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Truck driving for many people is an enriching experience. Particularly, for folks like Anne Balay. Balay thrives off the power and livelihood that trucking provides for her. She enjoys towering above other drivers, lifting herself high up off the ground, and traveling on open, solace highways.

Unfortunately, Balay struggled to find herself steady work and had two young children. But eventually, she fell into auto mechanics. Now, she directs a truck-driving training program with a very large, renowned, trucking company.

Balay, with a Ph.D. in English from the University of Chicago, has shared her experience with the public. Her latest novel called Semi-Queer: Inside the World of Gay, Trans, and Black Truck Drivers was released in August of 2018.

The book follows her journey as someone in the trucking industry. Essentially, trucking has always been a safe-haven for outsiders. The constant change and variations with schedule and locations traveled provide a job for those who don’t follow rules well. She claims that its harder for cultural standards to determine your worth if you’re constantly moving forward on your own momentum. It also helps that when trucking, you can be your own boss!

The LGBTQ community has always been a part of the trucking profession but wasn’t always talked about. Lately, there are many examples of those who are proud and aren’t afraid to show it. For example, those like Nic & Carla, who host a popular trucking vlog. Nic & Carla are a married couple whose channel thrives on trucking content as well as their stable relationship.

Sadly, there are no statistics on how many truckers are within the LGBTQ community.  Although, with the current driver shortage many incentives have driven companies to find and keep drivers. As a result, hopefully there will be more LGBTQ statistics soon!