Narratives in the American South: LGBTQ+ in the Bible Belt

In this paper, I will be exploring narratives of self-disclosing LGBTQIA+ individuals who grew up in the South or have lived here an appropriate amount of time. Through a qualitative approach, I collect stories from individuals utilizing semi-formal and informal interviews as well as conducting field observations of perceived LGBTQ+ safe spaces. My research question (RQ) is “What expressive freedoms or hindrances exist within the LGBTQ+ community in Georgia” with four subsequent questions, “How expressive are individuals in urban centers?” to “How expressive are individuals in rural centers?” then, “Are there apparent absences of representation among racial groups?” and, “What role does religion play in the community’s existence?” For this paper, the scope of my research is narrowed to focus on LGBTQ+ individuals in Georgia and how different areas of the state showcase acceptance or rejection of homosexuality from individual perspectives. I wanted to explore relationships over several quadrants: queerness, comfort, freedom, and religion. Through a thematic analysis of my interviews, I found that the five categories: identity, space, geography, family and church, and behavior – and the subcategories: gender expression and queer performance – all contribute to the queer experience in Georgia. By looking at self-identifying queer individuals in different areas around the state, I was able to surmise that the freedom of this group exists on the line of neutrality between good and bad; occasionally dipping in and out of both. One of the most revealing themes present is the idea that gender identity directly impacts comfort and perception of judgment internally and externally. Using the information uncovered here, I hope to re-contextualize dialogue on the perspective on The South’s, specifically Georgia’s, stance on LGBTQ+ individuals – not in a profound sense, but minor, conversational ways. Keywords: Queer Studies, LGBT, Proxemics, Social Identity Theory (SIT), American South, IdentityI INTRODUCTION 1 -- II LITERATURE REVIEW 3 -- a Historical Context 3 -- b Theoretical Foundation: Social Identity Theory 8 -- c Theoretical Foundation: Proxemics 10 -- d Foundational Context: Identity 16 -- e Foundational Context: Religion 18 -- III METHOD 21 -- IV FINDINGS 23 -- a Interview Themes 24 -- b Observation Themes 26 -- c Revisiting the RQs 28 -- V DISCUSSION 29 -- a Identity 29 -- b Space & Geography 32 -- c Family & Church and Behavior 35 -- d Revisiting the RQ(s) 37 -- VI PERSONAL REFLECTION 42 -- VII LIMITATIONS 46 -- VIII FUTURE RESEARCH 47 -- IX CONCLUSION 48 -- REFERENCES 50 -- APPENDIX A: Institutional Review Board (IRB) Approved Research Form 55 -- APPENDIX B: Interview Questions 57 -- APPENDIX C: Coding Sheet 59Kulovitz, KimberlyEaves, MichaelLandau, JamieM.A.Communicatio