“Caw, caw!” A huge black crow circled above me in the air and landed on a rock nearby. We looked at each other in silence.
“Crow, are you a boy or a girl?”
I laughed and rolled over on my back. The sky was crayon blue. I pretended I was lying on the cotton white clouds. The earth was damp against my back. The sun was hot, the breeze was cool. I felt happy. Nature held me close and seemed to find no fault with me.”
-Leslie Feinberg, Stone Butch Blues
*** CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS ***
“Nature Held Me Close” is a zine about gender dysphoria and the great outdoors. Sometimes it’s hard to exist in a physical body, but spending time in nature can be one of the best ways to feel more comfortable in your own skin.
This zine is a place to feature art and writing from trans, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming people about how spending time outdoors – hiking, camping, gardening, birdwatching, landscaping, doing outdoor education or research, or just sitting quietly in nature – has influenced how you feel about your body and your gender. Submissions are open to dysphoric people of any and all gender identities!
You are welcome to share:
Essays and other nonfiction writing
Digital and/or traditional art
Email [email protected] with your submission. Please include 1) your name or a nickname you’d like to be known by, 2) social media handle if you’d like it to be published with your piece (optional), and 3) any author’s or artist’s notes you’d like included as well. Once submissions are collected, this zine will be published as a free PDF. Submissions are due by June 20, 2020: this year’s summer solstice.
Submission guidelines are included under the cut!
