Being part of the LGBTQ+ community and living in a small, rural community is not for the faint-hearted. Oftentimes, members of the LGBTQ+ community tend to gravitate towards cities or large urban areas, desiring a more open-minded culture.
Yet not all LGBTQ+ members can make this living change, or want to do so. The LGBTQ+ community in Moscow has always been vibrant in its own way, but Idaho still has a long way to go in making them feel comfortable as a part of our rural communities
For many, Moscow is seen as a utopia within Northern Idaho. Moscow is known to be a progressive blue speck in a dominant red state.
While walking downtown, or driving throughout the residential areas, it is not uncommon to see rainbow flags being flown, or to see signs and lawn decor sporting similar sentiments. But it has taken a while for Moscow to have gotten to this point, and the push for a more inclusive community has been a slow process, dating back most noticeably to the 1970’s.
In The Argonaut’s Feb. 9, 1973 issue, we see documentations of an LGBTQ+ organization, which was then called the “Gay Awareness Club.” This club started at Washington State University at first, and later began to accumulate followers from their sister university right across the state border.
Eventually, Idaho residents formed their own club, to which they titled The Northwest Gay People’s Alliance Club. Many of the meetings were held in University of Idaho’s Women’s Center yet were available to all non-students.
In an anonymous opinion column submitted to the Argonaut newspaper in 1975, a writer by the pseudo name Alexander Christian speaks of his first experience within this club, and the doors it opened up for people such as him.
Christian kept his identity hidden in the closet, saying he was afraid to tell even his friends about his sexuality.
“(I’m) afraid that I might not be able to get a job,” Christian wrote. “Afraid that my friends will not continue to regard me as the ordinary engineering student that lives down the hall. Afraid that someone will call me a faggot or queer. It may not sound like much for you, but to me it is a big burden.”
After gathering up the courage, Christian said he finally went to a meeting hosted by the Northwest Gay People’s Alliance. After sneaking in to attend, he discovered there were many more “ordinary” people who were gay, with students, farmers, loggers and teachers being among them.
For this particular meeting, two speakers from New York representing the National Gay Task Force hosted a round table discussion and various workshops. BookPeople, the local bookstore in Moscow, was represented as the place to buy various national gay newspapers, such as The Advocate.
The Alliance Club was an active organization in ‘75, and a year later the organization was featured in a multi-page Argonaut story, “The Gay Lifestyle.” Writers tackled LGBTQ+ issues on a local and national front.
A WSU student by the name of Dave Bliss wrote a short, personal article within the multi-page spread where he attached his heartfelt coming-out letter and advice for others considering doing the same.
Despite this positive representation, not all of Moscow embraced the club. In a 1983 Argonaut paper, the front page was titled “Moscow’s Gays: Still Forced Under The Table.” In this article, the Alliance Club speaks about the challenges and prejudice thrown their way, resulting in violent phone calls and even outright attacks.
“Recently four members of the gay community here have been reportedly attacked by persons who made reference to their victims’ sexual orientation,” the article stated. “At a past speakers panel, sponsored by the (Alliance Club), questions and comments were solicited from the audience. One anonymous note submitted to the panel read, ‘As I see it, you people have two choices, (a) you can straighten up and live as the rest of us, or (b) you can hang from the neck until dead in the morning.’”
In “Views From My Closet,” the writer states, “For a homosexual to approach someone, perhaps a new friend, and say ‘I’m gay’ has to be one of the riskiest situations around. It’s like jumping from a plane not knowing whether or not the parachute is going to open.”
One of the largest notable achievements of the Alliance was the creation of the documentary, “Sweet Land of Liberty: Moscow/Pullman Gay Community,” where they interviewed openly gay members in the area about their experience.
The film went on to win a best documentary prize from the Idaho Press Club and The Rocky Mountain Public Broadcasting Network, yet remained extremely controversial in Moscow. The Moscow Chamber of Commerce was especially adamant about the film, claiming it portrayed UI and the city in a negative way. They believed it would encourage gays to move to the area, something they wanted to discourage.
The act of having to face hatred and persecution every day is felt throughout many of the stories, as the writers reflect on the discrimination, ostracization, and even outright violence that they have faced throughout their time in Moscow.
One writes that Moscow is really no more tolerant of gays than other towns. Moscow landlords would refuse to renew leases if they found out their tenants were gay couples, and many businesses refused to employ gays at all, including the local telephone company.
When reading stories from LGBTQ+ members from the past, the biggest issues seem to stem from ignorance and stereotyping. The articles repeatedly state the importance of educating the public and actively fighting negative stereotypes that many unknowingly associate with the LGBTQ+ movement.
Among these stereotypes are the opinions of gay men and women being “predators,” that they are unable to communicate well with the opposite gender, and the false representation that all gay men are feminine, while lesbians are masculine.
“The Pullman group serves to completely destroy the stereotype of the homosexual,” the writer of “Views From My Closet” stated. “The swishy little figure with the falsetto voice, lacking beard and chest hair and limp of wrist, is a myth. Mr. Swish is no more a gay guy than Mr. America.”
Throughout each story there is a plea for acceptance, for belonging, and a rural community that continually refuses to give it to them. To be queer in a small town is to be lonely, and the only types of LGBTQ+ members that survive are typically quiet ones.
In the past 50 years, the LGBTQ+ community has experienced great change. Gay marriage was legalized in the U.S. in 2015, and other countries have quickly followed suit. In our local area, the non-discrimination ordinance was passed in 2013, making it illegal to refuse housing and employment opportunities based on sexuality.
Throughout history, the LGBTQ+ community has been represented for centuries, seen through notable members such as Leonardo Da Vinci and Alan Turing. They have been here and will always be here, working behind the scenes, or leading a crowd. They make up a vital part of our communities, and now it is up to us to protect them and their rights.
Let us learn our history and plan to become better, so that we can gain more knowledge of the harmful stereotypes and misrepresentations of the LGBTQ+ community, in order to co-exist and create a small-town atmosphere where all of us can belong.
“They pay taxes, hold office, and involve themselves in community action” the writer of “The Gay Lifestyle” stated. “They worry about getting their bills paid, their children through school, and their lives in order like everyone else. They are writers, truck drivers, bookkeepers, artists, bartenders, etc. They are people, human beings, who like all people must find room enough in this small world to survive. They are gay and for whatever reason that one difference in their lives has subjected them to a history of misunderstanding and a legacy of suffering and self-denial wholly unwarranted in a country such as ours.”
This article has been updated to reflect AP Style.