Where We Call Home: Lgbt People In Rural America
WHERE WE CALL HOME:LGBT PEOPLE IN RURAL AMERICAApril 2019AuthorPartners
This report was authored by:This report was developed in partnership with:Movement Advancement ProjectMAP’s mission is to provide independent and rigorousresearch, insight and communications that help speedequality and opportunity for all people. MAP works toensure that all people have a fair chance to pursue healthand happiness, earn a living, take care of the ones theylove, be safe in their communities, and participate incivic life. For more information, visit www.lgbtmap.org.The Equality FederationThe Equality Federation is the movement builderand strategic partner to state-based organizationsadvocating for LGBTQ people. From Equality Florida toFreedom Oklahoma to Basic Rights Oregon, we amplifythe power of the state-based LGBTQ movement. Wework collaboratively on critical issues—from advancingworkplace fairness and family recognition to defeatinganti-transgender bathroom bans and HIV criminalizationlaws—that affect how LGBTQ people experience the worldfrom cradle to grave. Together with our partners we workon cross-cutting issues impacting our community suchas racial equity, reproductive justice, and immigration.Learn more at www.equalityfederation.org.2Contact InformationMovement Advancement Project1905 15th Street #1097Boulder, CO 803061-844-MAP-8800www.lgbtmap.orgMAP is very grateful to the following major funders,whose generous support makes it possible for us todo our work:David Bohnett FoundationDavid Dechman & Michel MercureDavid Geffen FoundationGill FoundationEsmond HarmsworthEvelyn & Walter Haas, Jr. FundJim HormelJohnson Family FoundationAmy Mandel & Katina RodisWeston MillikenIneke MushovicThe Palette FundMona PittengerH. van Ameringen FoundationTides FoundationWild Geese FoundationRecommended citation: Movement Advancement Project. April 2019. WhereWe Call Home: LGBT People in Rural America. www.lgbtmap.org/rural-lgbtThe National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC)NBJC is a civil rights organization dedicated tothe empowerment of Black lesbian, gay, bisexual,transgender, queer and same gender loving (LGBTQ/SGL)people, including people living with HIV/AIDS. NBJC’smission is to end racism, homophobia, and LGBTQ/SGLbias and stigma. As America’s leading national BlackLGBTQ/SGL civil rights organization focused on federalpublic policy, NBJC has accepted the charge to leadBlack families in strengthening the bonds and bridgingthe gaps between the movements for racial justice andLGBTQ/SGL equality. Learn more at www.nbjc.org.The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR)NCLR was the first national LGBTQ legal organizationfounded by women and brings a fierce, longstandingcommitment to racial and economic justice and ourcommunity’s most vulnerable. Since 1977, NCLR has beenat the forefront of advancing the civil and human rightsof our full LGBTQ community and their families throughimpact litigation, public policy, and public education.Decades ago, NCLR led the way by establishing the firstLGBTQ Immigration Project, Transgender Rights Project,Youth Project, Elder Law Project, and began workingto end conversion therapy through what is now theBorn Perfect campaign. NCLR also hosts regular RuralPride convenings around the country, which provides aforum to focus on the unique needs of the rural LGBTQcommunity. Learn more at www.nclrights.org.This work contains data generated from the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey, whichwas conducted by the National Center for Transgender Equality. To find out moreabout the U.S. Transgender Survey, visit http://www.ustranssurvey.org.
TABLE OF CONTENTSACKNOWLEDGMENTS.IInterviewees. iData Support and Consultation . iEXECUTIVE SUMMARY.iiiINTRODUCTION.1SECTION 1: RURAL AMERICA: WHERE MANY LGBT PEOPLE CALL HOME. 5Estimates of People Living in Rural Communities. 5Estimates of LGBT People Living in Rural Communities. 6SECTION 2: STRENGTHS, STRUCTURES, AND CHALLENGES: HOW RURAL LIFEAMPLIFIES THE IMPACT OF ACCEPTANCE AND REJECTION . 9Family, Faith, and Community. 11Family.11LGBT Parents.12LGBT Youth .14Faith Communities.15Community Organizations.17Education and Schools. 22Employment and Economic Security. 26Farming and Agriculture.27Immigrant Workers in Rural Communities.28Discrimination at Work.28Housing & Homelessness. 31LGBT Youth Homelessness.33Public Places and Businesses. 35Health Care. 38Fewer Alternative Providers.38Lower Cultural Competency.38Discrimination in Rural Health Care.41The Legal System. 46Legal Bias .46Fines, Fees, and Cash Bail.48The Strengths, Structures, and Challenges Shaping LGBT Life in Rural Communities. 49SECTION 3: SOCIAL AND POLITICAL LANDSCAPE: LGBT PEOPLE IN RURALAREAS ARE MORE VULNERABLE TO DISCRIMINATION . 51Public Opinion: Less Supportive, But More Diverse Than Imagined . 51Policy Landscape. 54Federal Laws: No Clear, Consistent Protections.54State Laws.54Rural States Have Worse Overall LGBT Policy Climate.56Rural States Have Fewer LGBT Protections.573
Rural States Have More Discriminatory Laws.584Vast Differences in Legal Protections Across and Within Regions .59Local Laws: Fewer Protections in Rural Areas.62Political Power. 64Less Political Representation.64Different Political Influence.65The Social and Political Landscape for LGBT People in Rural Communities. 67RECOMMENDATIONS .68CONCLUSION.80ENDNOTES.81
ACKNOWLEDGMENTSThank you to those who graciously and generously shared their time, expertise, and experiences in our researchand interview process and/or with data support. MAP would also like to thank those individuals who shared theirpersonal stories for this report.IntervieweesData Support and ConsultationSam Brinton, The Trevor ProjectMa’ayan Anafi, National Center for Transgender EqualityLuke A. Boso, University of San FranciscoCarolyn Davis, PRRIDenny Chan, Justice in AgingReggie Greer, Victory InstituteLisa Cisneros, California Rural Legal AssistanceJody L. Herman, Williams InstituteBryan Cochran, University of MontanaElliot Imse, Victory FundKerith Conron, Williams InstituteShabab Ahmed Mirza, Center for American ProgressNorah Deluhery, Deluhery StrategiesMaxine Najle, PRRIMaya Doe-Simkins, Harm Reduction MichiganJessica Pumphrey, Pew Research CenterJosh Dubensky, U.S. Senate Special Committee on AgingSheridan Ruiz, PRRILaura E. Durso, Center for American ProgressCesar Toledo, Victory FundJulie Gonen, National Center for Lesbian RightsEmily A. Greytak, GLSENJean Hardy, University of MichiganBeth Horwitz, Chapin Hall at the University of ChicagoMeghan Kissell, Human Rights CampaignMaggie Lawrence, The Rural Institute for InclusiveCommunitiesMamone, Queer Appalachia and the Electric DirtCollectiveMeghan Maury, National LGBTQ Task ForceZachary Michener, Human Rights CampaignLiam Miranda, Human Rights CampaignCasey Pick, The Trevor ProjectCaitlin Rooney, Center for American ProgressRayna Sage, Research and Training Center on Disabilityin Rural Communities, University of MontanaGregory Samantha Rosenthal, Roanoke CollegeDenise Spivak, CenterLinkTerry Stone, CenterLinkAaron Tax, SAGEAlisha Williams, Arcus FoundationLiz Welch, American Civil Liberties UnionEmily J. Wornell, Ball State University, Rural PolicyResearch InstituteSerena Worthington, SAGEACKNOWLEDGMENTSJ. Jack Gieseking, University of Kentuckyi
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARYRural America is where many LGBT people callhome. LGBT people are part of the fabric of rural andurban communities alike, working as teachers andministers, small business owners and communityorganizers, farmers and construction workers. LGBTpeople who choose to live in rural communities oftenchoose to live there for many of the same reasonsthat other people do: they value the same, wonderfulaspects of rural life as other people, including vibrantand tight-knit community, family life, and connectionto the land. Rural communities are where they wereraised, where their families are, where they build theirlives, or simply where they call home.iiiSECTION 1: Rural America: Where ManyLGBT People Call HomeAccording to the U.S. Census, over 62 million people,or roughly one in five American residents, live in ruralareas.i As of the 2010 Census, about one in five ruralresidents are people of color, and among rural residentsof color, 40% are Black, 35% are Latinx, and 25% areNative American, Asian or Pacific Islander, or multiracial.iiNational surveys of rural areas show that between3% and 5% of the rural population identifies as LGBT,iiiconsistent with estimates that 4.5% of the U.S. adultpopulation identifies as LGBT.iv Additional research showsthat roughly 10% of youth identify as LGBT, with ruralyouth just as likely as urban youth to identify as LGBT.vTaken together, this suggests that between 2.9 millionand 3.8 million LGBT people—or 15-20% of the total U.S.LGBT population—live in rural areas around the country.viGeneral societal stereotypes and pop cultureportrayals of LGBT people suggest that LGBT peoplelive solely in urban settings, while stereotypesand portrayals of rural communities rarely, if ever,include LGBT people—except as targets of anti-LGBTviolence, or as people yearning to leave their ruralhome to migrate to “more accepting” urban areas.viiThese assumptions and narratives create a singularunderstanding of “how to be”—and where to be—LGBT in the United States.While this report focuses on the impact of rural lifeon LGBT people specifically, this analysis of rural life inthe United States may also describe the experiencesof many people of color, immigrants, people withdisabilities, and others who might be considered“different” in many parts of rural America. It is furtherimportant to note that many LGBT people in ruralAmerica are also people of color, immigrants, peoplewith disabilities, or others living at the intersection ofmultiple minority identities. For these communities,the challenges and experiences described herein arelikely magnified multiple times over.In reality, not only do LGBT people live in ruralAmerica, but many of them want to and enjoy livingin rural America. LGBT people in urban and rural areasreport similar levels of subjective well-being, health, andsatisfaction.viii In discussions with LGBT people living inrural communities, researchers find that for many LGBTpeople in rural areas, living in a rural area may be just asimportant to who they are as being LGBT.ixOverall, the report illustrates the importance ofexamining the impact of place of residence on LGBTpeople’s (and indeed many communities’) experiencesthroughout America, and shows the critical needLGBT People in Rural America2.9-3.8 Million-Movement Advancement Project, with data from theU.S. Census Bureau, the CDC, and The Williams InstituteEXECUTIVE SUMMARYLGBT people also experience many of the samechallenges of rural life, including fewer healthcareproviders, declining populations, and limitedemployment opportunities. However, LGBT peoplein rural areas are uniquely affected by the structuralchallenges and other aspects of rural life, which amplifythe impacts of both rejection and acceptance. What’smore, the social and political landscape of rural areasmakes LGBT people more vulnerable to discrimination.Public opinion in rural areas is generally less supportiveof LGBT people and policies, and rural states aresignificantly less likely to have vital nondiscriminationlaws and more likely to have harmful, discriminatorylaws. Additionally, the geographic distance andisolation of rural areas makes political organizing moredifficult, further lessening the ability of LGBT people inrural areas to effect change in their local communities.for advancing federal and state nondiscriminationprotections and LGBT-inclusive community services inrural America, where so many LGBT people call home.
ivSECTION 2: Strengths, Structures, andChallenges: How Rural Life Amplifies theImpact of Acceptance and RejectionEXECUTIVE SUMMARYJust as there is no singular LGBT experience, thereis no singular rural experience. However, many peoplein rural parts of the country describe their communitiesin similar ways: built around family and close-knitcommunity; centered around strong social institutionssuch as churches, schools, and local businesses; deeplyconnected to place and the environment; and based in asense of efficacy and self-reliance to make change in theirown communities.x Certain challenges and experiencesare also increasingly common in rural America, includingthe ongoing economic hardships; addiction andsubstance abuse, including the opioid epidemic; fewer ormore distant options for quality health care; and more.The challenges of rural life often lead to differentconsequences for LGBT people, and can amplify LGBTpeople’s experiences of both acceptance and rejection.Why is this the case?Increased visibility. The lowerpopulation of rural areasmeans that anyone who is“different” can be morenoticeable—and that whensomeone is different, morepeople know it, particularly intightly-knit communities. If an LGBT person in a ruralcommunity is open about their identity in even onepart of their life, such as work, it is likely that manycommunity members, including outside of work,will know they are LGBT.Ripple effects. Rural life andcommunities are deeplyinterconnected,andsoexperiences in one area of lifecan create ripple effects thattouch many other areas oflife. For example, if a person isexcluded from their faith community for being gay,they may have a difficult time at work or finding ajob, because their church members may also be theircoworkers or potential employers. This effect mayalso work in a positive way: if a rural churchcommunity or employer takes a supportive stand forlocal LGBT residents, that support can also rippleoutward to other areas of life.Fewer alternatives in theface of discrimination.Many rural areas face thechallenge of having too fewdoctors, employers, housingoptions, and more. For LGBTpeople in rural areas—andespecially LGBT people of color in rural areas—this poses a special challenge, because if they arediscriminated against, they may have noalternative place to find a doctor, job, or home.Additionally, many service providers in rural areasare religiously-affiliated and are covered underreligious exemption laws that allow them todiscriminate, even when providing public services.Less support structure.Finally, the greater social andgeographic isolation of ruralareas means there are fewersupport structures availableto LGBT people in rural areas.When LGBT people in ruralareas face discrimination, or even simply arestruggling with acceptance or coming out, there arefewer places to turn for social support, legal support,or even just basic information.The report addresses how these unique challengesof rural life impact the experiences of LGBT peopleas they build families and community—and accesseducation, employment, housing, public services andaccommodations, health care, the legal system, and more.Family, faith, and communitycomprise the core of how manypeople living in rural places create,nurture, and sustain emotional andsocial connections to one another.They also provide valuable opportunities thatimpact other areas of life, including employmentoptions, access to knowledge and resources, andmore. So when family, faith, and communityorganizations are not welcoming—or worse, areintentionally exclusionary—the lack of alternativescan result in emotional, spiritual, and economicisolation for LGBT people that has substantialimpacts for overall wellbeing and success.
Education and schools are anothercornerstone institution of ruralcommunities, but resource andteacher shortages mean students inrural districts are often at adisadvantage compared to their urban and suburbanpeers. LGBT students (and children with LGBTparents) in rural districts are at a furtherdisadvantage if they experience more hostile schoolclimates, fewer structural or policy supports, or anabsence of educational alternatives—as researchshows they often do.xiHousing and homelessness are alsoproblems facing rural communities.Though housing may be moreaffordable in rural areas compared tosuburban or urban areas, housing costsremain unaffordable for many rural residents, andparticularly so for quality housing. LGBT people inrural areas may face discrimination when seekinghousing, from applying for rentals to applying formortgages, lowering the chances of finding quality,affordable housing even further. LGBT youth also facedisproportionate rates of homelessness, and in ruralareas, a lack of services providers with competencyserving LGBT youth means this homelessness may bemore difficult to recognize and redress.Public places and businesses, or“public accommodations,” refers to awide range of businesses, services,and spaces that make up rural MainStreets and everyday life, fromrestaurants and coffeeshops to public libraries andhealthcare providers. Rural areas generally havefewer providers of such services, and as a result, if anLGBT person in a rural area is discriminated againstHealthcare access can be difficult inrural communities, with hospitalsclosing and fewer providers available—not to mention the ongoing opioidcrisis—making it extremely challengingfor LGBT patients to find knowledgeable and affirminghealth care. Rural areas are also more likely to beserved by religious healthcare providers, who may becovered under religious exemptions laws that mayallow them to discriminate. When LGBT patients doexperience discrimination, they may have noalternative healthcare provider from whom to seekhelp. Experiences or fear of discrimination may alsolead LGBT people to avoid health care or receiveinadequate care or no care at all, putting the healthand wellbeing of LGBT people in rural communitiesespecially at risk.The legal system is a large componentof rural economies. But the reliance onfines, fees, and cash bail can createpoverty traps, particularly in ruralareas (where poverty rates are higher)and for LGBT people (who are more likely toexperience poverty). Further, LGBT people—particularly people of color and/or scrimination in the legal system. In rural areaswhere there are fewer legal providers and outsideresources, such as legal clinics or LGBT communitycenters, LGBT people may be even more vulnerableto legal discrimination.Contrary to many societal images of rural areas,many rural communities embrace their LGBT neighborsand family members. However, when LGBT peoplein rural communities do experience discrimination,it can also be harder to overcome due to theirincreased visibility, the ripple effects of living in aclose-knit community, fewer alternatives in the face ofdiscrimination, and fewer support structures to dealwith hardship or discrimination.vEXECUTIVE SUMMARYEmployment and economic securityare key issues in rural communities.Differences such as high rates ofentrepreneurship to high rates ofpoverty and unemployment impact allresidents in rural America. LGBT people face uniquechallenges because they are more visible in ruralcommunities, face high rates of discrimination atwork, and face fewer alternative job options.Additionally, LGBT people in rural areas are less likelyto have vital protections against employmentdiscrimination, at both the state and local level.when seeking such a service, they are unlikely tohave an alternative place to get that service.Combined with a lack of nondiscriminationprotections, and a higher likelihood of religiousexemption laws, LGBT people in rural areas areespecially vulnerable to discrimination in publicaccommodations and have few options forovercoming such discrimination.
viSECTION 3: Social and PoliticalLandscape: LGBT People in Rural Areasare More Vulnerable to DiscriminationEXECUTIVE SUMMARYRural communities also have unique social andpolitical landscapes regarding LGBT people and issues.On average, public opinion in rural areas is relativelyless supportive of LGBT people and issues, but it is farmore diverse than might be assumed. More significantly,majority-rural states are far less likely to have vital statelevel nondiscrimination protections and far more likelyto have harmful, discriminatory policies. Further, LGBTpeople in rural areas have less political power than inother areas: there are fewer LGBT-identified electedofficials in rural areas, and rural areas also tend tohave less of the sociopolitical infrastructure that helpsadvance understanding of LGBT people and policies.As a result, LGBT people in rural America are morevulnerable to discrimination (including state-sanctioneddiscrimination) and less able to cope with its effects.Public Opinion. The lower populationof rural areas means there are fewerLGBT people in rural areas overall.Therefore, rural populations may beless familiar with LGBT people (andindeed, people in rural areas are less likely thanurbanites to have a close friend or family memberwho is gay, lesbian, or transgender).xii Rural residentsare also, on average, less supportive of legal andpolicy protections for LGBT people. However, ruralpublic opinion is far more diverse than might beassumed: a majority of rural residents still supportthese policies. This is especially true among youngerrural residents, women, and people of color.The complexity of public opinion in rural America illustrates that rural communities must not bewritten off as opposing equality for LGBT people.Certainly, the public opinion landscape may bemore challenging in rural areas than outside them,but support for LGBT people exists—and has alwaysexisted—within rural America. Significant policy andlegal work still needs to be done to protect LGBTpeople in rural areas, but public opinion data showthat this significant work can be done.Policy Landscape. LGBT people in ruralareas face a challenging policylandscape. There are few, if any, clearand explicit federal nondiscriminationprotections for LGBT people. At thestate level, LGBT people in rural states are less likely tohave key legal protections against discrimination inemployment, housing, public accommodations,health care, adoption and foster care, and more. Ruralstates are also less likely to have protections againstconversion therapy and bullying in schools, whiletransgender people in rural states are less likely tohave relatively straightforward processes for updatingtheir gender marker on key identity documents. LGBTpeople in rural states are also more likely to experienceharmful, discriminatory laws, including HIVcriminalization and statewide religious exemptions.Even at the local level, rural states have a smallerpercent of their population protected by LGBTinclusive local ordinances, compared to the percentprotected in urban states. However, many small townsand rural areas are working diligently to welcome andprotect their LGBT residents, acting as role models forlocal-level leadership in the fight for LGBT equality.In short, LGBT people in rural areas are disproportionately harmed by the lack of protections and thepresence of discriminatory laws. The current policylandscape demonstrates the clear and urgent needfor federal and state nondiscrimination protectionsfor LGBT people, as well as the potential harm fromdiscriminatory laws such as religious exemptions.Political Power. In rural areas, LGBTpeople are less likely to be representedby LGBT elected officials and less likelyto have the types of socialinfrastructure, such as communitycenters, that can often serve as spaces for organizingand public education to improve support for LGBTpeople and issues. LGBT people in rural areas mayalso face different political challenges than LGBTpeople in urban areas, such as needing to focus onmore basic public education about LGBT people.Given the relative scarcity of resources in rural areas,LGBT people may have different (i.e., not LGBTspecific) priorities altogether. Taken toge
population identifies as LGBT.iv Additional research shows that roughly 10% of youth identify as LGBT, with rural youth just as likely as urban youth to identify as LGBT.v Taken together, this suggests that between 2.9 million and 3.8 million LGBT people—or 15-20% of the total U.S. LGBT population—live in rural areas around the country. vi
WHY LGBT MEDIA? 60%. read LGBT media that most straight people have never heard of. 82%. attend LGBT events. 76%. visit LGBT websites. 69% . read LGBT magazines. 86%. of LGBT people engaged with some form of LGBT-oriented media in the past week. SOURCES: Pink Media 2014 Research - AU respondents, DNA Readers survey 2012 - All respondents. 1 .
the health and social care sectors to take up the work that some very dedicated and inventive individuals have already begun. 4 Health and Social Care and LGBT Communities Introduction Our inquiry 1. In July 2018 the Government published its National LGBT Survey and LGBT Action Plan, which committed to improving the lives of LGBT people in the UK. The same month, an event on LGBT and health .
LGBT Population Health course syllabus Page 5 of 13 Version: 1-Apr-14 Be able to identify three public health problems faced disproportionately by one of the LGBT populations Be able to identify gaps in research on LGBT population health Understand the diversity of health disparities experienced by LGBT populations Identify LGBT health resources available to students at the UNC Health Sciences .
Laporan LGBT Nasional Indonesia - Hidup Sebagai LGBT di Asia 8 Ikhtisar Eksekutif [Foto: Para peserta Dialog Komunitas LGBT Nasional Indonesia] Hidup Sebagai LGBT di Asia: Dialog Komunitas LGBT Nasional Indonesia Laporan ini mengulas lingkungan hukum dan sosial yang dihadapi kelompok lesbian, gay, biseksual dan transgender (LGBT) di Indonesia.
victims as hate crime victims. These one-dimensional narratives miss many criminal justice problems that especially fall on LGBT people who bear the brunt of inequality in the criminal justice system—including LGBT people of color, transgender people, undocumented LGBT people, LGBT people
LGBT adults work in both private and public sectors. Across all sectors, 5.9% of employees are LGBT. Over 45% of all employees (both LGBT and non-LGBT) report hearing anti-LGBT remarks in the workplace across employer types. Employees in all sectors report that LGBTQ people are treated unfairly in the workplace
Almost all LGBT respondents (94%) said that more needs to be done to tackle prejudice and discrimination against LGBT people in Scotland. LGBT people identify the Scottish Government, local authorities, and public services as having the lead responsibility for tackling the inequality that LGBT people face in Scotland.
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