Hofer is part of a tiny but increasingly vocal group of Hutterites who are opening up about being gay in a community that hardly recognizes the concept of homosexuality, and certainly doesn't accept it. Those who are gay are left with a choice of remaining closeted for life or being completely cut off from family, friends, and a way of life that's evolved little in hundreds of years. [...]
Hutterites adopt traditional gender roles; men wear suspenders and dress shirts, and women wear dresses and black kerchiefs on their heads—they're not allowed to wear pants. A male minister runs the colony, making both spiritual and financial decisions, while men earn money through labor jobs. Women take on roles like sewing, cooking, gardening, and teaching—some colonies forbid them from having driver's licenses or voting. [...]
"It was one of the worst things I have ever read in my entire life," he told VICE. Hofer won't fully detail the contents of the letter because he hopes to one day reconcile with his mother, but he said she told him that his being gay was "worse than death." Neither one of his parents have spoken to him in a year. His aunt has told him he's not gay but "brainwashed" and said he'll never see his siblings get married or play with their children unless he changes.
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