Queer Ecology — A Powerful Lens for Reporting on Environmental Injustice

Laysan and black-footed albatrosses nesting in Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge. Roughly one-third of nesting Laysan albatross pairs are female-female. Photo: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service-Pacific Region/David Patte via Flickr Creative Commons (CC BY-NC 2.0).

Feature: Queer Ecology — A Powerful Lens for Reporting on Environmental Injustice

By Isaias Hernandez

Nature is inherently diverse, teeming with intricate relationships among fauna, flora and fungi. This biodiversity is a hallmark of healthy ecosystems, yet when it comes to discussing queer behaviors in nature, the media often maintains a disconnect with mainstream audiences.

We frequently hear about same-sex penguin couples raising chicks, male seahorses giving birth or queer dolphin behaviors. But there’s so much more.

The rapidly emerging field of queer ecology extends beyond these isolated observations. It's about how we frame what is considered “natural” versus “unnatural.”

And it offers journalists an important perspective for looking at the ways humans interact with the environment, and how environmental problems affect people.

 

What is queer ecology?

The term queer ecology was coined by environmental studies professor Catriona Sandilands in the 1990s. It challenges heteronormative narratives (requires subscription) and institutional biases that have shaped scientific understandings of nature.

Historically, scientific institutions constructed rigid, binary notions of sex and reproduction, mirroring human heterosexist frameworks. From the 19th century onward, the dominant scientific lens dictated that nature followed a strict reproductive model: male and female pairings as the foundation of survival.

This categorization reinforced the idea that species were “natural” only if they adhered to heterosexual reproduction, shaping a cultural assumption that love, relationships and biological processes should follow a binary model.

 

Nature, in its complexity,

does not conform to

human-imposed norms.

 

But nature, in its complexity, does not conform to human-imposed norms. The Laysan albatross (may require subscription), for example, offers a clear challenge to heteronormative assumptions in science. In this bird species, roughly one-third of nesting pairs are female-female, disrupting the idea that reproduction and parental care must occur within a male-female dynamic. These pairs successfully raise offspring, showing that survival and caregiving are not exclusive to traditional reproductive roles.

Chimpanzees also defy the notion that sexual behavior exists solely for procreation. They frequently engage in same-sex interactions that serve social purposes, such as strengthening bonds, reducing stress and resolving conflict.

These examples demonstrate that sex in nature plays a broader role in species survival, extending far beyond reproduction.

 

Breaking the binary

It’s essential to distinguish between gender and sex.

In biological sciences, sex is characterized by anatomy, physiology, gene expressions, chromosomes, nonhuman animal cells, behavior and intersex.

Gender, on the other hand, refers to the fluid, evolving ways humans express their identity within society, and is shaped by sociocultural influences that vary across societies.

In the 1980s and 1990s, researchers started conflating the two words and treating them as interchangeable in animal-based studies, causing further misrepresentation.

 

Gender is a uniquely human experience

because it is shaped by our cultures,

languages and ways of making meaning.

 

While animals are social creatures, gender is a uniquely human experience because it is shaped by our cultures, languages and ways of making meaning.

Animals have social roles, behaviors and hierarchies, but they don’t participate in the same cultural systems that define gender as humans do. We can’t ask animals how they identify, and their social structures aren’t organized through human concepts like masculinity, femininity or nonbinary identity.

Unlike human societies, the animal, plant and fungi kingdoms do not adhere to socially constructed gender roles. They exist in a state of continuity. Yet, science often projects its frameworks onto nature, using these behaviors to either reinforce traditional norms or disrupt heteronormative narratives.

 

Seeking solace in natural spaces

Beyond observing same-sex animal pairings, queer ecology offers a broader perspective on how LGBTQ+ communities interact with nature and the built environment.

For many LGBTQ+ individuals, nature serves as a sanctuary — a place for reflection, solitude and connection.

Employees and volunteers from national parks in the Pacific Northwest walk in the Seattle Pride Parade in June 2022. Photo: Mount Rainier National Park/Kevin Bacher via Flickr Creative Commons (CC BY 2.0).

LGBTQ+ communities frequently experience social isolation, rejection and discrimination. Studies show that 73% of LGBTQ+ youth have reported facing discrimination based on their gender identity or sexual orientation, often leading them to seek solace in natural spaces.

In nature, queer individuals find a sense of identity and belonging, fostering relationships with the nonhuman world. This connection is not just about sex or reproduction, but about the deeper ties between identity and environment.

 

Exclusion by design

Queer ecology also examines the ways in which environmental spaces have been historically designed to exclude queer people.

Sandilands and other scholars have pointed out that heteronormativity extends beyond nature. It is embedded in the design of cities, parks and public spaces. National parks, suburban layouts and recreational areas have historically been structured around nuclear family ideals, reinforcing rigid gender roles and traditional family units.

For example, women in the 19th century (especially unmarried women) were often barred from owning property, reinforcing the idea that land ownership was reserved for men with wives and children.

Even today, public parks often reflect a history of heterosexual health narratives, subtly reinforcing heteronormative family structures while failing to consider LGBTQ+ histories and experiences.

While there is nothing inherently wrong with the nuclear family model, it is crucial to recognize how traditional environmental narratives have systematically excluded and erased queer people. Many LGBTQ+ individuals have had to exist in hidden or transient states, finding ways to exist in spaces not designed for them.

 

LGBTQ+ communities and environmental justice

The climate crisis does not discriminate, but marginalized communities, including LGBTQ+ individuals, disproportionately feel its impacts. Front-line communities, composed of Black, Indigenous, Latino, Asian, disabled, undocumented, rural and queer populations, face heightened vulnerabilities to climate disasters.

 

When floods, wildfires and

rising sea levels displace

populations, LGBTQ+

individuals are at greater risk.

 

When floods, wildfires and rising sea levels displace populations, LGBTQ+ individuals — particularly those experiencing homelessness — are at greater risk.

Up to 40% of homeless youth in the United States identify as LGBTQ+, a stark reminder of the intersection between climate justice and queer rights.

Displacement not only severs people from their homes but also disrupts their access to queer-affirming health care, community support and safety.

 

Environmental inequities in queer communities

Studies have found that areas with a higher presence of same-sex couples tend to experience higher levels of toxic pollution. This suggests a larger systemic issue: Environmental degradation disproportionately impacts queer communities, yet scientific research on these disparities remains limited.

LGBTQ+ individuals often face increased exposure to indoor environmental hazards such as lead, asbestos, radon and poor housing conditions. Many also live in social environments where secondhand smoke is common, compounding respiratory stress, especially for trans and gender-nonconforming individuals who may wear chest binders that add physical discomfort and strain.

During environmental disasters, these communities are at even greater risk. Those who rely on medications or access to gender-affirming care may struggle to receive vital services when resources are limited, further jeopardizing their physical and mental health.

Recognizing these injustices is crucial to ensuring that climate policies protect all communities, including LGBTQ+ individuals.

 

Telling more inclusive stories

To truly care for the environment, scientists, researchers and journalists — indeed, all people — must reconsider how they understand and promote biodiversity through a queer lens. 

Observing how animals adapt for survival reveals that sex and reproductive roles in nature are more fluid than traditional science often suggests. For example, clownfish transition from male to female through a process called sequential hermaphroditism, a reproductive strategy also seen in other fish species. These natural transitions occur without violence, hierarchy or exclusion.

Although humans and animals are not the same, both experience transformation in ways that reflect resilience and adaptation. For transgender people, transitioning — whether socially, medically or not at all — is not defined by biological sex but by the capacity to live authentically in alignment with identity.

Connecting human experiences with nonhuman examples helps us tell more inclusive and meaningful stories. These parallels can affirm that LGBTQ+ individuals belong within the natural world, not as exceptions, but as part of its rich and diverse expression of life.

 

A vision for the future

Queer ecology is an ever-evolving field that explores the interconnectedness of ecological diversity and LGBTQ+ experiences. By embracing diverse perspectives from urban and rural communities to the Global North and South, queer ecology offers a holistic, intersectional approach to environmental justice, as well as to issues such as climate change and the extinction crisis.

When environmental movements work in partnership with LGBTQ+ movements, they can build stronger support networks and deepen their understanding of the struggles marginalized communities face. This collaboration opens the door to solutions that include and uplift all LGBTQ+ people.

Rather than viewing queerness in nature as an anomaly, we must recognize it as an inherent part of our species-rich world. Just as biodiversity strengthens ecosystems, the diversity of human experiences enriches our collective understanding of nature.

 

We can begin to dismantle rigid binaries,

reimagine inclusive environmental narratives

and cultivate a world where all identities

are acknowledged and celebrated.

 

Through queer ecology, we can begin to dismantle rigid binaries, reimagine inclusive environmental narratives and cultivate a world where all identities — human and nonhuman — are acknowledged and celebrated.

 

Queer ecology story ideas for local journalists

• Who designed your local parks and community centers, and when? Does the design or location exclude anyone from your community?
• Where do LGBTQ+ populations in your community live, and does that expose them to greater levels of pollution?
• How do LGBTQ+ people in your community view their relationship with the planet?
• What queer-led collectives are cultivating both community and ecology through projects like local farms and food cooperatives?
• How have climate disasters impacted LGBTQ+ communities in your area?
• Are local environmental organizations making space for LGBTQ+ people?
• Do city or state environmental policies take LGBTQ+ communities into account? Are there any gaps in disaster response, housing or health care access?

Isaias Hernandez is an environmentalist, educator and creative devoted to improving environmental literacy through content creation, storytelling and public engagements. Hernandez is more commonly known by his moniker, Queer Brown Vegan: the independent media platform he started so as to bring intersectional environmental education to all. His journey to deconstruct complex issues, while centering diversity and authenticity, has resonated with a worldwide audience. He also collaborates with other leaders from the private and public sectors to uplift and produce stories of change for his independent web series, Sustainable Jobs and Teaching Climate Together.

---

* From the weekly news magazine SEJournal Online, Vol. 10, No. 40. Content from each new issue of SEJournal Online is available to the public via the SEJournal Online main page. Subscribe to the e-newsletter here. And see past issues of the SEJournal archived here.