Nine years after coming out, Jess has emotionally reconciled her relationship with her parents despite the rejection and repression that she has experienced. She speaks of her childhood with ease and characterizes her bond with her father as close. She is quick to acknowledge that her connection with her mother remains comfortable only as long as her sexuality is not talked about often.
beloved arise
WORDS & IMAGES BY ASH HOBBS
Jess Noel shares family photos, keepsakes from her childhood, as she reminisces about being raised in an idyllic Southern family in rural Lebanon, Virginia. The town population in 2021, only around 3,122 people.
Religion and the Methodist church played prominent roles in Jess's upbringing. Her mother is particularly devout and the prayer key that Jess holds here belonged to her Mom when she was a child. It reads, in part, "Pray One For Another". While the key evokes vivid recollections for Jess, she remains unsure why she has kept it for so long.
Jess knew that she was queer in high school, but delayed coming out to her parents until she no longer lived in her childhood home, at around the age of nineteen. Upon learning of Jess's identity her mother did not speak to her for close to a year and has continued to express lingering concerns about her soul to other family members. Her grandmother, however, has remained a steady source of love and familial support.
Jess finds that she is expanding in other ways that also run contrary to her family's religious beliefs. She has begun to explore Buddhism, but concerns about another negative reaction have kept her from disclosing that information to her devoted Methodist parents–at least so far.
Ash Hobbs is the recipient of a scholarship for PWB’s Impact Storytelling course. See more about this and other courses we offer here.
Ash made this story in partnership with Beloved Arise, which “is the first national organization dedicated to empowering youth to embrace both their faith and their queer identity. We are a movement to fight for the lives of LGBTQIA+ youth, particularly those who exist in the margins of their faith communities–a multi-faith community that celebrates and embraces queer youth and young adults from all faith traditions. We uplift and empower LGBTQ+ young people in all spiritual beliefs, identities, expressions, and aspirations.”
