ABSTRACT
40Maria, a 27-year-old genderqueer woman, has strong ties to the rural farm community of Grafton, ND where she grew up. Queer friends in Minneapolis consistently questioned why she didn’t move to a bigger city, where she would have a bigger trans community and more resources for queer-affirming healthcare. Maria also longed for the larger queer community, and wished that she was less visible as being one of only a couple of out queer people in her small community. However, the landscape and family ties in the region were very important to her. “People here love me, even if they don’t always get me. I don’t want to leave. I just want the place to change its values.”
