Gay youth in rural Carolina

From Q-Notes, the Carolinas' leading source of LGBT news:

Rural gay youth struggle for acceptance
Close friendships provide strength against adversity
by Matt Comer . Q-Notes staff

When pondering North Carolina’s beautiful western mountains, most people will conjure up images of grand rolling hills, breathtaking views and the Blue Ridge Parkway. Almost no one will think of these vistas as places to encounter a rowdy crowd of openly gay teens. But, in the first decade of the 21st century, there they are.

Brandon, Michael, Kirk, Damien and Brian range in age from 15 to 21. Together, they are not social outcasts, but best friends, free from the daily struggles imposed upon them by their rural surroundings. With the help of one another, along with their families and other friends, they have created a safe space for support, growth and love.

Over the past two decades, there has been immense growth in the acceptance of gays and lesbians in metropolitan America. Although this change has taken longer to seep into rural areas, there are certainly small rays of hope.

Brandon, who recently came out to his family, says that even though it took his mother and father some time to deal with the issue, they continue to learn and grow.

“I had the chance to come out,” he says. “It was going to be a lot easier for me to move out after that, but my dad eventually accepted it and I moved back in. My mom still deals with it.”
For some of the boys, living with adopted or foster parents has been a blessing. They feel their birth families might not have been as accepting as their second families.

Read the rest at Q-Notes Online...