and urban locations?

10 NYU PRESS INSTRUCTOR’S GUIDE 11 PART II: CHAPTER 7 - - -

What are the effects of the rejection of the LGBT community by major insti of the LGBT community of the rejection the effects What are Compare and contrast the urban metronormativity to the rural regionalism to the rural regionalism and contrast the urban metronormativity Compare ➥ ➥ QUEERING THE COUNTRYSIDE rural queer narrative? and its limitations in regards to the queer identity. and its limitations in regards ➥ shape the in Asheville)? How does this rejection tutions (such as local churches QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION ➥ These chapters brings into question matters of identity, race, sexuality, and the the and race, sexuality, matters of identity, These chapters brings into question location can impact the three. general way in which geographical of tension between racial groups, and those are do not strictly belong in either. not strictly belong in either. do are and those of tension between racial groups, on account multiple communities from often rejected People of mixed race are group. of them not belonging in any one Some members of the community are wholeheartedly accepted by their family, accepted by their family, wholeheartedly are Some members of the community is an extra layer In addition, there by their churches. rejected and yet entirely ceptance does not have to be complete, as shown by the fact that while Ashe have to be complete, as shown ceptance does not of place in which still plenty are there LGBT friendly city, a very ville is considered not welcome. are members of the community which race effect the acceptance of LGBT members within their own community. their own community. of LGBT members within the acceptance which race effect black lesbians. Ac racist against of white lesbians who are An example is give fe. Exploring the of queer life. Exploring the touches upon the racial element This chapter briefly the ways in this essay shows North Carolina, women in Asheville, lives of three Latoya E. Eaves Latoya SUMMARY OUTSIDE FORCES: FORCES: OUTSIDE SouthernBlack Sexuality 12

PART III: CHAPTER 8 and Cultivating Queer Media Literacy It Gets Better Project,The Queering Rural Space, “WE AREHEREFORYOU”: great queercommunities? ➥ leave theircommunitiesorcannotleave? ➥ who lackone? ➥ QUESTIONS FORDISCUSSION queer communities,onethatemphasizessimilaritiesinsteadofdifferences. This chapterendsfurtherelucidatestheneedforavarietyonperspectives values andtheconnectiontonature onecanhaveawayfrom theurbancenters. there are exceptions.There are videosthatemphasizethevalueofrurallifeand Consequently, thesevideostendtoenforce themetronormativenarrative,but compoundstheirisolation. want tostayinsteadofleave,whichinturn them. There istheinherent ideathatthere issomethingwrong withthemifthey who wanttostayintheruralcommunities,andthiskindofmessageisolates entirely true.Thesecondproblem, isthatthere mightbeyoungLGBTmembers the LGBTyouthoncetheyreach thecities.Whichhasbeenshowntonotbe sage, the“stickitout”approach. Thismessageimpliesthatallwillbewellfor not tosaythattheproject isnegative,buttheproblem liesinitscentralmes This chapterexaminestheflawinherent withthisproject andotherslike.Thatis more visibleLGBTcommunities are hundreds ofmilesaway. aggressive lonelinessmany LGBTyouthfeel,especiallyinthecountryside,where community whopeopletheyhavenone.Itismeanttoalleviatethecrushingand encouraging youngLGBTmembers.Theideabehindtheproject istoprovide a The ItGetsBetterproject isacollectionofonlinevideos,mostlyhomemade SUMMARY Mark Hain ➥ ➥ ➥ In whatwaydoestheeroticization ofruralcommunitiesandlifeaffect the How canthewiderLGBTcommunityreach outtothosewhodonotwish How canpopularcultureanattachmenttoacommunityforthose helpform NYU PRESSINSTRUCTOR’S GUIDE

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Is the sexual tension inherent in male sexuality connected to the ardent critics critics in male sexuality connected to the ardent Is the sexual tension inherent Is the ambiguous space of the films a rejection of rural and urban life? Or is it rejection of rural and urban life? Or is it Is the ambiguous space of the films a How is an open definition of relationship and sex affect the LGBT community? the LGBT community? relationship and sex affect How is an open definition of ➥ ➥ ➥ QUEERING THE COUNTRYSIDE of the LGBT community? a combination of the two? ➥ And notions of sexuality in general? ➥ QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION ➥ turn how we view the undefined queer life. with the very definitions of relationships, and the general opposition to the lim relationships, with the very definitions of It challenges social norms, to just once space. and in itation of sexual relations through. They are of different races, and genders. The movies go on to address to address races, and genders. The movies go on of different They are through. which we deflect the sexual and the ways in the fragility of the masculine identity, drugs, alcohol). In general, this chapter deals tension found between men (sex, watches. All parties are satisfied by the affair’s end, and there is no judgment. end, and there satisfied by the affair’s watches. All parties are to the various partners that the two leads go This comfortable ambiguity extends these men are manly rugged men. Not the effeminate type popularized by the type popularized by the effeminate manly rugged men. Not the these men are These or as anything for that matter. identify as homosexual, media. They don’t with one another while a woman two men sleep films portray a situation where These movies presented a narrative set both in cities and in rural area, and the and the rural area, a narrative set both in cities and in These movies presented stops. In these unde on interstates and rest spaces found in-between the two a truck. It is important to note, that both of fined places, two buddies travel in apologetic about who they were, they were proud of it. This chapter explores the the of it. This chapter explores proud they were who they were, apologetic about climate. in the 1970’s of these films resonance In the 1970’s Joe Gage released a trilogy of hardcore pornographic film known pornographic film known hardcore a trilogy of Joe Gage released In the 1970’s a time when a new released at films were These trilogy.” at the “working man no longer gay men were gay men had come about. These movement amongst SUMMARY City Trucking Co and El Paso Wrecking Corp. Wrecking and El Paso Co Trucking City Powell Ryan QUEER INTERSTATES: QUEER in Kansas Contact and Social Geography Cultural 14

PART III: CHAPTER 10 fthe Woods of andthe Sexual PedagogyLusty Lumberjacks EPISTEMOLOGY OFTHEBUNKHOUSE: ➥ tion? Wheredrawofurbanandrurallifestyles? doesthisfitintothemodern ➥ QUESTIONS FORDISCUSSION the conflictbetweenurbanandrural. more focusesonthecontrastbetweenidealandreal thatsooftenpermeates began toemulatetheirvalues,butnotactions,andhere thechapteronce communities diedout,buttheirculturalimpactremained. Anewgeneration and technologyadvancedthere wasnolonger aplaceforthem.Thus,these The rowdy lumberjackculture wasslowlyneutered, andasindustriesprogressed relationships. as proper Christianvalues.Thesevaluesofcoursedidnotallowforhomosexual communities, hebegantoinstructthelumberjacksonmattersofhygiene,aswell thecompaniesthatran rick tookspecialinterest intheircommunities. With an outsideinterventionintothelumberjacksocieties.Reverend Alfred Fitzpat berjack becameromanticized, theircultures drew attention.Thismanifested in favor themovertheacademictypesthatwere theeliteofsociety. Asthelum ruffians and roughnecks in thegeneralpublic.Butovertimepublicbeganto simply hadintimaterelations withoneanother. Atfirsttheyhada reputation as As withmanyspecimens,theLumberjacksdidnotidentifyashomosexuals,they lifestyle ofthequeerlumberjackanditseventualend. jack existedwasaveryisolatedandsexualplace.Thischapterchartsthe figure intheCanadianhistory andmythology. Thehinterlandwhere thelumber In the late 19 th century and the early 20 th century, the Lumberjack was a central SUMMARY Peter Hobbs ➥ ➥ How did the sexual ambiguity of the lumberjack help form theircommunities? How didthesexualambiguityoflumberjackhelp form What wasitaboutthelumberjacklifestylethatsoattractedthepublicatten

NYU PRESSINSTRUCTOR’S GUIDE

- - - - RETHINKING THE CLOSET: PART III: CHAPTER 11 Queer Life in Rural Geographics Katherine Schweighofer

SUMMARY

This chapter examines the generally accepted structure of “Coming out.” Cul- turally, the metronormative narrative has established the notion that coming out of the closet is a matter of visibility. That before “coming out”, a person is repressed and closed off, and once they come out, they are true to who they are. The problem with this narrative is that by its nature, it is very binary.

In the grand context of finding out one’s own self and sexuality, such a binary narrative is limiting. If a person doesn’t fit perfectly into the narrative of coming out of the closet, then they are not truly queer. Or they never get to fully explore just what being queer means to them. In addition, this chapter shows how in the countryside, such a narrative might not always be desired.

For starters, there are many in the countryside for whom privacy is far more important than sexuality. They want to be free of the crushing closeness of city life, and thus when they come out, it is not necessarily a huge event. A man might just be gay, and that is just one part of him. As mentioned in previous chapters, those in the countryside do not partake in visibility in the same way that their urban counterparts might.

In addition, they are many examples of men who have sex with men (MSM), and yet do not identify as Gay. Or individuals for whom a strict definition of sexuality is something they avoid. Examples are given of individuals who partake in sex with men at truck stops and yet consider themselves straight, or women who have long online correspondences with women they never meet, and yet fully consider themselves to be lesbians. The point becomes that the general ambiguity of sexuality in the countryside defies the metronormative narrative, and requires it to be reevaluated.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

➥➥In the context of the metronormative narrative where do groups such as political lesbians fit?

➥➥Is the general resistance to visibility politics in rural areas hindering the development of the queer community?

QUEERING THE COUNTRYSIDE 15 IN PLAIN(S) SIGHT: Rural LGBTQ Women and the Politics of Visibility Carly Thomsen

SUMMARY

This Chapter focuses on the impact of visibility politics on the rural LGBT communities. In particular, it narrows on the ways in which rural queer communities are formed around different principles than their urban counterparts, and the impact of those differences.

Namely, the idea that the rural communities have a certain loyalty to the familiar, or in other words, what it already there. When an individual in a rural queer community comes out, they do not necessarily want to change their whole lives. They wish to be the same person that they always were, and they do not see the need to force a change where they do not believe one is needed.

The chapter focuses on several cases, the most prominent being the story of Jene Newsome. Newsome was an air force sergeant who was dismissed under the “Don’t Ask, Don’t tell,” policy. Her status as a lesbian was uncovered after police raided her home and found her marriage certificate. They then leaked that certificate to the air force. The focus of Jene’s anger is not the military, but the police. Because she believed that what happens in her own home was a private matter. In addition she was loyal to the air force, and had no desire to change that. While many activists were rallying around her, she made the matter a civil rights issue, not a queer issue.

PART III: CHAPTER 12 PART Jene’s story feeds into the idea that many LGBT members in the countryside do not have the same focus on their sexuality as those in cities. They do not believe that visibility equals civil rights, and they do not seek to focus on their differences from others. They simply want to be as they have always been. Emphasizing the connection they have with others as opposed to said differences.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

➥➥What is the significance of translocal literature on the development of LGBT studies?

➥➥How heavily does race play into the effectiveness of visibility politics?

➥➥What is a probable alternative to the ideas of visibility politics for the countryside?

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Can one act of violence vilify an entire segment of the queer lifestyle? Should segment of the queer lifestyle? Should Can one act of violence vilify an entire Explore the place of Mathew Shepard’s death in the grander scheme of LGBT of LGBT death in the grander scheme the place of Mathew Shepard’s Explore ➥ ➥ QUEERING THE COUNTRYSIDE

➥ Mathew ➥ studies. QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION they receive. The ways in which it seems that pain is the only thing that can affect ways in which it seems that pain is the only thing that can affect The they receive. the nation as a whole. pushed aside by the fear that his murder brought forth. forth. brought murder pushed aside by the fear that his grief and the empathy which of brutal pain and the nature This chapter explores individual, and as a representation of the entire rural queer community. Conse community. rural queer of the entire individual, and as a representation is death pushed the metronormative view that the countryside Shepard’s quently, urban chaos were and queers. How the ideas of rural rejuvenation for dangerous Because he was a perfect middle class white boy, who happened to be gay, and and gay, who happened to be perfect middle class white boy, Because he was a was alone in the middle of it in a city alley, it wasn’t when he was murdered, powerful, both as an isolation of his death made it so much more The nowhere. the 90’s where anti-gay views were at an all-time high. anti-gay views were where the 90’s this investigation. vital to spatial elements of his death are The temporal and rural Wyoming. This chapter examines the impact of his murder on the national on the national of his murder chapter examines the impact rural Wyoming. This views of the countryside. and its impact on the matronormative LGBT community during a time in attention after his murder, became the focus of national Shepard in body was found crucified on a fence 1998, Mathew Shepard’s On October 7th, E. Cram SUMMARY (Dis)locating Queer Citizenship: Imaging Rurality in in Rurality Imaging Citizenship: Queer (Dis)locating Memory. Shepard’s Mathew 18

PART IV: CHAPTER 14 and Early Twentieth-Century Colorado. and Sexual Difference inLate Nineteenth-Century Queering the AmericanFrontier: FindingQueerness can suchanambiguitybemaintainedinthefaceof progress? ➥ ➥ QUESTIONS FORDISCUSSION and theendofitsqueerambiguity. This chaptershowstheroad whichledtothedefinitionoffrontier sexuality that sexualmisconductcouldscare off tourists. inate rowdiness from theirestablishments(seeSteamboatsprings).Theyfeared the changeinfrontier. Theircomingmadethebusinessownerswishtoelim CapitalistshadforcedIn additionthischaptershowshowthecomingofEastern the sametime,prosecution ofsodomybecame farmore severe. YMCA andCF&I)abouthygienethedangersofhomosexuallifestyle.At and root outallsuchdeviants.Furthermore,theybegantoeducate(through the took aprotestant theybegantoinvestigate stanceagainstsuchlewdacts.Inturn as monstrous. Thecompaniesincharge ofmuchthefrontier development deviant. Theseactsmovedfrom beingperceivedto asharmless, alism tookhold.Together theybrought theideathathomosexualrelations were As themarch ofprogress caughtupwiththefrontier, boosterismandexception examples ofmenwhoengagedinsuchactswithoutmuchfanfare. in thefrontier, afacttheywrote aboutoftenintheirrespectiveTheyare journals. brothers: CharlesandEdwin. Theywere bothengagedinhomosexualrelations teenth centurydrew toaclose.ThechapterstartswiththetaleofEmerson ity. Thischapterfocusesonthewaythatambiguitywasrooted outasthenine The evolutionoftheAmericanfrontier allowedforagreat dealofsexualambigu SUMMARY Robin Henry ➥ ➥ How doessexualitythriveinambiguousareas (frontier, rural,in-between),and What are theeffects ofcorporationsinthegrandschemeLGBTstudies? NYU PRESSINSTRUCTOR’S GUIDE

- - - - Digital Oral History and the Limits of Gay Sex. PART IV: CHAPTER 15 John Howard

SUMMARY

Continuing to explore the limitations of the metronormative narrative, this chapter focuses on the sexual acts of the urban centers. Centering on Charles Sil- verstein’s and Edmund White’s book The Joy of Gay Sex, this chapter shows the faults of said book as a manual. In the same way that the narrative of the “Clos- et” can limit the exploration of the queer identity, The Joy of Gay Sex limits the sexual identity of gay men.

The inherent fault is not in the sexual acts depicted in the book. The fault is the fact that the book presents them as the only proper way of enjoying homosexual relations. Just as one narrative cannot account for the vast diversity of the Queer communities, one book cannot account for all different types of sexual relationships. Instead of creating a stronger sense of community, the book isolates people. This begins with the lack of racial diversity in the book’s models (almost all white men), and continuing by discriminating against the less mainstream sexual practices.

This chapter also talk about the nature of animal-human relationships, inter famil- ial relations, and sexual experiments with produce, and other different elements of homosexual relations that might not be considered mainstream by The Joy of Gay Sex.

The final argument of this chapter, that in the queer community, inclusiveness ought to be encouraged. This way the community can grow and learn instead of isolating several people based on their specific sexual preferences.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

➥➥Are there certain fetishes or sexual acts that should be excluded? What does this exclusion do the study of queer sexuality?

➥➥How does the sexual limitations of The Joy of Gay Sex, relate to the general limitations of the metronormative narrative?

QUEERING THE COUNTRYSIDE 19 20

PART IV: CHAPTER 16 Stina Soderling Time Queer Rurality andthe Materiality of tive narrative?Orare theyentirely separatefrom it? Are communitieslikethegayborhoodashowofresistance tothemetronorma respond tosuchachange? ➥ QUESTIONS FORDISCUSSION their effect onthegrowing queernarrativeandthefieldofLGBTstudies. life anditsvalidity. Furthermore, itaskstoexaminethesedifferent lifestyles,and in thegayborhood.Itexistsorder toinvitefurtherthoughtaboutruralqueer At theend,thisessaydoesnotreach anyconclusivestatementsaboutqueerlife and inawayeliminatesburdens thatarelife. associatedwithmodern prognosis byyears.Theatemporalnature oflivingintheenclavereduces stress, tients gototheenclaveexpectingdiepeacefully, andoutlivetheirexpected creates acalm-distinctlyseparatefrom thehecticurbanlives.SomeAIDSpa comes there havenojobs,orlimitedresources, butthenature oftheenclave The chaptermakesitclearthatthegayborhoodisnotperfect.Manypeoplewho cence. in thegayborhood(andmanyruralareas), leadstoastateofprolonged adoles to takeof,there isnoneedtowakeupearly, andingeneralthecalmlifestyle the temporalnature oflife inthegayborhoodisquiteunique.Havingnochildren asitisshownthatfalls toallitsmembers.Thelifestyleislaxandquitenocturnal, appointments. Tasks are donecommunally, andtheresponsibility fortheenclave what urbanqueerscanexpect.Theyliveacalmlife,unconstrainedbytimeor Those livinginthegayborhoodrepresent adrasticallydifferent lifestylethan owy nature ofcountrylife cometoahead. in thegayborhood,thatthemesofsexualambiguityandgeneralshad enclave hostsmanypeoplethroughout theyearandhostsseveralfestivals.Itis hood isanenclavewhere agroup ofLGBTindividualslivetogether. Thissafe In thefinalchapter, thegayborhoodinruralsouthis explored. Thegaybor SUMMARY ➥ What istheimplicationofaruraltemporality?Howdoesgayimaginary NYU PRESSINSTRUCTOR’S GUIDE

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