ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the ideologies undergirding and the political ramifications of both The Book of Matt and the cultural commentary surrounding the text. It argues that gay rights advocates’ refusal to engage with criticism of the story of Matthew Shepard is rooted in and perpetuates metronormativity, and further, that this same metronormativity is present, somewhat ironically, in Stephen Jimenez’s account of the case. The chapter outlines queer studies scholarship that is useful for re-thinking dominant ideas about both rurality and hate crimes, as ideas about both inform The Book of Matt as well as gay rights advocates’ responses to the text. The simplicity of the rural is precisely what allows Jimenez to forgo examining how the rural has been produced—by gay rights organizations and the mainstream media, sure, but also by broader economic and political forces that contribute to rural poverty and lead people, for example, to sell meth.
