Applying a queer historical framework, this study examines the legacy of Matthew Shepard while centering the perspectives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, Two–Spirit, and other people of expansive genders or sexualities (LGBTQ+). In particular, this study highlights the varied responses of LGBTQ+ people during and after his murder, and how queer young adults living and working in Wyoming today have been shaped by Shepard's legacy. Drawing on evidence from archival and interview data (n = 23 interviews), we argue that the social process of collective memory endemic to Matthew Shepard has largely been one of erasure—not erasure of the incident itself, but erasure of historical and contemporary queer activism, community, and resistance in the region. For many young people, Matthew Shepard's legacy is that of a cautionary tale. His name is invoked by allies and anti-LGBTQ+ people alike to deter LGBTQ+ visibility, thereby constructing and reifying a heteronormative imagining of rural America. This study illustrates the value and importance of expanding queer history to represent rural queer voices in diverse, nuanced, and accurate ways. We also make a call for Sociologists to examine how they, too, may be perpetuating rural queer erasure within their scholarship.

中文翻译：

---

马修·谢泼德的遗产：酷儿擦除和农村 LGBTQ+ 年轻人的生活

本研究应用酷儿历史框架，审视马修·谢泼德的遗产，同时集中女同性恋、男同性恋、双性恋、跨性别者、酷儿、双性恋者和其他广泛性别或性行为者 (LGBTQ+) 的观点。这项研究特别强调了 LGBTQ+ 人群在他被谋杀期间和之后的不同反应，以及谢泼德的遗产如何影响了今天在怀俄明州生活和工作的酷儿年轻人。借鉴档案和访谈数据中的证据（n = 23次采访），我们认为马修·谢泼德特有的集体记忆的社会过程在很大程度上是一种擦除——不是擦除事件本身，而是擦除该地区历史和当代的酷儿激进主义、社区和抵抗。对于许多年轻人来说，马修·谢泼德的遗产是一个警示故事。他的名字被盟友和反 LGBTQ+ 人士引用，以阻止 LGBTQ+ 的曝光，从而构建并具体化了美国乡村的异性恋想象。这项研究说明了扩展酷儿历史以以多样化、细致且准确的方式代表农村酷儿声音的价值和重要性。我们还呼吁社会学家研究他们如何在他们的学术范围内永久消除农村酷儿。