The South is, and always will remain an intensely class-ridden society, with socioeconomic statuses often a more important element than race. In the rural South, homosexuality is widely referred to as a "sin," and its inhabitants aren't shy about keeping the gays in their culture "closeted."
On reality shows, however, we are sometimes acquainted with people we never even knew existed, opening our eyes to gay culture in so many areas of life. Yet this sadly ceases to somehow "open our eyes" to putting an end to the bigotry that still plagues the United States. On TLC's reality show "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo," we meet with Alana Thompson's family in McIntyre, Georgia.
Alana is a young beauty pageant contestant, and her gay paternal uncle, Lee Thompson (nicknamed 'Poodle'), was donned the "co-founder of the simple stereotype of the 'redneck' working-class." You see, to Alana, a "poodle" is a gay man, and his flamboyant appearance on the show has undoubtedly made viewers think of something they never even considered: that you can be openly homosexual and still be accepted in the South. Out, a popular gay and lesbian lifestyle magazine, praised the reality show, writing that "America can learn from the seven-year-old reality star Alana Thompson ... a clear message of equality..."
People assume that because the South is the nation’s most Christian and politically conservative region, it's probably also a midpoint for hate crimes against gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people. That's a misconception. See, while such crimes do actually occur in the South, they are widely less common than in bigger, urban places, where the presence of a close-knit community and the opulence of strangers make it much easier to target people for their differences and anomalies.
I should know: as a bisexual woman who has lived in the deep south my entire life, and in a small town for the complete duration of it, I've met many people who will have absolutely nothing to do with anyone of the homosexual orientation.
