Synopses & Reviews
Alternative lifestyles are anathema to the inhabitants of rural areas of the Bible Belt. Even gays and lesbians themselves resist the notions of community and self-identification espoused by city queers. As Wilson demonstrates, it is the combination of internalized self-hatred, the influence of the right-wing Republicans and religious fervor, together with the hatred, fear, and suspicion aroused by the intervention of gay and lesbian activists from urban areas, that determine the tenor of gay life in the American rural South. A series of shocking interviews with local religious leaders and medical experts whose opinions shape local discourse in sexuality, abortion, feminiosm, and AIDS are the foundation for this revelatory study.
Synopsis
-- Militia men, white supremacists and religious leaders from the Rural South share with the author their opinions on homosexuality, AIDS, feminism and abortion
-- Gays, lesbians and feminists discuss how their 'alternative lifestyles' conflict with or adapt to the tenor of life in the Rural South
-- Addresses the psychological effect of religious fervor, right-wing Republicanism, internalized self-hatred and the intervention of urban gay/feminist politics on gay/feminist life, identities and communities in the Southern States
Synopsis
Alternative lifestyles are anathema to the inhabitants of rural areas of the Bible Belt. Even gays and lesbians themselves resist the notions of community and self-identification espoused by city queers. As Wilson demonstrates, it is the combination of internalized self-hatred, the influence of the right-wing Republicans and religious fervor, together with the hatred, fear, and suspicion aroused by the intervention of gay and lesbian activists from urban areas, that determine the tenor of gay life in the American rural South. A series of shocking interviews with local religious leaders and medical experts whose opinions shape local discourse in sexuality, abortion, feminiosm, and AIDS are the foundation for this revelatory study.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 167-171) and index.