Name
Dax Chizum
Biography
Dax David Chisum was born in 1968 in Redondo Beach, California. Dax identifies as a gay, Caucasian, male and sees himself as belonging to the working class. He moved to Idaho at the age of one and was raised in the Wood River Valley, which helped to expose him to a great deal of diversity due to the high volume of tourism in the area. He didn’t have strong religious roots growing up, however when he came out at around the age of 20, his mother had a nervous breakdown and claimed that Dax had “broken her heart.” Now things have changed and Dax is an advocate for human rights at the Idaho Human Rights Education Center. During this interview, Dax touches on his life after coming out, how coming out affected his work for the Idaho Human Rights Education Center, he discusses where he feels most comfortable and uncomfortable as a gay man in Boise, what he feels are the biggest issues facing the Boise LGBTQ community as well as what are some of the biggest obstacles facing the Humans Rights Center in Boise.
Keywords
Interfaith community, “Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell", role model, age discrepancy, safe schools, Anne Frank memorial, Nicole LeFavour, financial stability, Add The Words movement, Idaho Safe Schools Coalition, United Nations
Interview Date
11-29-2011
Interview Duration
55:06
City
Boise
Rights Management
This material is copyrighted by Special Collections and Archives, Boise State University
Disciplines
Community-Based Research | Gender and Sexuality | History of Gender | Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies | Oral History | Sociology | United States History