Queering of Rural Education
Journal of Research in Rural Education & Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education
Guest Editors:
Leia K. Cain, PhD; Ty McNamee, EdD; and Darris Means, PhD
To support the queering of rural education and rural educational research, The Journal of Research in Rural Education (JRRE) and The Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education (JQTSiE) are seeking pieces for a combined special issue. Research focused on rural queer populations often portrays incomplete representations of queer individuals’ experiences within these spaces. For example, many scholars have primarily focused on queer individuals who, upon discovering their queer identities and/or coming out, flee from their small-town environments for presumably more accepting places (Bell, 2000; Bell and Valentine, 1995; Connor & Okamura, 2022; Humphreys, 1970, 1972; McNamee & Tate, 2022; Sylvestre, 2019; Weston, 1991). While counter narratives and scholarship highlighting queer individuals in rural spaces exist, they are sparse and primarily based upon how these individuals negotiate their identities (Brekhus, 1998, 2003; Coley, 2018).
Connor and Okamura (2022) described existing literature about rural queer folks as falling into two primary categories: (1) articles that describe structural inequalities that ultimately cause these individuals to move to urban areas (Armstrong et al., 2020; Giano et al., 2020; Hubach et al., 2019; Weston, 1995) and (2) those that detail how cis and heteronormative cultural practices silence, erase, and marginalize queer individuals in these spaces. (Bell, 2000; Boulden, 2001; Cook & Cain, 2024; Hash and Morrow, 2020; Leslie, 2016, 2019; Whitten, 2023; Wypler, 2019). While there has been small, yet consistent, growth in extant literature, rural queer populations are still underrepresented in educational research (Stone, 2018), and are typically only explored through deficit lenses (Sorgen et al., 2024).
Importantly, for this JRRE & JQTSiE combined special issue, we are seeking a wide variety of pieces in multiple genres for this dual issue. We will publish accepted work in one of the two journals as outlined below. Publication of the combined special issue will happen simultaneously, will be introduced with introductory essays by the editors, and will be promoted on the JRRE & JQTSiE websites and elsewhere as one special issue. We are especially interested in amplifying scholarship that uses creative or traditional methods to explore the lives of rural queer populations within and across all spaces and levels of education (e.g., community-based education, higher education, K-12).
Creative & Arts-Based Pieces
Creative and arts-based pieces will be published in the Journal of Research in Rural Education. These pieces will include two parts:
- A piece(s) of visual art (photography, comic, sculpture, painting, collage, etc.) related to rural queer education, and,
- An accompanying narrative component that extends and enhances the message of the art piece(s). This may look like autobiographical or autoethnographic writing, a description of how the work was created, or what the piece represents, however, we encourage submissions that do not match these suggestions.
Each final submission will be comprised of pictures of the art piece(s) and the accompanying narrative (6 pages maximum, double spaced). The visual art should expand the possibilities for expression and transcend the capacity of print alone. Authors can make their own art or team up with an artist of their choosing, as long as each author and artist are credited as “authors” in the submission.
Seeking queer rural artists! We are also looking for artists to contribute to this project. We invite all rural artists to participate by indicating their willingness to be connected to an author, but queer artists are especially encouraged to contribute. We want artists and authors to be bold, expressive, and innovative, and we welcome a multitude of approaches and aesthetics.
Proposals should include a description of the art to be created and 1-2 paragraphs that extend and enhance the message of the described art piece(s). Proposals should be 2 pages maximum, double spaced, Times New Roman font, not inclusive of references.
The Journal of Research in Rural Education (JRRE) is a peer-reviewed, open access e-journal publishing original pieces of scholarly research of demonstrable relevance to educational issues within rural settings. JRRE typically welcomes single-study investigations, historical and philosophical analyses, research syntheses, theoretical pieces, and policy analyses from multiple disciplinary and methodological perspectives. Studies within this journal may address a variety of issues including (but not limited to): race and rurality, the interrelationships between rural schools and communities; the sociological, historical, and economic context of rural education; rural education and community development; learning and instruction; preservice and in-service teacher education; educational leadership, and; educational policy.
Empirical & Theoretical Pieces
Accepted research and theoretical manuscripts will be published in the Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education.
Empirical Research: We invite studies that employ new or existing data to answer questions critical to queer and trans populations and conditions in education. We invite scholars who use various conventional and/or innovative methodologies in their designs. Authors should discuss relevant findings with particular attention to implications that advance understanding of queer and trans ways of being, knowing, and feeling in education. These papers should be 7,000 words max, not inclusive of references, tables, and figures.
Theoretical Research: We invite papers that draw on literature, research, and theory in a given area to forward new understandings and ways of thinking concerning queer and trans studies in education. These kinds of articles may choose to deconstruct existing theories, study findings, or practices/policies to advance new theoretical or methodological understandings. They may critique current theories, research findings, or interpretive practices in ways that challenge current understandings. These papers should be 7,000 words max, not inclusive of references, tables, and figures.
Proposals for theoretical and empirical research should be 2 pages maximum, double spaced, Times New Roman font, not inclusive of references. Please note that while APA 7 formatting is not required upon initial submission, it is required for authors to adhere to these guidelines in their final submission.
JQTSiE welcomes authors to include video, audio, full-color images, and other products created via their inquiry that relate to and strengthen authors’ discussions. Additionally, the journal embraces experimental and unconventional papers. Please feel free to reach out with any questions you may have about these formats!
The Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education (JQTSiE) seeks to enhance policies, practices, and praxis in the context of formal and nonformal education that use queer and trans frameworks/methods, center queer and trans people, and examine historical and contemporary conditions that constrain or enhance queer and trans lives. In doing so, we use an inclusive and broad definition for “education,” as we consider the work that happens in the entire span of education settings (e.g., pre-K through adult education), as well as in nonformal education contexts (e.g., summer programs, after school initiatives, policy spaces).
Potential Topics
Below, we provide examples of potential submission topics appropriate for this call and both journals, but we invite any submissions that focus on rural queer populations in education.
- Queering rural education and educational research
- Acts of queer resistance in rural education Intersections of queer, rural, and additional identities
- Advocacy for queer populations in rural educational spaces
- Innovations in policy and practice for rural queer students
- Theory and research surrounding other queer-and-rural topics
Given the current political climate of the United States, we are particularly interested in scholarship about trans people and issues.
Please submit proposals to LeiaCain@utk.edu. Submissions should include all author names and affiliations.
Anticipated Timeline
August 15, 2024: Initial proposals due to co-editors.
September 22, 2024: Notification of proposal acceptance.
January 10, 2025: Full submissions of accepted pieces due to editors.
January - February 2025: Submissions sent for doubly anonymized peer review.
March 15, 2025: Feedback provided to authors.
April 15, 2025: Revisions due to editors and sent for second round of peer review.
July 1, 2025: Second round of peer feedback provided to authors.
August 1, 2025: Final revisions due.
Fall 2025: Series published.
Questions?
Reach out to the issue’s editors!
Call References
Armstrong, E., Coleman, T., Lewis, N. M., Coulombe, S., Wilson, C. L., Woodford, M. R., Cameron, R., Davis, C., & Travers, R. (2020). Travelling for sex, attending gay-specific venues, and HIV-related sexual risk among men who have sex with men in Ontario, Canada. The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 29(3), 380–391. https://doi.org/10.3138/cjhs.2019-0054
Bell D. (2000). Farm boys and wild men: Rurality, masculinity, and homosexuality. Rural Sociology, 65(4), 547–561. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1549-0831.2000.tb00043.x
Bell, D., & Valentine, G. (1995). Queer country: Rural lesbian and gay lives. Journal of Rural Studies, 11(2), 113–122. https://doi.org/10.1016/0743-0167(95)00013-D
Boulden, W. T. (2001). Gay men living in a rural environment. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Social Services, 12(3/4), 63–75. https://doi.org/10.1300/J041v12n03_05
Brekhus, W. (1998). A sociology of the unmarked: Redirecting our focus. Sociological Theory, 16(1), 34–51. https://doi.org/10.1111/0735-2751.00041
Brekhus, W. (2003). Peacocks, chameleons, centaurs: Gay suburbia and the grammar of social identity. University of Chicago Press.
Coley, J. (2018) Gay on God’s campus: Mobilizing for LGBT equality at Christian colleges and universities. University of North Carolina Press.
Connor, C. T., & Okamura, D. (2022). Queer expectations: An empirical critique of rural LGBT+ narratives. Sexualities, 25(8), 1040–1057. https://doi.org/10.1177/13634607211013280
Cook, G. C., & Cain, L. K. (2024). “The Hawkins bubble”: How a private, religious, college supports LGBTQ+ students to thrive. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/dhe0000561
Giano, Z., Currin, J. M., Wheeler, D. L., & Hubach, R. D. (2020). Outness amplifies the negative effect of gay related rejection in rural, but not urban sexual minority men. Psychology and Sexuality, 13(2), 240–254. https://doi.org/10.1080/19419899.2020.1765411
Hash, K. M., & Morrow, D. F. (2020). Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons aging in rural areas. The International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 90(2), 201–208. https://doi.org/10.1177/0091415019836110
Hubach, R. D., Currin, J. M., Giano, Z., Meyers, H. J., DeBoy, K. R., Wheeler, D. L., & Croff, J. M. (2019). Experiences of stigma by gay and bisexual men in rural Oklahoma. Health Equity, 3(1), 231–237. https://doi.org/10.1089/heq.2018.0095
Humphreys, L. (1970). Tearoom trade: Impersonal sex in public places. Aldine Transaction Publishers.
Humphreys, L. (1972). Out of the closets: The sociology of homosexual liberation. Prentice-Hall.
Leslie, I. (2016). Queer farmers: Sexuality and the transition to sustainable agriculture (Publication No. 10126365) [Doctoral dissertation, University of New Hampshire]. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.
Leslie, I. (2019). Queer farmland: Land access strategies for small-scale agriculture. Society & Natural Resources, 32(8), 928–946. https://doi.org/10.1080/08941920.2018.1561964
McNamee, T. C., & Tate, B. C. (2022). Too queer for the country, too country for college: It's hard to find home as a queer, rural kid. In A. Duran, T. C. Jourian, R. Miller, & J. Cisneros (Eds.), Narrating the insider/outsider paradox as LGBTQ+ educators in higher education and student affairs (pp. 132–145). Routledge.
Sorgen, C. H., McNamee, T. C., Tate, B. C., Shannon-Baker, P. (2024). Supporting queer students from rural backgrounds: Navigating challenges and building resilience in higher education In A. Herridge & K. Prieto (Eds.), Perspectives on transforming higher education and the LGBTQIA student experience (pp. 164–186). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-6684-9914-6.ch009
Stone, A. L. (2018). The geography of research on LGBTQ life: Why sociologists should study the South, rural queers, and ordinary cities. Sociology Compass, 12(11), Article e12638. https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.12638
Sylvestre, G. S. (2019). The gay commute: On the development of queer community and identity in the Windsor-Detroit borderlands, 1945–1980 (Publication No. 94) [Major research paper, University of Windsor]. Scholarship at UWindsor. https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/major-papers/94
Weston, K. (1991). Families we choose: Lesbians, gays, kinship. Columbia University Press.
Whitten, C. (2023). Everywhere and nowhere…all at once: Exploring the role of visibility in rural queer narratives. Theory & Practice in Rural Education, 13(1), 32–51. https://doi.org/10.3776/tpre.2022.v13n1p32-51
Wypler, J. (2019). Lesbian and queer sustainable farmer network in the Midwest. Society & Natural Resources, 32(8), 947–964. https://doi.org/10.1080/08941920.2019.1584834