Queer Community Resilience

Queer Resistance in the Climate Crisis

By Allie Carr

Background

When climate disasters strike, the communities that are hit the hardest are often the ones that are provided the least support in the wake of the disaster. More often than not, these communities are predominantly composed of queer and trans people, as well as other minority groups. This can be attributed to the fact that queer people face violence and discrimination at higher rates than cisgender and heterosexual people and often lack the resources to leave unsafe situations (Williams Institute 2020).

Figure 1: Graph contrasting the percentage of queer youth comprising the homeless population vs. the general population of the US. Based on data from Grist.org

As a result, “40 percent of U.S. youth who experience homelessness” identify as queer, even though “ they represent just 7 percent of the population” (Brady 2019). Despite - or perhaps due to - the hardship queer people experience on a day-to-day basis, they tend to be the most eager and dedicated responders in times of crisis. 

In an effort to highlight stories of queer resilience, activists Desi Fontenot and Vanessa Raditz of the Queer EcoJustice Project (QEP) began work on Fire and Flood, a docu-series focused on highlighting LGBTQ experiences with climate disaster. One of the first efforts of its kind, Fire and Flood went into the heart of the communities impacted by the simultaneous disasters of the 2017 Tubbs Fire and Hurricane Maria to work directly with the people impacted and subsequently making an impact. By investigating phenomena that have been worsening as a direct result of climate change, through the lens of some of the people most affected, this project changes the conversation around climate change to be more inclusive.

The Tubbs Fire was a tremendous devastating force on Northern California, parched as it was from years of drought. In just hours, it spread about 12 miles and consumed over 20,000 acres of land – lasting nearly a month (CoreLogic 2022).

At roughly the same time, Hurricane Maria raged in Puerto Rico. Maria hit while the country was still recovering from Hurricane Irma, which had hit earlier that same month and left two-thirds of Puerto Ricans with no electricity and one-third without clean water (Scott 2018).

Hurricane Maria finished the job Irma had started by completely taking down Puerto Rico’s power network and destroying its roads. Despite the obvious need for an effective federal response to the devastation in Puerto Rico, “a quarter of the island’s residents still lacked electricity” even five months after the hurricane (Scott 2018).

Figure 2: Map of the Tubbs Fire as of October 16, 2017 projected over a map of California. Tubbs fire map published by Phoenix7777 to Wikimedia Commons

At the end of the day, the people that most effectively responded to these disasters were the people already part of the communities impacted; moreover, they were queer.

Queer and trans people are often excluded from various spaces in society, their own families being one example. As a result, they understand the value of community support and solidarity better than anyone. By often being forced to create their own families and support systems, queer communities are practiced in rallying together and finding diverse approaches and creative solutions to the problems they face. The creators of Fire and Flood recognized this gift and chose to illuminate it, choosing subjects who demonstrated creativity, resilience, and justice in the face of disaster, including “a Two-Spirit tribal representative in California; a [queer] director of a sustainable agriculture organization in Puerto Rico; a queer disability justice advocate bedridden by smoke; [and] a trans climate justice organizer leading healing projects in the wake of disaster” (Raditz June 2022). 

The intersectionality of Fire and Flood makes it a wellspring of hope and inspiration for all. Queer and trans stories are rarely included in the media, and queer people are even less commonly the main focus of this media. By bringing awareness not only to the lived experiences of the LGBTQ community, but also to the ways in which they adapted to these experiences and built a community in the process, Fire and Flood shares a narrative that is long overdue. This work by the QEP challenges common misconceptions about queer experiences, particularly regarding the one size fits all approach that tends to define disaster response. In a discussion for the docu-series, Patty Berne, a queer-focused artist and disability justice advocate, asserted that “all too often, these structural support systems entirely overlook those of us who live at the intersection of multiple oppressions” (Raditz 2019). By recognizing that needs take many forms and should therefore be addressed in a variety of ways, efforts to help those in need are instantly more effective. The individuals highlighted in Fire and Flood respond to disaster in a way that is unconventional because they personally were members of the impacted communities and therefore knew firsthand what they needed or, at least, were in the right position to listen. 

In producing this docu-series, the QEP took a necessary step towards celebrating diversity in the media we consume, in the way we approach things in our own lives, and in who we turn to for leadership. The places and communities most affected by climate crises are the ones that will make the most change. By spotlighting community action and resilience, Fire and Flood encourages people to look within for solutions, as well as to be willing to deviate from the norm when it is no longer productive.

Reasons for Hope

The production of the docu-series puts into practice the very community-based approach to problem-solving it advocates for. A great deal of the funding for Fire and Flood came from donations, as well as “pay what you can” screenings of the initial draft of the series when it was a film. The Queer EcoJustice Project demonstrates its dedication to making an impact in the fight against climate change and taking direct action to support affected communities by spreading knowledge and hope but also by channeling 50% of the donations it receives into queer resilience projects, mutual aid, and support for collaborators of the film (Raditz 2022). 

In addition to the positive aspects of the film itself, Fire and Flood also showcases a diverse array of inspiring stories. One conversation with a collaborator revealed that “During the fires and floods of 2017, queer disabled organizers in the Bay Area shared masks and air filters with one another, while in Puerto Rico, communities banded together to share generators to refrigerate insulin” (Raditz 2019). While narratives like these are typically considered sweet but not newsworthy, Fire and Flood proves quite the opposite. Change comes from within, and there is no group of individuals better aware of how to serve their community than those affected. Small-scale mutual aid and resilience are nothing if not a call to action.

Insights and Applications

Fire and Flood is one of the first major pieces of media concerned with queer experiences and activism. However, queer involvement in the climate crisis is not at all minimal. The systems that oppress the LGBTQ community are the same systems that are willing to sacrifice the climate in favor of industrial advancement, urbanization, and other capitalist interests. It is integral to recognize the value in the things that make people unique and to build communities that celebrate people’s differences. Patty Berne puts it best when they explain that “biodiversity is our best defense to the threats of climate change. When we begin to see our own diversity reflected in the ecology of this planet, we can also recognize that the same forces threaten both” (Raditz 2019). In other words, it is of the utmost importance to make dedicated efforts to uplift queer voices and craft solutions with community in mind, because current societal systems will not.

The creators of Fire and Flood offer sneak-peak screenings of a film draft of the series based on donations, as well as the opportunity to bring in speakers who participated in the film. Supporting initiatives like the Queer EcoJustice Project helps these projects become less of a phenomenon and more of a commonality in the media.

Date: Fall 2022

Location: Northern California, USA, Puerto Rico

Tags: Community Action