Garringer, Rae - To Belong Here

To Belong Here: A New Generation of Queer, Trans and Two-Spirit Appalachian Writers

Author: Rae Garringer

Genre: Memoirs, Non Fiction

Pages: 90

Publisher: University Press of Kentucky

Release Date: February 19, 2025

Format: Paperback

Synopsis:

Appalachia has long been flattened into a white, Christian, and conservative place. While many Appalachians embrace those labels, they fail to acknowledge the presence of communities of color and of queer, trans, and Two-Spirit people across the region. Religious fundamentalism, white supremacy, homophobia, and transphobia continue to oppress queer and gender-expansive Appalachians, especially Black, Brown, and Indigenous people. These realities have adversely affected queer and trans folks' ability to claim their rightful places within the region.
 
To Belong Here delves into how queer, trans, and Two-Spirit Appalachian people make sense of life in the mountains. Featuring contributors whose identities across race, gender, and socioeconomic background make for a uniquely intersectional look at the area, this collection provides a nuanced understanding of Appalachia and what it means to represent it. Themes of erasure, environmentalism, violence, kinship, racism, Indigeneity, queer love, and trans liberation course through the volume and exemplify the writers' resilience in reconciling their complex and often contradictory connections to home.

A collective exploration of rejection and acceptance, To Belong Here calls for a more inclusive future in Appalachia―one where everyone can thrive.

LGBT Themes:

• Queer
• Trans
• Two-Spirit

Relevant Tags:

Non Fiction, Memoir, Non Fiction Memoir, Appalachian, Two Spirit, Transgender, Gender