Podcasts for Pride 2023: Queer Representation in Appalachia
By: Newt Schottelkotte (they/them), founder of Caldera Studios
As a nonbinary lesbian who grew up in Appalachia and the American South, I’ve always had a complicated relationship with showing my pride. It can be easy to paint these regions as uniformly small-minded and hostile to the LGBTQ community, but I’ve seen firsthand the power and persistence of the queer folks who call them their home. I hope this list introduces you to my Appalachia — one that has room to grow but is full of diverse, proud individuals who deserve to thrive there.
Queer Representation in Appalachia: Podcast Recommendations
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Out There
“Queer in Appalachia”
Hey, I wrote this one! I share my journey of not just coming out as nonbinary and a butch lesbian, but contextualizing what those things meant to me through the masculinity of where I grew up. Listen to learn how a Civil War battlefield tour can possibly fit into a story about pride month.
This is Good for You
“Honky-Tonking Is Good For You“
Host Nichole Perkins can get me excited about just about anything, so you can imagine my delight when she brought THE Donkey Dover Jr. on to talk about honky-tonking and the queer line dancing space. It’s a dance culture that’s been with me from my very first seventh grade dance in middle school, and as someone who went to college in Nashville, I can attest that queer honky-tonks are on another level.
The Randy Report
“Out country music star Cameron Hawthorn”
Country music has always been a huge part of my life– my comfort piece of media is Ken Burns’ documentary on the subject, and the first song I ever learned to play on guitar was James Taylor’s “Carolina in My Mind”. This is such an important interview for how Cameron Hawthorn is breaking barriers in one of the most historically homophobic genres, and sheds some light on how diverse country music has always been.
Appodlachia
“Appalachian Queer Film Festival”
I mostly wanted to add this to shout out the festival it discusses, which is taking place in Huntington, WV this year October 6-8th! Appodlachia is also a wonderful show that works to showcase narratives countering the negative stereotypes of Appalachia, while highlighting amazing people doing good work in the region.
Old Gods of Appalachia
“A Bad Night for Hollow Men"“
I’ve gushed endlessly about how important Old Gods is to me as a queer person from the region, but this mini-arc, of which this episode is the first, holds a special place in my heart for its discussion of queer masculinity in Appalachia through the character of Marcy. The show is a horror anthology that doesn’t shy away from the hard truths of Appalachia’s culture and history, but presents an empathetic and nuanced portrait of the creators’ home.
This pride month is a tough one for a lot of queer folks in Southern and Appalachian states, with more draconian laws and attacks on our existence by the day. I’d like to ask readers to remember that we exist in those places, we cannot “just leave,” and frankly, we don’t want to. We shouldn’t need to.
Our stories exist and are important, and instead of another tweet about how we should let Florida fall into the ocean, or Tennessee secede, consider uplifting the voices of the queer people who live in those places and asking what you can do to help make some good trouble.
