Count me as an ally. Unfortunately the vast majority of LGBTQ+ folks I know and am close to are not nature nerds. I’m probably kind of odd in their eyes.
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It was at an Israeli university. I was there for two semesters but had to leave due to a life threatening health crisis. It has students from all ethnicities and religions, but is also a religious Jewish school. So… yeah.
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As a queer non-binary marine geek, it made me so happy to log in and see the rainbow iNat logo, and find the blog post. Thanks for creating space to find other LGBTQ2S+ nature folks, iNat!
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Beautiful!
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I love this iNat community dearly. I don’t usually hang out in the forums but I bump into iNat users in the wild pretty frequently and we’re such a great group of folks!
One thing that I always heard a lot over my lifetime is “femenism helps men too” and I’ve always agreed wholeheartedly with that. I don’t hear nearly as often the phrase “the LGBTQIA+ movement for equality helps straight cis folks too” but I want to share that it (also) absolutely does help us. I grew up in a very conservative, very religious environment. I won’t get into the thick of that story, but I’ll say that the most grief I got from it was about gender. I was never masculine enough for a lot of the adult men at my church, and I was reminded of it every chance they got. It didn’t matter that I liked the outdoors and bugs, exploring and science; I was bullied for being skinny, or for not knowing my sport teams, or for having longer hair. My best friend helped me have a shelter away from that. He didn’t come out until we were 18 but to this day (two decades of friendship later) he and his boyfriend (now husband), and the many other LGBTQIA+ friends I’ve made over the years were the only people in my life who helped me realize our genders are what we make them. I can’t tell you how many times I felt like such a failure for not being the very specific brand of masculine the church (and a lot of society outside the church) wanted me to be. When you’re a teenager it’s so easy to believe that the bullying is something you’ll never escape, and that these constructs will exist into adulthood. It’s why the “It gets better campaign” was and still is so meaningful. But yeah, the LGBTQIA+ community was there for me first and didn’t care that I was straight or cisgender, I was welcome as I was, and comforted by people who were going through much worse than what I suffered. Love is Love, and as we say in Texas: Y’all Means All. Happy Pride.
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Hello / Hola / Hallo!
I’m here, very queer and I take pictures of birds and reptiles
Estoy aquí, estoy muy gay y yo tomar fotografías de aves y reptiles
Ich bin hier, ich bin sehr schwul und ich fotografiere Vögel und Reptilien
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Pockets are useful! Pockets are good.
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I’m so excited to see this thread open and lively. The name’s Rach! I’m pan and use she/her pronouns. I’ve been on iNat for almost two years now, using it as a creative outlet and an organizer of sorts to showcase my wildlife photography. For me, this month marks not only the celebration of identity and sexuality, but just around the time I first joined the iNat community as well as the time my current partner and I first met (spoiler alert: he’s the one who got me on here haha).
I was never really sure where iNat stood when it came to this subject. I’ve made plenty of acquaintances and friends through the users of this site, but as @astra_the_dragon mentioned, it can be nerve-wracking to put yourself completely out there despite the sharing of passions. This is why I was overjoyed to see that little alert on the side of my homepage. To see everyone come together here just to introduce themselves and honor Pride is very comforting. I’m pleased to make your acquaintance! 
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I just want to ask how do you take your photos on inat? They all look so detailed!
You always can look at EXIF of photos if you click on “i” on them.
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I use a Canon 6D, and as of late, I’ve been using a macro lens, allowing me to get up close and personal. Well, given my subject allows me to do so and capture all those little details haha. I always take my photos into photoshop as well to give them a slight sharpen.
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This is true and good advice! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve clicked on that “i”, curious to see what equipment and strategies others are using to capture their subjects.
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I’ve been thinking about making an LGBTQ+ project on iNat to build community on the platform and connect with other queer naturalists. I think from this forum it’s evident that there are many of us from all across the globe using iNat to document our nature sightings and have found iNat to be an inclusive and welcoming place. I think it would be a nice space for us to continue meeting other queer naturalists and continue dialogues formed on here. If this seems like a worthwhile project and there’s some interest I would gladly create a project. Let me know what you think. :)
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From the blog post:
We’re also co-hosting a virtual mixer organized by 500 Queer Scientists on June 17th, 6 pm PDT (see in your time zone) and some of the people featured in this blog post will be speaking. Those who identify as LGBTQIA+ and allies are welcome. We’ll update this post with a link to the registration page when it’s available.
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<3 <3 I’m nonbinary/genderfae/genderfluid (she/they). And I agree entirely with everything you have said here!
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Inclusivity is an important topic for science.
Science still has many barriers…to women, minorities and LGBTQ+
- 2007 - I had a Major Prof. that was ok with my orientation when I started in his lab…but when he was investigated for wrong doing, he blamed me and went after me in a 22 page letter that included my sexual orientation. (YES> he is still employed at the University.) I had to defend myself, filed 2 grievances, and change my Major Prof. This endangered my research and graduation; not to mention the huge amount of stress this brought into my life.
- 2010 - Another time… a new Prof was being hired for our department. I was on the selection committee and one of the straight male profs actually said “We will have 3 gay profs if we let this one in.” (It was not said as a joke or out of hand…It was a serious note) As if there is a limit that we have reached in the department. To know that you might not get hired at a university because you are gay is a problem for science.
I am/was very active in the LGBT group on campus, I gave many panel discussions on gay issues, and I council many young scientists >>> We can never do enough to promote LGBTQ+ people to enter the sciences. It is the same for more minorities in science! (I am 1/2 Mexican)
I am a big promotor that GOOD SCIENCE is what is important.
Finally “Homophobia”, “Transphobia”, etc. are NOT PHOBIAS!! You are not afraid.
You are bigoted, intolerant, discriminatory, prejudice; lets call it what it truly is.
P.S> I encourage other scientists to wear a small Pride flag pin or a latin flag pin (I am 1/2 Mexican) when attending scientific conferences. By wearing a pin on a hat, lapel, name tag, etc., the pin might allow other young scientist to see that there are “others” like them at these major meetings. It might also lead to a young scientist engaging and seeking a conversation with you.
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Hey all! Happy pride! I was thinking it would be fun to create a group for LGBTQ+ naturalists.
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