Against Naturalizing Trans
Discover more from Sex Weather Climate Death
Against Naturalizing Trans
An excerpt.
When I began this newsletter, my intent was to share excerpts from a manuscript-in-progress called Sex Weather Climate Death. That manuscript, a collection of essays and journal entries about the large and small scale changes taking place in a single body and on the planet as a whole, is nearing completion, but I’ve shared less of it here than I thought I would, focusing more on process and publishing and work in general. I’ve enjoyed the direction this newsletter has taken, but I’d still like to periodically share from the project that got me writing this originally. What follows is a short excerpt:
The reason I don’t try to naturalize being trans and gay is that it is not true nor relevant. Maybe there’s an albatross that prefers the company of its own sex, or fish whose gender changes with the temperature of the current, or hens who can become roosters (a well-documented phenomenon, usually only in the absence of males). But it is probably infrequent, and it doesn't matter anyway because being gay or queer or trans is a beautifully human invention. When we try to find evidence of it in 'nature' we forget that. It wasn't until the struggle to define oneself against a restrictive background of compulsory reproduction and gender roles that it really meant something to be queer or gay or trans, that you could start to plug into this very naturally human invention of gender identity and sexuality and different ways of living. This is possibly the only true civilizing force on the planet, in that it pulled away from and rebelled against a narrow minded view of nature grounded in biology and chromosomes, and showed us that out of our own "perversions" we can create something as beautiful as the bowerbird or the termite or the caddisfly larva. That’s why I write about art—because when asked to show instances of transition or queerness in nature, I can only point to the great works of art—human, animal, mineral—made beautiful when they didn't have to be. How queer of the chimney swifts to gather by the thousands in a vast showing of mutual aid to protect the flock with numbers and acrobatic flying. How stunningly trans the cuttlefish of many colors whose skin changes as he dreams. How gay of the raven to pick and toss the leaves in the gutter searching for some shiny spoon for it's nest. Fall colors, glittering shards of micah, the way the light bends to catch all of these. If all you can create is flesh, you have misunderstood the point of being alive, something grounded in the material that even the microscopic knows with without conscious thought.
I’ve spent so much of my time thinking and writing about this and turning over the mobius strip of what is ‘natural’ and why we pursue it so doggedly even after all the meaning has been wrung from it over the centuries. I’m excited for this project to find its final form with essays on weather forecasting, Catherine Opie’s nature photography, reptilian gender panic and climate change, Maya Lin’s bird blinds, wildlife webcams, wildfires etc. etc. Maybe I’ll share more in the future.
What I’m Reading
Periodically I rebuy and reread LA Warman’s Whore Foods (Inpatient Press), because I continually give away my copy to friends, because I enjoy giving everyone this filthy, smart, and razor sharp book. And if you like Whore Foods (which, if you’re reading this newsletter, you almost certainly will), LA has several poetry and erotica workshop and class offerings through their own Warman School. What better way to spend this long, dark season than writing, meditating, and moving with LA?
What I Wish I Was Reading
I’m thinking about retiring this section. For one, I’ve gotten better at seeking out book recommendations and recommenders in other spaces. And I’d like a space where I can highlight my other true love aside from books, which is the infinite variety & weirdness of YouTube. I’m not a literary purist, and one of my resolutions for 2021 is to write more about visual art, online video and culture.
This week, I revisited the infamous double rainbow video by Paul Vasquez, a piece of pop culture approaching its 10-year anniversary on January 8. I remember hearing about Vasquez’s death last May, but I didn’t go back and watch the video then. But while researching for SWCD the other day I did rewatch it, and if you haven’t seen it in awhile, I urge you to go and watch the whole thing. I had forgotten how long it goes, how many emotions he bares. I think with that one video he maybe accomplished what I’ve been trying to do for the better part of ten years, which is to share genuinely with many people his awe of the world and the people who live in it.
Publishing Opportunities
Assay: A Journal of Nonfiction Studies is seeking submissions of scholarship and pedagogy on creative nonfiction.
Twin Pies Literary is accepting submissions of creative nonfiction, flash and micros up to 1000 words on a rolling basis.
If you’re in Portland, the Independent Publishing Resource Center is hiring a part-time Studio Manager to oversee the center’s letterpress, risograph, screen printing, bookbinding, and other publishing focus areas. $15/hr, 25 hours/week, some benefits. Apply by January 8.
Quarterly West is accepting poetry submissions for its special issue on “domestication and feralization”. Deadline is February 15.
Black Warrior Review is open for submissions of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry until March 1. There is a $3 submission fee, but it is currently being waived for Black and Indigenous writers.
My book A Natural History of Transition, is available to preorder through Metonymy Press.
First time here? Subscribe below. You can find more of my writing at calangus.com.