Willow, Cardiff, 22: Just ask the land you call home

Willow, a queer, non-binary person from Cardiff, shares some reflections on queerness in nature.

Understanding nature is understanding what’s inside you. The answers to your questions can

always be found on the land, in the sky, in the water. As a community, I think we have always

felt represented by nature because it is inherently Queer. You don’t need to look any further

than the ground you live on to find healthy role models for queer relationships, Queer joy.

Ecosystems work because of community, competition, change and variation. No living thing

can survive alone, we are never alone; plants, bugs, fossils, people, birds, there are hearts and

souls everywhere. Wildlife shows us that all types of relationships have a place here. Swans

mate for life, badgers have sexual interactions with multiple individuals, female seagulls have

been found to seek surrogate fathers to raise chicks with other females, wolves are raised by

the pack, aphids and ants are mutualistic, where one species’ waste is another’s food. Having

children is not something that feels essential for me, but I do feel maternal instincts

sometimes. Growing up with an unconventional family structure in a community that looked

out for me showed me that there is more than one way having a family. There are so many

ways to be a guardian and plenty of them don’t involve having biological children. You can

choose your family. you can choose your home. Nature shows us that there is more than one

way to be a mother, father or parent, more than one way to love. Love seeps into everything

we touch. Stay curious, notice things, and hold all the magic you see close to your heart, it is

all inside you already.