Rita Reed will discuss obstacles and solut ions to growing up gay in a small town as a part of this year's One Read p rogram\, focused on "The Big Door Prize\," by M.O. Walsh. The talk will ta ke place at the Missouri Photo Workshop Exhibit\, a display of work docume nting small Missouri towns and telling "truth with a camera."
\nRita Reed grew up in St. James\, MO\, population 3\,000. She knew she was gay. Her parents and friends probably knew she was gay\, but it was an identit y denied. \;
\nAs she went through the motions of life &mdash\; high school\, college\, getting married\, becoming a high school history t eacher &mdash\; her sense of self solidified\, though it remained in the b ackground. When she came out as gay as a graduate student\, she acknowledg ed the person she had always been. Then\, as a photographer for the Star T ribune in the Twin Cities\, she created a landmark documentary project abo ut two gay teens. Her personal insights into the challenges they faced\, h er empathy\, patience and understanding of the enormity of what they were going through\, enabled her to have complete access to their lives. And in spired her photographs. Her book\, "Growing Up Gay: The Sorrows and Joys o f Gay and Lesbian Adolescence\," was published by Norton in 1997. The firs t book of its kind\, it has opened pathways for untold numbers of gay teen s\, parents and teachers to understand and affirm the gay teen experience.
\nYou can view the Mis souri Photo Workshop Exhibit daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.\, September 8 -30. Find out more about One Read and see a full list of programs here.
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