A Backward Glance for a Queer Utopian Future: Genesis, Climate Change, and Hope as a Hermeneutic

Abstract

This article explores the ways in which biblical narratives and queer ecocritical voices can converge to recognize the importance of an intersectional climate change movement: to show that queer ecology matters. Specifically, I argue for an alternative approach to biblical ecocriticism, constructed around a queer(ed) biblical performance. I employ José Esteban Muñoz’s conceptualization of a queer utopian futurity, Lee Edelman’s critique of the political and rhetorical discourse centered on reproductive futurity, and Nicole Seymour’s blending of queer theory and ecocriticism in order to analyze conversations held by a cohort of the environmentally engaged nyc queer community. A performance and retelling of the story of Joseph(ine) in Genesis illustrates how queer engagement with biblical narratives offers an alternative to the dominant narrative of the climate change movement: “We must do it for our kids, for our grandkids.”