Building A Queer Life In The Country

About this episode

Rae Garringer discusses their experiences of building a queer life in rural West Virginia and the challenges faced in dating and community interactions.

Rae Garringer grew up on a sheep farm in rural West Virginia, and once they left for college and came out as queer, they weren't sure they could ever move back. They believed the story they’d been told: to thrive as an out, LGBTQ+ person, you have to live in a city. But when Rae did move back in 2011, they realized that story was a lie. Anita talks to Rae about making queer life work in the country — from navigating dating challenges to getting along with neighbors you disagree with. They also talk about Rae’s oral history project, podcast and book “Country Queers,” which documents queer, rural life in 21 states around the country. Meet the guest: - Rae Garringer is the founder and director of Country Queers , an oral history project and podcast, and the author of " Country Queers " Read the transcript | Review the podcast on your preferred platform Follow Embodied on Instagram Leave a message for Embodied Please note: This episode originally published June 12, 2025.

People in this episode

Host: Anita

Guest: Rae Garringer

Topics covered

• queer life
• rural living
• LGBTQ+ challenges
• oral history
• dating
• community

Keywords

• queer
• rural
• LGBTQ+
• oral history
• Country Queers
• dating challenges
• community

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Country Queers

Places: West Virginia

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