Chameleons, Lizards and Birds: Rereading Three Works by Severo Sarduy Through Queer/Cuir Ecologies

Abstract

Based on theoretical concepts from the field of Queer Ecologies, this paper offers a rereading of three works by Cuban author Severo Sarduy, taking into account its socioecological aspects. It argues that the playful treatment of ecological motifs in his essay La simulación (1982) and his novels Colibrí (1984) and Pájaros de la playa (1993), anticipates relevant aspects of this theory by subverting hetero- and cisnormativity as central axes of hegemonic discourses on nature. Concurrently, Sarduy’s thought, which interacts in original ways with the Hispanic American tradition, contributes to the enrichment and decentering of queer ecological approaches, hitherto largely confined to the Anglo-Saxon world.