Southern Exposure was an award-winning print journal published by the Institute for Southern Studies, publisher of Facing South, from 1973 until 2011. Southern Exposure earned a national reputation for its writing on a broad range of political and cultural issues in the South, with a special emphasis on investigative journalism and oral history.

On the 50th anniversary of Southern Exposure’s birth, Facing South and the Institute will be publishing a full digital archive of the journal over the course of the year. The initial installment of the archives available in March 2023 includes issues from the magazine’s launch in 1973 through 1981.

Vol. 13 No. 5 - September/October 1985

Magazine cover reading "The quiet epidemic: Gay-baiting as right-wing tactic. Gay-baiting is new in Southern politics. There is reason to believe that it will replace racism and anti-communism on the top of the bag of tricks of conservative Southern politicians."

The Quiet Epidemic

  • Letters From Our Readers

    2
  • Readers Corner

    3
  • Southern News Roundup

    4
  • Facing South

    11
  • Resources

    12
  • Voices of Our Neighbors

    13
  • Gay-Baiting: The Quiet Epidemic

    17
  • Gay-Baiting in Southern Politics

    17
  • Gay-Baiting: Anatomy of an Election

    20
  • Gay-Baiting: Veil of Hurt

    26
  • The Music Brought Us

    28
  • Teachers on Strike

    33
  • Teachers on Strike: The Battle of St. John

    33
  • Teachers on Strike: The Final Card

    38
  • Mixed Marriage

    40
  • Honoring the Ancestors

    42
  • Sick Chickens

    48
  • Postcard Poem and Under the Knife

    56
  • Reviews

    58
  • Bulletin Board of the South

    63
  • Voices from the Past

    64
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