ABSTRACT
In the contemporary ‘culture wars’, battle lines are frequently drawn in the areas of gender, sexuality and environmental politics. At the same time, progressive politics is conflated with commitments to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex, and asexual and/or ally (LGBTQIA+) issues and ethical consideration of the natural environment. It is within this context that this chapter discusses the inter-relationship between LGBTQIA+ politics and the environmental movement. While one might assume that these two apparently progressive positions would be inevitably complementary – that there would be a crossover of activists and their beliefs – this chapter begins by demonstrating the tensions between LGBTQIA+ and environmental/ecological politics. The latter have firmly committed to a valorisation of nature and the natural (as well as being partial to invoking normative gender ideals), while the former have problematised concepts of naturalness that have historically marginalised non-normative and non-conforming sexualities and gender identities. The second part of the chapter explores examples of where environmentalism/ecologism and LGBTQIA+ politics have merged, through the academic lens of queer ecology and the practical collaborations between green organisations. Ultimately, the chapter demonstrates the radical potential of an authentically LGBTQIA+ inclusive ecological/environmental politics.
