Details

Emily Harger | United States | 2019 | 34:00

Website | Facebook

Jeanne Peters and Kim Williams turn accidental activists after their West Virginia city government voted down an ordinance protecting LGBTQ people from discrimination.

Abominations. Sexual predators. The gay agenda. “I heard these people saying things about us, and they don’t know me,” Jeanne says. At a moment of division in the small industrial river town of Parkersburg, LGBTQ residents decide to fight back and spark a movement for change. At just 15 years old, Ivy Herriges holds local political leaders publicly accountable to support the rights of her family. After being fired from a job for being transgender, Ashton Buzzard speaks out about the struggles and triumphs of being openly transgender and then seeks comfort in a church that may not be open to his openness. Collectively, their efforts result in the rebirth of queer community in an unlikely city.

Outspoken is an intimate portrayal of the interconnectedness of religion and identity in small town America. In “the dead last city in the dead last state for LGBTQ people”, will this community begin to understand and thrive with inclusion?

Producer
Emily Harger