Narrating the rural Appalachian Queer experience

70 Pages·2016·0.36 MB·English

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Masters Theses Graduate School
5-2015
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Amy Michelle Jordan
University of Tennessee - Knoxville, [email protected]
Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes
Part of the Social Work Commons
RReeccoommmmeennddeedd CCiittaattiioonn
Jordan, Amy Michelle, "Those who choose to stay: Narrating the rural Appalachian Queer experience. "
Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 2015.
https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/3375
This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and
Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of TRACE:
Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected].
To the Graduate Council:
I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Amy Michelle Jordan entitled "Those who choose
to stay: Narrating the rural Appalachian Queer experience." I have examined the final electronic
copy of this thesis for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Social Work, with a major in Social
Work.
David Dupper, Major Professor
We have read this thesis and recommend its acceptance:
Rebecca Bolen, Mary Rogge
Accepted for the Council:
Carolyn R. Hodges
Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School
(Original signatures are on file with official student records.)
Those
 who
 choose
 to
 stay:

Narrating
 the
 rural
 Appalachian
 Queer
 experience

A
 Thesis
 Presented
 for
 the

Master
 of
 Science
 in
 Social
 Work

Degree

The
 University
 of
 Tennessee,
 Knoxville

Amy
 Michelle
 Jordan

May
 2015
Copyright
 ©
 2015
 Amy
 Michelle
 Jordan

All
 rights
 reserved

  ii
Dedication

For
 the
 women
 who
 left
 this
 world
 too
 soon
 and
 whose
 love
 has
 propelled
 me

forward:
 My
 cousin
 Julia,
 my
 friends
 Jess
 and
 Tabby,
 and
 my
 aunt
 Rebecca,
 whose
 life

ended
 in
 1989
 before
 she
 was
 able
 to
 complete
 her
 Master
 of
 Science
 in
 Information

Sciences
 at
 the
 University
 of
 Tennessee.

  iii
Acknowledgements

  Thank
 you
 to
 my
 committee
 Dr.
 David
 Dupper,
 Dr.
 Mary
 Rogge,
 and
 Dr.
 Becky

Bolen
 for
 their
 guidance
 and
 encouragement.

  Thank
 you
 to
 those
 who
 helped
 me
 gain
 IRB
 approval,
 including
 Kenneth
 Palmer

and
 Preston
 Carter
 Fields
 for
 their
 letters
 of
 permission
 and
 help
 in
 finding
 participants.

  Thank
 you
 to
 Leah
 McConoughey,
 whose
 help
 during
 the
 coding
 process
 was

integral
 to
 the
 process
 of
 writing
 this
 document.

  Thank
 you
 to
 my
 family
 and
 friends;
 particularly
 my
 friends
 Patricia
 Jones,

Carmel
 Chase,
 Kevin
 Deike,
 and
 Amy
 Bell.
 Patricia
 made
 me
 laugh
 and
 encouraged
 me
 to

battle
 through
 my
 disappointment
 and
 confusion.
 Carmel
 became
 my
 sister
 and
 helped

me
 to
 reach
 new
 depths
 within
 myself
 while
 also
 giving
 so
 much
 of
 her
 time
 and
 efforts,

including
 handing
 out
 calls
 for
 participants
 all
 day
 at
 Knoxville
 Pridefest
 at
 my
 side.

Kevin’s
 support
 during
 these
 last
 several
 years
 has
 been
 invaluable;
 I’m
 so
 glad
 to
 have

you
 in
 my
 life
 for
 these
 past
 12
 years.
 You
 are
 one
 of
 the
 best
 friends
 I
 could
 hope
 for:

our
 long
 walks,
 epic
 conversations,
 hugs,
 adventures,
 and
 the
 editing
 advice
 have
 meant

more
 than
 I
 can
 express.
 Amy
 has
 been
 my
 family
 and
 my
 anchor,
 providing
 reassurance

and
 love
 when
 it
 was
 most
 needed.
 To
 say
 I’m
 lucky
 to
 have
 met
 you
 and
 shared
 some

piece
 of
 my
 life
 with
 you
 would
 be
 an
 understatement.

  Finally,
 Thank
 you
 to
 the
 youth
 to
 met
 with
 me
 and
 told
 me
 your
 stories—thank

you
 for
 your
 time,
 your
 courage,
 your
 openness.
 Your
 stories
 have
 given
 my
 own
 greater

context,
 and
 I
 hope
 that
 I
 am
 able
 to
 do
 honor
 to
 your
 words
 and
 experiences.

  iv
There
 are
 others
 I’ve
 forgotten
 or
 left
 unnamed,
 people
 who
 have
 offered
 me
 kind

words,

 pushed
 me
 to
 continue
 reaching
 further,
 shared
 my
 call
 for
 participants,
 and

offered
 their
 assistance
 in
 so
 many
 meaningful
 ways.
 Thank
 you!
 No
 thing
 exists
 in
 a

tunnel,
 no
 project
 is
 accomplished
 without
 the
 help
 of
 many
 players!

  v
Abstract

“Those
 who
 choose
 to
 stay”
 is
 a
 qualitative
 exploratory
 study
 compromised
 of

four
 LGBT
 youth
 from
 rural
 towns
 in
 East
 Tennessee.
 These
 young
 adults
 were
 recruited

through
 LGBT
 listservs,
 pride
 festivals,
 and
 word
 of
 mouth.
 Each
 young
 adult
 was

interviewed
 over
 the
 course
 of
 one
 to
 three
 hours.
 The
 interviews
 were
 then
 transcribed

and
 coded
 using
 Atlas.ti
 software,
 allowing
 codes
 to
 surface
 from
 the
 text.
 Four
 main

themes
 were
 discovered:
 religious
 atmosphere,
 family,
 coming
 out,
 and
 peer
 networks.

Religious
 atmosphere
 was
 generally
 found
 to
 be
 a
 destructive
 part
 of
 these

youths’
 environments,
 making
 them
 fear
 for
 their
 safety
 and
 worry
 about
 coming
 out
 to

their
 families
 and
 friends.
 The
 very
 conservative
 type
 of
 religion
 particular
 to
 the

geographic
 area
 also
 acted
 as
 a
 barrier
 to
 one’s
 own
 coming
 out:
 instilling
 shame,

undermining
 feelings
 of
 self-­‐worth,
 and
 causing
 friction
 among
 family
 members.

However,
 the
 majority
 of
 these
 youth
 were
 able
 to
 maintain
 relationships
 with
 their

families
 and
 listed
 their
 family
 as
 one
 of
 the
 top
 reasons
 they
 stay
 in
 their
 hometowns.

While
 there
 was
 significant
 anxiety
 surrounding
 the
 coming
 out
 process,
 every

youth
 reported
 feeling
 relief
 and
 greater
 personal
 satisfaction
 after
 coming
 out
 as
 well

as
 articulating
 the
 deleterious
 effects
 of
 hiding
 one’s
 gender
 or
 sexual
 orientation.

Forming
 peer
 networks
 with
 other
 LGBT
 youth
 and
 adults
 was
 found
 to
 be
 a
 significant

part
 of
 the
 coming
 out
 process.
 Not
 only
 did
 peer
 networks
 help
 to
 normalize

experiences,
 but
 also
 they
 provided
 a
 protective
 factor
 against
 the
 unfriendly
 larger

culture.

  vi
In
 conclusion,
 we
 must
 continue
 to
 support
 youth
 as
 they
 come
 out
 at
 younger

ages,
 providing
 information
 and
 support.
 A
 better
 relationship
 between
 the
 mainstream

LGBT
 movement,
 its
 advocates,
 and
 people
 living
 in
 rural
 Appalachia
 would
 be

beneficial.
 When
 working
 with
 youth,
 it
 is
 important
 to
 recognize
 that
 while
 religious

involvement
 is
 generally
 a
 strength,
 some
 members
 of
 the
 LGBT
 community
 may
 have
 a

history
 of
 trauma
 and
 victimization
 in
 relation
 to
 their
 church
 communities.

  vii
Preface

  The
 goal
 of
 this
 project
 is
 to
 create
 a
 narrative
 of
 the
 queer
 experience
 in
 rural

Appalachia
 at
 a
 particular
 point
 in
 time.
 To
 be
 absolutely
 clear
 in
 my
 approach
 to

research,
 it
 is
 necessary
 for
 me
 to
 describe
 who
 I
 am,
 the
 experiences
 that
 have
 led
 me
 to

this
 place-­‐time,
 and
 my
 motivations.
 I
 approach
 the
 subject
 matter
 first
 as
 a
 middle
 class

white
 queer
 person
 with
 working
 class
 roots
 who
 experienced
 zir
 girlhood
 in
 Loudon

County,
 Tennessee.

  I
 have
 a
 deeply
 ingrained
 feminist
 aesthetic
 and
 believe,
 as
 Adrienne
 Rich
 stated

in
 her
 essay
 “Resisting
 Amnesia,”
 that
 “to
 say
 yes,
 over
 and
 over,
 to
 our
 integrity,
 we

need
 to
 know
 where
 we
 have
 been:
 we
 need
 our
 history.”
 I
 think
 that
 an
 essential

element
 of
 reimagining
 power
 structures
 is
 to
 acknowledge
 where
 the
 conversation
 is

centered.
 One
 way
 that
 systems
 of
 oppression
 function
 is
 by
 assuming
 that
 all
 persons

fall
 into
 the
 dominant
 group
 and
 silencing
 any
 dissenting
 voices.
 In
 the
 case
 of

heterosexism,
 we
 are
 all
 assumed
 to
 be
 straight
 until
 coming
 out—not
 only
 to
 ourselves

and
 our
 family
 and
 friends,
 but
 also
 to
 every
 new
 person
 that
 we
 meet.
 It
 becomes
 our

job
 to
 act
 as
 unwitting
 teachers
 and
 ambassadors
 of
 our
 experiences;
 to
 articulate
 our

difference
 at
 every
 turn.

  Unlike
 other
 cultures,
 queer
 culture
 is
 not
 typically
 something
 into
 which

children
 are
 socialized
 by
 their
 birth
 families.
 While
 we
 are
 born
 LGBT,
 our
 parents
 are

most
 likely
 not.
 Because
 mainstream
 culture
 is
 cis/straight
 culture,
 each
 individual
 must

seek
 out
 a
 community
 for
 themselves
 or
 create
 their
 own
 image
 of
 wellness.
 For
 many

people
 this
 is
 a
 complicated
 and
 lengthy
 process
 that
 can
 be
 made
 more
 difficult
 by
 the

  viii