Even wh same-sex marriage beg legal, 's still difficult to be openly gay small muni. One man reflects on growg up gay a small town.
Contents:
- AUTHOR ROBBIE COUCH TALKS GROWG UP GAY SMALL TOWN USA AND FDG YOUR CHOSEN FAY
- GROWG UP GAY A SMALL TOWN
- WHAT IT'S LIKE GROWG UP GAY IN A STRAIGHT COMMUNY
- GROWG UP GAY A SMALL TOWN
- SMALL TOWN GAY: GROWG UP DIFFERENT THE SOUTH
- GROWG UP GAY THE SOUTH
AUTHOR ROBBIE COUCH TALKS GROWG UP GAY SMALL TOWN USA AND FDG YOUR CHOSEN FAY
Small town livg has s advantag. But beg gay a small town n be very difficult. * growing up gay in a small town *
The story centers around Sky, an openly gay teenager livg a small Midwtern town. Couch himself is openly gay and grew up Cl, Michigan, a town wh a populatn of ls than 3, 000 people.
Queerty was lucky enough to talk to Couch about his lerary but, growg up gay small town USA, and the time he hand-livered a drs to Gayle Kg at her apartment. COUCH: I hand-livered a drs to Gayle Kg at her apartment 2011. Not bee of anythg Gayle did (she’s great), but bee I had to trek the drs uptown on the subway as a very ail tern.
GROWG UP GAY A SMALL TOWN
* growing up gay in a small town *
Cocintally, you’re also gay and grew up a small town, like the character Sky. Growg up gay small town Ameri was msy and terrible many rpects, but I also ma lifelong iends gra school and have a ln wonrful memori om that perd of my life, so ’s not a black-and-whe thg.
I didn’t have to face homophobia the same direct way he do. Often the muni are portrayed as backwards plac where everyone is homophobic and LGBTQ kids flee the moment they n.
Queerns felt like a taboo, somethg rarely talked about asi om the ocsnal hhed mors: “I heard so-and-so is gay!
WHAT IT'S LIKE GROWG UP GAY IN A STRAIGHT COMMUNY
It is not unmon for gay and lbian youth to go through several different thgs growg up. Learng how they are different, how to accept that difference and whom they wish to let on their differenc are only some of the thgs they have to al wh. Lotn n play an important… * growing up gay in a small town *
But that same girl who got straight As, attend church every Sunday, and feigned tert watchg The Bachelorette at team bondg stggled wh ternalized homophobia, shame, and reprsn of her inty on a daily basis.
On late nights durg high school, I remember searchg the Inter for some sort of tt that uld “diagnose” whether I was gay, hopg to prove that what I feared wasn’t te.
GROWG UP GAY A SMALL TOWN
I grew up a muny where adults I looked up to would refer to queer people, people like me, wh slurs, and where “gay” was ed as an sult. The earlit memori I have of LGBT rights me when San Francis legalized gay marriage.
I uldn’t be a two hour drive, a two hour pilgrimage, om a gay bar. On the flipsi, beg gay Pampa was not easy. I realized I was gay when I was about twelve.
Well, growg up gay a small town prented a unique set of challeng.
SMALL TOWN GAY: GROWG UP DIFFERENT THE SOUTH
The “gay thg” was swept unr the g. You’d thk that, growg up the Bible Belt, I’d heard the “gays are sners” speech over and over.
The gay thg was almost never discsed.
We fely got the sense beg gay was nsired evil, but wasn’t an overt thg. And, bee the gay topic never me up, no gays existed Pampa. Growg up, I was asked only once if I was gay.
GROWG UP GAY THE SOUTH
There were no gay anizatns AT ALL. They say 5-10% of the populatn is gay and that number feels right. Well, what’s the first thg most gay people do when they get old enough?
I’d say the dispersn of gays is different pendg on the lotn.
For example, Dallas may be like 12-15% gay. If Pampa was any more than 2% gay, I’d be shocked.