Abstract

Across the United States, in response to an increase in state legislation and executive orders targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) individuals, schools and institutions of higher education are shuttering LGBTQ+ student resources and support services, K–12 schools and public libraries are banning books with characters who identify as queer1 or are interpreted as being queer, and educators across the education spectrum are stopping or questioning how they teach about gender and sexuality and support queer students (Baêta et al., 2025; Consortium of Higher Education LGBT Resource Professionals, 2024; Flannery, 2024; Strunk et al., 2024; Whitten & Thomas, 2023). While these state laws and executive orders have an impact across geographical contexts, they can have particularly devastating consequences for the 15–20% of LGBTQ+ people in the United States who live in rural communities, as they already have less access to queer-affirming structural resources (Movement Advancement Project, 2019). However, while LGBTQ+ people in rural communities face challenges, such as LGBTQ+ youth in rural and small towns reporting less queer-affirming communities and schools (The Trevor Project, 2021), it is critical to challenge monolithic and deficit-based portrayals of rural communities (Movement Advancement Project, 2019; Wienke & Hill, 2013). For example, Wienke and Hill (2013) found that lesbian and gay people living in rural communities had similar well-being and happiness rates as lesbian and gay people living in urban communities. Additionally, queer youth and adults living in rural areas can experience and find joy and community in the face of and despite social and political forces that seek to dehumanize queer and trans people (Movement Advancement Project, 2019; Tate et al., 2025; Whitten & Azano, 2025).

How to Cite:

Means, D. R., Cain, L. K. & McNamee, T. C., (2025) “Introduction: Queering Rural Education”, Journal of Research in Rural Education 41(6), 1–2. doi: https://doi.org/10.26209/JRRE4106-00

Rights: Copyright