Queer, Decolonial, and de-essentialized Ecofeminist Reflections on Gender and Nature
16. November 2026, 16.15 bis 17.45 Uhr ONLINE
Die Abteilung Ästhetik und Pragmatik lädt im Rahmen der Ringvorlesung Gender|U zum Vortrag von Asmae Ourkiya ein.
Die Ringvorlesung findet online statt: zoom-Link zur Teilnahme
This lecture develops a queer ecofeminist reading of trans*ecology through the lens of the (re)naturalisation of transness. Historically, transness has been denaturalised by medical, legal, and scientific regimes that frame gender variance as pathological, unnatural, and even criminal, while normative sex/gender binaries are naturalised as the default of being human. Drawing on feminist science studies, decolonial frameworks, and transgender scholarship, this talk demonstrates how Nature has repeatedly been weaponised to enforce and normalise binary sex/gender systems, conceal material-biological diversity, and enforce colonial gender scriptures. Moving beyond adjunct approaches, the lecture positions trans*ecology as a field where embodiment and ecology are co-constitutive. Here, the asterisk serves as an epistemological marker of open-ended plurality and heterogeneous gender variance. Engaging with the insights of -but not limited to- Anne Fausto-Sterling, María Lugones, and contemporary queer, decolonial, intersectional ecofeminist thought, this framework rejects the myth of static biological baselines and advocates for a decategorising ontology that honours both human and multispecies bodily malleability and metamorphosis, while simultaneously destabilising the science-cultural infrastructures that police bodily non-conformities and adherences, to reclaim gender and somatic multiplicity as ancient and significant components of the living world.
Asmae Ourkiya (they/them) is the founder of the Ecofeminist Institute, which focuses on education, training, consulting, and research aimed at combating climate change and ecological challenges. They earned their Ph.D. from Mary Immaculate College at the University of Limerick with a dissertation titled “Queer Ecofeminism: From Binary Environmental Endeavors to Postgender Pursuits.” Dr. Ourkiya is currently writing a second book, “Queer Intersectional Ecofeminism: Theories, Practices, and Future Directions“. Asmae Ourkiya currently works as a Media and Engagement Manager at the European Geosciences Union in Munich, where they manage press releases, coordinate public relations efforts, and oversee the EGU blogs.
Im Wintersemester 2025/26 findet die sechste Ringvorlesung zu intersektionalen Perspektiven auf Geschlechterkonstruktionen statt. Dieses Mal widmen sich die Vorträge den Verschränkungen von Gender und Ökologien. Die Online-Ringvorlesung fragt aus einer kritischen Perspektive nach den Verhältnissen zur Mit-Welt und versammelt machtkritische, rhizomatische, queere, dekoloniale und antifaschistische Perspektiven auf Ökologien. Dabei werden ökologische Krisen als eng mit sozialen Ungleichheiten verflochten verstanden und danach gefragt, wie gerechte und nachhaltige Zukünfte intersektional gedacht werden können.
Wir freuen uns auf den Austausch!
Programm
02.11.2026 | Nanna Heidenreich | Natur, Territorium und Grenzen. Aktuelle Prozesse der Faschisierung
09.11.2026 | Giovanni Aloi | Against the Lawn: Gender, Soil and Subversion
16.11.2026 | Asmae Ourkiya | Queer, Decolonial, and de-essentialized Ecofeminist Reflections on Gender and Nature
23.11.2026 | Anne Sudrow | Forschen für den Öko-Landbau der SS: Frauen auf der ‚Plantage‘ des Konzentrationslagers Dachau
07.12.2026 | Diana Hummel | Geschlechtergerechtigkeit und Klimapolitik
14.12.2026 | Ilka Becker | „Our kind multiplies“. (Queer-)Feministische Mykoästhetiken in der zeitgenössischen Kunst
11.01.2027 | Irene Schütze | Vom Ausbeuten und Aufblühen: Queerfeministische Ästhetiken gegen Extraktivismus
