FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Arkansas Press has just published The Un-Natural State: Arkansas and the Queer South by Brock Thompson ($29.95 cloth). The book fuses Arkansas history, dozens of oral histories and Thompson’s own story in this one-of-a-kind study of gay and lesbian life in Arkansas.

Thompson, a Conway native and an alumnus of Hendrix and the University of Arkansas, investigates the history of rural drag shows and their transformation into a primary means of gay community expression, and he examines changes to the Arkansas sodomy statute as a gauge of how society viewed the increasingly discernible gay and lesbian community in the state. Later sections of the book investigate the creation of queer space and community, as well as offering a substantial account of Eureka Springs’s informal status as the “gay capital of the Ozarks.”

Thompson said he was inspired to begin the book when his desire to learn about his own family began to uncover information about Arkansas’s queer past. “The research and writing of this book enabled me to connect with gay and lesbian relatives I barely knew, giving me a greater sense of self and a better appreciation of those who came before. All these things helped shape my understanding of what it means to be a gay Arkansan,” Thompson commented.

Arkansas is often wrongly seen as being unfriendly to gays and lesbians, said Thompson. “I very much believe it is important for minority groups to have a sense of their own history. Arkansas has a rich queer history and a sometimes surprisingly open attitude toward gays and lesbians. In many ways, the state provided refuge and even encouragement to the state’s queer communities.”

Thompson relied heavily on oral interviews for his research, and he was especially struck by stories about the AIDS epidemic.

The Un-natural State, by Brock Thompson

“Every one of the participants broke down in tears when I asked what the AIDS crisis had done to Arkansas and to them personally,” Thompson said. “They spoke of friends that wasted away before their very eyes, as they were barely able even to ease their pain. This was very eye-opening for me as my generation [Thompson is in his mid-thirties] was, in comparison, largely spared this episode of the epidemic. It is truly hard for us to think about, but one particular man recalls going to a funeral for a friend nearly every week from 1983 to 1985.”

Leila Rupp, author of A Desired Past: A Short History of Same-Sex Love in America, said of the book, “Brock Thompson not only adds Arkansas to the list of places with a fascinating queer history but also contributes to our understanding of gay and lesbian history in the South and in rural communities more generally.”

Brock Thompson will be discussing and signing  The Un-Natural State at the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, East Room in the Main Library, Little Rock, at 6 p.m. Nov. 17. He’ll be at Nightbird Books, 205 W. Dickson St., Fayetteville, at 7 p.m. Nov. 18, and at the Faulkner County Library, 1900 Tyler Street, Conway, at 2 p.m. Nov. 20. Information on these events and others may be found at www.uapress.com.