Dignity Norfolk: How One Tidewater Group Enabled Gay and Lesbian Catholics to Form Long Lasting Friendships and Chosen Families

In the past decade, research has been conducted to look into the history of the Queer Community of the Tidewater Region. Students and community volunteers have conducted interviews and gathered documents connected to the queer community to grow the study and breadth of available information for future researchers. However, more in-depth knowledge of community connections and familial ties within the queer community in the Tidewater Region was needed. Through research into Our Own Newspaper, local historical background information, and in-person interviews, I pieced together first-hand accounts of life through the eyes of a gay man or lesbian woman living in the Tidewater Region between 1970 - the present day. I found that the connections and emotional bonds made years ago have stayed strong, similar to those of a biological family. This research opens up the possibilities for future researchers to find more information, connect the lives of many others within the Tidewater Community, and save the history of the queer community who lived and thrived in the Tidewater Area before the primary sources have passed on