Websites to Wal-Mart

I have to say at first I did struggle following the studies cited in this article but when you look past them and to read the article there are some interesting points to be found. I grew up in a rural Montana town with a population of approx 4000, so not super small but pretty similar to the towns referenced. As a result, my experience was similar, lacking in resources, places to meet, etc.; the major difference for me is that this was well before online resources so we didn't have ways to find each other online or to organize, rural youth today make do with what they have... the internet, a local donut shop and Wal-Mart. Gray mentions AJ's website documenting his transition process because he wanted others to have access to information. This is the perfect example of becoming a source when there was a lack of a source, so meeting a need for yourself through yourself. I had one other thought while reading this and it was about Wal-Mart, a company not known to be all that gay friendly or small business friendly for that matter. Wal-Mart has historically had a very low score on the Corporate Equality Index and is known for not being gay friendly. Yet in a small Kentucky town, the local Wal-Mart serves as a place to hangout and even stage an impromptu drag show. Why? The local store is open and an easy place to hangout and for Wal-Mart it means business, they aren't going to kick out customers who are having a good time while shopping... even if they don't support GLBT employees in a way they support their GLBT customers.