This is a problem. People who live in Big City America or in progressive bubbles, where film critics and artists are likely to establish themselves, can have a distorted idea of what much of the rest of the United States is like.

As part of my job writing about LGBTQ equality, I keep my nose in the news all the time. I have google alerts set up for certain topics, and I read the specialized queer press every day.

And I’m here to say that this sort of treatment of LGBTQ youth is not unusual or unbelievable. In many parts of the United states, it’s common.

Where I live in rural Michigan, same-sex teen couples wouldn’t dare attend a high school prom together. And if they did, they would face an outraged response.

It’s sad when people try to push cultural narratives that don’t apply outside their small circles.