"Gogo Dancers" British Columbia, Canada 2022

 

Kelp forests are the gay bars of the northeast Pacific Ocean. Kelp is a form of brown algae who thrives in cold nutrient rich ocean waters. They are ancient beings, growing like a plant but reproducing like a mushroom. The north Pacific kelp forests are estimated to be over 30million years old. And over those 30 million years, they have provided and continue to provide food, shelter, and habitat for a myriad of “queer” kelp lovers who rely on the unique colonies of species we call kelp forests for life. Kelps hold onto rocks with root-like structures called “hold-fasts”. These micro-ecosystems are important habitats for over one hundred species of crustaceans, fish, and gastropods, all of which can sometimes be found in a single holdfast. Some of these hold-fast loving species like nudibranchs are simultaneously hermaphroditic, meaning they contain both male and female sex organs so they can impregnate and become pregnant. Kelp forests have also nurtured and continue to nurture two spirit Indigenous and queer non-Indigenous people who rely on these forests for coastal lifeways. We need species like kelp who create safe spaces for queer beings not just to exist in but to thrive in.

​About the Photographer

​

Name: Benji Eisenberg

Age: 29

Nationality: United States living in Canada

How does your identity influence your work?
 

As a queer person, I feel that I deeply relate to liminal ecological spaces like the shoreline, subalpine, lake edges, and beyond. All these spaces are examples of strength coming from living between extremes. I feel most comfortable working in these spaces because they do not adhere to the hetero-normative binary standards set by western ideals, instead they demonstrate the power of a space not defined by arbitrary boundaries.

 

What message do you hope to convey with your work about the intersection of queerness and biodiversity in nature?
 

There are no binaries in biodiverse spaces. The most biodiverse spaces are the ones where adversity is met by ingenuity. Places where species need to adapt in creative ways to survive. As a queer person, I can really relate to that notion of needing to adapt creatively to survive on this planet.

 

What do you think is the importance of highlighting diversity in both nature and society, and how can photography play a role in this?
 

Photography is a tool I try to use as means of documenting what can be protected, nurtured, and changed in the landscape. The photos are usually a foundational step for me to ask questions about a landscape, ecosystem, or species. Once we have a better understanding of ecological systems, it can become clearer how best to steward these systems through and towards resilience.

​

What is your favorite example of queerness in nature?

​

The fact that sea otters will all hold hands with each other to stay rafted up in a group so they don't drift apart feels very queer to me in the most wholesome way. I think also I'm sometimes jealous and wish I could just float in the ocean holding hands with all my queer friends.