Comments on: What Does it Mean to be Queer in the World of Urban Farming? http://www.urbanfarmhub.org/2010/02/what-does-it-mean-to-be-queer-in-the-world-of-urban-farming/ Puget Sound's Urban Farming Resource Thu, 26 Aug 2010 21:37:26 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: jess http://www.urbanfarmhub.org/2010/02/what-does-it-mean-to-be-queer-in-the-world-of-urban-farming/comment-page-1/#comment-2573 jess Wed, 07 Jul 2010 21:51:47 +0000 http://www.urbanfarmhub.org/?p=1504#comment-2573 As a fellow queer urban farmer, I am also interested in these issues but I struggle to make connections when this stuff comes up in conversation. Is the garden an extension of my radicalization? Would my urban food production be less radical if my sexuality was different? I have had wonderful queer-friendly hetero allies who started amazing, inspirational community gardens producing food for schools, children, food banks, etc. Is that more radical than my own, queer, self-sufficiency efforts in my yard? How is my small-scale production different from my (hetero) neighbor's similarly organic, heirloom, non-GMO edible landscape? The yards look the same when you walk or bike past them. I don't (never would even consider) fly a rainbow flag in my microfarm. I think, sometimes, of the luxurious free time of childless or childfree people, and how much more food I might grow if I weren't protecting the plants from a teen in addition to slugs, squirrels and deer. But more and more in our modern queer landscape, being childless or childfree is not a function of queerness, but of choice. I am in support of this evolution, obviously, but it does complicate the pictures of our stereotypical lifestyles. Since sexuality and orientation are not necessarily tied to any specific lifestyle or set of choices (career, family, housing situation, etc), it is difficult for me to talk about queer urban farming as something that is momentous and exciting - although it feels like it should be, to me. If my sexuality and my farming are both extensions of my radicalization and political stance, are they related anywhere beyond the common hub of me? I can speak more easily about the radicalization of women farmers -- since women produce much/most of the small scale agricultural energy in the world, but own the very smallest percentage of anything, or reflect on the pastoral image of a hardworking farmer's wife, and how different her life is from mine even though we are, technically, both farmers' wives although I am in the (fortunate, i think?) position of also HAVING a farmer's wife. anyway, thanks for the thoughtful blog post! As a fellow queer urban farmer, I am also interested in these issues but I struggle to make connections when this stuff comes up in conversation. Is the garden an extension of my radicalization? Would my urban food production be less radical if my sexuality was different? I have had wonderful queer-friendly hetero allies who started amazing, inspirational community gardens producing food for schools, children, food banks, etc. Is that more radical than my own, queer, self-sufficiency efforts in my yard? How is my small-scale production different from my (hetero) neighbor’s similarly organic, heirloom, non-GMO edible landscape? The yards look the same when you walk or bike past them. I don’t (never would even consider) fly a rainbow flag in my microfarm.

I think, sometimes, of the luxurious free time of childless or childfree people, and how much more food I might grow if I weren’t protecting the plants from a teen in addition to slugs, squirrels and deer. But more and more in our modern queer landscape, being childless or childfree is not a function of queerness, but of choice. I am in support of this evolution, obviously, but it does complicate the pictures of our stereotypical lifestyles.

Since sexuality and orientation are not necessarily tied to any specific lifestyle or set of choices (career, family, housing situation, etc), it is difficult for me to talk about queer urban farming as something that is momentous and exciting – although it feels like it should be, to me. If my sexuality and my farming are both extensions of my radicalization and political stance, are they related anywhere beyond the common hub of me? I can speak more easily about the radicalization of women farmers — since women produce much/most of the small scale agricultural energy in the world, but own the very smallest percentage of anything, or reflect on the pastoral image of a hardworking farmer’s wife, and how different her life is from mine even though we are, technically, both farmers’ wives although I am in the (fortunate, i think?) position of also HAVING a farmer’s wife. anyway, thanks for the thoughtful blog post!

]]>