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Y'all Means All: The Emerging Voices Queering Appalachia
Y'all Means All is a celebration of the weird and wonderful aspects of a troubled region in all of their manifest glory! This collection is a thought-provoking hoot and a holler of "we’re queer and we’re here to stay, cause we’re every bit a piece of the landscape as the rocks and the trees" echoing through the hills of Appalachia and into the boardrooms of every media outlet and opportunistic author seeking to define Appalachia from the outside for their own political agendas. Multidisciplinary and multi-genre, Y’all necessarily incorporates elements of critical theory, such as critical race theory and queer theory, while dealing with a multitude of methodologies, from quantitative analysis, to oral history and autoethnography. This collection eschews the contemporary trend of "reactive" or "responsive" writing in the genre of Appalachian studies, and alternatively, provides examples of how modern Appalachians are defining themselves on their own terms. As such, it also serves as a toolkit for other Appalachian readers to follow suit, and similarly challenge the labels, stereotypes and definitions often thrust upon them. While providing blunt commentary on the region's past and present, the book’s soul is sustained by the resilience, ingenuity, and spirit exhibited by the authors; values which have historically characterized the Appalachian region and are continuing to define its culture to the present. This book demonstrates above all else that Appalachia and its people are filled with a vitality and passion for their region which will slowly but surely effect long-lasting and positive changes in the region. If historically Appalachia has been treated as a "mirror" of the country, this book breaks that trend by allowing modern Appalachians to examine their own reflections and to share their insights in an honest, unfiltered manner with the world.
200 pages, Paperback
Published April 12, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
August 1, 2024
Back in rural Tennessee, I picked up this book from a bookstore- and it was on a shelf of rainbow books. That's something I didn't expect to see in my lifetime. I come from a place which is very homophobic, and this book stood out like a sore thumb.
Reading it was very informative, it taught me the city I grew up in was a place that people from all over the region would come to get treated for AIDS- so it had a history of helping out the queer community, a small bastion.
I learned that Appalachian is a cultural identity that to many is unique from just being a southerner. There are even groups online now like " Queer Appalachia" who make queering it a whole thing.
This book talked about Mothman as a symbol of the weird, and compared it to the queers of the south- how we get by on oral traditions and storytelling. It spoke of how hyper simplified it was to diminish the south to only being referred to as Trump Country.
There has apparently been a lot of work by activists to make it a safe place to life for queer folks.
Reading this book was a bit bittersweet. It's a collection of essays, and I related to many of them- but in all of them there was the omnipresent message of surviving despite the difficulties of this region, and over coming it- rather than being nurtured by it.
It's complicated to identify as being from such a conservative place. This collection of essays gave that a more nuanced place in my heart.
Reading it was very informative, it taught me the city I grew up in was a place that people from all over the region would come to get treated for AIDS- so it had a history of helping out the queer community, a small bastion.
I learned that Appalachian is a cultural identity that to many is unique from just being a southerner. There are even groups online now like " Queer Appalachia" who make queering it a whole thing.
This book talked about Mothman as a symbol of the weird, and compared it to the queers of the south- how we get by on oral traditions and storytelling. It spoke of how hyper simplified it was to diminish the south to only being referred to as Trump Country.
There has apparently been a lot of work by activists to make it a safe place to life for queer folks.
Reading this book was a bit bittersweet. It's a collection of essays, and I related to many of them- but in all of them there was the omnipresent message of surviving despite the difficulties of this region, and over coming it- rather than being nurtured by it.
It's complicated to identify as being from such a conservative place. This collection of essays gave that a more nuanced place in my heart.
March 5, 2024
3.5 stars. I think.
I've been sitting on a rating for a while. Although I can recognize now, after some reflection, that this collection accomplishes what it set out to do--I think I misunderstood the premise at first, which caused some confusion. So I don't want to judge this book by my misconstrued expectations.
I didn't mind the more academic tint to most of the chapters, but the redundancy of themes (Halberstam's theories, grew up but moved identity narratives, and especially Queer Appalachia's impact and downfall) bogged me down. I usually love a succinct chapter, but these snippets often felt hurriedly truncated without robust reflection and/or pumped up with academy buzzwords. Despite these critiques, I did find certain chapters to be engaging and would want to read more from those authors and the interdisciplinary fields. I also think this book is a fair foundation for more collections and archives to grow from in the future of Queer Appalachian studies.
I've been sitting on a rating for a while. Although I can recognize now, after some reflection, that this collection accomplishes what it set out to do--I think I misunderstood the premise at first, which caused some confusion. So I don't want to judge this book by my misconstrued expectations.
I didn't mind the more academic tint to most of the chapters, but the redundancy of themes (Halberstam's theories, grew up but moved identity narratives, and especially Queer Appalachia's impact and downfall) bogged me down. I usually love a succinct chapter, but these snippets often felt hurriedly truncated without robust reflection and/or pumped up with academy buzzwords. Despite these critiques, I did find certain chapters to be engaging and would want to read more from those authors and the interdisciplinary fields. I also think this book is a fair foundation for more collections and archives to grow from in the future of Queer Appalachian studies.
March 22, 2022
It's the best; I'm not biased.
January 18, 2023
DNF but would like to eventually - the essays in here all covered really fascinating and important topics, but they were for the most part too short to delve into the subject matters in depth. felt like an anthology of tiktoks about appalachia. -1 star for a goofy title
April 22, 2022
“The story that is often told of Appalachia isn’t just violently wrong in its omissions and silences, it’s boring. It’s flatness is the hallmark of unimaginative settler-colonial constructions of landscapes […] Queering Appalachia is one of many ways to return some of the layers to the flattened landscape.”
What a great archive of Appalachian (and) queer histories. Some of the contributions landed for me more than others, but overall this is a bright, intellectual, and colorful quilt.
What a great archive of Appalachian (and) queer histories. Some of the contributions landed for me more than others, but overall this is a bright, intellectual, and colorful quilt.
May 15, 2023
Points out a LOT i didn’t think about, and I love the sense of community that this book brings. My favorite part was the part about Appalachian mythology, with it tying into queer culture but queer Appalachians having the chance to express themselves, see themselves & let others know that they’re there all with the use of storytelling, artwork and folklore.
April 9, 2022
I had a lot of fun reading the articles in this collection. It was maybe a little more academic than I was expecting, but it was out of my comfort zone in any case so I tried to withhold my expectations in any regard.
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June 24, 2023Difficult to give a star rating since it is a collection of essays and is also not at all what I expected. I went in thinking this was a collection of essays about being queer in Appalachia. These are much more academic essays about critical queer theory and other academic interests. My favorite essay was probably the moth man one. Some of the others lacked a personal connection that made them harder to read. I was also a bit surprised by how few of the authors currently live in Appalachia.
December 4, 2025
Like every collection of anything, some of these essays are stronger than others. I fully agree with the thesis statement of this collection, but struggled throughout to understand for what audience it's intended. I agreed with most of the essays, but I was already going to because I already believe the main idea: that the queer experience in Appalachia is extant and vital and multi-varied. But I'm not sure how far any of these essays would go in convincing someone who didn't already believe that to buy in to the idea. I'm also not sure if this is meant to be read by other academics or a lay audience either; there are some essays that lean heavily on an academic style of writing that makes the work seem alienating to those not already familiar with queer theory. Other pieces felt more conversational and autobiographical. I think definitely worth reading but I don't think it's making me think in the way it was meant to.
January 19, 2024
The Queer Appalachia Instagram page, inactive since August 2020 as far as I can tell, had a huge impact and is frequently referenced in the various essays in this book. It's crazy to think about what an impact it had in queering and redefining Appalachia, but it also makes these essays feel a little out of date today, or like maybe there hasn't been much progress. I'm not sure.
Also: Samantha Allen's essay on the doctor who treated AIDs patients in Johnson City is an incredible piece of local history I was completely unaware of. Also also: the Goth Prom at the Hideaway that she mentions going to is the night I met her in person, and I ended up driving her and two other friends home that night because their ride bailed on them. I had nearly forgotten about that, but it's such a good memory.
Also: Samantha Allen's essay on the doctor who treated AIDs patients in Johnson City is an incredible piece of local history I was completely unaware of. Also also: the Goth Prom at the Hideaway that she mentions going to is the night I met her in person, and I ended up driving her and two other friends home that night because their ride bailed on them. I had nearly forgotten about that, but it's such a good memory.
July 4, 2022
I had every intention of loving this collection. Like others, I supported the crowdfunding to publish it and expected something very different from the book I received.
Some essays are wonderfully written and informative, but a large portion come across as academic navel gazing -- lots of high falutin words with very little narrative to connect the reader to the jargon.
I'm glad I kept reading as the final essay by Hannah Conway is brilliantly written and a fine balance between scholarship, lived experience, and storytelling.
Some essays are wonderfully written and informative, but a large portion come across as academic navel gazing -- lots of high falutin words with very little narrative to connect the reader to the jargon.
I'm glad I kept reading as the final essay by Hannah Conway is brilliantly written and a fine balance between scholarship, lived experience, and storytelling.
June 26, 2023
3.5 stars, rounded down because of the editing (or lack thereof). This collection of essays is essential reading for those looking to understand the broad range of queerness and the intersections of class, race, and sexuality that affect larger views of different geographical populations.
Appalachia, the United States's "Other," is often written off as a lost cause due to misperceptions steeped in classism and racism. "Metronormative" is another term the book draws upon to describe the city-to-rural divide in these understandings. Many of these essays were very touching, as the writers used their art, advocacy work, or studies to advance awareness for Appalachia as a twice-colonized land and the people as deserving of safety and community.
I was surprised to see only one essay by a queer writer of Indigenous descent, and that it was the last essay in the book. Indigenous issues were very clearly stated as a point of address in the introduction, and it felt off to place this essay at the end when it would have served much better as an introduction due to its focus on the environment, technology, and their relation to the process of queering Appalachia.
One of the earlier essays read as a formulaic set of buzzwords to purport allyship with Black and Indigenous trans folks, yet when it came to mentioning the queer Black youth the author volunteered with, there was not even a mention of the organization's name. I see this often with white queer allies, and think that essays like these contribute very little to the overall body of work. I would have rather read a collection of statements from the youth that this author worked with, rather than read emotionless sentences I have read hundreds of times before.
Most of the writing is incredibly academic for a book that supposedly seeks to challenge the Western standards of academic writing and archiving. Some of the sentences were nearly paragraphs long, and I didn't think this was the most accessible way to put this book together. Again, the editing job could have been much better. Furthermore, multiple thinkers are repeatedly quoted throughout the book, resulting in an overlap of information. I understand and support why these authors are in academic institutions to make this progress - short term solutions lead to longer term ones - but it felt a little strange to not hear the authors directly address why they are using academic language to supposedly dismantle such.
Read this collection to learn from Hannah Conway, Samantha Allen, Tennessee Jones, and Kendall Loyer. You will learn about the queering of place, time, ability, and language through beautiful accounts that are often overlooked in metronormative queer history. My favorite section was the last - Creating the Queer-Appalachian Archive. I do hope that future editions or similar collections are published in the future. It would be nice to read interview transcripts, see more artwork, and approach queer Appalachia through a less academic lens.
Appalachia, the United States's "Other," is often written off as a lost cause due to misperceptions steeped in classism and racism. "Metronormative" is another term the book draws upon to describe the city-to-rural divide in these understandings. Many of these essays were very touching, as the writers used their art, advocacy work, or studies to advance awareness for Appalachia as a twice-colonized land and the people as deserving of safety and community.
I was surprised to see only one essay by a queer writer of Indigenous descent, and that it was the last essay in the book. Indigenous issues were very clearly stated as a point of address in the introduction, and it felt off to place this essay at the end when it would have served much better as an introduction due to its focus on the environment, technology, and their relation to the process of queering Appalachia.
One of the earlier essays read as a formulaic set of buzzwords to purport allyship with Black and Indigenous trans folks, yet when it came to mentioning the queer Black youth the author volunteered with, there was not even a mention of the organization's name. I see this often with white queer allies, and think that essays like these contribute very little to the overall body of work. I would have rather read a collection of statements from the youth that this author worked with, rather than read emotionless sentences I have read hundreds of times before.
Most of the writing is incredibly academic for a book that supposedly seeks to challenge the Western standards of academic writing and archiving. Some of the sentences were nearly paragraphs long, and I didn't think this was the most accessible way to put this book together. Again, the editing job could have been much better. Furthermore, multiple thinkers are repeatedly quoted throughout the book, resulting in an overlap of information. I understand and support why these authors are in academic institutions to make this progress - short term solutions lead to longer term ones - but it felt a little strange to not hear the authors directly address why they are using academic language to supposedly dismantle such.
Read this collection to learn from Hannah Conway, Samantha Allen, Tennessee Jones, and Kendall Loyer. You will learn about the queering of place, time, ability, and language through beautiful accounts that are often overlooked in metronormative queer history. My favorite section was the last - Creating the Queer-Appalachian Archive. I do hope that future editions or similar collections are published in the future. It would be nice to read interview transcripts, see more artwork, and approach queer Appalachia through a less academic lens.
September 22, 2023
I find books of compilations of academics discussing queer and Appalachian theory to be interesting, just quite dense.
Though, in this collection’s defense, I found that most of them would be quite approachable and easy to digest for those who don’t read queer and queer Appalachian theory a lot.
I was particularly moved by Samantha Allen’s essay. Having read her book - Real Queer America, I was familiar with her writing but I had forgotten just how beautifully she writes.
Overall, the collection touches on many different things that encompass being queer, Appalachian, and a queer Appalachian. It was honestly one of the best collections I’ve read on this particular subject. I decided to go with 4 stars just because my brain was swirling after some of the essays and I think this book is meant to be digested over a longer period of time, rather than the 4 days I read it in. I’d probably bump it up to 4.5 stars if I could, simply because this book is illuminating and incredibly impactful for the queer Appalachian community and those who are working tirelessly to be seen and heard.
Though, in this collection’s defense, I found that most of them would be quite approachable and easy to digest for those who don’t read queer and queer Appalachian theory a lot.
I was particularly moved by Samantha Allen’s essay. Having read her book - Real Queer America, I was familiar with her writing but I had forgotten just how beautifully she writes.
Overall, the collection touches on many different things that encompass being queer, Appalachian, and a queer Appalachian. It was honestly one of the best collections I’ve read on this particular subject. I decided to go with 4 stars just because my brain was swirling after some of the essays and I think this book is meant to be digested over a longer period of time, rather than the 4 days I read it in. I’d probably bump it up to 4.5 stars if I could, simply because this book is illuminating and incredibly impactful for the queer Appalachian community and those who are working tirelessly to be seen and heard.
April 8, 2022
3.25 stars. I'll say from the start that my rating may not be fair, but it is reflective of my experience of reading this book. Why I suggest it might not be fair is: this book is different from what I expected when I backed it on Kickstarter. It feels much more "academic" than I expected.
I also suspect that I fall outside the target audience for this book: while I grew up in a rural area, it wasn't in Appalachia, and I wonder whether there were things I might have missed because of that.
It did give me a bit of a reality-check about my assumptions about the region (which was good), but I didn't find as much connection with the contributors and contributions as I had expected.
I also suspect that I fall outside the target audience for this book: while I grew up in a rural area, it wasn't in Appalachia, and I wonder whether there were things I might have missed because of that.
It did give me a bit of a reality-check about my assumptions about the region (which was good), but I didn't find as much connection with the contributors and contributions as I had expected.
May 7, 2022
Loooooooooved. Lots of great great info. I didn’t expect for it to take as long to read since it’s pretty short. It definitely reads like a textbook, but a good one!!
Some notable thoughts I had during this book was considering digital and oral archives of history, especially something like Instagram. Also the “othering” of Appalachia being an inherent queer space (and other demographics that have been “othered” also being of a queer space). And the best part of the whole book was easily the history and modernization of Mothman as a queer icon.
Some notable thoughts I had during this book was considering digital and oral archives of history, especially something like Instagram. Also the “othering” of Appalachia being an inherent queer space (and other demographics that have been “othered” also being of a queer space). And the best part of the whole book was easily the history and modernization of Mothman as a queer icon.
November 27, 2023
I was hoping for stories of everyday life for Appalachian queers. Specific issues that they face. Local organizing.
But it was just the same white guilt, self-flagellation as in every other book about "queer theory"; espoused by tenderqueers.
I don't want to hear about how horrible the queer Appalachia IG page is for being too white. I don't care. It's not even analysis. It's just "Queer Appalachia is terrible because it's run by white people!"
I wanted to hear their stories, not how much they social media.
But it was just the same white guilt, self-flagellation as in every other book about "queer theory"; espoused by tenderqueers.
I don't want to hear about how horrible the queer Appalachia IG page is for being too white. I don't care. It's not even analysis. It's just "Queer Appalachia is terrible because it's run by white people!"
I wanted to hear their stories, not how much they social media.
January 3, 2025
Living as a queer person in Northeast Tennessee, this felt like an essential book to read. PM Press puts out some truly awesome, progressive reads. This book is written by multiple authors and represents a variety of queer experiences in Appalachia. As an academic, it reminded me of the importance of lifting voices and experiences from my community and preserving queer archives. I read this book over a year or so, as the topics were quite heavy, and I needed time to marinate on each excerpt. This was a highly affirming read.
January 23, 2025
There are some really thought provoking and politically relevant essays in this collection, particularly with the recent elect of Trump and JD Vance and their wish to erase queer, trans and nonbinary views and realities. This book is full of those realities and points out the racial and sexual diversity in Appalachia in the past, now, and long into the future. Some essays interested me more than others and the writing has lots of meaning and context packed into it. It's a short book but not a quick read.
January 22, 2023
I so deeply wanted to love this collection of essays. I think it is immensely important that the stories of queer folks in Appalachia be recorded and told, but I found the essays to be redundant and filled with statements that felt more like what people thought they should say than true reflections of queer life in Appalachia. I do think it may have been more enjoyable to read one essay at a time of a few months. The moth-man essay was admittedly pretty good!
April 8, 2023
Not what I was expecting from this book. Honestly I was looking more for short stories and/or poems, either fictional or nonfictional but something with a storyline or showcasing growing up in Appalachia in some way. Instead this is more like a collection of very knowledgeable college level essays or peoples thesis on gender, sexuality, intersectionality, etc. Just an FYI for anyone picking up this book about what to expect.
September 17, 2024
I love the challenge of rethinking what "Appalachia" means. I love the example of two lesbian couples, one lives very visibly in the community and faces no visible oppression, and one couple that tries to live quietly (secretly?) and has had significant difficulty maintaining meaningful employment while raising a family.
There was a common dichotomy where an author would discuss the common stereotype of Appalachia as a backward, racist, homophobic, Republican, regressive, inbred, etc. etc. and suggest those are unfair. But several authors discussed difficulty living in Appalachia related to racism, homophobia, Republicans, etc. etc.. So, where does that leave us? We shouldn't be so myopic in looking at the entire Appalachia region and dismiss it as unsalvageable, but we should recognize where the struggles come from.
I'm overgeneralizing, but that was a heavy take-away for me.
There was a common dichotomy where an author would discuss the common stereotype of Appalachia as a backward, racist, homophobic, Republican, regressive, inbred, etc. etc. and suggest those are unfair. But several authors discussed difficulty living in Appalachia related to racism, homophobia, Republicans, etc. etc.. So, where does that leave us? We shouldn't be so myopic in looking at the entire Appalachia region and dismiss it as unsalvageable, but we should recognize where the struggles come from.
I'm overgeneralizing, but that was a heavy take-away for me.
February 21, 2025
I wanted so much more from this collection of essays. Instead of stories about being queer in Appalachia or what its like to be queer in an unexpected setting or finding that this region is queerer than current wisdom might guess, this book is instead pretty academic and often talks in circles. I would love a companion to this featuring on queer stories and queer voices in Appalachia about being queer there.
July 6, 2022
A thought-provoking collection of personal stories and academic research that truly begins to theorize and loosely define what Queer Appalachia means and encompasses. This collection has re-emphasized a personal commitment to queer Appalachian work, and has spurred many ideas towards my future PhD research.
June 3, 2022
“Queering Appalachia is one of the many ways I seek to return some of the layers to the flattened landscape”
With Y’all Means All, McNeill has compiled a compelling analysis of queer lives and histories in Appalachian communities. This book is an important read for queer leaders, activists, and historians to understand the current lives of queer Appalachians!
With Y’all Means All, McNeill has compiled a compelling analysis of queer lives and histories in Appalachian communities. This book is an important read for queer leaders, activists, and historians to understand the current lives of queer Appalachians!
September 19, 2022
⭐️⭐️1/2, rounding it up to 3. I enjoyed leaning more about Appalachia and a survey of LGBTQ+ voices from there that spoke to the diversity of landscapes and experiences as someone who is not from the area nor has lived there.
However, this book was extremely academic and theory-based, which makes me question its role as being an accessible resource for the average person wanting to learn more about queer Appalachia. I have a higher education background where I had to take classes straight up about theory, and I definitely had to skim past a lot of the theory sections to motivate myself to continue reading.
While I think theory has its place for setting the context and making historical connections, I think that it positions this book as a text more appropriate for the queer studies/gender studies/Appalachian studies classroom than for other settings.
However, this book was extremely academic and theory-based, which makes me question its role as being an accessible resource for the average person wanting to learn more about queer Appalachia. I have a higher education background where I had to take classes straight up about theory, and I definitely had to skim past a lot of the theory sections to motivate myself to continue reading.
While I think theory has its place for setting the context and making historical connections, I think that it positions this book as a text more appropriate for the queer studies/gender studies/Appalachian studies classroom than for other settings.
May 21, 2024
4.5 ⭐️ It was a lot denser than I expected (and I had to pull the dictionary app out quite a few times), but I learned so much along the way.
August 5, 2024
I don’t know who this is for. The Samantha Allen essay was excellent, and I would recommend her essay collection Real Queer America over this book.
August 6, 2024
Vitally informative
August 9, 2024
LOVED every second. incredibly valuable. will revisit for years to come.
December 14, 2024
By complete happy accident I happen to be reading this at the same time as AJW’s Compound Fracture and I can’t think of better companions. An excellent, thought provoking and educative collection.
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