Farm Boys: Lives of Gay Men from the Rural Midwest Read Free Page A

subjects seemed to be influenced by a confessional or cathartic impulse to tell all, perhaps in an effort to pull together life’s loose ends and enhance their self-understanding. It was evident, as well, that some subjects hoped that their participation would assist them in meeting other men with similar backgrounds, interests, and values.
    Most interviews were conducted in the midwestern United States,including the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, and Nebraska. One interview was held in California. Subjects participated with the understanding that they would not be paid for any use that might be made of interview material. Most interviews were two to three hours in length, exploring many facets of the individual’s life. I was often surprised and moved by the extent to which the men I interviewed seemed to make open books of their lives. I took a casual, conversational, free-form approach to interviewing, letting the subject have primary influence on the structure of the interview. While the scope of my questioning was consistent from one interview to another, the sequencing of, and relative emphasis given to, the various lines of inquiry were influenced greatly by the ways in which each subject was inclined to talk about his own life. A summary of the major areas of inquiry follows.
CHILDHOOD BACKGROUND
Where did you live as a child? What kind of farm was it?
How would you describe your involvement in farm work? In house work?
How would you describe your childhood relationships with your parents? With your siblings?
Besides your parents, did any other adult play a significant role in your childhood on a day-to-day basis?
Where did you go to school as a child?
Describe your playmates/friends in elementary, junior high, and senior high school.
Were you involved in any school-related activities in junior or senior high school?
Were you involved in any non-school-related activities during junior or senior high school?
Was there any particular place on or near the farm where you would go to be by yourself?
FAMILY ATTITUDES, BELIEFS, VALUES
How would you describe the beliefs/attitudes within your family when you were a child about people who were different from yourselves because of race, ethnicity, or religion? What were your family’s prevailing attitudes regarding gender roles, sexuality, and homosexuality?
How would you describe the influence of church/religion on your childhood?
COMING OUT TO SELF AND OTHERS
When did you first become aware of your same-sex orientation? How would you describe your reaction? Did you talk with anyone or do anything else about it?
Do you recall any books, magazines, movies, TV shows, or other forms of popular information or entertainment that were important to you in coming to understand your sexual identity?
At any time during your childhood, did you know (or know of) someone who was gay—and you were aware of it then?
Did you have any intimate physical or sexual experiences while growing up?
How would you describe the influence of the farm culture of your childhood on your ability to recognize and come to terms with your sexual orientation?
Is there any particular theory explaining the causes of homosexuality that you are especially inclined to believe?
To what extent have you come out to your parents and other family members?
Were you ever married?
When did your parents and other family members learn that you were gay? What were their reactions?
How would you describe your current relationships with your parents and other family members?
BEYOND COMING OUT
If subject did not stay in farming: Did you ever seriously consider farming for a living? Was being gay a factor in deciding not to farm?
If subject stayed in farming: How does being gay fit into your life as a farmer?
If subject has lover/partner/mate: How, when, and where did you meet? Did he grow up on a farm? Has he gotten to know your parents and other family members? How would you