How the lack of LGBTQ+ storytelling in rural Ohio inspired a rising queer influencer

LGBTQ+ history is rarely taught in Ohio schools, even at the college level. In rural areas, access to such history is even more fraught. But that didn’t stop a gay 23-year-old from the Canton suburb of Louisville from going viral on social media for teaching LGBTQ+ history.

Sporting a beret, tie and rainbow stole, the college student-turned-influencer goes by Gav Galvan @gavtalksgay on Instagram, YouTube and TikTok. He’s finishing up a master’s degree in Indiana, but afterwards he plans to come back to his home state with over 400,000 followers in tow to continue supporting his community.

“I have the energy of a small elephant, and I feel like I’m entertaining,” Galvan said. “What better way to utilize social media to reach people [and] tell queer stories and queer history in a manner that will get them to listen?”

(The Buckeye Flame chose to use Galvan’s pseudonym over safety concerns.)

‘I just chose to swim’

When Galvan came out at age 10, his family was supportive, and he felt free to express himself. But school was a different story.  He was sent to the principal’s office after coming out and was bullied by his peers.

“My mom always talks about how amazed she is that I turned out, for a lack of a better term, this gay,” Galvan said. “But I think at that age, in the context of that town, I kind of learned it was sink or swim, and I just chose to swim.”

That attitude helped him thrive on his high school’s competitive speaking “Humorous Interpretation” team. He found “a lot of solace” on the team presenting scripts of LGBTQ+ rural Ohioans comedically, without having their identity be “the butt of the joke,” he said. Galvan’s experience cultivated “this love for telling queer stories.”

“My director … was like, ‘If you wanna talk about gay people, you should do that,’” he recalled. “And I was like, ‘Oh I can? I can highlight who I am?’”

The spark of an idea

His high school experiences propelled him through college speech teams with more dramatic, activist-oriented topics on HIV decriminalization, queer baiting, and the satirical drag troupe Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. 

But Galvan missed storytelling like he did in high school while he was getting his masters degree in public relations. After rereading Alan Downs’ LGBTQ+ self-help book “The Velvet Rage” earlier in the year, he was inspired to take up his brewing idea of using social media to tell queer history. He realized that kids growing up like he had couldn’t easily find LGBTQ+ history, especially as federal and state governments have attempted to further silence queer perspectives.

“If we aren’t given legitimate platforms in public spaces, I think turning to digital platforms that we create ourselves is necessary to document queer history and to make it accessible,” he said.

Galvan had the idea earlier this year to put together all he has learned into a social media account about LGBTQ+ history. Though he’s “a gay person who likes attention,” he said he did not expect his account to blow up in popularity.

His first post to rack up millions of views explained the history of the “LGBT” acronym, and how lesbians’ role as caregivers to gay men during the HIV epidemic led to the “L” coming first. 

While going viral was exciting for Galvan, the post “put a huge magnifying glass” on him.

“There’s a part of me that’s legitimately cautiously afraid because I understand what it’s like to be a queer figure online, especially a younger figure who talks about activism [and] queer culture,” Galvan said. “I’ve gotten the slew of hate comments. I’ve had people try to figure out where I am, and I think that just comes with the territory of being a creator with a marginalized identity online.”

The future

Galvan’s account has continued to grow in popularity, with followers from around the world sending “thank you” messages.

“They’re like, ‘I love your videos so much because they give me hope that it’s okay to be who I am,’” he recalled. “I’ve gotten a lot of messages like that from people who used to be in my situation, and that’s made me overjoyed.”

Galvan “didn’t expect this to blow up as much as it did,” but he wants to see where this path ultimately takes him. He’s using his influence to launch into advocacy work. He has already partnered with Outright International, a global LGBTQ+ human rights coalition, on a video highlighting international queer activism.

“Whatever way I can blend the platform that I have with legitimate queer activism, I will find a way to do that,” he said. “I want to continue to be a light for people who found themselves in shoes like mine.” 🔥

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• To access educational resources from Honesty for Ohio Education, click here.
• To learn more about Ohio’s LGBTQ+ history collections, visit the Akron LGBTQ+ Archive, Ohio Lesbian Archives, the GOHI Project and the Western Reserve Historical Society.