Queer Ecology Research Articles

Rippling Intimacies: The Queer Waters of Lady Audley’s Secret

Abstract This article relies on ecocriticism to explore Mary Elizabeth Braddon’s most popular novel, Lady Audley’s Secret, to understand the queer ecological potential even within a Victorian novel that relies on key conventional tropes. It analyzes moments when the three main characters, Lady Helen Audley, Robert Audley, and George Talboys, engage in queer ecological intimacies before the advent of sexological studies. Looking first at how Lady Audley interacts with the garden spaces surrounding her estate, the article offers a new theoretical framework, domestic queer ecology, to explore the asphyxiation the domestic space pushes onto the titular protagonist, and how the garden space offers her an escape. It then moves on to critically assess sites of water as spaces that promote queer intimacy between the two male protagonists. Ultimately, Braddon’s novel suggests a misogynistic ecological queerness that favors eco-queer men over eco-queer women.

Science and Medicine

Abstract The works reviewed here explore a broad range of topics within the field of science, medicine, and technology studies. We have divided the chapter into three sections organized around a conceptual link. In the first section, Anna K. Sagal reviews two monographs that employ oceanic studies to explore novel forms of community and connection: Michele Currie Navakas’s Coral Lives: Literature, Labor, and the Making of America, and Hannah Freed-Thall’s Modernism at the Beach: Queer Ecologies and the Coastal Commons. In the second section, William J. Ryan examines two monographs that forcefully interrogate Western definitions of cognition and intellect: Sara E. Johnson’s Encyclopédie Noire: The Making of Moreau de Saint Méry’s Intellectual World and Abigail Williams’s Reading It Wrong: An Alternative History of Early Eighteenth-Century Literature. In the final section, Leah Benedict reviews an edited anthology that explores numerous exchanges between technology and culture: Kristen M. Girten and Aaron R. Hanlon’s British Literature and Technology, 1600–1830.

Non-animals in Queertopia: Non-philosophy and the Queer Ecological Thought

Non-animals in Queertopia: Non-philosophy and the Queer Ecological Thought

Eco-Consciousness and Eco-Semiotics in Amruta Patil’s Kari: An Exploration of Queer Ecology

Eco-Consciousness and Eco-Semiotics in Amruta Patil’s Kari: An Exploration of Queer Ecology

“Then you tell me you’ve fallen in love with a tree”: Queer ecologies in Ali Smith’s short stories

The present article takes the recurrent motif of trees in Ali Smith’s oeuvre as a point of departure to analyze how Smith forges an alliance between environmental concerns and queerness. It argues that her short stories present their own version of queer ecology on both a conceptual and aesthetic level. Smith queers ecological relations and brings ecological concerns to bear on the queer on multiple scales, continuously disrupting linear narratives, anthropocentric thinking and capitalist imperatives of (re)production and productivity for the benefit of interdepenence, resistance and inter-species care. By means of non-linear storytelling, ambiguous pronouns and shifting narrative perspective she aesthetically and conceptually opens space for queer desires, interspecies care and a cyclical, distinctly ecological view of queer futurity that ultimately extends not just to environmental and social but also cultural relations.

Queering the Tropics: A Cartography of Tropical Materialisms, Queer Ecology, and Spectral Tropicality

Queering the Tropics: A Cartography of Tropical Materialisms, Queer Ecology, and Spectral Tropicality

Audre Lorde and queer ecology: An ecological praxis of Black lesbian identity in Zami

This paper employs Audre Lorde’s theoretical paradigm of anti-binarism and ecofeminism to explore her creation of a distinctive queer space which is achieved through the successful incorporation of ecological elements in her narrative of lesbianism. The central premise of this research lies in the intersection of lesbian concerns and the environmental sensibility in Lorde’s novel, Zami. The detailed analysis of instances of lesbian lovemaking interspersed with ecological references in Zami reveals a close connection between environment and queer sexuality, realised in the phrase “queer ecology”. This study investigates how the erotic contours of Lorde’s lesbian identity are shaped by her sustained engagement with the environmental metaphor derived from her immediate surroundings as well as the geography of her ancestral Grenadian island where the Zami myth originates. The cartographies of the physical landscape of Grenada and Black lesbian bodies intersect to form a combined ethos of lesbian eroticism driven by a strong rootedness in ecological affiliation. Through close examination of Afrekete’s role in Zami’s lesbian erotics, this paper activates a distinctive queer-ecological reading of lesbian relationships derived from a combination of aquatic, green, and edible metaphors. This article is an endeavour to bring about a sustained engagement of queer and environmental concerns by unravelling a symbiotic relationship between the two.

Karl Heinrich Ulrichs and the queer ecology of sericulture

Karl Heinrich Ulrichs and the queer ecology of sericulture

The Anthropussy: an ecolesbian manifesto

The Anthropocene is old news. As young queer zine-makers in Singapore, we heard the term on repeat and dared to ask: What about the AnthroPUSSY? From this queer environmentalist pun we birthed a new take on our relationship to the Earth amidst climate crises – and in doing so, we came out as ecolesbians. Ecolesbianism is a concept we co-created, bringing together queer ecologies, political lesbianism, ecofeminism, transecology, ecosexuality, and our own experiences. Ecolesbianism explores our relationship with the Earth and asks: what if our interspecies relationships are lesbian too? We argue that lesbian intimacy is unique in proceeding from a point of sameness and marginality, by recognising shared experiences of gender marginalisation with our lovers. Ecolesbianism thus might be understood as a subset of ecosexuality, but with an emphasis placed on marginality and intimacy more so than a general focus on sex and sensuality. The Anthropussy, meanwhile, is our nod to rejecting classifications: The Anthropussy is the erotic and utopian potential we carry within this era of unprecedented anthropogenic climate change. It combines an environmentalist recognition of the climate crisis with a feminist and queer theory analysis of the vulva as a symbol for vast potential, pleasure, intimacy, and expansiveness. This article is a re-formatted zine: a form that brings creativity and fun into the often heavy and overwhelming conversation on ecological collapse, while also expanding its audience beyond that of a typical academic article. A full version of the zine can be found in the supplemental materials linked to this article.

‘Sarahland would trick me into thinking it was the entire world’: Sam Cohen’s short story cycle as queer ecology

This article proposes that in Sarahland (2021), Sam Cohen makes of the short story cycle form a productive arena in which to explore queer ecological concerns. Reading with queer ecocritic Nicole Seymour, it argues that the early stories frame heteronormativity as an ecology of harm whilst also exploring the difficulties of using critical theory to create more caring, queerer alternatives. The later stories, in making their environmentalist concerns more explicit, go further in articulating a queer ecological consciousness. The discussion focuses on how Cohen creates a dense ecology of affective, narrative and symbolic connections between the component stories. It suggests that the short story cycle is a form rich with possibility for exploring questions of queer futurity, ecology and belonging.

On Inclusive Ecology Interconnects ‘Nature’ And ‘Queer’: From Eco Feminism to Queer Ecology A New Theoretical View

Objectives: The paper investigates the literary progression of ecofeminism to queer ecology, following the evolution of ideas and activism in these fields. This study examines the intersectionality of gender, sexuality, and ecology, which is important in understanding the interaction between nature and queer identities. This study analyses the environmental difficulties encountered by queer communities and how eco-feminism and queer ecology can contribute to environmental justice based on observations of environmental justice. Materials and Methodology: The qualitative research was carried out using text analysis on the subject of transition from ecofeminism to queer ecology. Secondary materials are studied from the standpoint of advancing inclusivity and understanding the diversity seen in nature. The convergence of queer and ecology strives to diversify narratives concerning the natural world, providing a new perspective on the environment. It celebrates the fluidity, complexity, and diversity found in all life expressions and forms. Discussion: The study investigates the dynamic relationship between inclusive ecology and queer theory, through tracing the evolution of ecofeminism to queer ecology. It recounts the intellectual path from the pioneering ideas of ecofeminism to the evolution of queer ecology, illustrating how these subjects collectively challenge established paradigms. The focus of the essay is on how queer theory, ecofeminism, and inclusive ecology interact in the context of ecological discourse. It examines how these related fields question conventional environmental perspectives and push for a more inclusive and varied method of appreciating and protecting nature. This study emphasizes the critical function of ecofeminism in showing the intersections of gender, nature, and queer identities by analyzing significant theoretical frameworks and real-world instances. The transition of the term queer ecology illuminates how the integration of different viewpoints promotes a deeper comprehension of environmental and social justice concerns, arguing in favor of a more inclusive, fair, and sustainable approach for both ecology and human rights. Conclusion: This research aids in bridging the fields of queer ecology and ecofeminism. The inclusion of queerness in ecology fosters the celebration of both the varied range of gender identities and sexual orientations within human society as well as the rich tapestry of biodiversity in the natural world. The intersectional perspective emphasizes how crucial it is to realize how intricately linked ecological and socioeconomic problems are, and how they must be taken into account in any solutions. The viewpoint of queer ecology equips people to advocate for the rights of both marginalized groups and the environment, instilling a sense of obligation to safeguard and preserve the interdependent web of life. Recognizing that marginalized populations are frequently disproportionately affected by environmental degradation, inclusive ecology calls for sustainable practices that not only help the environment but also advance social justice.

자연의 개간, 교란 그리고 감응

This study explores the roles of three figures in American ecological research: Paul Bunyan, H. P. Lovecraft, and Richard Powers. Each represents a different aspect of nature's use, misuse, and responsibility. Paul Bunyan, a folk myth hero, symbolizes practicality, strength, stability, and growth, highlighted through the tree trunk. H.P. Lovecraft, known for his works in mania magazines like Black Mask, Amazing Story, and Fantasy & SF, portrays queer ecology through ecological disruption, focusing on tree roots as symbols of the unconscious. Richard Powers, through his novel The Overstory, reflects on ecological criticism. He specially emphasizes the leaves of trees, imprinting human consciousness and envisioning a future where nature and humans harmoniously coexist, underscoring the intersubjectivity of humans and non-humans. Trees, as a symbol of nature, reveal the consciousness, unconsciousness, and superconsciousness between these characters and their environment.

Two Samples of Queer Ecology in Romanian Contemporary Literature. From Silenced Witness to Redeemer

This paper will analyse the intersection between two components (queer and ecological) by reviewing two texts, both describing themselves as “ecological queer,” therefore, settling a new paradigm in Romanian literature, aiming beyond the aesthetic sphere. The examples are Copiii ecosistemului (The Children of the Ecosystem) by Ilinca Mănescu and the anthology Luminișuri (Glades), published under Cenaclul X. The main stake of the thesis is to identify and detail the similarities between the two ideologies, as a new phenomenon in Romanian literature and anthropology (as these critical lenses have been used before in world literature). A central convergence comes as a result of capitalism and colonialism, expanding the violence in human and non-human forms. To simplify, the queer community and nature are victims of the same system, which explains the constellation between the two. The interdisciplinary conjunction “ecoqueer” stands against heteronormativity and embraces the diversity of nature, and this article will focus on its development in the Romanian literary space, through the two examples, concerning both poetry and prose. Furthermore, this literary form has been exported from the West to the East-Central European periphery, highlighting Romanian literature’s status as a semi-peripheral literature, but on the other hand benefiting from this import and broadening the progressive ideology in the cultural space.

“I’m Traversing My Own Death Throes”

This paper offers a queer ecological reading of the 2012 video game Dear Esther , an approach which exists at the intersection of queer theory, queer ecology, and video game scholarship. Queer theory working in concert with ecological thought traces the affinities between human, geological, animal, and atmospheric forces within the game; these affinities compound and trouble categorical distnctions, instantiating a porous “time-space where human corporeality, in all its material fleshiness, is inseparable from ‘nature’ or ‘environment,’” anchoring “complex modes of analysis that travel through entangled territories of material and discursive, natural and cultural, biological and textual” (Alaimo, “Trans-Corporeal” 238). Dear Esther enacts a series of immanent encounters with more-than-human material entanglements, revealing a world “waterlogged” by fluid slippages between body and island, feather and flesh, and bones and stones to offer, ultimately, a contribution to the nascent field of queer video game scholarship that makes a case for video games as a media uniquely capable of disclosing fluid, dynamic, and complex relations between human and nonhuman matter and environment (Pinchbeck and Briscoe).

Queer Ecologies and Apocalyptic Soundings: The Caribbean Artivism of Rita Indiana

Queer Ecologies and Apocalyptic Soundings: The Caribbean Artivism of Rita Indiana

On Inclusive Ecology Interconnects ‘Nature’ and ‘Queer’: From Eco Feminism to Queer Ecology a New Theoretical View

Objectives: The paper investigates the literary progression of ecofeminism to queer ecology, following the evolution of ideas and activism in these fields. This study examines the intersectionality of gender, sexuality, and ecology, which is important in understanding the interaction between nature and queer identities. This study analyses the environmental difficulties encountered by queer communities and how eco-feminism and queer ecology can contribute to environmental justice based on observations of environmental justice. Materials and Methodology: The qualitative research was carried out using text analysis on the subject of transition from ecofeminism to queer ecology. Secondary materials are studied from the standpoint of advancing inclusivity and understanding the diversity seen in nature. The convergence of queer and ecology strives to diversify narratives concerning the natural world, providing a new perspective on the environment. It celebrates the fluidity, complexity, and diversity found in all life expressions and forms. Discussion: The study investigates the dynamic relationship between inclusive ecology and queer theory, through tracing the evolution of ecofeminism to queer ecology. It recounts the intellectual path from the pioneering ideas of ecofeminism to the evolution of queer ecology, illustrating how these subjects collectively challenge established paradigms. The focus of the essay is on how queer theory, ecofeminism, and inclusive ecology interact in the context of ecological discourse. It examines how these related fields question conventional environmental perspectives and push for a more inclusive and varied method of appreciating and protecting nature. This study emphasizes the critical function of ecofeminism in showing the intersections of gender, nature, and queer identities by analyzing significant theoretical frameworks and real-world instances. The transition of the term queer ecology illuminates how the integration of different viewpoints promotes a deeper comprehension of environmental and social justice concerns, arguing in favor of a more inclusive, fair, and sustainable approach for both ecology and human rights. Conclusion: This research aids in bridging the fields of queer ecology and ecofeminism. The inclusion of queerness in ecology fosters the celebration of both the varied range of gender identities and sexual orientations within human society as well as the rich tapestry of biodiversity in the natural world. The intersectional perspective emphasizes how crucial it is to realize how intricately linked ecological and socioeconomic problems are, and how they must be taken into account in any solutions. The viewpoint of queer ecology equips people to advocate for the rights of both marginalized groups and the environment, instilling a sense of obligation to safeguard and preserve the interdependent web of life. Recognizing that marginalized populations are frequently disproportionately affected by environmental degradation, inclusive ecology calls for sustainable practices that not only help the environment but also advance social justice.

Trans* Lives of Jadzia Dax: A Queer Ecology Reading of Symbiosis in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Abstract: This article explores the symbiotic relationship of the Trill species in Star Trek from nonbinary, trans*, and queer ecological perspectives. The Trill’s unique physiology allows them to enter into a symbiotic relationship with a symbiont, leading to nonheterosexual, nonbinary, and androgynous features. By examining the trans metaphor represented by Jadzia Dax, a Trill character in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , the article highlights the ways in which the Trill challenge traditional notions of gender, biology, and symbiosis by introducing queerness. Furthermore, the article argues that symbiosis, when viewed through the lens of queer ecology, posthumanism, and more-than-humanisms, reveals that all living beings engage in queering, emphasizing the interconnectedness of life and the absence of living without symbiosis.

Sharon Lockhart's Philosophy of the Casual: Toward an Eco-Cinema of Sociability

Abstract This article considers the cinematic works of the contemporary American artist Sharon Lockhart in the context of what it identifies as philosophies and practices of “the casual,” from the impact of Emersonian aesthetics on post – World War II American avant-garde cinema to Lockhart's unique version of “hanging out,” which resonates considerably with how Leo Bersani defines sociability. Viewing Lockhart's aesthetic signatures (her use of extreme long takes, static long shots, the natural settings of the majority of her films, and the anonymous identity and relations of her subjects, many of whom are children) first as manifestations of Emerson's and Heidegger's efforts to avoid the violence of Western thinking that they call “clutching” and “grasping” at the world, and then as instantiations of Bersani's notion of sociability as “a form of relationality uncontaminated by desire,” the article argues that her films manifest an eco-cinema that proposes living less invasively in the world. It goes on to show that, for Lockhart, this environmental ethos emerges from her use of the casual to delicately craft a cinema of social care that allows its subjects the freedom of not having their relations or identities defined by or within the cinematic frame. Lockhart's cinema is thus unique for deploying an aesthetics that can be described as casual, oblique, and nonchalant, toward ethical ends that have both sociological and environmental implications, what Bersani terms “queer ecology.”

Review of Modernism at the Beach: Queer Ecologies & the Coastal Commons by Hannah Freed-Thall

Review of <i>Modernism at the Beach: Queer Ecologies &amp; the Coastal Commons</i> by Hannah Freed-Thall

Human-animal relationships, silliness, and queer homemaking in Sven Nordqvist’s Pettson and Findus

This article argues that the picture book series Pettson and Findus by Sven Nordqvist can be a valuable resource when looking at ethics of matter and thinking through relationships with the more-than-human. Pettson and Findus is a series of picture books written and illustrated by Sven Nordqvist. The books depict the relationship between old man Pettson and his cat Findus, who live in an old farmhouse in the south of Sweden together with chickens, invisible “muckles” and a variety of other creatures and people. The books centre on relatively mundane activities, made into small adventures by the various different creatures. This article analyses the Pettson and Findus series through Donna Haraway’s analysis of human animal relationships in When Species Meet (2008) and calls for the making of oddkin in Staying with the Trouble (2016). This article, using Will McKeithen’s analysis in Queer Ecologies of the Home and Monica Flegel’s Pets and domesticity in Victorian culture, argues that Pettson and Findus live in a queer kind of household, and participate in queer home making. Using Jack Halberstam’s analysis in The Queer Art of Failure (2011) this article centres Pettson as a figure that is both queer and silly, and through this queer silliness creates certain openings for queer community with the more-than-human, and the making of oddkin.