[Vol. 36] Is Mother Nature Queer?
Earth Day, why queers <3 Earth, and an interview with a certified plant gay.
*Friends. Before we dive in, a petit announcement*
A friend of mine is raising money via a gofundme campaign for her younger brother’s top surgery.
Click here to go to the GoFundMe.
For those who’ve never heard that term before, top surgery refers to a group of surgeries transgender and trans non-binary people can elect to have in order to reshape their chests and alleviate gender dysphoria.
For trans men, top surgery serves to remove the excess breast tissue that may trigger their gender dysphoria, whereas for trans women, the surgery is focused around breast augmentation. Two opposite means to the same end – a happier, more self-affirmed person.
All of the major medical institutions in the U.S. agree gender-affirming healthcare is essential to a trans person’s wellbeing (as referenced in Vol. 32 of this newsletter) And that’s probably because there’s been an overwhelming amount of research to prove it (see here, or here).
So, if you feel so inclined help change a young trans person’s life for the better, here’s the link to raise that mula. Surgery’s expensive, the U.S. healthcare system is … well, not it, and it would really help make a difference.
That’s all!
It’s Earth Day my friends!
I know we all know what Earth Day is … and yet I say that sort of realizing I don’t even know what Earth Day truly is. Like, where did it come from? Who started this whole thing? Where are its roots?? (Environmental pun fully intended)
So, in place of spending an hour watching Tik Toks or worrying for the umpteenth time if I paid my taxes correctly, I did a little Earth Day research instead, courtesy of earthday.org.
Humor me and allow me to break it down for you here (in an entertaining way, I hope):
Ok folks, so it all started in 1970. Center Senator Gaylord Nelson (whose name could not be more apt for this newsletter). Sen. Gaylord had long had the deterioration of the environment on his mind, but a massive (and now infamous) oil spill in Santa Barbara pushed him over the edge. In joint force with Congressman Pete McCloskey, a conservation-minded Republican friend of his, and Denis Hayes, a young environmental activist, Sen. Gaylord organized a teach-in on college campuses in an effort to siphon some of the seemingly boundless energy of the student-led anti-war movement at the time into his protest of environmental pollution.
Wait, but why did they choose April 22nd? Apparently because it was convenient for students. Sen. Gaylord and squad chose the date because it fell right between spring break and final exam seasons. The more ya know.
Earth Day 1970, the first Earth Day ever, was a smash hit. Seeing the movement’s potential for national (and eventually international) involvement, Sen. Gaylord changed the name to Earth Day – which, of course, the national media jumped on immediately. On that first Earth Day in 1970, 20 million Americans took to the streets to protest massive environmental pollution brought on by 150 years of uninhibited industrial development. That was roughly 10% of the country at the time. And it wasn’t just noise – Earth Day 1970 and the turnout it garnered led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of a host of first-of-their-kind environmental laws.
Where are they now? Since its birth on April 22, 1970 (over half a century ago!) Earth Day has gone global – now widely recognized as the largest secular observance in the world. While still focused on environmental pollution, the Earth Day of the new millennium is all about global warming and the push for clean energy. Woo!
Whew. So there’s the quick historical round-up on Earth Day for you – if you’re interested in reading more about its history and current mission, click here.
So why are we talking about Earth Day on That’s Gay? What’s gay about god’s green Earth?
Well, at first I didn’t really know, I’ll admit. I thought I was grasping for straws, when it turns out the two have more in common than you might think – which is exactly what queer ecology/environmentalism has been trying to tell you.
You heard that right: Queer environmentalism – environmentalism, but make it queer.
So what is queer ecology?
Well, basically it refers to looking at ecology through a queer lens. Now I know how that sounds – a little woo-woo, no? But I promise it makes practical sense if you give it a chance.
Queer ecology thrives on the notion that nature is, in and of itself, queer. So, just like the queer agenda makes the case that gender, sexuality, and identity in general exist on a spectrum, queer ecology says “same for nature and the natural world itself”.
Here’s how the Wiki for queer ecology puts it:
“Queer ecology recognizes that people often regard nature in terms of dualistic notions like "natural and unnatural", "alive or not alive" or "human or not human", when in reality, nature exists in a continuous state. The idea of "natural" arises from human perspectives on nature, not "nature" [itself].”
And here’s the kicker:
“[Queer ecology] rejects the associations that exist between "natural" and "heterosexual", and draws attention to how both nature and marginalized social groups have been historically exploited.”
Ooh is that a little spicy rebellion I see? Wouldn’t be queer theory without it.
So, yes, queer ecology seems to stand for a more expansive view of the natural world, but, most interestingly to me, it also relates the repression of queerness in traditional society to the repression of the natural world.
This is when you have to resist your temptation to throw the whole thing out as anti-heterosexual/cisgender woo-woo propaganda and think about instead what it might be trying to tell you; what it might be trying to tell all of us.
The natural world is not as binary, cut and dry as we’ve been taught to see it. We shouldn’t have the right to judge it that way.
It tells us that what we deem “natural” and “unnatural” has a lot more to do with how we’ve been socialized than it does the reality of our world.
It tells us that everything we think is “new age” stuff – the existence of gender non-conforming people, sexual fluidity etc. – is really just a product of us getting closer to the reality of our world; the way things always were, but just weren’t allowed to be.
Ooh, now that’s something to chew on.
In doing my due research for this newsletter, I came across this article:
WHY IS ENVIRONMENTALISM MORE POPULAR IN LGBTQ+ COMMUNITIES?
That headline alone lead me down a “wait, is it really?” rabbit-hole.
And, as it turns out, the answer is yes; queerness and the environmental justice movement are somehow connected.
A thorough research paper/analysis I found online made this case exactly. In Sexual identities and participation in liberal and conservative social movements, author Eric Swank, an associate professor at Arizona State University, brought up this point:
“Perceptions of discrimination against one's own group can translate into greater sympathy and solidarity with other disadvantaged groups … being considered a sexual outsider or deviant can foster a queer consciousness that detests all forms of social exclusion, bigotry, and exploitation.”
Makes logical sense to me.
Once you’ve known what it’s like to be discriminated against/exploited, wouldn’t it be easier for you to empathize with other groups/entities being exploited too?
That was just one of many theories Swank brought up to explain the numbers the study yielded. After analyzing data from the Time Series Study of the 2012 American National Election Study (ANES), which asked respondents both about their sexual identities and their political/social involvements, Swank found that sexual minorities (lesbians, gays and bisexuals) were more than twice as likely as their heterosexual peers to join environmental justice, antiwar and anticorporate movements.
So it seems like there really is a connection there. And honestly, I wasn’t all that surprised – a good deal of my friends that are actively involved in the sustainability, environmental justice, and climate justice spaces happen to also be, at some level, queer.
Of course, studies and scientific articles weren’t enough for me.
I wanted to call up one of those friends and get her perspective on all this - make it a little more personal, you know?
So, to close out this very long newsletter (oops!), here’s a little interview/conversation I had with my dear friend, Natalia, that I think you’ll love.
Till: So Natalia, how do you define your sexuality gender? I always like to ask when I’m putting stuff into writing like this.
Natalia: Haha sure. My gender I would say is cis, woman, I use she/her pronouns. And then sexuality: queer.
Till: Love. Ok, I feel like environmentalism/sustainability has always been part of your “thing” – but when did that journey begin for you really? What is it that got you interested in that space?
Natalia: I think that journey into sustainability started with other people introducing it to me. A lot of it comes from feelings around community that I had during certain experiences that really shaped me to care about the environment … experiences with other people who cared about these issues and were impacted by them, that’s really what made me interested in it.
Also I think our generation is really the first generation that’s growing up with climate change. We grew up with a certain kind of environment that I think I’m already seeing is starting to change. Our late teens were during the 2016 election, and I think from the 2016 election to now the focus on sustainability and climate change has really increased because the urgency has really increased. Being so young during this time has really formed a lot of my views on the environment and sustainability.
Till: I totally see that too. I think it was like 1990 or 2000 where climate change really started to become a topic, but for us, we’ve seen these changes with wildfires and crazy snow storms and even just like seasons being a little bit different – which, you know, it’s contested whether that’s climate change or not, but I feel like that’s part of the influence there. So yah, it’s definitely been very personal to our generation for sure.
Natalia: Definitely. And I remember in 2016, I was 17-years-old, and I was watching the primary debate and it was the first presidential debate where climate change had been mentioned. I remember that being such a big headline, and at the time I was like, how is that even possible? How have we not even talked about it to this point? But now I’m looking back and I’m like, if only they could see where we’ve progressed now with this conversation – that gives me hope.
Till: So I’ve been reading a lot about “queer ecology/environmentalism” – basically looking at nature through a queer lens and understanding that the divide between what traditional science deems “natural” and what is actually natural is greater than people might think. It’s also reflected in a lot of the texts I’ve read that queer folk have a higher involvement in social movements other than the LBGT+ liberation movement, like, for example, environmentalism – some say it’s because we already have to fight one battle, so we’re more apt to get into another; we emphasize more. But there are lots of theories. Interesting stuff.
Anyways, do you think your queerness has anything to do with your passion for environmentalism? Is there any tie there that you can see/feel?
If so, what is it? If not, how do you separate them?
Natalia: I think it’s related to the intersectionality of minority groups. For anybody who is within a marginalized identity, especially in the U.S., I think once you have one marginalized identity it makes you more sympathetic and also more aware of other issues that are going on for other marginalized groups. So I think that that intersectionality is maybe one of the reasons why.
There’s also been increasing conversations over the past couple of years around intersectionality being so important for these issues because, especially for the environment, marginalized groups tend to be the most impacted. I think that particularly applies to people of color and people who are low income, but also overlaps with people who are queer. I think those intersections are all a driving factor in what leads queer people to care more about the environment.
It’s worth highlighting too that indigenous groups have had a really strong culture around one-ness with the environment and they also have a very different idea of what it means to be queer (Ex. Two-Spirit gender identities). It’s worth calling out that there are a lot of indigenous environmental stewards who are also queer people.
Till: It’s so good that you mention that, because in this newsletter I wasn’t really addressing that side of it – people of color and people that are at the those most vulnerable intersections (black trans folks, for example) being at highest risk here when it comes to environmental issues.
Natalia: Right. I think it’s all rooted in the same issue of white supremacy and capitalism. White supremacy, patriarchy and capitalism are all at odds with both queerness and environmental stewardship. So if you have people that fall into a different gender identity, or sexuality, or race, I think that’s a lot of the reason why they’re more likely to have that sense of environmental stewardship, because they’re dealing with all of these issues that are stemming from the same force.
Till: We’re literally getting shafted by the same thing.
Natalia: Haha yah, just in different ways.
Till: Ok, next question. Sans any research on this at all, sometimes I just feel like gay people and plants vibe at another level (generalizing, of course). Like we have “plant gays”. That is a real thing.
Why do you think that is? Do you think there’s a connection there at all – anything you’ve felt personally?
Natalia: I think one thing is that the pandemic has really made a lot of people look at their indoor spaces and appreciate plants for creating a sense of nature, beauty and aesthetic, but also air purification – just so many benefits to plants that I think people have increasingly realized because of our pandemic world. It’s just become trendy over the past year with the pandemic and I think the queers have latched onto that trend.
I don’t think that there’s necessarily a “vibe” that gay people have that makes them more plant oriented, but I do kind of agree with you that within the queer community there’s such of an emphasis on community care. I think a big reason why people care about house plants or care about the environment is because of that sense of community.
My roommates and I, we plant these gardens and take care of plants that are in our shared spaces and that just makes us feel like we’re more at home; like we have something to take care of, something that’s alive and that makes us feel better. So yah, maybe it’s due to a heightened sense of community?
Till: That’s so interesting, and sort of where my headspace was going, too.
So my last question: Is nature queer, in your opinion? I know, weird question, but off the top of your head I’m interested to see what you think.
Natalia: My initial reaction at first was no, but then the more I thought about it the more I was like yes, yes, yes! Definitely.
Because if you think about it in terms of animal behavior and all of the different studies that are going on there, there are so many different cases within the animal and plant communities where things don’t fall into the binaries of gender and sexuality [Ex. Male seahorses giving birth, mollusks changing gender, Bonobos having same-sex sex for pleasure].
But I also think that at its core, queerness is just being not cis and not straight, and cisness and straightness doesn’t exist for plants or for nature. There’s no such thing as these binary categories that these things have to fall into.
So I think nature is super queer. I think nature is the ultimate queer.
Till: Haha I had that exact same journey also where I started and I was like no, this is BS, then the more I’ve been writing about it the more I’ve been like, wait … I kind of see this, and I kind of see how this is valid. Now I’ve come out the total other end where I’m like, “Nature is queer. Period.”
Natalia: Haha yah. I mean she has to be.
Till: Ok, well, thank you so much, is there anything else you wanted to add?
Natalia: I guess actually I will add something. Queer people of color are at the front of the environmental movement as they are at the front of pretty much every other social movement that’s important. So all the credit and kudos to our queer people of color who are truly the people on the ground organizing and making social impact – I think there’s not enough recognition.
:) check out Natalia’s plant Instagram, @nataliaplantsthings 🌱
Happy Earth Day folks. Love thy mother, today and everyday.
And that was That’s Gay, Volume 36. See you in Volume 37, folks!
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