Tag: LGBTQ+ in Rural Areas
This project is becoming a book.
Explore more of these journeys in Northern Lights, Northern Lives.
→ Follow the Kickstarter prelaunch page to be part of bringing it to life
-
What does the Northern Lights have to do with Gender?
Explore how place shapes gender identity through the All the Genders Photo Project. Inspired by the Northern Lights, this post introduces Northern Lights, Northern Lives—a book connecting personal stories, landscapes, and community across Alaska and the Yukon, revealing the deep ties between environment, identity, and human experience.
-
From Small-Town Repression to Nonbinary Freedom in Juneau, Alaska
Book sneak preview: Kelby grew up feeling trapped in a masculine box in a small Midwestern town. In Juneau, Alaska, they finally saw queer people living openly, and began building a life as their authentic, nonbinary self among glaciers, ocean shores, and wild freedom.
-
Raising a Transgender Child in Rural Alaska: An Alaska Native Mother’s Story of Hardship and Hope
Book sneak preview: In rural Alaska, an Alaska Native mother fights for her transgender son’s safety, childhood, and future. Facing bullying, isolation, and community loss, she chooses strategically concealed visibility and unconditional support of her child. This intimate story reminds us why this work is important, as it explores resilience, Indigenous values, and the power…
-
Gender Gems on Rum and Coffee: Raw Flavors of Scottish Queerness
Over rum, coffee, and a shifting Shetland dialect, an elder Scottish host shares unexpected stories about masculinity, femininity, and growing up constrained by labels. This quiet, funny, and tender encounter reveals how gender truths often surface not through theory, but through shared moments, storytelling, and a well-poured nightcap.
-
Queerness and Gender Outside the Binary Above the Arctic Circle
Living north of the Arctic Circle, Desiree reflects on identity, sense of safety, and shedding imposed gender roles. From self-erasure to self-honesty, her story weaves queerness, nature, and resilience in rural Alaska – where survival, community, and becoming whole matter more than fitting into binaries.
-
Bloom Where You’re Planted: The Flower Daddy Cultivating Queer Joy in Appalachia
In a town with few protections for LGBTQ+ folks, florist and activist Jamie—aka The Flower Daddy—is helping queer Appalachia bloom with pride.
-
Exploring Gender, Art, and Spirituality: A Nonbinary Journey from Missouri to Virginia
Mica’s journey to embracing their nonbinary and pansexual identity didn’t follow a straight line—or a fast one. Growing up on the edge of the working-class suburbs of St. Louis, they had one foot in the world of strip malls and the other in barn yards, with few queer or gender-nonconforming role models to look to.…
-
Queer and Appalachian: Exploring LGBTQ+ Life in West Virginia
What does it mean to be queer in West Virginia—a state often overlooked, misunderstood, or written off as too conservative for LGBTQ+ life to thrive? During a three-week road trip across the Mountain State, I met queer Appalachians who are deeply rooted in their land and culture, embracing pride in the complexities of their communities.…
-
Tending the Hearth: A Nonbinary Life Rooted in Appalachian Pride and Self-Actualization
In the quiet mountains of southern West Virginia, Dakota is building a life that defies easy categories. Nonbinary, deeply Appalachian, and fiercely rooted in community, they have carved out a space where gender diversity is not just endured, but celebrated – sometimes in quietly content solitude. Dakota’s story is about more than survival — it’s…
-
From Oil City to Charleston: A Kinkster’s Life in Gender, Geekdom, and Appalachia
What does it mean to be a queer kinkster, lifelong anime fan, and healthcare worker navigating gender expression in Appalachia? From Pokémon plushies to platform clogs, Sam (he/ze/they) shares his personal journey that stretches from Oil City, PA to Charleston, WV. His coming out stories stretch decades back, enveloping passions for nerdy interests and the…