Scotland Outdoors Queer Ecology with Dr Em Merrin May Armstrong
Jan 14, 2026
Dr. Em Merrin May Armstrong is an interdisciplinary plant researcher and queer ecology scholar who explores the fascinating world of plants and their societal implications. They share their journey of falling in love with plants and discuss how their autism influences this connection. Em critiques colonial legacies in botany, challenges the labels of 'native' and 'invasive,' and reveals unsettling links between plant science and eugenics. By reexamining nature through a queer lens, Em advocates for questioning norms and appreciating the complexity of life's interconnections.
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Queer Ecology Reframes Knowledge
- Queer ecology reframes how we categorise and understand the world by exposing political assumptions in Western thought.
- It treats 'queer' as strangeness and resilience, not only sexual identity, to rethink knowledge and perception.
Victorian Roots Of Extractive Botany
- Victorian-era colonialism and extractivism reshaped how we view nature as a resource separate from humans.
- Many non-native plants arrived via colonisation and exploitative collecting practices that erased local knowledge.
Eugenic Language Lingers In Botany
- Plant science language and practices inherited from eugenic thinkers like Francis Galton embed harmful ideas about purity and fitness.
- Em highlights that seed-saving and breeding rhetoric echoes eugenics and can be distressing for disabled people.