Finding Home: Does Anyone Else Feel Like Being Queer in Normal is... Ironically Named?
I still remember my first week here in Normal, Illinois. Standing outside Uptown Station with my rainbow tote bag, I caught a few sideways glances and thought to myself: well, this is going to be interesting. Three years later, and I've discovered there's actually a beautiful queer community hiding in plain sight here.
My Small-Town Queer Journey
Moving from Chicago to Normal for grad school at ISU felt like stepping into another dimension. The coffee shop where everyone knows your name (and business), the cornfields stretching into forever, and me—with my undercut and pronoun pin—wondering where my people were.
When "Normal" Doesn't Feel Normal
- Dating apps showing the same 12 people in a 50-mile radius
- The awkward "are they queer or just alternative?" guessing game
- Finding safe spaces when rainbow flags aren't hanging from every other storefront
- Building community without the infrastructure of bigger cities
Finding Your People in Unlikely Places
The queer community here exists in beautiful pockets! The monthly meetups at the Coffee Hound, the ISU Pride groups that welcome community members, and yes—even that one bartender at Maggie Miley's who hosts underground drag nights.
Start small: wear something that signals your identity if you feel safe doing so. You'd be surprised how many people will find you when you make yourself findable.
You Are Not The Only One
On my loneliest days, I remember that feeling "not normal" in Normal is actually perfectly normal. Our small community might be scattered, but we're resilient and searching for connection just like you.
What's your experience being queer in a small Midwestern town? Share below—let's create the community we wish we'd found when we first arrived.