Is The South A Safe Place For LGBTQ People?

This week we’re joined by writer and reproductive justice activist Quita Tinsley. In her recent piece "Why I Refuse To Leave the South as a Queer Black Person," Tinsley argues that while the potential for violence or discrimination against queer and trans folks in the South can be higher than other regions, the entire nation is unsafe for those same people. And when she visited northern “Gay Meccas” like New York and San Francisco, she felt isolated and experienced overwhelming levels of anti-blackness that exceeded what she felt in the South. We discuss how she learned to embrace and celebrate her identity as a Southerner. Later in the show we shift the discussion from regional space to “gayborhoods,” an area of a city or town characterized as being inhabited or frequented by LGBTQ folks. In his feature article “Won’t You Be My Gaybor?” for Richmond, VA’s RVA Mag writer Wyatt Gordon discusses the city’s lack of a gayborhood — the absence of gayborhoods in many southern cities — and examines if it is a sign of social repression or in fact a reflection of progress. In our Juicy Fruit segment, we honor the legacy of literary giant Toni Morrison who died this week.