Out Outdoors — UofG PGR Blog

the importance of getting outside as a queer PGR*

(*or any PGR, frankly!)

Adam Gordon is studying for a DFA in Creative Writing. His doctoral work explores queer histories of Glasgow, and the effect of contemporary theories of ecology on the form and structure of the novel. He is the current Researcher Development PGR Communications Intern.

One of the (many) unexpected jobs that I’ve taken on as a PGR Intern is facilitating the PGR Gardening Group. This is a drop-in session on Wednesdays at 5pm in the lovely gardens on Viewfield Lane. You don’t need to have any experience (I’m learning as I go); all you need is enthusiasm and a willingness to get your hands dirty.

Like many of us, I live in a flat without access to a garden. I’m surrounded by houseplants, but watering my prayer plant or repotting my cactuses isn’t quite the same thing as digging into the soil and working with the elements, the bugs and flowers, and all the other life in a proper garden. It is immensely satisfying to nurse your veg as it sprouts, and then to take it home and eat it. Or to tend the flowers as they grow, maybe cutting a few to keep on your desk for a week or so.

Given that it’s Pride Month, and because of my own research interests, I’ve been thinking a lot about LGBTQ+ folks and ‘Nature’. My own area of study centres on queer ecologies (ecology through the lens of queer theory) and I am happy to report that so-called ‘nature’ is wonderfully queer all the way through. Not just because there are gay penguins or because so many birds are basically drag queens, but because the slightest understanding of nonhuman bodies and behaviour makes the silliness of our own restrictive ideas very apparent. I don’t have the scope to unpack this here, but there are plenty of excellent and accessible books on the subject: The Nature of Sex by Dr Carin Bondar the work of Lucy Cooke are good places to start.

The words ‘nature’ and ‘natural’ can be loaded ones for queer folks, since their twin, ‘unnatural’, is used as a slur against us. Quite apart from unhappy linguistic associations, there are issues of personal safety for LGBTQ+ folks trying to access the outdoors. It’s harder for queer folks to be outside and feel completely safe. During Pride Month, with rainbow flags on every conceivable surface, it’s easy to think that all our battles have been won. However, a glance at your news feed (or a conversation with your LGBTQ+ peers) will tell you that they absolutely haven’t. We’ve made huge progress, but the fears people have remain legitimate.

Hardly surprising then that LGBTQ+ folks can be reluctant to embrace the outdoors. This is a problem, because we know that LGBTQ+ PGRs report poorer mental health than their non-LGBTQ+ peers. (See this study, also.) We know, too, that time spent outside, hanging out with other animals and plants, is exceptionally good for our mental health. Beyond this, everyone has a right to wander in these places, to enjoy their beauty and the intense pleasure of communion with other lifeforms.

The good news is that there are organizations working to bridge the ‘nature gap’ for LGBTQ+ folks: Pride Outside, Trans Active, Edinburgh Queer Hiking, Get OUT Glasgow, to name but a few. I’d also say that we’re lucky in Glasgow to have so much green on our doorsteps. Learning to love urban ecology, to notice all the other animals and plants that call this place home, radically changes how the city feels around you. I love the ‘rebel botany’ groups that label so-called weeds with chalk, drawing attention to them as living things in their own right, rather than something annoying to be poisoned with chemicals.

Opportunities like PGR Gardening provide a safe, friendly space for all postgrads (LGBTQ+ and everyone else!) to be outside, nurturing other living things and taking care of each other. If you haven’t been down to Viewfield Lane, it really is a secret oasis in the middle of campus. The only condition of entry is respect: for the gardens themselves and for the other folks there.

PGR Gardening meets each Wednesday at 5pm, and we will be going all through the summer. You can just come along to a session, or send me an email at Adam.Gordon@glasgow.ac.uk. I really look forward to welcoming more of you to the garden.