The Miseducation of Cameron Post

Cameron notes that her ongoing romantic encounters with Lindsey do not seem as intense as her first kisses with Irene. Lindsey serves as Cameron’s guide into lesbian identity: “She started me in on the language of gay” (99). Lindsey describes her sexual preference as “political,” “revolutionary,” and “countercultural,” though Cameron does not feel the same way: “I just liked girls because I couldn’t help not to” (99). 

Back at Gates of Praise, Pastor Crawford speaks of homosexuality as a sickness and insists that gay rights do not exist. While at church, Cameron tries to imagine that Lindsey is simply corrupting her with her perversions but quickly reasons that she cannot paint herself as a victim if she is so willing to engage with Lindsey.

Lindsey outlines all the ways that Seattle is more hospitable for lesbians. Cameron finds Lindsey’s openness about and pride in sexuality impressive. The pair indulges in a final encounter in a changing room after a swim competition. Lindsey takes a photo of the two of them kissing. 

A group of girls gleans what Lindsey and Cameron have been doing in the stall and sneers at them. Lindsey talks back to them while Cameron flees out of the changing rooms. Lindsey follows, and Cameron confronts Lindsey on her “lesbian bravado” (107). Cameron points out that being gay in eastern Montana is vastly different than being gay in Seattle. After Lindsey begrudgingly acknowledges the difference, the two girls part for the school year with promises to write to one another. 

Jamie informs Cameron that Ruth is dating Ray Eisler, a deliveryman. Not too long after, Cameron, while up in her room watching movies and working on her dollhouse, overhears Ruth and Ray having sex. She doesn’t mention it. 

As promised, Lindsey frequently writes to Cameron with updates on her latest romantic conquests and sends her mix tapes and movie suggestions. Cameron runs into Irene at school. Irene acts aloof and self-important in expensive loafers and a sweater tied around her shoulders. She informs Cameron that she is back on school break, though she could have gone to London with her friends. Cameron half-heartedly suggests that they should get together while Irene is home. Irene replies that she is too busy.

Cameron meets Coley Taylor at church, an All-American girl who lives on a cattle ranch 40 miles out of town. Coley approaches Cameron, and the two quickly become friends. Cameron finds Coley stunningly beautiful. The Taylor family has a good reputation, and Ruth approves of the friendship.

Coley, Coley’s boyfriend Brett, Cameron, and Jamie form a clique. Cameron develops an infatuation with Coley but believes Coley would never return her romantic feelings. Coley convinces Cameron to attend junior prom with her and Brett. Coley urges Cameron to invite Jamie as her date. 

Cameron confesses her crush on Coley to Lindsey over the phone. Lindsey advises Cameron to forget about Coley and going to prom, stating, “Pining after straight girls [...] when you live in a town of angry, Bible-pounding, probably gun-toting cowboys is a total no-win” (138). 

Cameron ignores Lindsey’s warning and goes to prom. Excited, Ruth insists on cooking Cameron, Coley, Brett, and Jamie a fancy dinner before they go to the dance. They leave for prom early, telling Ruth that they want to cruise down the town’s main street. Instead, they park at the community college stadium to smoke marijuana and drink. 

At prom, Jamie notices Cameron staring lovingly at Coley. He walks out of the gym, irritated. Cameron follows him. When Jamie angrily reveals that he knows she has feelings for Coley, Cameron begins to cry. Jamie asks if she knows for sure that she is only attracted to women. Cameron answers that she does know and is still confused. Jamie reasons that if she is unsure, then she should try dating him. Jamie kisses Cameron, but Cameron does not pull away. She notes that the kiss felt “interesting” and “like a fucked-up science experiment” (157).

Cameron lets Jamie kiss her again on the dance floor. Coley winks at Cameron. Cameron reflects on her own behavior: “[T] here I was sending the wrong signals to the right people in the wrong ways. Again, again, again” (158).

In May, everyone in town gears up for the “World Famous Miles City Bucking Horse Sale,” four days of dancing, “authentic cowboy shenanigans” (159), and other festival activities. Coley receives a nomination for Queen of Bucking Horse Sale, despite being younger than the other contestants. Ty, Coley’s older brother, ensures that the administrators won’t flag Coley, Brett, Cameron, and Jamie for underaged drinking. He delegates Cameron to keep an eye on Coley.

On the Friday of the Bucking Horse Sale weekend, most high school students skip class, Jamie and Cameron among them. The latter kiss on the roof of the school, but the only way Cameron can stay engaged with kissing Jamie is if she pictures Coley. However, this tactic isn’t sustainable. When Cameron asks Jamie if they can go to the fairgrounds, her disinterest in making out angers him. He orders Cameron to stop “being such a dyke” (166), before begrudgingly driving them to the fair.

Jamie and Cameron find Coley at the Bucking Horse Sale nominees’ booth. Jamie stalks off, clearly upset. Cameron, Coley, and Brett run into Ruth and her boyfriend Ray. Ruth tentatively informs Cameron that she witnessed Jamie kissing another girl. Coley is appalled on Cameron’s behalf.

The next day, Brett leaves town for a soccer tournament, Jamie continues to avoid Cameron, and Coley learns she was second runner-up in the Queen of Bucking Horse Sale competition. Coley and Cameron decide to sit out the Bucking Horse Sale festivities, so Coley drives them out to her ranch. They spend the day drinking tea and watching MTV. Coley’s lack of involvement in the fair baffles her mother, who notes suspiciously, “That doesn’t sound a bit like you” (174). Before she heads to work at a hospital, she instructs Coley to feed the animals that night. 

Coley and Cameron drive out to feed the cattle while listening to Tom Petty. Coley asks Cameron why she no longer speaks to Irene Klauson. As Cameron reveals their intimate romantic relationship, Coley sits closer. She admits that there have been several times she thought Cameron might kiss her. Coley tries to clarify to Cameron that she is not interested in girls, but then adds, “[S]ometimes I think if you kissed me, I wouldn’t stop you” (182). 

Coley puts her hand on Cameron’s shoulder, prompting Cameron to kiss her: “[H]er mouth was already waiting like a question” (182). To Cameron, the kiss was perfect. Coley surprises herself by how much she enjoys the kiss. The girls part ways when Coley decides she does want to go to the Bucking Horse Sale. Cameron politely excuses herself and returns home. 

In the summer of 1992, Cameron lands a job as a Scanlan Lake lifeguard, and Coley works as a flagger for the Montana Highway Department. Jamie is a proud employee at his favorite restaurant, Taco John’s. Brett stays in California most of June and July to attend a prestigious soccer camp. Jamie and Cameron mend their friendship. In contrast, Coley and Cameron’s kiss puts a strain on their relationship.

Lindsey presses Cameron to visit her for the summer. Cameron does not try to do so, electing to stay in Miles City near Coley instead. Cameron wonders how the summer would have gone differently if she had accepted Lindsey’s invitation. While in lifeguard training, Cameron meets college sophomore Mona Harris, who pointedly informs her that she dates girls.

Coley breaks the awkwardness between her and Cameron by offering to accompany Cameron and her grandmother to Cameron’s parents’ grave. Cameron accepts. Upon returning to Cameron’s house, alone in Cameron’s room, Coley kisses Cameron. The kiss catalyzes a summer of clandestine romance.

Ruth and Ray get engaged while on a trip to Minneapolis. They set September 26 as the wedding date. Rick Roneous, a young famed Montana reverend with “Elvis-blue eyes and very hip shoulder-length brown hair” visits Gates of Praise to talk to teenagers about God’s Promise, the residential school and healing center he runs to treat “sexual brokenness” (206). During the reverend’s presentation, Cameron and Coley sit next to each other but are careful not to touch. One student asks Rick if the school is for “curing gays” (208). Rick replies that the school helps teenagers find God to rid themselves of “unwanted desires” (208). Rick reveals that he himself struggled with homosexual attraction. After the meeting, Cameron observes Coley slip a pamphlet for the school in her purse.

A few days after Reverend Rick’s presentation, Coley’s family rents her an apartment in Miles City so that she can be closer to school. Coley and Cameron make plans for Cameron to help Coley move in. 

As Cameron prepares for her first night alone with Coley in Coley’s new apartment, she receives a care package from Lindsey. The package contains a VHS tape of The Hunger, which features a love scene between two women vampires. In her letter, Lindsey maintains that lesbians have a primordial connection to vampire narratives. Cameron decides to take the movie to Coley’s.

Coley prepares a three-course meal for Cameron’s visit, neatly packed into Tupperware. Coley and Cameron stiffly eat, drink, and watch the movie. Coley questions Cameron about why Lindsey sent her the movie. Cameron implores her to continue watching. After the love scene, Coley declares, “I knew it” (223). The girls fumble their way to the bedroom.

Cameron slowly works her way down Coley’s body with her lips. She performs oral sex on Coley and makes her orgasm. Coley shyly admits that she wants to pleasure Cameron too but lacks experience. Cameron reassures her that it’s okay. Coley becomes shameful about their sex: “It goes against everything […] I don’t want to be like that” (226). Coley argues that same-sex acts are wrong in the eyes of God. She notes that the more time they spend together, the harder it is for them to “turn off” their sexual attraction. Cameron posits that they are not supposed to turn it off. Coley shoots back that they should not have sexually engaged in the first place, but then abruptly kisses Cameron. She attempts to give Cameron an orgasm.

Ty unexpectedly and drunkenly arrives at the apartment with a pair of friends, causing the girls to scramble out of bed. They open the door just in time. While Ty and his friends mix more drinks in the kitchen, Coley notes the stress of their close call, whispering, “You should feel my pulse right now” (231). Cameron interprets Coley’s words as literal and reaches out to check Coley’s heartbeat at her neck. Coley aggressively slaps Cameron away. Cameron makes an excuse to leave, despite Ty’s concern. Coley does not try to stop her. 

The next day, Coley does not pick up Cameron from work like she usually does. At home, Cameron waits for Coley to call, but the phone does not ring. Cameron works a lifeguard shift with Mona the following day. Mona asks Cameron to slather her with suntan lotion. They debate whether Michelle Pfeiffer is more attractive in Grease 2 or Scarface. 

At the end of the workday, some highway department employees show up at the lake to swim and drink beers. One of them, Randy, tells Cameron that Coley took the day off: “We all guessed that you two gals had made for Billings or somewhere. Maybe she’s actually sick” (244). Cameron clarifies to Randy that Coley’s boyfriend Brett returned that same day, to which Randy jokes, “Lovesick, huh? That’s the good kind” (244). Cameron decides to stay behind and swim with Mona and the others. Mona and Cameron sneak off to make out underneath the dock. Cameron bikes home buzzed from the beer and kissing Mona, satisfied with the marginal revenge on Coley’s silence. 

When Cameron returns home, Pastor Crawford of Gates of Praise, Ruth, and Ray are waiting for her in the living room, concerned. Her grandmother is not present. They inform Cameron that Coley accused Cameron of corrupting her with her homosexuality. They searched Cameron’s room and found all of Lindsey’s letters. They announce her mandatory attendance of God’s Promise, Reverend Rick’s expensive, residential Christian school that treats “the sin of homosexuality” (289).