Finley Livingston (they/them/theirs)

This is an open access article reviewing a study involving a small sample size of twelve self-identified LGBTQ+ people within a rural community. The twelve participants were asked fourteen questions in a qualitative interview transcribed verbatim and analyzed using the thematic analysis process. This study, published in 2021, contributes to the conversation on the unique experiences of LGBTQ+ people accessing medical care within a rural community providing new information alongside citing other scholars and articles. As a student working primarily with LGBTQ+ individuals in a rural community, this study provides a clear perspective of the barriers, stigma, and discrimination that the population I work with face when accessing resources which is crucial to understanding how to provide better care in a culturally competent manner.

The information presented in this article makes suggestions for practice on generating a more inclusive environment while reducing barriers to accessing medical care and social services. One of the main recommendations for practice is to increase the standardization of implementing cultural competency training for health care and social service providers in rural communities. This qualitative study offers an important view and recommendations for practice; however, such things have most likely been said before by trans, nonbinary, and other LGBTQ+ individuals in other non-academic forums. Such forums include blog posts, poets, authors, and more. Thus, this article contributes to the ongoing conversation regarding the experiences of LGBTQ+ people in rural communities, however, one might lean towards listening to rural LGBTQ+ voices in non-academic settings as well.

This video explores through first-hand accounts the nature of gender and sexuality regarding the Māori people. While terms such as Trans, Gay, Lesbian, etc may be familiar to many of us, the concept of being queer and queerness predates the Western world and many of the stigmas surrounding queerness have been implemented from Colonization. This video interviews three people who identify as Māoritanga living in Wellington City. These interviews offer a new perspective for those working with Indigenous and/or 2SLGBTQ+ communities through an Indigenous lens.