Beyond the City Limits: Representations of Rurality and LGBTQIA+ Youth in Young Adult Literature

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2026

Publication Title

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

Volume

3

Abstract

Narratives of flight from rural to urban areas predominate in research related to LGBTQIA+ communities. Thus, rural LGBTQIA+ young people rarely see representations of themselves or their environments, especially positive portrayals. Such representations are important in that they are productive of identities, not just reflective of them. This study examines a collection of young adult literature with LGBTQIA characters and rural settings, analyzing the portrayals of place (rurality) and identity (LGBTQIA+). In this paper I will demonstrate how current LGBTQIA+ young adult literature reinforces dominant narratives that privilege urbanity and I assert that counternarratives to the rural flight story are needed. Such counternarratives can help rural LGBTQIA+ young people envision new possibilities for themselves and their communities.

Issue

1

DOI

https://doi.org/10.60808/457g-s656

ISSN

2837-9659

Primo Type

Article

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