On National Coming Out Day, Northfield Reflects on Its "Gay-Friendliness"

Today is a big day for many Americans, though a lot of us may not have been aware of it. It’s National Coming Out Day. Across the United States, individuals and activist groups including The Human Rights Campaign have been encouraging people of all orientations and political persuasions to make today a day of honest, open conversation about sexuality, discrimination, openness, and equality. It’s a day to encourage truthfulness, and also to recognize and support family, friends, and acquaintances who have “come out” as part of the gay community. 

When I heard about National Coming Out Day, I became curious to hear directly from Northfielders what they thought about Northfield’s gay friendliness. “Gay friendly” can mean a lot of different things, and I was interested in all of it: what kinds of resources are or are not available to the gay community in Northfield? What kinds of problems- or even discrimination- do gays and lesbians face in Northfield? Compared to other places, is Northfield more or less welcoming to the gay community?

The Carleton and Olaf “Bubble”

At Carleton, we have many resources available for students who identify as a member of the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual) community. The Carleton Gender and Sexuality Center also sponsors a number of events each year, including discussions, sex education, support groups, and speakers. Despite this, as a college student in Northfield, I have very little sense of the resources and support available for gay individuals who live outside the Carleton “bubble.”

I wanted to first learn more about the experiences of gay students at St. Olaf, and therefore got in touch with a number of coordinators of St. Olaf’s gay-friendly student group, GLOW! (Gay Lesbian, Or Whatever!). I received an email in response from Catherine Jordan, St. Olaf class of 2011, who wrote of her experience as both a member of GLOW! group, and as a gay student in Northfield. Jordan wrote that she believes “Northfield is a gay-friendly town, for the most part… Northfield is a very liberal town, so I assume most residents are okay with GLBT people… It is considerably more gay-friendly than my hometown, anyway.” Jordan also admitted that as a student, she doesn’t “really venture beyond the St. Olaf ‘Bubble” in terms of GLBT activism,” and because she is not a long-term Northfield citizen, she may not “have a lot of insight for the larger Northfield community.” The differences for gay students at Carleton and St. Olaf, Jordan wrote, come down to Carleton’s higher level of institutional support for the “GLBT and queer community”: the student body at St. Olaf is “more actively involved with the GLBT community, probably because we don’t have a lot of institutional support for GLBT students.”

In order to move beyond the college student “bubble,” I needed to go speak to some (non-student) Northfielders as they went about their daily business. I spoke to Meredith, a University of Minnesota graduate currently working in Northfield, who was happy to speak to me, but preferred not to give her last name or other identifying information for this article. Meredith had recently moved from uptown Minneapolis, which she described as the “most liberal” part of Minnesota. She felt people in uptown were “more outspoken about sexuality.” She admitted that all of her thoughts about Northfield were still “initial impressions” but does feel that Northfield is a bit “closed-minded,” even from what she’s seen “as a straight person.” “People are cautious here… I feel like I’m always rubbing people the wrong way here,” even when “making small talk… to me, this isn’t liberal.” In terms of resources available to the gay community, Meredith said that there “certainly weren’t any resources I’ve noticed,” although she noted that she didn’t attend any churches and was no longer at school, so she might not have been aware of some local resources.

I next spoke to a Northfielder who has been here considerably longer, April Ripken, owner of The Sketchy Artist on Division Street, and a former St. Olaf student (class of ’99). When asked if Northfield is gay friendly, Ripken voiced what seemed to be a popular initial response, first saying hesitantly, “I think so… I don’t really know. But there’s no real problem…” She noted that one of her employees is gay, and expressed personal enthusiasm about interacting with people of any sexual orientation. Ripken also believes that much of the gay-friendliness which exists in Northfield can be attributed to the large student population and their more liberal attitudes: “the younger the generation, the more open they are.” However, she also spoke from her experience as a small business owner in Northfield, and said with some apparent frustration that “a lot of people are set in their ways” here, and that the small-town atmosphere may put a damper on open expressions of difference, because “many people know who a lot of people are.” While Ripken wasn’t aware of any overt unfriendly or discriminatory behavior, she did think that many Northfielders just “don’t know how to react” to different lifestyles or orientations. 

My next stop was the popular Northfield hangout The Contented Cow, where bartenders Lyndell Owens and Breeyn Johnson agreed to talk to me. Both said that for a small town, Northfield is “pretty friendly.” Owens did not elaborate, but Johnson, who attended high school in Northfield several years ago, said that during high school, there were “definitely students who were gay, and people could tell… but they didn’t say they were gay and no one called them gay.”

I wanted to hear from more male members of the Northfield community, so I spoke next to Bill Brodin, who “grew up” and has lived in Northfield his whole life, and has worked in Champion Sports on Division Street for years. Brodin felt that Northfield was certainly “more gay friendly” than other places, but that “just like any other city, groups of people have different opinions,” and that opinion may vary significantly depending on “what part of town.” He noted his personal experiences, saying that he has some friends “who would make jokes about other people, and other friends who would never do that.” 

I spoke last to Steve, who has many strong connections to Northfield, and a spouse who is employed at Carleton. Steve preferred not to give his last name for this article. Steve felt that Northfield is “pretty accepting” despite a “few pockets” which might be less so, including “maybe right-wing Evangelical Christians.” He self-identified, with a smile, as a “left-wing Christian,” and noted that the national branch of his church, St. John’s Lutheran, had recently approved “committed gay relationships,” a policy change he called a “good move.” He thinks the college campuses are both “very open,” and is “glad about that.” He wasn’t sure “exactly what indicators” would demonstrate openness or friendliness towards the gay community, especially given that Northfield has not had any “big occasions” oriented towards the gay community or gay-straight alliances, such as “speakers” or “parades.” Steve expressed confidence that Northfield will “talk more and more” about gay rights and gay-friendliness as people become more aware of and open to such issues.

It seems, based on my interactions, that many Northfielders, while not aware -or in support of- any overt discrimination against gays in Northfield, were also not aware of much frank discussion about being gay, nor of the resources which are available to the gay community in Northfield. I was also somewhat surprised to discover how many of the people I spoke to, despite stating that they were comfortable speaking to me about the subject, requested that I not use their full name in this article.

Resources: PFLAG, “The Key,” and the HRC

Part of my definition of a gay-friendly community is that it offers support and resources to its gay members of all ages and backgrounds. In researching what resources were available for the gay community in Northfield, I discovered that PFLAG, which stands for Parents, Families, & Friends of Lesbians and Gays, has an active chapter in Northfield. PFLAG is a national nonprofit dedicated to raising awareness of gay issues. I got in touch via email with the communications director at Northfield PFLAG, Tim Vick, who also happens to work at Carleton (Vick also helped found the Network for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Geology and Natural History Students and Alums).

Northfield PFLAG, according to Vick, helps support students from the gay community at Carleton, St. Olaf, and Northfield High school. Vick wrote that PFLAG had worked with the high school Gay Student Alliance (I was unable to find a contact for this group) to “get them buses to go to activities in the cities,” and that PFLAG tries to meet with students from the high school “at least once a year,” as well as meeting with Carleton students and faculty.

Vick also wrote of PFLAG’s involvement several years ago in protesting a proposed anti- gay marriage bill in Minnesota. PFLAG sponsored a full page ad in the Northfield News protesting this proposition, featuring a statement from PFLAG and “upwards of 600 signatures of local residents” who helped purchase the advertisement. 

Vick noted the presence of a Human Rights Commission in Northfield, functioning as a committee of the city government, which he thinks is “pretty unusual for a city this size to have.” While the Human Rights Commission does not focus solely on issues of the gay community (Vick wrote that much of what the Northfield Human Rights Commission does “centers on the rights of immigrants and non-English speakers”), the staff of the Human Rights Commission “keep an eye on LGBT issues in town.” 

Another resource I wanted to hear from was the Northfield Union of Youth, known colloquially as “The Key”, which sponsors activities and discussions for Northfield youth. I contacted Executive Director Amy Merritt via email. Merritt wrote that although The Key is “certainly an open and caring environment which welcomes all youth ages 12-20,” where all programming and events are generated and planned by the young people who participate, there were currently no activities “aimed towards gay and lesbian youth.” Merritt did mention, however, that she was in discussion with a SAGA (the Sexuality and Gender Activism Group at Carleton) representative about possible partnerships or joint programming. 

It seems that for now, at least, many of the resources available for gay individuals in Northfield are directed at college students, and occasionally Northfield high school students, rather than towards adult members of the gay community.