Real Queer America: LGBT Stories from Red States (original 2019; edição 2019)

This is a terrific look at queer-friendly dots of hope in regions of America with a well-deserved reputation for homophobia, bigotry, and repression. Part memoir, part reportage, part road trip ... it's a heckuva ride, and it left me wanting more. ( )

Samantha Allen, herself a queer person who grew up in a Red State, takes a tour of the country with her Finance's ex-boyfriend (yes, you read that right) to capture the stories of queer people who have carved out spaces for themselves in the very hearts of bigotry and bible banging. Their reasons for not moving to queer bastions such as San Francisco, New York or Portland might surprise you.
It makes a lot of sense that many of these people feel that they can do more good for the community by staying and working to change people's hearts and minds or providing a safe place for queer people to gather. Enduring the ridicule, not feeling safe to be who they are in public, having a smaller or even almost non-existent sense of community, these are the prices they have chosen to pay in order to stay in a place they grew up or have come to call home or even are stubbornly committed to shaking some sense into.
I would love to meet and shake the hand of every one of these courageous and inspiring folks, and definitely visit their bars/cafes/community rooms. ( )

A fantastic blend of travel journalism and political/activist history. I enjoyed the memoir moments, but felt that Allen's personal musings could have been better spent delving deeper into the queer culture of the cities and states she visited. I would read the CRAP out of her memoir, but picked up this book for the purpose about learning about the queer culture of the American south -- not Samantha Allen. ( )

I had been very excited to read about the stories of LGBTQ+ people in "red" states in the US. It sounded like it would be an interesting look at what it's like, at how they live their lives and deal with living in "red" states. The author herself went through a similar journey, going from a "suit-and-tie-wearing Mormon missionary" to a reporter now married to another woman.

The author takes us through various red states and interviews people there: their lives, how they realized who they were, how they were affected by (sometimes) moving to blue areas and why they moved back (or why they never left), the work they do, etc. Sometimes it's not all that different and sometimes the experiences are fairly unique to that state or person.

But...I have to agree with some of the negative reviews. I've never been a big fan of books by journalists and this is another case. I was honestly bored by a lot of the book. It also felt like the author inserted herself into the book too much, perhaps if not herself then her friends who came along the journey, whereas I was a lot more interested in the people she was talking to who she encountered.

I was also really not a big fan of the "real America" vs. the "coastal elites" narrative that was an undercurrent throughout the book. No, places like NYC or San Francisco or Washington DC isn't for everyone and that's totally understandable. But after reading through the introduction, I began to look at the title a little differently, from seeing "real" not as "very" but rather "authentic," which is not always true. And sometimes work gets done in places like Washington, DC to allow people to have the rights they have now.

The resentment is real and while the author wanted to tell a particular story, there ARE people who do want to escape these red states and go to some place like NYC, San Francisco, or even just other blue areas. Again, that wasn't what the author was writing about and I respect the story she was trying to tell but it just seemed to color the writing a bit.

Overall it just wasn't for me, but I see a lot of people liked this book. I think for the right person it would definitely a great read and/or a good gift. Otherwise I'd recommend the library. ( )