We Live Here: The Midwest tells the stories of LGBTQ+ families around the Midwest

Mario and Monte, the couple featured from Nebraska // courtesy of Cindy Naber

We Live Here: The Midwest is a crucial addition to the discourse surrounding LGBTQ+ communities that documents the stories of queer families in several small towns around the Midwest—busting a stereotype that LGBTQ+ folk only exist in big cities and exploring oft-forgotten narratives.

“We’re showing a story about ordinary people living ordinary lives—that happen to be gay,” says producer David Miller, who has a family of his own with husband Ryan Murphy. “I’d like to say that this isn’t a gay documentary—this is a family documentary that features gay characters.”

Miller and director Melinda Maerker, who identifies as a lesbian, first had the idea to create this documentary after gay marriage became legal, and they continued to read articles about the subject. They observed that discrimination was still rampant and that the fight for equality was far from over—and they wanted to do something about it.

“The Midwest is known as the heartland of American family values,” Maerker says of why she and Miller chose to focus on the Midwest. “What about those values, which our families hold, and most people do—be kind to your neighbor, be aware of other people—what happens when those values are not extended to an entire community?”

In fact, some of the families they contacted initially while making the documentary did not participate out of fear of recrimination from their jobs or communities. One family even backed out after the crew was already on the road.

“The families we did end up finding in the states in the Midwest are really courageous to be presenting their stories in this way,” says Maerker.

The film features a large family from Iowa with a trans mother, a lesbian couple raising their son on a farm in Kansas, a gay couple with a young daughter in Nebraska, an LGBTQ+ support group led by a teacher in Ohio, and a trans couple in Minnesota.

Though the families have all dealt with their own challenges—from struggling to find a new community after being ostracized at church, to needing to homeschool due to bullying at school, to coping with changes in their familial relationships after coming out—each story ends on a note of hope, with each family emanating a great deal of love for one another.

“I think it’s important for people to watch this movie, obviously, particularly for people that might be on the fence and recognize that there’s really nothing to fear about the LGBTQ community,” Miller says. “These are people with family values who love their children just as much as any other family.”

The documentary also includes the viewpoints of extended family members and how they came to terms with their loved ones’ identities—doing so in a way that both presents a full picture and does justice to each individual’s angle, which can be extremely tricky. Presenting these perspectives may give viewers who are “on the fence” something to relate to and lead them to question their previously held beliefs about LGBTQ+ communities.

“If you’re thinking you’re going to vote on certain legislation, you may think, ‘Gosh, this doesn’t apply to me,’” says Miller. “But as part of the community and within Midwestern values, it should apply to you.”

We Live Here premiers on Hulu Dec. 6.