Ep. 241 : Understanding Myself as an Amphibian with Maxwell Matchim

I have been thinking a lot about the diversity of sexuality and gender in nature. Wondering about how different animals, plants, and fungi present sexually. How do different species mate? What characteristics are considered belonging to one sex, but in reality, may be shared by many sexes? Many sexes? How many are there? Why do some species have thousands of sexes, and some species only have one?

Maxwell Matchim (they/them) has been asking some similar questions but through a different lens, thinking “about the ways in which Trans people exist between worlds, much like amphibians. The way in which Trans people change their bodies over time as means of survival.” And with these questions, they have been making a documentary. When my pal Miki told me about this, my first thought was “this is a conversation I am looking for”. When I reached out, Maxwell was game and we set up the interview.

We talked about Maxwell’s experience so far in producing the documentary, unisexual Ambystoma salamanders, gynandromorphism (having characteristics of two sexes) in birds, classification of species which might not actually make sense, and so many other queer natural histories and how we might relate to them in the context of the present social political world.

This is a conversation I would love to be having all of the time, looking at the parts of life which just don’t abide by the dominant narratives. If you’re into that, you’ll like the show.

To learn more:
Understanding Myself as an Amphibian gofundme
Maxwell Matchim’s instagram
Queer Forest Club instagram
Feminist Bird Club instagram
Biological Exuberance by Bruce Bagemihl
Queer Ducks (and Other Animals) by Eliot Schrefer
Evolution's Rainbow Diversity, Gender, and Sexuality in Nature and People by Joan Roughgarden
How Far the Light Reaches : A Life in Ten Sea Creatures by Sabrina Imbler