Losing Matt Shepard [Paperback]

Beth Loffreda (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 15, 2001 | ISBN-10: 0231118597 | ISBN-13: 978-0231118590

The infamous murder in October 1998 of a twenty-one-year-old gay University of Wyoming student ignited a media frenzy. The crime resonated deeply with America's bitter history of violence against minorities, and something about Matt Shepard himself struck a chord with people across the nation. Although the details of the tragedy are familiar to most people, the complex and ever-shifting context of the killing is not. Losing Matt Shepard explores why the murder still haunts us -- and why it should.

Beth Loffreda is uniquely qualified to write this account. As a professor new to the state and a straight faculty advisor to the campus Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Association, she is both an insider and outsider to the events. She draws upon her own penetrating observations as well as dozens of interviews with students, townspeople, police officers, journalists, state politicians, activists, and gay and lesbian residents to make visible the knot of forces tied together by the fate of this young man.

This book shows how the politics of sexuality -- perhaps now the most divisive issue in America's culture wars -- unfolds in a remote and sparsely populated area of the country. Loffreda brilliantly captures daily life since October 1998 in Laramie, Wyoming -- a community in a rural, poor, conservative, and breathtakingly beautiful state without a single gay bar or bookstore. Rather than focus only on Matt Shepard, she presents a full range of characters, including a panoply of locals (both gay and straight), the national gay activists who quickly descended on Laramie, the indefatigable homicide investigators, the often unreflective journalists of the national media, and even a cameo appearance by Peter, Paul, and Mary.

Loffreda courses through a wide ambit of events: from the attempts by students and townspeople to rise above the anti-gay theatrics of defrocked minister Fred Phelps to the spontaneous, grassroots support for Matt at the university's homecoming parade, from the emotionally charged town council discussions about bias crimes legislation to the tireless efforts of the investigators to trace that grim night's trail of evidence. Charting these and many other events, Losing Matt Shepard not only recounts the typical responses to Matt's death but also the surprising stories of those whose lives were transformed but ignored in the media frenzy.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Laramie, Wyoming, is a complicated town that has only become more so since the infamous murder of a gay University of Wyoming student named Matt Shepard on a lonely dirt road in October 1998. A university town in the middle of one of the country's most rural, poor, and conservative states, it was unwittingly thrown into the middle of the nation's debates over homosexuality and hate crimes. While "Laramie didn't kill Matt," as University of Wyoming professor Beth Loffreda writes, "It might let us see how the politics of sexuality--perhaps now the most divisive issue in America's 'culture wars'--plays out in a forgotten corner of the country." As an insider and an outsider (she is the straight advisor to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Association and a state newcomer clearly in love with her surroundings), Loffreda approaches the complex questions the media, with their pack mentality, overlooked or shied away from using her own local but not provincial perspective. Why did Matt's death, which was one of 33 anti-gay murders that year, grip the nation? Why did none of the seven bias crimes bills proposed in Wyoming after the murder pass? What is the experience of being homosexual in a state with not a single gay gathering place to speak of and most people too afraid to be out? What happens when emotion--rather than action--is the only response to a hate crime? And how should Matt be remembered?

Leaving the media assumptions about the "hate state" in the dust, Loffreda deftly portrays a people deeply affected by what has happened in their midst, replete with the daily contradictions, political clashes, and halting transformations that defy sound bites. She introduces us to those the media never thought to interview--a jaded gay American Indian as well as Mexican American university students with their own stories of bigotry--and those making the real change in Laramie: people like Mike, who came out after Matt's death and has found the courage to become an activist, and the gays and lesbians who dressed as angels during the murderers' trials, blocking defrocked minister Fred Phelps and his virulent anti-gay messages with their enormous wings. Loffreda's nuanced, perceptive, and graceful discussion reminds us that the inheritance of Matt's death is far from settled for any of us. --Lesley Reed --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

In 1998, the brutal murder of Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old University of Wyoming student, shocked the country. His death and the subsequent trials of his two (ultimately convicted) murderers made headlines for more than a year. In this pungent and astute account, Loffreda, an assistant professor of English at Shepard's alma mater and the faculty adviser to the campus's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Association, details not only the murder and trials but also the profound effect of the ensuing publicity upon a basically decent and friendly community. Loffreda mixes a journalist's sharp eye with a sociologist's attentiveness to such issues as class, race, homophobia and gender, deftly bringing together interviews with Laramie's gay and straight residents, news reporting and cultural analysis. By debunking much of the media coverage (Shepard was not tied to a fence like a scarecrow), humanizing those convicted of the crime (Chasity Pasley, who supplied a fake alibi for one of the killers, worked closely with the campus gay group) and raising difficult questions (gay residents of Laramie were furious that little of the intense fund-raising for lesbian and gay causes that occurred around Shepard's death benefited local gay causes), she paints a judicious portrait of how such a murder could happen, and how the town was caught in the jaws of the national media circus that ensued. Getting behind the headlines, preconceptions and easy stereotypes, Loffreda has produced a book that mixes intelligence and compassion with crack reporting and sharp insight. (Oct.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Columbia University Press (October 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0231118597
• ISBN-13: 978-0231118590
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #374,628 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #67 in Books > Gay & Lesbian > Literature & Fiction > Literary Criticism

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Remembering Matt Shepard: Passion and Necessity, November 1, 2000

By 

J. R. Woodland "Remoulade" (Dearborn, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Losing Matt Shepard (Hardcover)

In the two years since Matt Shepard's murder roiled our national consciousness, the shock and the emotion that spurred a thousand candlelight vigils have ebbed, leaving a space for thoughtful reflection on the lasting meaning of this tragedy in our common life. One of those reflective events is "The Laramie Project," a theatrical meditation on the people of Laramie and how Shepard's death has affected them.

Those of us who can't get to New York City now have a similarly valuable reflective text in Beth Loffreda's thoughtful book, _Losing Matt Shepard: Life and Politics in the Aftermath of Anti-Gay Murder_. Loffreda writes from a unique perspective: she joined the faculty of the University of Wyoming just before Shepard's murder, and thus brings the insight of an outsider to her careful observations of the aftermath: the vigils, media coverage, and trials.

But most importantly, she brings us the voices of Laramie's residents, both those who knew Matt and those who grew to know his life after it ended. Her focus is not on the private details of Shepard's life, but how his life and death affected and illuminated the political and human landscapes of this Wyoming town. Avoiding easy answers, Loffreda keeps before us the complexities of the lives and communities she documents. With elegant and careful prose, she sets before us the scenes and testimonies she has gathered, reflecting on these events with a clarity that does not preclude passion.

In the end, Loffreda claims, the legacy of Matt Shepard (for those who did not know him personally, but were nonetheless affected by his death) is that he impelled such reflection and conversation: "When the town lost Matt, a stranger to most of its residents, it found someone to remember, and to remember turbulently, intimately, often unwillingly, and always with difficulty and disagreement. If Matt bequeathed Laramie anything, he bequeathed us the passion and necessity and freedom of dissent. And as the town continues to remember and forget, to speak the languages of tolerance and admonition both, we should all hold that inheritance close."

Those who look for ways to remember Matt Shepard and to deepen their understanding of the meaning(s) of his life and death would do well to begin with a careful reading of this thoughtful and caring book.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Never Losing Him, October 25, 2001

By 

James Hiller (Beaverton, OR) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Losing Matt Shepard (Hardcover)

It seems both so long ago and so yesterday that a young gay man was ruthlessly tortured and killed on a lonely Wyoming road, torching a national controversy that became interwoven into our national quilt. In her book, "Losing Matt Shepard", Beth Loffreda successfully examines the threads of this event, its effect on Wyoming, Laramie, and the people closely involved.

Loffreda doesn't merely rehash the events, but extends and relates them in a matter of fact way that brings a deeper understanding to the entire horrific event. We see the event through many different groups eyes, through his friends, special groups, Laramie residents, Wyoming residents, national media, and even hate groups. It's through this multi-faceted examination that we are drawn deeper into this tragedy.

And then at this moment, Loffreda brilliantly takes us around the crime scenes with a sheriff so devoted to Matt and solving this crime, he becomes a true hero in this story. The placement of this section is criticial; just when we yearn for this information, she gives it to us, painting us a picture of the last hours Matt spent on this Wyoming plain, and his eventual death. It chilled me reading it, and moved me deeply. You want to run into the pages to save this poor soul who suffered because of who he was.

Read this book. Understand the consequences. Make sure nothing like this ever happens again.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Direct, Honest, and Powerful, December 25, 2001

By 

"govt_atty" (Washington, DC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Losing Matt Shepard (Hardcover)

Beth Loffreda has created a very clear picture of the events which occurred immediately following the death of Matthew Shepard, as well as the continuing struggle that both gay and straight individuals face when trying to create a community where everyone is accepted and comfortable. What she did not do, for which I am extremely greatful, was to write her book with any blatent prejudice toward either side. (NOTE: It is, however, written from a supportive and gay-positive view point). Her work was fair and honest, and I believe she truly tried to accurately represent the feelings of everyone who was affected by the events of October 1998.

The book does not dwell on the death of Matthew, although there are some heart-wrenching discussions about it. Rather, Loffreda has focused her attention on the fallout of his death. She discusses the trials of the four "kids" involved in Matt's death, including specific legal issues and arguments raised by both sides in the trials. She discusses the feelings of members of the gay community in Laramie and Wyoming, as well as out-of-state visitors during that time. She discusses the continuing struggle over implementation of bias and hate crime legislation, both within Wyoming and at the Federal level. She discusses other issues such as race, economics, etc. which must also be considered in conjunction with the "gay issue." She also touches on the part played by religious organizations, from the antics of Fred Phelps to the support and love shown by local churches. Throughout every discussion, often based on conversations with Laramie residents, she tries to be fair to all and show the fact that there is no hard and fast answer to be found here.

A good friend purchased this book for me as a gift, for which I am truly thankful. He warned me that it might make me angry (as I tend to get worked up about discrimination and bias issues), but that it was an excellent book. I agree 100%, and encourage everyone to take the chance and read it. You will not be disappointed.