Rural Sexualities

Some Questions for Discussion:

To what extent is "the country," "the west", or the small town thought of as a type of heterosexual space?

To what degree is rural culutre a "live and let live" culture? How does that culture relate to or conflict with other ideas about rural culture as being intollerant?

Is intollerance a specifically rural cultural trait?

Why did the parents and children in the small Nebraska town react differently to the presentation on homosexuality?

Has greater media access, communication, and mobility made rural areas more or less tollerant? Is there a backlash? Are rural areas necessarily behind the times? Why should geography matter so much when it comes to cultural attitudes?

What is the geographic symbolism present in Brokeback Mountain? What can we learn from the story and film about rural sexualities?

What relevance do these articles have for our own situation here in exurban Northwest Indiana?