“More Guns than Masks: Queer Survival and Far Right Visibility Politics in the Inland Northwest.”

Much rural LGBTQ research pushes back against the idea that visibility, often a tactic of Western urban queer politics, always makes sense as a central goal for queer people in rural spaces. What is often left unexamined is how the far right engages with visibility politics amidst increasing division at the national and local levels. Based on interviews with rural LGBTQ people in the U.S. Inland Northwest, this talk explores how the far right uses visibility to assert their presence and control over public spaces in rural communities. This visibility impacts the political tactics of queer and transgender people, as well as their ability to survive in their rural communities.