Editor’s Note: The four individuals named Michelle, Jonathan, Mark and Tyler wished to remain anonymous.
 
Michelle said she always had a feeling in high school she was a lesbian, but due to her strict, conservative family, she knew her sexuality would not be welcomed. In third grade, Jonathan noticed something was different when he found a fascination with popular artist and brand, Lisa Frank, and in the ninth grade, he came to terms with being gay.
Mark, a bisexual, finds himself isolated by both the heterosexual and homosexual communities shunning his sexuality.
From a young age, Tyler never understood why everyone thought he was a girl. Although he was born biologically a woman, he felt like a boy.
Alfred Kinsey, renowned sexologist, said sexuality does not represent two discrete populations of heterosexual and homosexual.
“The world is not to be divided into sheep and goats. The living world is a continuum in each and every one of its aspects,” he said in his research “Sexual Behavior in the Human Male” in 1948.
Often misinterpreted and taboo, the spectrum of sexuality leaves room for negative stereotyping that leads to homophobia, lesphobia, biphobia and transphobia, according to research completed at Carleton University.
Bernadette Barton, sociologist, said deep within the Bible Belt lies rampant homophobia reproduced by institutional powers guided by conservative ideologies that lead to the lack of domestic partnership benefits and the ability to fire LGBTQ members for their sexuality in some southern regions.
Michelle said she experienced frustration when asked who was the “boy or girl” in the relationship with her girlfriend.
“I have also had the reaction of, ‘Oh, you don’t look like a lesbian,’ meaning, because I don’t look butch or dress a certain way, how could I be a lesbian?” she said.
Although Jonathan never faced bullying, he said he tires of the assumption that he is labeled the “gay best friend.”
“I like shopping, but I’d just as soon go out and play soccer or watch an MMA fight on TV,” he said. “Just because I’m gay, doesn’t mean I don’t like doing things that guys do.”
Mark said negative impacts arise when bisexuals are excluded from the LGBTQ community.
“Everyone is looking for a place to belong. You think you can be a part of the community, but ultimately, it shuns you while claiming to accept you,” he said. “It’s painful at times.”
Growing up, Tyler said he felt miserable being a girl.
“Being a girl never fit. It’s like a puzzle piece that looks like it should match but never fits,” he said. “No matter how much you hammer it, it doesn’t fit.”
Due to being transgender, Tyler said he experienced harassment from school administration after they threatened expulsion for dress code violations. Tyler refused to dress as a girl.
“The bullying came from the adults, and it caused a lot of stress,” he said.
After meeting adversity, Tyler said everyone goes through hardships no matter their location.
“Regardless of our religion, gender, sexuality or other distinction, we make our lives work. Many people have told me I need to leave Mississippi as soon as possible,” he said. “They don’t understand that Mississippi is my home, and I’m very happy here.”
Living in Mississippi for 22 years, Jim DelPrince, professor of plant and soil sciences, said he has not been harassed about being gay since working at Mississippi State University. However, he said southern culture has harbored its stereotype of gay men.
He said he was amazed at the number of people he met who were gay and traditionally southern.
“Sometimes you might be terrified of Bubba, and then you find out later that Bubba is queer,” he said. “Or Bubba may be straight, but he’s not a foe because maybe his mother is a lesbian or his favorite uncle is gay.”
Jonelle Husain, lecturer of sociology, said change comes slowly in the South, but because of recent visibility amongst LGBTQ individuals Mississippians are more likely to see the fallacies inherent in LGBTQ stereotypes.
“Stereotypes limit opportunities that people have,” she said. “When you put someone in a box, you prevent them from exploring other boxes and other avenues of opportunity.”