Farm Boys: Lives of Gay Men from the Rural Midwest

Short impact summary

Farm Boys: Lives of Gay Men from the Rural Midwest, published by The University of Wisconsin Press in 1998, offers a vital counter-narrative to assumptions about rural homosexuality through personal stories from the Midwest. Its impact is evidenced by 25 citations and substantial usage with 9,175 total downloads on the OAPEN Library platform. Conceptually anchored in geography, gender studies, and sociology, the book combines scholarly uptake with significant readership engagement despite limited event data and external attention signals.

Full narrative

Farm Boys addresses the often overlooked intersection of rural life and gay identity, challenging dominant cultural narratives that depict homosexuality as an urban experience. Originally published in 1998 by The University of Wisconsin Press, the book’s thematic focus on geography, gender studies, and sociology frames it as a multidisciplinary contribution. This positioning is further validated by the 25 citations it has accrued, reflecting scholarly engagement with its unique subject matter. While these citation numbers are relatively modest, they denote ongoing academic interest spanning more than two decades.

The book’s practical reach is underscored by substantial usage metrics, with 9,175 total downloads recorded on the OAPEN Library, the sole hosting platform documented. Despite an absence of recent download trend data and no recorded Event Data, this download volume signals meaningful accessibility and dissemination within digital open-access environments. The fact that this usage-driven uptake holds a strong inferred role strength of 0.8, based on these downloads, suggests that Farm Boys continues to resonate with readers even in the absence of additional forms of measurable engagement like social media mentions or mainstream media coverage.

In contrast to its usage strength, the book’s attention landscape reveals a gap: with zero recorded non-citation events and no event sources detected, Farm Boys appears to have limited visibility in broader public and online domains. The lack of Open Educational Resource (OER) listings and platforms further indicates that, while the book is accessible via OAPEN, it has yet to be widely integrated into educational repositories. This absent or minimal event data invites cautious interpretation regarding its external engagement beyond the academic citations and download measures.

Referencing the inferred roles identified, Farm Boys demonstrates a balanced blend of usage-driven uptake (strength 0.8) and scholarly uptake (strength 0.6), suggesting that its impact manifests in both sustained academic citation and reader download patterns. However, scite-derived claim signals provide marginal insight with only a single recorded citation context that is neutral—mentioning without supporting or contradicting the content—highlighting an area where deeper citation engagement remains limited. This nuanced citation context reflects the book’s specialized niche and the challenges of drawing broader academic discourse from oral histories focused on marginalized rural experiences.

Overall, Farm Boys stands as a valuable resource in its fields, offering important sociological and gender studies insights through the lens of rural Midwestern gay men’s lives. While the absence of robust event data and limited OER presence suggest constraints in wider public diffusion, the substantive download figures and sustained scholarly referencing affirm its continued relevance for researchers and readers interested in rural LGBTQ+ studies. Future tracking of usage trends and event occurrences may provide a fuller picture of its evolving influence.