Survival in the Bible Belt: Oklahoman Queer Politics and Religion in the 1980s

Abstract

This work follows the story of Oklahoma’s queer community in the 1980s through the lens of two community newspapers, The Gayly Oklahoman and Herland Sister Resources. The 1980s was an incredibly important decade for the queer community of Oklahoma. Gay-friendly religious organizations grew in number and size during this decade, and Oklahoman gay political organizations began to organize on a larger level than they had in previous years. Oklahoma's queer community did not experience growth and progress in the same way that the queer communities of other areas did. Oklahoma’s queer community existed in a very conservative and Christian state, and that affected the way the community grew and adapted. Queer Oklahomans had to adapt to the conservative climate they lived in as a strategy of survival. For them, this meant investing more in organizations that are usually marked as conservative and being willing to work with the conservative forces in the state. This also meant that things that are usually considered markers of progress for gay communities did not always manifest themselves in the same way in Oklahoma. Despite the situation that queer Oklahomans found themselves in, they were able to navigate an unfavorable cultural climate and adapt to that climate. It was an ongoing process, but they did make progress throughout the 1980s, as seen through the way the community newspapers discuss the community.