Gender, Sexuality, and Social Sustainability: Exploring Queer Farmers' Relationships, Ethics, and Practices in the Midwest

View the project final report

Commodities

Practices

• Sustainable Communities: analysis of personal/family life, quality of life, social networks

Explanation of problem & solution pursued

Social identities like race, class, gender, and sexuality shape the ways that farmers are able to engage in agricultural networks, resources, and communities. The "family farm," for example, is organized around a heterosexual marriage, where romantic partners become business partners. While scholars have thoroughly documented how race and class structure access to and outcomes in sustainable agriculture, we still have much to learn about the specific ways that narratives which posit heterosexuality and cisgender identities as "normal" continue to uphold hegemonic power dynamics within alternative agriculture. Sustainable agriculture serves as a key entry point for queer farmers, as it is often perceived as more welcoming and accessible to diverse sexualities and gender identities. However, sustainable agriculture research has tended to under-prioritize issues of social equity—especially related to gender identity and sexuality—and in turn, these systems have continued to reproduce inequality.

Recently, a limited (but growing) body of scholarly literature has emerged on queer farmers' identities, practices, and values. To date, there are three quantitative studies on queer farmers (Dentzman et al. 2021; Hoffelmeyer, Wypler, & Leslie 2023; Cuthbertson et al. 2024), and only the most recent USDA Census of Agriculture has begun to collect information on gender identity and sexuality. A few recent qualitative studies on queer farmers have illustrated the ecological values, experiences of heterosexism and transphobia, resistance strategies, and farming practices that are particular to this group of marginalized farmers (e.g., Leslie 2017; Wypler 2019; Hoffelmeyer 2021). While these studies form the foundation of acknowledging and describing the intersection between queer identities and sustainable agriculture, there remains a need to understand how queer farmers enter into sustainable agriculture, navigate difficult social and political environments, and shape the formation of alternative relational practices within these environments. 

This project aims to build on previous work and contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of queer farmers' experiences by expanding this work into the Midwest region. Different regions carry their own agricultural priorities and demographic characteristics, and this project will provide important insight into queer farmers' experiences and dynamics that are particular to the Midwest. The primary region in which existing work has been conducted is the Northeast United States, which has been a supportive environment for both sustainable agriculture and LGBTQ+ movements. However, the Midwest lies at the center of the Corn Belt, and this region has historically been dominated by industrial agriculture systems and conservative ideologies, which result in climates that are not necessarily amenable to sustainable agriculture systems or queer populations, respectively. Through studying the experiences of queer Midwest farmers, we can better understand how to effectively support these farmers  in the face of inhospitable social and political conditions.

Research approach

This project employed three methodological approaches: semi-structured interviews, ethnographic observation, and participant collaboration. 

Interviews: For this project, I interviewed people who identify as queer and as sustainable farmers and who lived or worked in one of five Midwest states (Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, and Wisconsin). By sampling participants from these five states, I was able to understand how regional dynamics impact queer sustainable farmers' work and to compare between agricultural and political climates within the Midwest. I began collecting interview data in June 2022, and I completed seventy-three interviews total. Interview questions focused on farming background and practices, identity, relationships, and resources.

Ethnographic observations: In addition to selecting cases at the individual farmer level, I was also interested in selecting cases at the organizational level (i.e., farms) to understand how the processes illustrated in interviews function for farmers experientially within the context of an organization. I selected two farm sites that were queer-owned and operated production farms: one in Michigan and one in Illinois. My ethnographic approach combined participant observation and informal or semi-structured interviews, providing an opportunity to both document directly observable behavior and experiences that cannot be observed. While visiting the farms, I helped out with daily tasks—such as weeding, harvesting, or pruning—taking mental notes of events and jotting down snippets of dialogue as I was able. In addition to observations, I conducted informal field interviews with individuals, which allowed me to ask questions as they arose organically in conversation.

Participant collaboration: Finally, as a way to share these findings with queer farmers and other audiences, I also led a small editorial team of queer folks who were both farmers and artists based in the Midwest to produce a collaborative publication. Together, this team of farmer-artists has engaged with more than 300 people in this work: 90 queer farmers applied to work on the editorial team, 30 queer farmer-artists submitted work for the publication, more than 200 people have bought a copy of the book, 20 folks gathered for an event to celebrate the book’s release—and this doesn’t include the many people that the book’s publisher, Combos Press, has engaged at book fairs and other events. This piece of the project quickly became one example of the kind of support and resources that queer farmers had been looking for in their work: something that highlighted both the joys and difficulties of navigating agriculture as a queer person, that celebrated the lives of queer farmers, and that provided experiences and stories that resonated with queer farmers. 

Research conclusions

Findings from this project show that queer farmers employ a set of values and practices informed by their identities as both queer people and growers, despite facing barriers to participating in agriculture. Findings show that queer farmers often struggle to find safe, supportive work or learning opportunities as a result of how other farmers, customers, and community members perceive their gender or sexuality, and even though many queer farmers having family connections to farming, they struggle to secure access to land because their family’s agricultural or social values don’t align with theirs. As a result, many queer farmers in the midwest turn to building alternative networks and relationships to meet their needs and gain agricultural experience. These informal resources are a source of support and learning for queer farmers, but they also emerged as a result of lacking formal resources that provide training, capital, land access, or other essential supports for farming. These findings suggest sustainable agriculture organizations should understand the particular circumstances of queer farmers and create opportunities that explicitly support queer farmers.

This project had three main objectives, outlined below. Data collection and analysis are complete. Outreach and dissemination of information are ongoing.

1. Provide knowledge on the barriers that queer farmers face in establishing economically viable farms, including barriers related to income and profit, production, and resource networks. 
2. Analyze how queer farmers negotiate identities as both queer people and farmers, taking into consideration quality of life, resilience strategies, and ethics and values. 
3. Develop recommendations for supporting queer farmers through the development of programming and resources tailored to their needs.