A former student (I'll call Tracy) who still keeps in touch with me via Facebook has taught me a lot about a slice of American culture I know very little about: lower-middle class rural lesbians.
Tracy and her partner "Hannah" live in the country north of the Twin Cities, in a 70s split-level house with land enough for a half-dozen horses, four dogs, many barn cats, and two children: Hannah's son Christian from one of her marriages (she's had two) and daughter "Sage" that she had via donor insemination while in the relationship with Tracy. (Sage was a bargaining chip when Hannah broke up with Tracy last year - Hannah told Tracy to move into the basement but couldn't move out of the house because she had to "babysit" Sage. Eventually, the two got "back together," and now Tracy is trying to get inseminated.
These women come from extremely damaged backgrounds: lots of sexual abuse/incest, family members in prison for drugs and sexual crimes, suicide of family members, lots of drinking/meth/drug use. Hannah turned to religion (fundamentalist Christian) as a way to make sense of her life; she'd gotten a degree from Bethel, so Christian propaganda had been taught to her. For a while, she dumped Tracy "for Jesus" and because it was a sin to be gay. She dated a series of guys she'd pick up on Craig's List; Tracy (as well as Hannah's 12-year-old son) was still living in the basement while Hannah would bring the guys home.
Neither of them can hold down jobs, and they are both enrolled as students at Capella: Hannah for a master's in counseling (!) and Tracy for a bachelor's in law enforcement. I don't know how they make their mortgage payments, feed their horses, or pay for the sperm. Tracy's getting the second insemination tomorrow (the first didn't result in conception). She shared that news, among other things, with me on FB tonight:
Tracy and her partner "Hannah" live in the country north of the Twin Cities, in a 70s split-level house with land enough for a half-dozen horses, four dogs, many barn cats, and two children: Hannah's son Christian from one of her marriages (she's had two) and daughter "Sage" that she had via donor insemination while in the relationship with Tracy. (Sage was a bargaining chip when Hannah broke up with Tracy last year - Hannah told Tracy to move into the basement but couldn't move out of the house because she had to "babysit" Sage. Eventually, the two got "back together," and now Tracy is trying to get inseminated.
These women come from extremely damaged backgrounds: lots of sexual abuse/incest, family members in prison for drugs and sexual crimes, suicide of family members, lots of drinking/meth/drug use. Hannah turned to religion (fundamentalist Christian) as a way to make sense of her life; she'd gotten a degree from Bethel, so Christian propaganda had been taught to her. For a while, she dumped Tracy "for Jesus" and because it was a sin to be gay. She dated a series of guys she'd pick up on Craig's List; Tracy (as well as Hannah's 12-year-old son) was still living in the basement while Hannah would bring the guys home.
Neither of them can hold down jobs, and they are both enrolled as students at Capella: Hannah for a master's in counseling (!) and Tracy for a bachelor's in law enforcement. I don't know how they make their mortgage payments, feed their horses, or pay for the sperm. Tracy's getting the second insemination tomorrow (the first didn't result in conception). She shared that news, among other things, with me on FB tonight:
right if you want that option then its $560 a vial, and if you want doc its around $700

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