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L'expérience urbaine "queer" est bien comprise dans les médias et à l'université alors que dans les régions rurales elle demeure invisible et problématique. Un glissement du paternalisme vers la prise de pouvoir est nécessaire pour établir une collaboration fructueuse entre les deux sphères.
There is a seeming oxymoron in the use of the term "rural queer." The norm for queer experience in queer culture, academia and media is the urban queer experience. Rural queer experiences are often made invisible, are problematized, and when they are seen it is as a deviation from the norm. A shift in perception of the rural queer from the patronized to the empowered is necessary for successful collaborative work between these two spheres. Rurality is a subject that is often broached only in the interest of discussing the horrific backwoods from which some urban queers flee. My own queer sensibility as a 25-year-old, white, university-educated, genderqueer woman includes an affinity for difference, resistance, and action. Nowhere in my life have these better defined my ethos than over the past years spent living in rural and small town Nova Scotia-outside of the bubble of urban queer existence. Understanding of the negative effects of the urban queer attitude towards spaces beyond city limits and a shift in perception of the rural queer is necessary. Out of this better understanding could come collaborative workwhere an exchange of skills, ideas, motivators and resources are shared between different regions without elevating urban work or minimizing rural expertise.
It should be noted that the queer community is not without any work around the experiences of queer life outside of the city. Some work has been done to expand upon our understanding of the rural Canadian queer experience. An excellent example of this can be seen in the book Out Our Way by Michael Riordon. In his collection of stories on the rural lesbian and gay experience, Riordon provides anecdotal evidence about these communities, through a diverse collection of stories from those who choose rural living. Despite innovative work such as this, existing literature has not sufficiently theorized or conceptualized the significance of rurality as an experience for queers.
The common understanding or perception of queer space is an urban one. The urban queer space can be...